These osteoclastic inhibitors are being taken by 3 million women in the United States, and more worldwide.  They are mainly menopausal women who are prescribed them for the prevention or treatment of osteoporosis. They are also prescribed intravenously to thousands of cancer patients each year to control the spread of bone cancer and prevent excess calcium (hypercalcemia) from accumulating in the blood.

Bisphosphonates work by binding to calcium in the bone and inhibiting osteoclasts, bone cells that break down the bone’s mineral structure but those who work with bioidentical hormones have seen little value in them.  The side effects are not insignificant and the late Dr John Lee saw great success in building bone density simply through supplemental natural progesterone and maintained that their bone density records bore out its value as density increased year on year.

The New Risk

Study leader Athanasios I. Zavras, DMD, MS, DMSc, associate professor of Dentistry and Epidemiology and Director of the Division of Oral Epidemiology & Biostatistics at the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine commented that although these drugs have been considered safe for years the popular literature and blogs are filled with stories of patients on prolonged bisphosphonate therapy who were trying to control osteoporosis or hypercalcemia only to develop osteonecrosis of the jaw.

Osteonecrosis of the jaw, or ONJ, often leads to painful and hard-to-treat bone lesions, which can eventually lead to loss of the entire jaw. Among people taking bisphosphonates, ONJ tends to occur in those with dental disease or those who undergo invasive dental procedures.

There are no reliable figures on the incidence of ONJ in patients taking oral bisphosphonates. Estimates range from 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 100,000 patients for each year of exposure to the medication, according to the American College of Rheumatology. ONJ is more common among cancer patients taking the intravenous form of the drug, affecting about 5 to 10 percent of these individuals, noted Dr. Zavras.

Genetic Factors

Studies have suggested that genetic factors play a major role in predisposing patients to ONJ.  The researchers found that patients who had a small variation in the RBMS3 gene were 5.8 times more likely to develop ONJ than those without the variation. The study also identified small variations in two other genes, IGFBP7 and ABCC4, that may contribute to ONJ risk. If that is meaningless to you – the point is that it means a test can be developed that personalizes risk assessment for ONJ that could be given to people before they start to use bisphosphonates,”

Dr. Zavras comments: “at the moment, many women discontinue or avoid treatment for serious osteoporosis because they are afraid of losing their jaw bones. There even are reports of dentists who have refused to perform certain invasive procedures in patients taking bisphosphonates. So there is a great need for a pharmacogenetic screening test to determine which patients are really at risk for ONJ.

Those who are positive for this genetic variation would select some other treatment, while those who are negative could take these medications with little fear of developing ONJ.”

Am I alone in wishing researchers could extend their study to the work done with osteoporosis patients and bioidentical natural progesterone?  The evidence is anecdotal, as it has never been officially studied, but Dr John Lee had years of scans showing increased bone density in his patients and no side effects – surely worth looking at?

There is ‘convincing evidence’ that the medicine can lessen the effect of painful menstrual cycles according to a Swedish study published in the journal Human Reproduction.  Many GPs already prescribe the Pill to women who are affected by PMS and the lead researcher of the study, Dr Ingela Lindh,  said the Pill can improve working ability and reduce the need for painkillers among women suffering from period pain.  She says:

‘Our study has clearly indicated a beneficial influence of COCs [combined oral contraceptives] on the prevalence and  severity of dysmenorrhoea. Period pain is known to decline with age but oral contraceptives have an independent and greater role in relieving pain.’

So far nothing to argue with, but the common misconception is yet again repeated in the accompanying press release which states that ‘Contraceptive pills, which contain oestrogen and progesterone’ – well no they don’t.   They contain synthetic progestins which are not at all the same thing.

The role of bioidentical progesterone in helping with PMS

The dangers of synthetic progestins and their associated health risks are well known and before taking the Pill to deal with them it is worth exploring other avenues.  Certainly using supplemental progesterone has been well established for PMS as Dr. John R. Lee, found when using Transdermal Natural Progesterone Cream in his practice for more than 17 years.

In twenty years of clinical practice Dr. Lee observed the consistent benefits and safety of natural progesterone therapy. He said:

Two excellent articles that shed further light on this can be found here:  first Dr David Zava, and then by Dame Dr Shirley Bond:

http://www.bio-hormone-health.com/2011/07/18/does-progesterone-cream-help-teens-with-pms-and-stress-symptoms/

http://www.bio-hormone-health.com/2010/03/15/what-is-oestrogen-dominance/

Additional Help – The Influence of Diet

If you want to give yourself the best chance of minimizing period pains then it is worth paying attention to your diet and particularly the role of prostaglandins. These are both good and bad:  the bad news is that they can cause pain, inflammation and fever and the good is they can relax blood vessels (thus helping cramping), improve circulation, lower blood pressure, decrease inflammation and improve nerve function.

What you want is to encourage the good prostaglandins and you easily can do this by reducing the ‘bad’ ones found in caffeine (all sources including coffee, energy drinks and colas and chocolate) so reduce that and also cut out saturated fat as they encourage the body to produce the prostaglandins that affect cramping.

Increase the good ones by eating more essential fats from foods such as oily fish, as well as nuts and seeds, as essential fats are vital for your body to produce good prostaglandins.  The Omega 3 fatty acids contain vital nutrients that provide the raw materials for the production of good prostaglandins so supplementing with these.  You could also add in a multivitamin and mineral containing good levels of the B vitamins as research has shown that the B vitamins can significantly reduce the intensity of period pains), as has vitamin E which has been shown to reduce painful periods. On the mineral front magnesium is helpful as it acts as a muscle relaxant for your womb and zinc which converts essential fatty acids into beneficial prostaglandins.

HRT is often suggested as being protective against heart disease, because of the oestrogen component but declining levels of oestrogen do not tell the whole story.   Men and women do not necessarily have the same type of heart disease. Men tend to suffer from heart attacks because their coronary arteries become blocked and narrowed due to a variety of factors of which high levels of cholesterol in he diet is an important one.  Over the years, the lumen on the artery can become so narrowed with deposits that not enough blood can pass to the heart muscle and a heart attack occurs.

There will often have been warnings that this may happen.  When a man exercises, the heart needs more blood; there will be a time when there is enough blood going through when resting but not when exercising.  The result will be the man will experience pain when exercising, and if sensible will pay attention to it.

In post-menopausal women however, although we can have narrowing of the arteries and a build-up of deposits, it is much more common for the cause of the hart attack to be spasm of the coronary arteries.  For this type of hear disease – which affects the majority of women – then oestrogen in the form of HRT will not protect you.  Research has been done which suggests that HRT may in fact aggravate coronary artery spasm, where bioidentical natural progesterone will relieve it.   If your heart disease is not due to spasm, like the majority of women, but to narrowing of the arteries then oestrogen has been shown to have an effect in preventing the build up of  deposits and paying attention to lowering cholesterol levels is also important.

Summary:

Research over fifteen years ago showed that progesterone is effective in relaxing coronary arteries which have gone into spasm, and that excess oestrogen can in fact cause spasm.  As most menopausal women’s heart attacks are due to heart spasm this is obviously an important factor in demonstrating the protective role of progesterone in preventing potentially fatal heart attacks.

There are many more factors involved in being prone to a heart attack than a lack of oestrogen.  Factors that predispose us to heart attacks include weight problems, having high cholesterol levels and lack of exercise as well as increasing age itself so paying attention to maintaining all-round good health is the first step in minimizing any potential heart attack risk

You may also be interested in reading the following article:

http://www.bio-hormone-health.com/2010/07/22/early-menopause-can-double-heart-attack-risk/

The Two Major Risks To The Unborn Baby’s Health

The first was established in a Finnish study published in July 2011 which provided evidence that exposure to SSRIs in the first trimester of pregnancy increases the risk for major congenital anomalies, particularly heart problems.

Now a second risk of increased birth defects was revealed in January 2012 in a new study published online by the British Medical Journal.  This revealed that women who take SSRIs during pregnancy are more likely to give birth to children with a very dangerous and serious condition — persistent pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure in the lungs).   This condition is caused by an increase in blood pressure in the lungs which leads to shortness of breath and other breathing difficulties. This is no minor problem, either, but a severe disease with strong links to heart failure.

The new study is a very large scale one undertaken by scientists at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.  They investigated 1.6 million births between 1996 and 2007 in five Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

They compared births from mothers who had taken anti-depressants in their pregnancy to those who had not, including women who had a previous psychiatric diagnosis but who did not take any antidepressant medication during their pregnancies.

Babies born to the women in the study were assessed after 33 weeks and they found that taking SSRIs appeared to clearly raise the risk of pulmonary persistent hypertension.  That amounts to three babies with pulmonary persistent hypertension for every 1000 women taking SSRIs in early pregnancy and double that if the drugs were taken in late pregnancy.

That may not sound like a lot, but pulmonary persistent hypertension in a baby is a very serious disease and one that could be prevented by avoiding these drugs in pregnancy.

Help for Anxiety and Depression:

There are many natural approaches that can be tried including specific exercise, good nutrition, stress relief, yoga and much more.  Dr Tony Coope has written an excellent series of articles on the depression that women can suffer after giving birth, including dealing with the mood swings that the sudden drop in progesterone can cause,  and you can read part one at http://www.bio-hormone-health.com/2010/04/16/hormones-and-the-baby-blues-part-1/ and for information on the role of progesterone in helping to deal with anxiety and mood swings in menopause this article sheds some light on its role: http://www.bio-hormone-health.com/2010/12/08/bioidentical-hormones-for-anxiety-and-depression/

Ghrelin is a hormone that is produced by the stomach during times of famine. This hormone, isolated and named in 1999, stimulates hunger and digestive function.   When we fast for several hours our body begins to increase ghrelin production which interacts with the neurons in the metabolic control center of our hypothalamus and we begin to feel hungry.

Leptin is a hormone secreted by our fat cells that interacts with the hypothalamus and creates feelings of satiety that shut down our hunger center. When we fast, ghrelin levels rise. When we eat, insulin and leptin levels rise and ghrelin levels drop. Higher levels of ghrelin have been associated with cravings for sugar-rich, calorie-dense junk food.

Many people go on calorie restricted diets in order to lose weight. However, calorie restriction leads to dramatic increases in ghrelin secretion. This results in uncontrollable hunger and eventual over-eating. This is the hormone responsible for the classic starvation – binge cycle that ruins so many weight loss pursuits. This is also why deprivation based weight loss programs have a very poor long-term success rate.

Sleep may be the Most Important Lifestyle Factor for Weight Loss:

Researchers at Stanford University found that people who sleep 5 hours or less per night had a 15% greater amount of ghrelin and 15% less leptin than those who slept 8 hours a night. Another study showed that sleep deprived individuals had a significantly greater craving for carbohydrate rich junk food.

Leptin and ghrelin work as a check and balance system to control feelings of fullness & hunger. Poor sleep cycles drive leptin down and increase ghrelin. This drives the individual to have less satisfaction after eating and instead to crave more food leading to weight gain. Overtime the individual will become leptin resistant which virtually shuts down the body’s ability to effectively burn fat.

Scientists have been looking to formulate a weight-loss drug that acts to reduce ghrelin secretions. This would obviously create a huge market and people would spend billions for a hunger suppressing drug that allows you to bypass natural survival based bodily intelligence systems. Years later we would hear about the terrible side-effects and devastation that occurred from artificially manipulating our body with hunger suppressors.

Our body produces a specific hormone called Peptide YY3-36 that naturally reduces ghrelin secretions. Peptide YY3-36 is produced by the stomach cells and is a natural check and balance system for ghrelin. Higher levels of Peptide YY3-36 lower ghrelin levels and subsequent cravings. By keeping our blood sugar stable through an anti-inflammatory diet full of good fats, proteins and fiber we maintain higher levels of Peptide YY3-36 that keep ghrelin in check.

The sleep hormone melatonin has been shown to help heal leptin receptors and restore normal leptin sensitivity which is critical for healthy weight loss and fat burning mechanisms in the body. Sleep deprived individuals do not secrete enough melatonin to restore normal leptin function.

Sleeping has also been shown to enhance human growth hormone (HGH) secretion which is our body’s natural anti-aging hormone. HGH secretion switches our metabolism to burn fat, build muscle, & boost immunity. Elevated insulin levels are antagonistic to HGH. Therefore, eating food (particularly carbohydrate rich food) before we sleep at night is detrimental to our efforts to effectively burn fat.

Keys to a Good Night Sleep:

1)    Do not eat within 3 hours of sleep

2)    Eat low carbohydrate meals throughout the day and particularly at night.

3)    Keep your bedroom cool (around 70 degrees F)

4)    Light inhibits melatonin secretion so keep your bedroom as dark as possible.

5)    If you must eat before bed – have good fat/protein such as a shake with coconut milk, almond butter, cinnamon, and  stevia.

6)    Regular movement throughout the day helps burn off metabolic waste in muscles and cells allowing the body to relax more effectively.

7)    Avoid caffeine and stimulants after 3pm

John Lee died in 2003, and he was indeed prophetic because it is women themselves who ask the questions about using natural hormones and are battling against the lack of real information about them in the medical world.  Don’t believe me? Well what I can tell you is that it is a wonder I am not bald from the number of times I tear my hear out on receiving yet another email telling me their doctor has told them they don’t need progesterone after a hysterectomy or menopause, only oestrogen, and that brittle bones need drugs not hormones.

Why Are Drugs The Only Option?

Only last week in a mainstream newspaper their resident Doctor ‘reassured’ a woman who had osteoporosis but struggled with the drug’s many side effects, that she had been ‘unlucky’ to react badly to the previous treatments.  They suggested that one reason these drugs are not always well tolerated was  ‘first, the side-effect of heartburn, which affects many patients; and, second, whether the patient is able to comply with the instructions for taking them.

Hardly surprising when you are told it’s essential you remain upright for half an hour after taking the drug, so traces do not remain in the gullet, causing irritation and you can’t eat for up to two hours before and after taking it, so it is absorbed properly.

Not exactly a simple regime, but she was assured there are still many options available to her.  Well yes there are, but those suggested involve either an annual injection of zoledronic acid, another type of bisphosphonate, which does not demand such a strict regimen while taking it and does not cause gastric problems.  What it does mean is an annual 15-minute infusion directly into the vein so that a trip to hospital is required, or a twice-yearly injection of another drug, denosumab, which can be administered at the surgery. Either way you are going to have to live with the side effects for quite some time.

A Simpler, More Natural Option

Instead of trying yet another drug variant isn’t it simpler to apply daily – at home – a transdermal progesterone cream that has additional health benefits? Nowhere in the options mentioned is bioidentical natural progesterone suggested or offered. Instead this woman is told that postmenopausal women are at increased risk of osteoporosis because their ovaries no longer make the hormone oestrogen, which has a bone-preserving effect.  They also don’t make progesterone either which goes one better than bone preserving by providing the conditions needed for actual bone growth.

Our bones continue to grow throughout our lives in a continuous process of old bone being broken down and replaced with new bone.  For osteoporosis, the most widely prescribed drugs are bisphosphonates which slow down the normal process of bone loss and which it is claimed makes the bone grow stronger.  What it actually means is that the normal process of bone breakdown is put on hold, and old bone is being retained longer and no new bone is being produced.  Not an ideal situation as older bone is more vulnerable, that’s why the body very sensibly has a ’schedule’ of breaking down and replacing old bone with new stronger bone and it is doing this every day of your life.

John Lee had many patients with osteoporosis whose year on year bone scans showed increased density and growth, whatever age they began supplementing with progesterone.  However this is merely ‘anecdotal’ and not medically acceptable, though a great relief to the women it helped.

Time For A New Approach?

You would have thought that studying anatomy at medical school would mean the elements of bone building and it’s necessary component parts are well known to Doctors.  Progesterone is a key element in that process so why this reluctance to try a natural hormone that has no side effects, unlike the drugs prescribed for osteoporosis?  I am not suggesting they stop prescribing what they clearly believe to be helpful but that they expand their thinking to include a wider perspective.  They are now more willing to suggest weight bearing exercise and changes in diet so why not this as well?

Cost is what is often given as the reason – but 2-3 months of a progesterone cream for under £20 compared to £366 for the twice yearly injection and £377 for the annual one including the hospital cost just doesn’t add up to me.

If you want to read more about osteoporosis then these articles will give you more information:

http://www.bio-hormone-health.com/2010/03/15/what-is-osteoporosis/

http://www.bio-hormone-health.com/2011/09/15/10-less-well-known-risk-factors-for-osteoporosis/

http://www.bio-hormone-health.com/2011/10/20/don’t-ignore-the-4-main-myths-about-osteoporosis/

It is not generally understood that men also produce estrogens such as estradiol in their bodies from testosterone but in a smaller quantity and less cyclically than women do and.   This conversion process is necessary for men to maintain good bone density but it may also contribute to prostate growth and malignancy.

Testosterone is an antagonist to estrogens like estradiol which helps regulate their growth, but it may explain the link between low testosterone levels and greater risk of prostate cancer.

We know that men are being exposed to hidden sources of estrogen from the environment and part of that is down to the increased obesity we are seeing in the general population, but specifically in men as testosterone can be converted into estradiol via the hormone aromatase – which is found in higher concentrations in fat tissue.

I have certainly written before, and at length, about the dangers of estrogen-mimicking chemicals such as bisphenol-A  (found in many plastics),heavy metals heavy metals including aluminium, chromium (Cr(II)), cobalt, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, selenite, and tin.  Also foods such as soy that contain high levels of phytoestrogens are able to mimic the action of natural estrogens and so are capable of disrupting their cellular receptor sites.

The other route that is taken by estrogen into the male body is through the water supply which, since the introduction of the Pill and HRT on such a huge scale, is able to pass into the water table affecting both men and women.  Also, if you are interested it is not just humans that are being affected because as far back as 2003 Western Washington scientists reported they had found that synthetic estrogen — a common ingredient in oral contraceptives — can drastically reduce the fertility of male rainbow trout.

They were being found at levels that can harm fish, and showing up in waterways nationwide from rivers, lakes and Puget Sound with water from sewage-treatment plants.

Using data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer and the United Nations World Contraceptive Use report, which spanned 100 countries, researchers analyzed rates of prostate cancer and prostate cancer deaths, as well as oral contraceptive use among women.

The report concluded that the areas with a high rate of oral contraceptive use also had a high rate of prostate cancer. In addition, the researchers speculated that higher environmental levels of estrogen — and by implication, higher cumulative estrogen exposures in men — may be to blame.

What’s wrong with synthetic hormones?

Where shall I start? They didn’t research HRT but I imagine the picture would be similar as both medicines work by releasing estrogen and progestin into a woman’s body, but the major problem is that synthetic estrogen and progestins do not biodegrade as rapidly as the natural hormones.  This means they are harder to remove through conventional water purification systems – resulting in greater accumulation in the environment.

This study does not provide ‘proof’ but it does provide food for thought as it did find a significant association between the two that deserves further investigation. Particularly given what already know about the role of oestrogen dominance’s (excess oestrogen) role in a wide range of cancers.

What Can Men Do?

The first step is to monitor testosterone levels to ensure they are adequate, given that lower levels carry a greater risk for prostate cancer.

Secondly, though rather more drastic, is to ensure that your water supply is as clean as possible by installing a good three stage whole house water filter for contamination removal:

• Stage one removes sediment
• Stage two removes chlorine and heavy metals
• Stage three should be a heavy-duty carbon filter for removing hormones, drug residues, chemicals, pesticides, and herbicides

Dietary considerations include eating organic as much as possible and increasing the amount of foods that support prostate health.  These include fruit and vegetables rich in vitamins, carotenoids, and particularly lycopene.  Of all the carotenoids, animal studies have shown that lycopene accumulates in the prostate of male animals and is probably true for the human male too.

Best foods to combat prostate cancer are tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli and green tea.  Reducing carbohydrate intake from sugar and grains, maintaining a healthy weight and avoiding processed meat, pasteurized dairy products, and trans fats as they are all linked to an increased risk for prostate cancer.

Oh and a healthy, regular sex life reduces the risk as well because men need regular exercise, especially as they get older, and this includes regular sex twice a week.  This promotes male health because when a man does not have regular sexual activity, the sperm and other fluids must be reabsorbed into his body which apparently can  eventually cause immunological issues.

It is only anecdotal and not subject to any research unfortunately, but there have been reports of men using bioidentical natural progesterone to counteract their increased oestrogen production and Dr Shirley Bond’s article here may shed more light on that here:

http://www.bio-hormone-health.com/2011/11/28/why-men-too-can-be-oestrogen-dominant/

She recently reviewed material in a journal published by the Association for Psychological Science, that discusses the theories and findings that are starting to fill what Glynn calls “a significant gap in our understanding of this critical stage of most women’s lives.”

Certainly at no other time in a woman’s life does she experience such massive hormonal fluctuations as during pregnancy. Progesterone levels for instance rise dramatically and current research suggests that the reproductive hormones may ready a woman’s brain for the demands of motherhood by helping her become less rattled by stress and more attuned to her baby’s needs.

We know that progesterone normally has the effect of helping balance moods so that certainly seems logical, although the hypothesis remains untested. Glynn has theorized that this might be why a mother wakes up when the baby stirs while the father sleeps on – on the other hand it could be just that they know they are the only one who is going to respond to that urgent demand while their partners carry on snoring!

Other studies confirm the truth in a common complaint of pregnant women: that of impaired memory before and after birth. “There may be a cost” of these reproduction-related cognitive and emotional changes, says Glynn, “but the benefit is a more sensitive, effective mother.”  She doesn’t mention the sheer tiredness factor, which I would have thought, also came into play.

It is a given that the mother’s health and attitude during pregnancy will permanently affects her foetus, but new science suggests that the foetus also does the same for the mother. Foetal movement, even when the mother is unaware of it, raises her heart rate and her skin conductivity, signals of emotion — and perhaps of pre-natal preparation for mother-child bonding. Foetal cells pass through the placenta into the mother’s bloodstream and Glynn is researching whether those cells are attracted to certain regions in the brain and so affect her nervous system functions.

Most research on the maternal brain has been conducted with rodents, whose pregnancies differ enormously from women’s so this needs to be researched on real live human mothers but any pregnant woman will recognize the similarity in the mental states she is describing to those experienced during those nine months.

1           What is Osteoporosis?

At its simplest, it is a condition where your bones are weak and more likely to fracture if you have a fall, sometimes also called brittle bone disease.

2          What is Osteopenia?

Osteopenia is the term used to describe the state of your bones if they are not as strong as they should be.  If left untreated it can develop into osteoporosis.

3          Why are my bones not as strong as they should be?

There are many reasons for this and you should discuss the problem with either your GP or practitioner. Some of the reasons relate to past problems but there may also be factors affecting your bones at the present time.

4          Can anything be done about either of these problems?

Yes. Both osteoporosis and osteopenia can be treated and your bone strength can be improved. Slowing the breakdown of old bone and building up new strong bone does this.

5          How do I do this?

There are three important things that you have to consider if you want to improve your bones. These are:-

a)         Taking supplements to ensure that your bones have the nutrients they need to make strong new bone.

b)         Doing some weight bearing exercise.

c)         Checking that your hormone balance is favourable for the building up of new bone

6          What supplements do I need?

It is often thought that bones only need calcium and vitamin D, this is not correct. Bones need many nutrients.

Protein (balanced with fat and carbohydrate) and non-acidic vitamin C to build up the framework on which the solid bone is deposited.

Calcium is needed but it must be combined with an equal amount of magnesium, otherwise the bones cannot use the calcium properly and it may be deposited in joints and arteries. (you need about 800mgs of each per day)

Boron, zinc and silica are also needed in small amounts.

Vitamin D and K are also needed, as are Omega 3 Fatty acids (about 1000mgms per day)

7          What constitutes weight-bearing exercise?

This can of course be weight-bearing exercise in a gym under guidance, however any exercise that puts impact through your bones is effective. Examples of this are tennis, dancing, skipping, walking briskly with a weighted back pack and yoga.

Any exercise is beneficial if it keeps you supple and thus less likely to fall and have an accident.

8          What hormone balance is needed for my bones?

A great deal is talked about oestrogen and healthy bones but all oestrogen can do is slow bone breakdown, it cannot help build up new strong bone. If oestrogen is taken to slow bone breakdown the problem is that the bone only stays there while you take the oestrogen. If you stop taking the oestrogen you lose all the retained bone. A further problem is that even if you keep taking oestrogen over time, this retained bone becomes old and brittle.

The hormone that helps to build up new strong bone is progesterone. Not to be confused with the chemical progestogen found in the contraceptive pill and HRT

Progesterone can be used as a trans-dermal cream and combined with the supplements and some exercise will build up new strong bone.

9          Will my GP prescribe drugs for osteoporosis ?

Your GP may well prescribe a mixture of a high dose of calcium with vitamin D for you. We have already discussed the supplements that you should take for bone health and calcium on its own with just vitaminD is not sufficient.

10 What about the drugs that slow bone breakdown?

These can be useful if you have severe osteoporosis but the problem is the same as with oestrogen. They only have an effect while you take them but this is reversed when you stop and the retained bone becomes old and brittle. They also have  side effects and Fosamax has been linked to increased femur fractures.

Summary:

The most important thing to remember if you are found to have either osteopenia or osteoporosis is that there is no need to panic. New strong bone can be built up and your bones can be improved. It is not just a case of preventing the condition from worsening.

This is only a limited number study for her dissertation but in her sample she found that women who don’t suffer from mood changes prior to menstruation are more sensitive to allopregnanolone immediately afterwards and less sensitive before.  On the other hand, sensitivity to allopregnanolone in women who suffer from severe PMS who have pronounced mood shifts before every period is the exact opposite: these women are more sensitive before than after.

Her conclusion is that this may mean that they have less ability to adapt to hormonal variations prior to menstruation.  It is not clear what causes this, but it may be that these women have an altered function in one of the brain’s signal substance system, the so-called GABA system. The researchers are able to monitor this by monitoring the speed of eye movements when the subject follows a moving point of light.  In the study the women were given allopregnanolone in doses to those normally seen during pregnancy. A fatiguing effect was recorded in the form of slower eye movement and increased feeling of tiredness.

Sadly this does not yet provide us with the information that could help relieve symptoms of PMS but if you wish to know more then there is an excellent series of articles by Dr Tony Coope – of which the first one is here: http://www.bio-hormone-health.com/2010/06/22/premenstrual-syndrome-pms/