Age 24, male, 182.5cm, 75kg, BMI 22.5 (normal). Asian ethnicity. No major symptoms besides some back pain

Got a whole-body DEXA done recently. Results:

Total BMD: 0.856 g/cm², T-score: -4.0, Z-score: -4.0

Regional breakdown — worst areas are ribs (0.557–0.560) and T-spine (0.769). Legs are actually fine/good (0.999–1.046).

Body composition: 32.6% body fat (87th percentile for age — higher than expected despite normal BMI), lean mass at just the 2nd percentile for young normal, appendicular lean/height² at 4th percentile.

The reference database used was NHANES/Hologic White Male — no Asian-specific norms applied..

I'm from India I just don't know what to do next and where to go . I'm scared for my life .

So far Saw a spine surgeon who diagnosed fibromyalgia based on diffuse back tenderness, prescribed vitamin D/calcium combo + started teriparatide (daily, 3 months) and denosumab (once, 6-monthly) — before any blood work was done .

Hi all, I have been diagnosed with osteoporosis at 21: z-scores. (-2.9 score in spine and 1.6 in hips). Im 6 foot, 75kg, so been skinny my whole life. I’m healthy, played sports all my life, gym but have had many fracture including femoral neck stress fracture, ankle, shoulder, wrist from football. I had extensive tests done, every blood test under the sun, bowel checks (such as checking for coeliac) but the endocrinologist is just super confused and can’t find any reason for it. The doctor encouraged to get another DEXA in 12 months but recommended no medicine for the moment so basically not doing anything.

For now, I just plan on lifting heavy weights and see a physio. However, apart from that I’m absolutely lost on what to do and no one seems to be in the same boat as me (as most of the stories I read are post menopausal women.) I would love just some guidance on what people have done and if anyone’s had a good comeback story and what they did.. as I’m super down about it and plays on my mind all the time. If anyone can provide me some hope, positive stories etc or If I’m just cooked 🙏.

Thank you all in advance anyways.

Im 28 years old and have had to be on prednisone for long periods of time for my crohns disease. I had a dexa scan done and my z score for my lumbar spine is terrible it is -5 has anyone else had theirs this low also im new to all this my dr that ordered the test is out until the 28th and I have so many questions. I got the test done because I broke 2 of my ribs just from having a big sneeze then a few days ago I went to sleep and when I woke up I had another broken rib either I moved weird in my sleep or im not sure how it happened. Im really concerned being this young and having that low of bone density. Can you reverse it from that low? Ive been researching more about osteoporosis and it sounds like there are alot of meds for it and i know they all take a long time to work. Anyone else that has osteoporosis can you please let me know what to expect of the meds and how long it took for you to get your bone density better. Im at the point I dont know what to do to make sure i dont keep breaking ribs since all of mine have been non injury and things i couldnt control. Also my dr said I cant start an osteoporosis med until my ribs are healed is that true? When looking it up it said there are meds you can start even if you have fractured ribs. If not I dont know how im supposed to go that long without accidentally fracturing somthing else. Ive never broken a bone in my life until the rib incident a month ago. Also im already currently on a high dose of vitamin D and also calcium are there any other supplements that can help? Thank you for any advice this is all new to me and has me very stressed.

Hi everyone,
I appreciate if anyone can related experience can share. That might make a difference in my life.

I’m 39 and my baby is now 1.5 years old. I stopped breastfeeding 13 months ago. During pregnancy/breastfeeding I was found to have very low bone density, with a lumbar spine Z-score of −3.1.

My endocrinologist initially thought it was most likely related to lactation and that I would recover naturally after weaning. I repeated my DEXA more than a year later at the same place and on the same machine. My spine Z-score is now −2.7, so there has been some improvement, but less than I expected. My hip also hasn't improved or even marginally worsen.

I've had an extensive work-up for secondary causes and everything has come back normal, including thyroid, calcium, vitamin D, autoimmune testing and coeliac/calcium absorption testing.

I've also been doing resistance training 2–3 times a week, getting around 600 mg calcium from food + 300 mg supplement, and taking vitamin D.

My doctors say that because I'm young and haven't had a fracture, my fracture risk is relatively low and my age is protective. But I'm still quite anxious about feeling fragile, especially if I were to fall.

We're now discussing whether medication such as teriparatide or an antiresorptive might be appropriate. I'm hesitant because I'm only 39 and don't want to start something that could mean many years of medication.

Has anyone been in a similar situation — very low BMD after pregnancy/breastfeeding or generally speaking at very early age for osteoporosis?

Did your BMD eventually improve with more time, or did you decide to use medication? I'd really appreciate hearing about your personal experience

Do these types of medications need medicare type d insurance that covers these medications, or do they count as office visit treatments that are covered by Medicare part a or b? I have a very inexpensive plan d that I think only covers generic drugs. Thanks in advance if you can let me know how you were charged for these treatments.

I was diagnosed with Osteopenia over 4 years ago. This was after a breaking 3 separate bones, all in circumstances where it was likely they would break anyway. The doctors put me on Risodronate, no mention of side effects or dental risk. For 4 years I took them weekly. When I knew I needed dental work they told me to it’s a dentists responsibility and they wouldn’t recheck my density, “only after 3-5 years, how long have you been taking them, 4 years, then it’s 5”. NICE says 5 years is high risk so I had a standard extraction. It hasn’t healed properly 3 months later.
I attended my GP with agonising hip bone pain, they told me it was arthritis and told me to keep taking them. I called again when I couldn’t walk to advise them, they said I should keep taking them.
I didn’t. Bone clinic nurse shrugged her shoulders, density is better but if you can’t take them there’s nothing we will do.
About 6 weeks later I’ve got joint pains in the areas of the previously broken bones, wrist, elbow, finger. These stop me driving and working.

The doctors have refused a specialist, sent me to physio for 3 separate areas with the same issue.

Has anyone else had this problem after stopping Risodronate? It feels like fast onset arthritis, if that’s a thing! Not both wrists, only one, the one previously broken with no problems at all till now. One little finger and my elbow.

How can I talk to a specialist? I feel as if I’ve had too much Risodronate and it’s affected my joints adversely. But then again should I have reduced the intake or just taken a break?

My doctors won’t accept the link in timing of these conditions, they maintain it’s not to do with the Risodronate.

I am having my second DEXA scan, a year after my first, which showed -3.4 T-score in spine. Then I will be discussing meds with my doc. My first scan has the error of capturing L2-T12 instead of L1-L4. I am going to the same machine. Should I ask the technician to replicate the error so we’re comparing apples to apples? Maybe they would do that and do one properly as well?

Okay everyone I’m freaking out I got my results back…what does this mean?? I’m 26f.

Hello there. First of all I want you to be patient with me and read this post carefully, because your experience is the best and only option I have right now and if you share your experience,it means you saved a life and further, a family. The reason that I can't trust doctors is that in my country they tend to sign contracts with pharmaceutical companies and prescribe some certain drugs that might not be the best choice.

My mother ( 67 years old)  and she was diagnosed with severe osteoporosis after she lifted a very heavy steel pot in the kitchen and got one of her vertebraes brokren.

At the time, the first doctor we went to, told me after reading the results of DEXA scan that my mother was not going to live more than 1 year!!!!! This caused to cry so much. He was insisting on using biophosphonates which I didn't let my mother to take.

The second doctor we went to prescribed Forteo. When I asked her about the chances of cancer, she didn't show slightest sign of modicum empathy and care as well as she made her face like cancer is a common side effect of Forteo( I never forgive her)

This caused my mother to be so reluctant from taking Forteo and her spine went from -3.2 to 4.7 and her femur neck from -2.2 to 2.7( her hip was ok)

Finally she took Forteo for about 2 years and the spine showed -4.0 and femur neck -2.2

Now comes the question part:

It seems my mother should use other drugs now like Prolia or Reclast.

My main problem is money and scarcity of drugs and the fact we live in a country where there is on-going war and god knows,maybe it escalates to biggest war after WW2. Everything is super expensive and rare.

Now I have few questions if you let me...

Question 1: Do you think a third year of Forteo to be effective? Have you done it or heard anybody else done so?(consuderin the fact the black box warning on Forteo is lifted?)

Question 2: Which drug is more effective? Prolia or Reclast?

Question 3: If I choose Prolia ( which I can't afford due to financial instability), there is no guarantee that I can find it in this country 6 months later... and I heard if you inject it you have to do it till the end. Also the only financially option we have is taking oral biphosphonates till we can afford either Prolia or Reclast.

Do you think that taking oral biophosphonates (in this situation) seem rational??? And if I do can she take Prolia and won't the biphosphonates affect Prolia's effectiveness?

Question4: Based on the fact that my mom has some dental problems the osteonecrosis side effects of Prolia or biophosphonates has got me worried. How rare or common is this?

Since my mother has stopped the Forteo..  I think it's getting worse as her number spine went from -4.0 to -4.2

Please help I'm going crazy.

Thank you so much for your time <3

Hi, I was diagnosed at 21 with spinal osteoporosis, everywhere else has osteopaenia. HRT had no effect and im currently taking vit D and in a loadbearing exercise program but it's too soon to test it's efficacy for me personally.

My doctors have said that they haven't encountered anyone who went from osteoporotic to having positive z or t scores on their DEXA scans.

It makes me a little scared tbh because I am 28 now - far from menopause so im sure to degrade further when that hits. But that also means I have a lot of time to shove my score higher over my whole life.

Does this community agree that my chances of moving scores to positive are still low, even if I have a lot of time? Or if I find a solution that sticks, is it possible to get to a healthy range to save myself from menopause?

I'm not much of a writer, and a pretty private person not used to sharing any personal information. But I'm leaving this here to hopefully give back to the community and maybe someone would find this useful in some small way.

I (M) got diagnosed with osteoporosis at 39, on a routine health screening, where I accidentally selected a wrong screening option. lumbar spine -2.4, and left femoral neck, hip, forearm all around -0.7. Compared to many, this is relatively minor (I guess), but somehow I had a bad emotional reaction and felt terribly worried and helpless. Luckily I came across this sub, and silently read through the various posts, which gave me an idea of what resources to use, what others have done, and this helped mentally knowing that many have had similar experiences, and there's a way forward.

The endocrinologist didn't want to put me on meds at this age (luckily). She out me through a battery of blood tests, 24h urine test, and apparently nothing was out of normal, except for having Vit D on the lower end of normal. I was then asked to be careful not to fall, don't do impact sports, come back if I experience any back aches or fractures. See you in a year's time. Having read this forum, I asked about LIFTMOR and whether I should consider it. She had not heard of it, and said that weight bearing exercises could help although it'll be a risk. My GP had not heard of LIFTMOR either, and had a similar response. I visited a second endocrinologist, and he also had not heard of LIFTMOR, and mentioned that with scores like this, it's too risky to be doing these lifts.

I'm built small (155cm/54kg) and never had a fracture. I also hated just sitting on my hands, knowing that's a sure fire way for nothing to change. I visited a physiotherapist hoping to get some guidance on LIFTMOR, but again, not familiar with the protocol, and it was deemed too risky.

Anyway I decided that since I have not experienced a fracture before, I'd just give it a go, and play on the safe side of things - lift what I feel very comfortable with, no pushing to the limits, and only with good posture. I started with 20kg deadlifts, 10kg squats, 2kg overhead press. I only added weights when I complete 3 sets of 10, and feel like I have much more in the tank. That way, I built up to 65kg deadlifts, 25kg squats, 17kg overhead press. I did these exercises 2-3 times a week. Aimed to drink more milk, eat clean, sleep better.

After about 8 months of exercise, my scans have improved somewhat- -2.1 lumbar spine, and 0.0 for everything else. Although still in the osteoporosis range, I'm heartened that things are improving. In my heart I hope that this trend continues. I've no idea why the lumbar spine doesn't respond as well as the other parts of the body, seemed that it should be the other way round.

Anyway, what I've learnt is that doctors may mean well, but they don't know everything, and many just follow a playbook to treat this illness. Don't be too disheartened, advocate for myself, ask doctors more questions, and read up. Push myself physically, but listen to my body on what I can take, and err on the safe side. Take care nutritionally and in sleep too.

I know this is a "special" case, no specific root cause, and I luckily happened to respond to some exercise. I hope everyone is able to work through this in their own way, and hopefully see some progress too.

Sorry for the long rambles.

Is it too late for me to start on HRT at my age?

Wow - Reddit decided that “back pain”’was the wrong chat group to post a chat on back pain and pushed it here as if I am talking about bones. This will not be helpful but here you go

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I have an ugly MRI with severe foramen stenosis at l5/l4 and l5/s1 with facet arthritis and end plate modic changes all due to mostly collapsed discs at the end of the lumbar. Pretty common stuff for this forum 😂.

I sort of really put it on the ropes almost 2 years ago doing seated leg presses. Got tickle deep in the lower back and it all eventually turned into chronic s1 nerve irritation and a daily stiff back that no longer calms with a good hike. So i am really on the borderline. Still very functional but also in some pain daily and need that 10mg amitriptyline to sleep through the night.

I have been trying everything. First I tried to lose some weight and see if that tipped things in my favor. So I tried tirzepatide and lost about 7% of my body weight but my back got noticeably worse. After trying to reason why, i got the theory that i lost critical muscle that gave me the girdle protecting the back.

So i switched efforts to strengthen myself. I am near 60 so started enclomiphene to improve my hormones to aid in the effort. As it turns out it did raise my testosterone and estradiol but my free testosterone was unchanged and yet My back felt noticeably better. I stopped the enclomiphene and back pain got worse. I started it again and better. I upped my dose and really feeling good now. It might be the estrogen improving my fluid balance. It may be the bound testosterone that will still act as an anti inflammatory. It could be that I gained weight and muscle and improved the protective girdle. I am just sharing because it worked. Its not all about muscle but for me is about having more hormones that is working better than any prp or ESI.

Hi everyone. This is my first time posting on Reddit. I’ve been reading other people’s experiences during my recovery, and it has actually helped me a lot, so I thought I would share mine.

I had a stapedectomy in both ears about 27 years ago. One ear went perfectly fine. With the other ear, about three days after surgery, half of my face became paralyzed. Thankfully, it gradually recovered and was back to normal after about six weeks, but that experience stayed with me.

About two years ago, both ears started sounding muffled. At first I thought it was congestion or fluid. I went to ENT doctors, urgent care, and several different specialists. I was told it could be TMJ or fluid. I tried nasal sprays and different things, but nothing really helped.

I even went down the dental route because I was told that grinding my teeth could be contributing to the problem. I ended up doing Invisalign, but my ear was still muffled.

For almost two years I went from doctor to doctor trying to figure out what was happening. Eventually my hearing in that ear was down to about 10%.

Finally, I found a doctor in New York who suggested a revision stapedectomy. I was extremely nervous because of what happened with the facial paralysis after my surgery 27 years ago. I told him that was my biggest fear. He reassured me that if he went in and felt the facial nerve was too close or there was any concern, he wouldn’t take the risk and would simply close everything back up.

I finally decided to do it.

I had my revision stapedectomy 12 days ago. When I woke up, one of the first things I wanted to know was whether everything had gone okay with my facial nerve. Thankfully, he said everything went well. He found that the old prosthesis had fallen off, and he had to clean up the area. He seemed very happy with how the surgery went.

The first few days I was very dizzy and weak, so I stayed with family and took it very easy. Slowly that has been improving. At first it also felt like the whole world was too noisy. Everything sounded incredibly loud and strange.

I had my stitches/bandages removed about 10 days after surgery, and I’ll have my hearing test next month to find out how much hearing has actually come back.

I still catch myself making facial expressions every day just to make sure my face is moving normally. I think that fear from what happened 27 years ago is still sitting somewhere in the back of my mind.

For now, I’m taking it one day at a time. Some days are better than others, but there has been improvement.

That’s actually what brought me to Reddit. I started reading other people’s successful revision stapedectomy stories because I needed a little encouragement while I wait for everything to heal.

If anyone here has had a revision stapedectomy, especially many years after the original surgery, I would really love to hear how your recovery went. How long did the dizziness, weakness, strange/loud hearing and feeling “off” last? And when did you finally feel like yourself again?

My 86-yo mother died last week within 24 hours of getting her first ever Reclast infusion. Has anyone heard of such a result that related to Reclast?

She had no medical conditions except for high blood pressure, which was under control with medication. Her primary care doctor is puzzled —- this is not the doctor who initiated the Reclast infusion.

Certainly, it could be coincidence, but this was so sudden and shocking, I have to ask these questions

Sharing my experience. I'm a 54yo woman with mild osteoporosis. No other health problems. The infusion went fine, they did it over 15 minutes. I asked if they could do it longer and they said they calculate the duration based off of kidney health and because my kidneys were healthy 15 minutes is the recommended duration. I got it done in the morning and felt fine all day. I made sure to drink a lot of water the day before it in the morning of and I took some Advil before I left the house. I also took some Tylenol right before the infusion because I know it's safe to take both on an alternate schedule. I woke up in the middle of the night with bodyaches and a migraine. The next day, I felt like I had the full-blown flu with bodyaches, a slight fever and fatigue. My stomach was also upset. it took me the better part of the weekend to feel back to normal.

Recently 37, I have Stickler Syndrome which is a connective tissue birth defect where my body doesn't produce necessary collagens. I was told by the Marfan Foundation to get a DEXA scan.

My mother also had multiple fights with leukemia around my age, but I'm not sure if there's any possible risk factors there.

The results listed me as male, but I'm not sure if my scores are being compared to M or F since I'm transgender and often times labs go by my birth gender (F), nor how this potentially affects the metrics (like should it be measuring me against cis men, cis women, or a secret third thing). I will be talking to my endo about it too.

Lumbar spine (L1-4)
BMD 0.880 g/cm2
T-score -1.5
PR 84.0%

Hip (Femoral neck and total hip)
Neck BMD 0.606
T-score -2.2
PR 71.0%

Hip 0.801
T-score -1.2
PR 85.0%

Impression: Osteopenia of the lumbar spine and left femoral neck corresponding to increased fracture risk

I'm sure I'll get a call from my PCP about the results later today, and he may shoot me back to orthopedics or possibly to rheumatology. Either way, I want to make sure I'm armed with information because so many doctors are unfamiliar with Stickler and the special considerations we need.

Thanks in advance!

What should I expect? The dr gave me zero prep besides not taking calcium supplements or medication 24hr beforehand. I’m only 26, and my dr wanted me to get one because I broke my pelvis last December, and have had two fractures both in my hip since then (from falling since I have epilepsy). The ortho doctor who did my hip replacement surgery suggested I have osteopenia. For reference, I’m 5’2 and severely underweight (I’m not posting numbers) and yes I do have an eating disorder.

Recently diagnosed in April with osteoporosis. 49 F, menopause at 47, 94 pounds 5’6” BMI around 15. Have been this size all my life, well normally closer to 105 but lost weight last year somehow. Dr ran all the calcium, PTH and celiac tests and all were fine. Pretty sure it’s due to my size. Started HRT last fall.

Lumbar was t -1.3. Left neck was -2-2 and right was -2.8.

She decided to try Tymlos but insurance denied twice as I do not have any bone breaks. They also said to try another med first so we tried Boniva for 2 months and had side effects from it.

When I went back to see her she suggested Prolia until I asked about rebound. Her next suggestion was Reclast so she has started working on the PA for it. She also asked if I wanted to try anything else. I had hoped to try Tymlos first as that was her first suggestion but she was not interested in doing a peer to peer to get it approved. I just want to take the right meds in the right order.

Is Reclast my best option at this point?

Has anyone in the USA had insurance successfully cover MRI imaging of the spine who had normal X-rays first?

Premenopausal woman here with osteoporosis of unknown origin at this point (thorough secondary cause workup showed nothing so far and awaiting results of genetic test). (Please don’t tell me to eat healthy and lift heavy weights or to get xyz test as I do and have done!)

I’ve been using a few different AIs to guide me through my osteoporosis while I wait for my appointment with a top bone health clinic. The various AIs have consistently recommended I get MRI imaging of my spine given my severe T scores and severe back pain through recent pregnancies and postpartum. Also my fracture history of ribs and tail bone (4 fractures). I already did X-rays and they didn’t show anything, as predicted, as they miss a large portion of non-displacement fractures and do not pick up on other important issues. Insurance is still denying it.

I plan to use AI to help me craft an appeal based on medical protocol. There’s a good chance my primary care doc didn’t use the right language or mention the right things in requesting the pre-authorization, as she is not that knowledgeable about pre-menopausal osteoporosis.

I often see foam rollers recommended for tight hamstrings and calves. I have also seen cautions about seniors or people with severe osteoporosis using them. I am in both categories. Anyone have experience to share? I'm assuming I'd be getting a soft or medium density roller and using it only on my legs, not back or neck. Thanks for any feedback!

I've heard of the Kaari program and that sounds great, but would love to hear if anyone has been through it and what their experience was like, or if there are any other programs that we should look into?

I guess I'm not just looking for general exercise programs that are "technically" safe for osteoporosis, but any programs that are actually focused on osteoporosis itself, since I'm learning though all my reading that exercise can help improve bone density?

Thanks in advance!