Bone Loss Reversed 16 Months After Finishing AIs!
A ray of hope - I finished my 5 years of letrozole sixteen months ago. I had plus T values prior to dx, but after chemo and 2 years on letrozole I had mild osteopenia, and two years later it had gotten worse - still osteopenia, but heading towards osteoporosis. I had another DEXA scan last week. I was hoping, since I was off letrozole now, that things hadn't gotten worse, or at best, maybe had even improved just a bit. But I was astounded when I got my results this weekend and they showed that my bone density is now NORMAL!!! No more osteopenia!!! Woohoo!!!!!
My MO has me on calcium and Vit D, and I exercise an average of 6 days a week, including weight training, yoga, pilates, and running, so I think those things helped as well.
This was such unexpected good news - not something that happens often with anything b/c related. I'll be 60 next year, and I'd just figured that at my age my osteopenia was permanent and the best I could do was try to stave off osteoporosis. I never dreamed it was possible to achieve normal density again!
Comments
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thats awesome! I never remember to take my calcium. Maybe now I will!
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This is so encouraging! Thanks for sharing.
MsP
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That is fantastic news! Thanks for sharing!
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Wow, I'm impressed.
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Hooray! My bone density, which had stayed in the normal range but had been dropping, went back up too after I was done with Arimidex. I think it is really important to keep up with the exercise, calicium, vitamin D etc. to minimize the damage while on anti-hormonals , and that you a better chance to rebound once you are done!
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nice! So good to hear.
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YAY!!!
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Fantastic news. So happy you are doing so well. I have 2 years to go.
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We are delighted to hear the good news Natsfan!
You're giving hope to others who are in similar situations, so thank you for sharing it!
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Hurrah! That's fantastic news!
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Excellent!
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Nats, I just copied your whole post on to the Arimidex thread. I was pretty sure you'd be okay with that, & it was nice to be able to pass some encouraging news along!
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Thanks Ruth. I remember how upset I was when each DEXA scan showed the osteopenia getting worse. I wanted to give others who are facing this issue a concrete example that it's possible for bone loss to be reversed.
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Yay, NatsFan!!!!!
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Nats, my congrats to you! I have had a similar experience and do confess that I too am diligent with my calcium, Vit D and the dang gym!
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Thanks, Mary, and congrats! I finish year five of tamox next June and per onc will likely go on an AI. Good to read a positive note. Will get a baseline DEXA and keep on walking. ♥
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Thanks for posting, Mary. This is good news! I am 57 and 2 years into my 5 years on letrozole. Scan done right before treatment started showed good strong bones with all 3 readings well within the normal range. Eighteen months later, all 3 readings have shifted to the left on the scale, and 2 out of 3 showed a "significant reduction in bone density". All 3 readings are still considered "normal", but one of them is now right on the bubble between normal and osteopenia.
My MO said my BMD could get worse with time, so it's good to hear that re-establishing bone density is possible. I take my calcium and vitamin D and get my daily weight-bearing exercise in, so I am doing what I can on the front end to mitigate the damage. Hopefully I will see good results too once I come off letrozole.
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Bookworm - there have been no posts to this thread since 2014 so it's definitely inactive. Sounds like you're doing good things but you may not get a response.
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Thanks, MinusTwo. Yes, the moderators got in touch with me to point that out and suggested I start my own thread. I'll get the hang of this thing eventually.
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