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Question: Bone meds?
Bone meds?
I love all the interaction we have discussed here. I think it says a lot for us that we can take active part in the decisions about our treatment. And we don't have to just sit by and take pills, we can walk, and exercise, and eat healthy, and all kinds of pro-active things! Honestly, I think I can hear Helen Reddy singing, "I Am Woman...." right now! (lol!)
I had my first DEXA in Nov. 2015, half an hour before my first radiation treatment--a month before starting letrozole. It showed preexisting osteopenia. I have GERD, so an oral bisphosphonate was not an option. But, according to a consulting endocrinologist, neither was "doing nothing." Weightbearing exercise was okay but ballistic (running, jogging, jump-rope, impact aerobics) was not, as I have bilateral knee implants. I wanted Prolia, but Medicare Part B & supplement said it was a "drug" and wouldn't cover it, and Part D said it was a "facility-administered treatment" and punted back to Part B. Out of pocket, it'd have been >$4K per shot twice a year for 3 years.
So I got one Zometa (Reclast) infusion, which was a nightmare: trouble finding a vein, painful with each click of the infusion pump, and then 3 days of a "faux-flu," spiking a 103F fever at one point with several days of foot neuropathy.
But a couple of months later, Medicare reversed course, saying it would cover it for breast cancer patients taking an aromatase inhibitor and diagnosed with osteopenia. So I had my series of 6 Prolia shots over 3 years--with no side effects and at no cost to me. My Jan. 2018 DEXA showed slight improvement; and in Mar. 2020 (just before the pandemic shut down elective procedured), one reading (an upper arm) was within the "normal" range. We'll see what Mar.-Apr. 2022 shows.
I was quite nervous about the spectre of ONJ, but I did not have any extractions or dental implants done. An upper central incisor abscess made that tooth, which protruded, a bit "wiggly," but root canal fixed that--and my dentist referred me to an orthodontist, in order to straighten my upper teeth and thus stablize them. So I had Invisaligns--at age 68! I'm 70, and still faithfully wear my clear retainer. Geriatric orthodontia helped me keep my teeth (knock wood).
Should also mention I've not returned to the gym since first needing arm/wrist surgery in 2018 (shoe-malfunction fall) and then the pandemic shutdown. I'm afraid to. I just walk when I can and carry heavy grocery bags when I need to.
Get ready for Pumpkin season! These porch crows, made of recycled tine, are my favorite birthday present this year. I can hardly wait to display them with big orange pumpkins. the down side is: my cat is afraid of them!
MarcieB, I see I missed seeing some comments (no Digest). I guess I’ll have to look at people’s walls, at least until (maybe maybe) we get the daily Digest, or even start seeing questions posted under Questions!
This is so interesting (not to mention frustrating!). I got a digest today too, but it did not include a link to my post - did you gals get notification of my post on your digest? I only got news of a new person, but she did not ask anything specific - just her experience ratings.
Maybe the trick is for one of us to post something everyday and see if that is what spurs the digest?
Hi, Bookinhand! I am late in responding, but I am glad to know you have found our site, it really is very helpful.I am assuming, from your name, you are a reader? Most of us are also avid readers. At the beginning of every month Carool posts a "What are you reading?" question and it's fun to read the response. it sounds like you are finished or almost finished with treatment? I hope you are feeling good. I remember being very anxious for my sense of taste to return. I thought it would NEVER happen, but, of course, it did.
Marcie, good luck tomorrow. Please let us know how everything went. Hugs.
