<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

This is my fourth try to send this!  I'm not sure what is wrong!

I recently found out that I have osteopenia.  My husband wanted me to gain
weight and now I'm up to 118 pounds at 5' 2".   He wants me to gain more weight.
I should have mentioned that I'm 52 and post menopause.  I received a ton of
responses and a lot of information.

Everyone seems to agree that I don't need to gain any more weight.  Most people
said my weight is fine and that it would be OK if I lost some of it.  One person
said I'm probably too heavy.   Some high calorie foods are avacodos, nuts,
almonds, cashews and dried fruit.  A lot of people suggested that weight bearing
exercise will do more good than gaining weight.  One person said that it depends
on how you feel to decide what is the best weight.  I am feeling better since I
gained, so maybe that's a good sign.

One person asked if I have CD.  The answer is that I'll probably never know but
that I'm probably gluten intolerant and don't have full-blown celiac disease.

One person has osteoporosis and takes Actonel.  I have never heard of it.

A couple of people mentioned taking estrogen and high doses of Vitamin D.  A
couple of people who lost a lot of weight are still trying to gain.

I mentioned that I've been a vegetarian for over 20 years and that I was trying
to eat fish.  I had a lot of inflammation and decided to go back to being a
vegetarian.  One person said I could try other kinds of fish.  I am trying to
eat a little dairy.  It doesn't cause as many problems as the fish did.  One
person suggested Equate from Wal-Mart when I eat dairy.  I plan to get some.
Leafy green vegetables were recommended for calcium and minerals.

One person suggested the book Eat Right for Your Blood Type.  Another book that
was recommended was "Food and Our Bones" by Annemarie Calbin.

One person said I should avoid dairy.

After all this I just found out that my bone scan came back normal!  The
osteopenia did not show up.

Susanne


Some responses.

<My understanding is that the only reason weight helps is because it gives
more weight bearing work to your bones.  You can accomplish this in other
ways than gaining weight.  Also, fat cells hold or help make estrogen which
some think helps with osteo....  I think you'd be better off using a natural
progesterone and using soy products if you are able. Of course, I'm no
doctor.  I agree that being thin is nice.  There are other problems
associated with excess weight.  I would think you'd need to gain a
noticeable amount to do the weight bearing and estrogen things and who would
want to.>

Response from a doctor.

<I am a Family Physician with CD.  This is not a medical opinion, just a
friendly response; please confirm all information with your personal
physician.


I'd say your weight is OK.  CD patients need a little "buffering" but not a
lot.  Your body mass index is 21 which is fine.

Studies show that CD patients who go GF AND get adequate calcium & vitamin D
replacement will remineralize their skeletons.

If your bone density is 3 or 4 Standard Deviations below mean I might
reconsider--there are some potentially serious problems associated with
this.  Patients with severe bone loss can develop osteomalacia as well as
osteoporosis.  Osteomalacia is a loss of the protein infrastructure or
matrix of bone and you would need something like Fosamax to correct this.
Also some patients will get an overactive parathyroid and this needs to be
treated with vitamin D3, a special prescription, highly potent form of
vitamin D.  Your doctor will need to order a parathyroid hormone test as
well as an N-telopeptide test (urine) to check for these if you have severe
bone loss on your DEXA (bone density) scan.  You MUST have a DEXA if you
haven't had one.

If these aren't the case, I'd recommend 1500 (some say 2000) mg per day of
calcium + Vitamin D.  Health food store will have GF version.  I go to Whole
Foods store--wish I could remember the brand name--I'll check if you want.
I think it's KAL.  It also has Mg & Zn which tend to be low in CD & will
make you feel better.

Also, and don't underestimate this a bit--EXERCISE.  Don't do something
where you could fall & break a bone,  Brisk walking 30 minutes per day,
climb stairs, carry your own groceries, park at other end of the lot & walk,
etc, etc.

If you're anywhere close to menopause, you should discuss estrogen
replacement with your MD.>

More responses.

<I would ask your doctor if you should gain weight. More likely, you
should be 1) taking calcium/ Magnesium suplements 2) taking a multi
vitamin 3) eating good sources of calcium 4) doing WEIGHT BEARING
EXERCISE (get a personal trainer for a few sessions to teach you what to
do) 5) taking meds if your doc and and you think that is a good option
for you.  Check out the library and read up on the condition.

Good Luck!>

<I have osteopenia and have lost too much weight.  My doctor put me on 5 cans
of boost a day.>

<My understanding is that the only reason weight helps is because it gives
more weight bearing work to your bones.  You can accomplish this in other
ways than gaining weight.  Also, fat cells hold or help make estrogen which
some think helps with osteo....  I think you'd be better off using a natural
progesterone and using soy products if you are able. Of course, I'm no
doctor.  I agree that being thin is nice.  There are other problems
associated with excess weight.  I would think you'd need to gain a
noticeable amount to do the weight bearing and estrogen things and who would
want to.>