OK, basically I’m trying to do some reasearch on osteoporosis because the doctors office called yesterday and left a message saying that the x-ray (she went in for extreme back pain) showed possible osteoporosis. They left this on the machine, so we didn’t have an opportunity to ask questions (irresponsible thing for the receptionist at the doctors office to do as far as I’m concerned).
So here are her stats:
Age: 27
Female
Caucasian
Taking Phenobarbital for epilepsy
Height: 5’4"
Weight: She won’t tell me
Now, in my research it seems that in order to show up on an x-ray it would be pretty advanced. Also, the phenobarbital seems to contribute as well.
She is going to make an appointment with the doctor, but I don’t even know what kind of questions she should ask. Also, I have no idea what treatments are available. She doesn’t know how this will affect having our second child (if it will at all). She is taking a calcium supplement already, but has increased the dosage slightly until she talks to the doctor.
I’m not even sure what questions I should be asking here, I just need to get some facts (which I can’t find anything but the same information over and over and it’s not much help).
I’m sure once people start talking I’ll be able to get a bit clearer on the topic.
Thanks, that medicinenet site did look pretty good.
She is extremely scared right now about the possiblity of needing to stop her medication. This is theoretically possible since she has been seizure free since she was a child, and never had an abnormal EEG (I think that’s the right abbreviation). The only downside is when she was 12 or 13 they tried to ween her from the medicine and she had a seizure.
All my hits were coming up with the fact that phenobarbital can contribute to epilepsy, but I can’t seem to find anymore information about possible ways to counteract that effect.
First thing, she should expect that the doctor may suggest a bone scan. This is a special x-ray type thing that shows bone density. If they’re just saying “possible” osteoporosis, it may not even be there. The m.d. may likely suggest re-scanning at regular intervals (yearly or every other year) if she is at particular risk.
All kinds of things are now possible that were not available when she was 12 or 13. I am not a doctor, but: It may be that she can be weaned off the pheno now with more success, or at least put on a lower dose. Body chemistry is often a lot different when you are a teenager. Or maybe there’s a different epilepsy treatment now. I’m sure that when she discusses this with her doctors, they will have other suggestions. In addition, there are other bone-building drugs out there that are new within the last couple of years.
My off-the-top-of-the-head guess (Remember, IANAD) is that she would be able to have additional child(ren) but that she will have to be very sure to get lots of calcium intake since as we know, pregnancy uses up a lot of that. One thing I’ve read is that it is better to take the calcium with a citrus beverage. It helps the calcium to be metabolized. Also that you should be sure of appropriate vitamin D for the same reason. I currently take 1200 units of calcium with vit. D. Ask the doctor what the right dose is for her.
After you look through all the info you can get, it will probably help everyone’s nerves if the two of you make up a list of topics you want information about. She may want you to be with her when they talk, both for emotional support and to help see to it that all the issues are brought up, and so that you can compare notes and be sure that you get the right information.
IANAD, but I had some post-traumatic osteoporosis in my leg after a severe bit of Fun with Fractures, and an associated looooong period of time where I was not allowed to bear weight on my leg, so I did quite a bit of reading on the subject. (Once I could bear weight on my leg, it reversed itself relatively quickly. One article I read said that it’s possible to lose up to 1/3 of one’s bone density within a few weeks if one is kept from bearing weight with that bone. Scary, no?)
I have no idea about the relationship between phenobarbital and osteoporosis, but this definitely sounds like an issue worth pursuing.
Things that help calcium absorption: Vitamin C, Vitamin D
Things that help bone density: calcium absorption, weight-bearing exercise
Also, there are some new drugs out there that prevent and/or reverse osteoporosis, but not all of them are appropriate for women of childbearing age and/or women who are pregnant or trying to conceive.
If you guys aren’t satisfied with the answers you get from her doc, see a specialist, maybe an orthopedist and preferably one who has some familiarity with issues of osteoporosis in young women as opposed to postmenopausal women.