By: Janet Isherwood
A place for seniors and their families to speak out, share stories and ask questions.
Margaret Willson from Osteoporosis Canada sends in:
Debunking common myths about
osteoporosis
1. Osteoporosis isn’t a serious disease; it’s an inevitable part of aging.
While some bone loss does occur as people age, many individuals lose a lot of bone mass, very quickly, within a few years. This may result in osteoporosis, where bones become fragile and can easily break. The consequences of the disease can be severe, including pain, disability, loss of independence and even death. Simple daily activities, such as vacuuming, putting out the garbage or lifting a child, can result in a broken bone. Spinal fractures cause pain, loss of height, reduced mobility and a stooped posture. Hip fractures can result in death or disability and nursing home care.
2. Osteoporosis is a woman’s disease.
Although it is more common in women, osteoporosis is a serious health issue for men. At least one in eight men over 50 suffers from osteoporosis. According to a Canadian study of healthy men and women, the number of broken bones (fractures) of the spine is similar in men and women over the age of 50. With age, men experience multiple vertebral fractures. As with women, the cause appears to be osteoporosis. Elderly men account for almost 30 per cent of hip fracture cases. Men are more likely to die after a hip fracture than women. Fractures (broken bones) in both men and women often lead to significant physical and emotional problems.
3. I’m young; I do not have to worry about osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis has been referred to as a paediatric disease with geriatric consequences. During childhood and adolescence, we have the opportunity to build bone that will last us the rest of our lives; bone building actually peaks at age 16 for women and age 20 for young men. Building strong, dense bones when young may be one of the best ways to reduce the risk of osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures later in life.
4. I’m healthy, eat all the right things, and exercise regularly; therefore, I’m not at risk.
Although a balanced diet, rich in calcium and vitamin D, and regular physical activity are critical strategies for reducing the risk of osteoporosis, there are other significant risk factors that individuals must be aware of. These include:
o Family history of osteoporotic fracture (especially if your mother had a hip fracture)
o Long-term (more than 3 months continuously) use of glucocorticoid therapy such as prednisone, often used to treat such conditions as rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, colitis, and obstructive pulmonary disease
o Medical conditions (such as celiac disease, Crohn’s disease) that inhibit absorption of nutrients
o Hypogonadism (low testosterone in men, loss of menstrual periods in younger women)
o Early menopause (before age 45)
o Excess caffeine, excess alcohol and smoking
5. It’s too late for me to do anything.
It is never too late to take steps to slow or stop further bone loss. Lifestyle changes – increasing calcium and vitamin D intake if these have been inadequate, becoming more physically active, reducing salt intake, stopping smoking – or taking medications for osteoporosis if appropriate and as prescribed by a doctor can all help to maintain, and even increase, bone density well into our senior years.
Lessons of life:
I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I’ve aged I’ve become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself.
I’ve become my own friend. I don’t chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn’t need, but looks so avante garde on my patio.
I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant. I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.
Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM? or sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60 & 70’s, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love…I will.
I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set. They, too, will get old.
I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things.
Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody’s beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion? A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.
I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.
As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think… I don’t question myself anymore. I’ve even earned the right to be wrong.
So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be.
I look forward to speaking with you all again next month. Let’s talk, mail your comments to:
cozycornernews@gmail.com
Cozy Corner P.O. Box
1196 Metrotown RPO
Burnaby B.C. V5H 4J8