Osteopenia
I had my annual skeletal survey a few days ago. I have osteopenia! That wasn’t there last year. The doctor says it can be from the MM or from the steroids. I don’t have any other details, like where it is.
Osteopenia = decreased bone mineral density, but not as severe as osteoporosis.
From http://www.rad.washington.edu/mskbook/osteopenia.html:
It can be fairly difficult to diagnose osteopenia accurately on plain radiographs. First of all, plain films are hideously insensitive to changes in bone mineral. One must lose 30 - 50 % of the bone mass before it can be detected on a plain film.
June 9th, 2005 Posted in General
June 9th, 2005 at 10:41 pm
I heard a presentation by a renal dialysis RN today. I asked her afterwards if they ever see MM patients. She said they see a lot of MM patients.
I asked what my friend with MM can do to avoid this ever being necessary. She said it’s good to have the meds evaluated periodically for side effects. But, she also said you have to treat the disease. That’s a priority.
I’ve talked with medical pharmacologists, too, in the past few months. The one I spoke with most recently said it’s good to have meds evaluated every month. That seemed like a lot. I don’t know if she was referring to a specific setting, like people in hospitals or institutions who are having meds changed constantly, or if she meant anyone taking medication should have it evaluated that frequently.