Mary (name changed for her privacy) came to me in March 2022—a 65-year-old woman with severe osteoporosis. She was wearing a body brace to keep from moving. If she twisted or turned her neck, her spine would fracture. She already had 7 spinal fractures that were not healing. If she needed to turn her head, she would have to rotate her entire body to prevent a new fracture. Essentially, her bones were crumbling. She could barely walk, and her gait was extremely slow. She had horrendous pain even while on pain medications. Sleep was difficult due to the pain and fear of movement for it may cause another fracture. Her height had decreased due to compression fractures, and she had lost much weight. She was trying to eat healthy, but it was the wrong diet for her, and she had digestive issues and severe fatigue.
Her bone density tests were the worst I have seen with a considerable decrease in bone density over a 1-year period. Blood tests revealed she was not absorbing nutrients.
Mary was working with her orthopedic MD who told her this had to be addressed immediately. Unfortunately, all he had to offer were medications which are really not effective and cause other problems. This is when she sought me out. Mary’s husband attended the visit which was so helpful because she could hardly think straight.
Mary was trying to help herself by taking supplements however they were a part of the problem—we changed all her supplements. Osteoporosis is not about taking high dose calcium. High dose calcium causes accelerated bone loss. The approach to correct bone loss is complicated and involves looking at the whole picture. Again, we must treat the cause of bone loss, not just throw calcium at it.
I started her on supplements and a new diet— she complied 100%. There was no rationalization for being unable to comply like I hear from some patients. She changed everything. Mary’s MD was monitoring her with X-rays, and we decided to wait 6-weeks to get another X-ray to see if the fractures were beginning to heal. She emailed me after only 2-weeks and told me that she already noticed positive changes and that she felt she was on the way to healing! 6-weeks after our initial visit she saw her orthopedic doctor and he ordered X-rays. The X-rays revealed no new fractures and that the older fractures were healed! She was feeling better, more energetic, and able to take walks to build up strength that was lost over the past year from her immobilization. Truly an amazing case.
I continue to see her every 3-months as we work on her overall health. She continues to improve. She told me at the last visit she knew she would die if she did not get the right help. Her bones were crumbling, and her body was weakening. All this is behind her, and her brace was removed 3-months after we started treatment. She enjoys new freedom and living without fear of movement.
Natural medicine is effective in treating most problems. If treated correctly patients see improvement within 3-weeks. It does not take a long time unless there is noncompliance and interference with the treatment plan.
We all look forward to helping you on your journey to health.
