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Living With Osteoporosis: Your Diagnosis Doesn’t Mean Your Life Is Over
Being diagnosed with a lifelong health condition, like osteoporosis isn’t something that is easy to swallow. The key is not to focus on the negatives of the situation, but to focus on taking care of yourself and ensuring that you stay as physically and mentally healthy as possible.
Before you can focus on wellness and taking care of yourself, the first thing that you need to think about is what osteoporosis actually is and what it means. Osteoporosis literally means ‘porous bones’, it’s a disease which causes the density and quality of the bones to degrade, making them more prone to fracturing and other problems, such as bone loss over time.
The good news is that life with osteoporosis can be perfectly fine, you can lead a normal life. It’s just a case of ensuring that you know how to take care of yourself and manage your condition. So, bearing that in mind, below are some tips and ideas for making living with osteoporosis a little bit more bearable.
Find a good doctor
You may already have a good doctor, but if you don’t then, it’s important to find one. The fact is that when it comes to managing any health condition, having a good doctor is vital. You want to ensure that you receive the best care, treatment and support, which is why finding a good doctor is crucial. Not sure how to go about doing so? Go online and ask in osteoporosis support forums about the best medical professionals in your local area.
Get your bone density tested
Doctors are able to get a quick snapshot of your bone health by using a specialist x-ray machine that measures bone density. This x-ray helps to determine how bad the osteoporosis is and how likely it is that fractures will occur. This will give you a better insight into what you should expect from the disease.
Seek alternative treatments
When it comes to treating your osteoporosis, your doctor should be able to prescribe you a range of medications to help. However, alongside these medicines, you could consider going down the natural route. For instance, many osteoporosis sufferers take calcium supplements alongside their prescription medications, to help boost their bone health, increasing the strength of the bones. There are also a range of other natural, osteoporosis treatments that you can try; it’s just a case of researching which the best ones are. Remember, before taking any form of natural supplement; it’s important to check with your doctor to ensure that it is compatible with any prescription medications that you are already taking.
Avoid smoking and drinking
Did you know that smoking and alcohol are both linked to osteoporosis? You see tobacco and alcohol are both related to bone density loss, which is why it’s so important to quit both substances as soon as possible. Otherwise, there is a serious risk that continuing to smoke or drink heavily will impact your bone health and make the condition worse.
The fact is that living with osteoporosis, or any health condition for that matter, is never going to be something that you are happy about. However, it is important to realise that your diagnosis doesn’t mean that your life is over, it’s just a case of learning to manage the condition effectively, that’s all.
