What is osteoporosis ? Osteoporosis is a condition in which your bones become weak and brittle. Although many individuals get this condition simply as they age, others will face it due to other situations including those like taking arthritis medications. Some medications that are used to treat rheumatoid arthritis interact with the calcium in your bones and can cause a weakening in the bones that is significant. If you are taking these medications, it is quite important that you talk to your doctor about your risk of developing osteoporosis.
What Medications Put You At Risk ?
Corticosteroid medications are those that are most likely to cause you the development of osteoporosis. In order for this to happen, though, you will need to take the medication for a long period of time, regularly. Some of these medications include cortisone, prednisolone, prednisone, and dexamethasone. As you use them, they slowly cause the bone to become weaker and weaker. They can severely damage the bone if they are not carefully monitored, which most doctors will do.
Does that mean that you should stop taking the medications that are important for treating the rheumatoid arthritis pain you have? Absolutely never stop taking the medications that you are on without talking to your doctor about them first. In addition, you and your doctor should have a treatment plan available that will incorporate regularly monitoring your body’s bone density. In a simple test, your doctor will be able to determine if your bones are being affected by these medications and then can alter them as he or she sees fit. Some doctors will prescribe medications to help treat the causes of osteoporosis and medications that can increase your bone density.
Treatments for causes of osteoporosis and arthritis are important considerations for you and for your doctor. The doctor is not likely to be treating just one of these conditions and therefore should monitor your bone health throughout your care. But, you can and you should ask questions about what the medications you are taking for each of these will do to your body. You should know the risk factors and what they mean to you, personally. In addition, you should have an understanding of what is available to help avoid these risks to the fullest level.
Preventing causes of osteoporosis is something that can be done. Not only will you want to talk to your doctor about these conditions, but you also should take into account the risks that are there. Prevention of osteoporosis should be one of the first things that you and your doctor talk about when you begin taking these types of medications. Prevention usually includes increasing the amount of calcium that your body takes in on a daily basis. You probably will need to increase this amount considerably.
There is no doubt that the medications you take for arthritis are important to your health and well being. They shouldn’t be stopped, in most cases. But, you should talk to your doctor about a prevention plan for causes of osteoporosis, which can be prevented in most cases.
By Greg Marsh
