I got some good news today (for a change).....after a three week wait I was finally called back to the local hospital to see the Internist to get the results of a series of blood/urine tests he ordered.
It all started a few weeks ago when I seriously injured my lower back when trying to dismantle an old couch using brute force and had two trips to the hospital (one by ambulance) because of the intense pain I was in. During the second visit the ER doctor was concerned that I may have ruptured a disc and ordered a CT scan of my lower back. The scan showed no damage to the discs (just soft tissue damage) but did reveal a problem with my bones. According to the ER doc I had the bones of an 80 year old man. :isadizzy:
As a result of the findings of the CT scan my family doctor ordered a bone density scan to check on why I was showing such 'old' bones for a man of my age (52). When those results came back it turned out that while I have the 'spine of an ox', according to my family doctor, I have very weak hips and he diagnosed osteoporosis as the cause partially due to the fact I have been lactose intolerant for 25+ years and therefore have not been drinking milk or consuming large amounts of dairy products (although I do still eat cheese and ice cream from time to time). As a result my body has been supplementing the missing calcium in my diet by drawing on the reserves in my bones and consequently making them age much faster than they should have done.
The radiologist also threw up a red flag concerning my bone density scan and although she could see no 'holes' in the bones of my hips she suggested that I should be checked out for Multiple Myeloma (bone marrow cancer) just in case. So an appointment was made with the hospital Internist and he then ordered multiple blood/urine tests that were taken three weeks ago and I finally got the results of those tests today.
Bottom line is that there is no sign of cancer, but it looks like I do have osteoporosis to add to my collection of early onset osteoarthritis (mostly in my hands) and of course my underlying ME/CFS which is a whole ball of wax on it's own. So now I am having to take calcium supplements every day to try and make up for lost time and hopefully slow down if not reverse my bone loss. I will have to be careful of doing anything stupid too as I am at a stage where I can break bones easily apparently.
If any of you guys/gals are lactose intolerant or do not take in a large amount of dairy products as part of your daily diet then I strongly suggest you consider taking a calcium supplement too. It's too late when you start breaking bones all over the place! I consider myself lucky that a non-related incident revealed a hidden problem and hopefully I can now do something about putting it right.
It all started a few weeks ago when I seriously injured my lower back when trying to dismantle an old couch using brute force and had two trips to the hospital (one by ambulance) because of the intense pain I was in. During the second visit the ER doctor was concerned that I may have ruptured a disc and ordered a CT scan of my lower back. The scan showed no damage to the discs (just soft tissue damage) but did reveal a problem with my bones. According to the ER doc I had the bones of an 80 year old man. :isadizzy:
As a result of the findings of the CT scan my family doctor ordered a bone density scan to check on why I was showing such 'old' bones for a man of my age (52). When those results came back it turned out that while I have the 'spine of an ox', according to my family doctor, I have very weak hips and he diagnosed osteoporosis as the cause partially due to the fact I have been lactose intolerant for 25+ years and therefore have not been drinking milk or consuming large amounts of dairy products (although I do still eat cheese and ice cream from time to time). As a result my body has been supplementing the missing calcium in my diet by drawing on the reserves in my bones and consequently making them age much faster than they should have done.
The radiologist also threw up a red flag concerning my bone density scan and although she could see no 'holes' in the bones of my hips she suggested that I should be checked out for Multiple Myeloma (bone marrow cancer) just in case. So an appointment was made with the hospital Internist and he then ordered multiple blood/urine tests that were taken three weeks ago and I finally got the results of those tests today.
Bottom line is that there is no sign of cancer, but it looks like I do have osteoporosis to add to my collection of early onset osteoarthritis (mostly in my hands) and of course my underlying ME/CFS which is a whole ball of wax on it's own. So now I am having to take calcium supplements every day to try and make up for lost time and hopefully slow down if not reverse my bone loss. I will have to be careful of doing anything stupid too as I am at a stage where I can break bones easily apparently.
If any of you guys/gals are lactose intolerant or do not take in a large amount of dairy products as part of your daily diet then I strongly suggest you consider taking a calcium supplement too. It's too late when you start breaking bones all over the place! I consider myself lucky that a non-related incident revealed a hidden problem and hopefully I can now do something about putting it right.
