My 62yo mom has T-score -4.2 and refuses treatment. I need your real stories.
Hi everyone,
I’m posting about my mother, 63, who has severe multifactorial osteoporosis. We are already trying to get a specialist opinion, but I’d be grateful to hear experiences from people who had similar T-scores / secondary osteoporosis and had to decide between medications.
Background:
- Osteoporosis already documented in 2015: spine T-score around -3.1, femoral neck -3.3, total hip -3.1
- 2025 DXA: lumbar spine L2-L4 -4.2, left femoral neck -3.7
- Apparent worsening between 2022 and 2025, although scans were not done on the exact same machine: spine L2-L4 roughly -3.8 → -4.2, femoral neck -3.3 → -3.7
- No hip or vertebral fracture documented so far, but she had a metacarpal fracture in 2015 after a hand trauma
- Contributing factors: Crohn’s disease with intestinal resection in 1985, past primary hyperparathyroidism with imaging compatible with a left parathyroid adenoma, later operated, menopause around 50 without HRT
Her rheumatologist proposed Aclasta / zoledronic acid, but my mother is very worried about osteonecrosis of the jaw and other potential side effects (cancer long term, etc.). She was then prescribed Actonel / risedronate, but she is also hesitant to start it. Her fears are not “anti-medicine”; she just wants to understand the risk/benefit properly before committing.
- Has anyone here had T-scores in the -3.5 to -4.5 range and improved or stabilized significantly?
- For people with severe osteoporosis, what made you choose zoledronic acid, risedronate/alendronate, Prolia, anabolic drugs, or another option? What was your experience with side effects?
- More importantly... is this the only solution? Are there treatments that are not as aggressive? The doctors are saying she needs to remove all her teeth before starting. It sounds awful.
- Are there any supplements / lifestyle interventions that genuinely moved the needle for you? Could it be worth it to give my mother strong doses of vit D/K, boron, etc.?
I know Reddit is not medical advice, and we will discuss everything with doctors. I’m mainly looking for real-world experiences.
Thank you.