Osteopenia

I have another classification to add to my health portfolio......Osteopenia.  It refers to bone mineral density (BMD) that is lower than normal peak BMD but not low enough to be classified as osteoporosis.  Bone mineral density is a measurement of the level of minerals in the bones, which shows how dense and strong they are.  I recently had my second DXA scan which examines my lumbar spine and hip to determine BMD.   The result showed "significant interval change" from my scan one year ago.  Thus, I am now labeled as osteopenia.  This is a result of several factors.......
1.  chemotherapy.....tough on entire body, including bones.
2.  radiation....exposure from treatment and testing is hard on bone health.
3.  hysterectomy.....no more ovaries means no more hormones to help with bone health, which then puts stress on adrenal gland to compensate.  This makes it difficult for the adrenal gland to produce enough DHEA & cortisol. 

It's all connected, complicated and overwhelming!  It came as a bit of a surprise to me, although it shouldn't have given everything my body has endured the last 3 years.   My naturopath has tremendously help me manage my hormones which makes me feel better......more energy, less hot flashes.  However, it's sort of a moving target as my body changes and adjusts to a new normal.  Cholesterol is nearly the precursor to everything.....including cortisol, DHEA and female hormones.  Mine was too low so with diet changes, I've been able to increase my cholesterol.  I've struggled with getting my cortisol and DHEA levels to acceptable levels.  My recent labs showed they dropped even more since 6 months ago. 

So, what am I doing about all this????  I adjusted my supplements to support my adrenal gland and also switched my calcium supplement to a more aggressive dose.  The part I'm struggling with is including  "weight bearing exercise" to make my bones stronger.  Last year I was training for a half marathon so I'm sure the running really helped keep my bones from losing density.  This year I've been plagued with injury and have not been running much at all.  I've been biking and swimming a ton, but those are not weight bearing.  I'm not quite back to running, yet, so I need to determine how to adjust my exercise routine.   My naturopath suggested an exercise trampoline or hiking with weighted backpack.  It's not fair that obese people have no bone health issues because they carry around extra weight all day!   Not a reason to become obese, but still frustrating!!!!    I'm looking into an exercise trampoline....it sounds fun and is good for my lympathic system, too.   If you have any ideas, let me know.    This is just another bump in the road and an opportunity to learn and continually improve.....that is our life journey.