Bone Scan- Dexa Scan Mania

--Clicking on pic should make it viewable--

Do you have bones?

As most of you know, (and among other things), I have been diagnosed with severe Osteoporosis.
And am now up to 28 fractures...

Has your doctor ever mentioned having a bone scan? (Especially if you are post-menopausal, or an over 60 male).

See why they might just "THINK" you need one- Do the click below! ↓↓↓

Bone Scan Mania: A 12 Year Drug Industry Con Finally Exposed.
«  SpeakEasy

http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2012/01/19/bone-scan-mania-a-12-year-drug-industry-con-finally-exposed/
or

www.blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2012/01/19/bone-scan-mania-a-12-year-drug-industry-con-finally-exposed/

From the article:

"... Nor do the bone drugs even prevent fractures–their intended purpose! By suppressing bone remodeling, they are supposed to stop bone loss. But since the bone is not being renewed, it becomes brittle, ossified and fractures. The thigh bones of patients on bisphosphonates have “simply snapped while they were walking or standing,” after “weeks or months of unexplained aching,” reported the New York Times in an article called “Drugs to Build Bones May Weaken Them.” Oops. Medical journals and patients on the web site askapatient have been reporting the fractures for years...

...it should be even more embarrassing that the con only surfaced when the biggest bone drug patents are expired so the drug companies don’t even care–because the big bucks are behind them."

The human skeleton is made from 206 bones which create a framework that supports and protects the body's soft tissues and organs.  Movement is the result of the muscles acting on the bones of the skeletal system. Muscles are connected to bones by tendons; bones are connected to each other by ligaments. The places where bones meet each other are called joints.  The main difference between the male and female skeleton is that females have a wider pelvis to allow for childbirth. Smaller diferences include a shorter, straighter clavicle in the female (resulting in narrow sloping shoulders), as well as a smaller skull and smaller, lighter bones.  The skeleton produces red blood cells from the bone marrow of certain bones and white cells from the marrow of other bones. The skeleton's bones also store minerals such as calcium.  Babies are born with 270 soft bones (about 64 more than an adult); many of these will fuse together by age twenty, into the 206 hard, permanent bones.  Click on a label at the right, or a link below, to find out more about each part of the skeleton.

SKULL | CERVICAL VERTEBRAE | CLAVICLE | RIBS | SPINAL VERTEBRAE | PELVIS | SACRUM | FEMUR
PATELLA | STERNUM | HUMERUS | ULNA | RADIUS | HAND PHALANGES | FIBULA | TIBIA | | FOOT PHALANGES | BONE

Biology | Science & Math | Worsley School

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HTML & design by Bill Willis© 1996 - 2012Wunderland Website Design

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Bone Densitometry

Every day, physicians use radiography, or x-rays, to view and evaluate bone fractures and other injuries of the musculoskeletal system. However, a plain x-ray test is not the best way to assess bone density. To detect osteoporosis accurately, doctors use an enhanced form of x-ray technology called dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). DEXA bone densitometry is today's established standard for measuring bone mineral density (BMD). It is a quick, painless procedure for measuring bone loss. Measurements of the lower spine and hips are most often done.

The DEXA machine sends a thin, invisible beam of low-dose x-rays with two distinct energy peaks through your bones. One peak is absorbed mainly by soft tissue and the other by bone. The soft tissue amount can be subtracted from the total and what remains is a patient's bone mineral density.

The amount of radiation used is extremely small—less than one-tenth the dose of a standard chest x-ray.

More portable devices that measure the wrist, fingers or heel are sometimes used for screening, including some that use ultrasound waves rather than x-rays.

Osteoporosis involves a gradual loss of calcium, causing the bones to become thinner, more fragile and more likely to break. The DEXA test can assess your risk for developing fractures. If your bone density is found to be low, you and your physician can work together on a treatment plan to help prevent fractures before they occur. DEXA is also effective in tracking the effects of treatment for osteoporosis or for other conditions that cause bone loss. Bone density testing is strongly recommended if you:

• are a post-menopausal woman and not taking estrogen.
• have a personal or maternal history of hip fracture or smoking.
• are a post-menopausal woman who is tall (over 5 feet 7 inches) or thin (less than 125 pounds).
• are a man with clinical conditions associated with bone loss.
• use medications that are known to cause bone loss, including corticosteroids such as Prednisone, various anti-seizure medications such as Dilantin and certain barbiturates, or high-dose thyroid replacement drugs.
• have type 1 (formerly called juvenile or insulin-dependent) diabetes, liver disease, kidney disease or a family history of osteoporosis.
• have high bone turnover, which shows up in the form of excessive collagen in urine samples.
• have a thyroid condition, such as hyperthyroidism.
• have experienced a fracture after only mild trauma.
• have had x-ray evidence of vertebral fracture or other signs of osteoporosis.

For more detailed information on this examination, visit RadiologyInfo.

From:  http://www.radiologyinfo.org/index.cfm?bhcp=1

RadiologyInfo.org tells you how various x-ray, CT, MRI, ultrasound, radiation therapy and other procedures are performed. It also addresses what you may experience and how to prepare for the exams.

• The website contains over 115 radiologic procedures and is updated frequently with new information. 

All material on the RadiologyInfo.org website is reviewed and approved by experts in the field of radiology from the ACR and RSNA, as well as other professional radiology organizations.

All the info, plus more, can tell you why YOU are your own best doctor!

XOXO
Me

PS
My newest blog will be up shortly, but I am still clearing out my drafts folder