I Just Found Out I Have Osteoporosis!

I've been seen by the same doctor for 10 years and I've never had a complete physical. I've had my blood pressure checked, and I've had lab work done when I was in the hospital, but I've never been thoroughly checked from head to toe by my doctor. I changed doctors about 6 months ago, and my new doctor asked if I would let her do a physical on me. I had no idea what to expect, but I thought it would be that she checks my heart and lungs by listening with the stethoscope and pop me with that reflex hammer a couple of times and look down my throat as I say "Ahhhhh". I was very surprised to see that this was not the extent of my physical exam.

My new doctor did all the regular things like blood pressure, but she also did a breast exam, and she ordered a mammogram. She did a pap smear and a total pelvic exam to make sure everything looked and felt normal to her. She also ordered a colonoscopy, which I will get done in the near future. Then she did a bone density test, by having me place my hand into this scanning machine. The results were not good. I didn't ask for the values, but she told me I have osteoporosis.

(I'm 56 years old! I'm not old!) Those were my first thoughts. Do you normally think of little old ladies with humpbacks to be the ones with osteoporosis? That was the image I had of the disorder. I was shocked to get this news, but I am also very pleased that I found out NOW, rather than later when I break a bone and have other problems to deal with. My doctor told me to take calcium with vitamin D supplement (Oscal-D) every day along with a multivitamin.