My doctor said to take several Tums a day. But my back is getting worse with pain. My daughter has been taking high doses of prednisone for the past five years for her asthma. Her bones are in this condition from not being on hormones for about 12 years after her ovaries were removed when she was 19. She also smokes.
Osteoporosis is a condition of abnormal bone modeling.
In someone with osteoporosis, the absorption of bone starts to overwhelm the rebuilding, resulting in more fragile, less dense bone. The bone that is left is normally mineralized, that is to say it has the normal amount of calcium in it, but is simply less dense. Since the bone remaining in someone with osteoporosis is essentially normal, the process can go ahead with no symptoms. Bone pain is very uncommon in osteoporosis unless another condition is present, or the bone has gotten so thin that fractures have occurred. Osteoporosis may occur in an otherwise healthy woman as she ages, especially after menopause, or may be associated with some other disease and some medical treatments.