I love this photo.

[csziggy]

22. It can also be from osteoporosis

My dad was 5'11" until he got old. Then he shrank nearly 6" in just a few years - but his doctors never pegged to his increasingly severe osteoporosis. Not until he fell and cracked some vertebrae in his back. The damage that was done was not repairable and it caused him constant in serious pain for the rest of his life - about twelve years of pain.

All of that could have been avoided if his doctors had ever ordered a bone scan or had measured his height on a regular basis. He used a clinic and had rotating doctors so personal observation of his shrinkage never got into the charts. If they had measured him every year and put him on medication for osteoporosis his bones would have been stronger and he might not have fallen or even if he had he might not have cracked those bones.

My husband's grandmother was bedridden for the last ten years of her life due to osteoporosis. As a result his mother participated in a study of treatment beginning in the 1970s. Because she was part of a successful drug study and has continued to get treatment, she has not problems with the disease that essentially killed her mother. So we are very aware of the problems with this disease.

Anyone in the range of 50 or 60 years old should get a bone density scan every four to five years. Your doctor should measure your height at every annual checkup - and make sure that is compared to previous measurements. If either show changes, get treatment - the drugs are very effective though in the early stages supplemental calcium and Vitamin D help a lot to prevent bone density loss.