When I was a kid, I had many collections. I collected stamps (I actually just recently found my stamp collecting book amid a bunch of old stuff). I collected shells. I collected pretty rocks. I collected foreign currency. As I moved into my teen years I collected posters of Duran Duran for my bedroom walls, poor study habits, and bad attitudes. As an adult I collected postcards through Postcrossing, which I’d like to go back to if it weren’t for the outrageous cost of stamps these days. I also got into quilting so I collected massive amounts of beautiful fabric, which was followed by a yarn addiction disguised as a crochet habit.
But something I did not expect to start collecting was medical professionals. Yup, at fifty-seven years of age, I have amassed a fine group of -ists. I have a rheumatologist to deal with my rheumatoid arthritis because apparently my immune system hates me. I have an ophthalmologist because the meds I take to control my RA can have detrimental effects on the eyes if not monitored closely. I had a hematologist for a while because I was anemic, but after a couple of years of keeping blood counts where they were supposed to be, I graduated to just visiting that office on an as-needed basis. I have a gynecologist to take care of the aging lady parts. I have a physical therapist for those times when I move something in a way that I shouldn’t. I have the radiologist who does my annual mammogram and breast ultrasound (an extra bit of fun because of dense breast tissue). I have a therapist to help me deal with all of the above, and I’m on a waiting list for a psychiatrist because sometimes you just need a little extra support.
I bring all of this up because today I’ve added another aging medical milestone – the DEXA bone density scan. The scan itself was no big deal. Lie down on a table, let the machine zap some rays into your hip. In and out in less than ten minutes. My results? Osteopenia. The precursor to osteoporosis. Not a big surprise since bone density issues run in my family. But it sucks anyway. Common causes of bone loss?
- Being a female ✅
- Menopause ✅
- Rheumatoid arthritis ✅
- Acid reflux medications ✅
So I guess I was doomed from the start. So now we go into defensive mode to keep this crap from progressing to full-blown osteoporosis. How do I do that? Time to go figure that out. If you need me, I’ll be the one with the milk mustache…
