I just returned from attending a family reunion on the east coat. Like any vacation your schedule is changed and you get to do things you usually don’t do. For me, that was staying up late. Of course, it helped for the first few days that my body was still on west coast time.
Saturday Night Live (SNL) rebroadcast its final episode of the season hosted by Alec Baldwin. My favorite sketch did not include the host. The television commercial for Boniva with Sally Field was redone in a clever parody for the drug “Preniva.”
Humor usually has some basis of truth. The take away message is not everyone needs to be on an osteoporosis drug. Most experts agree we have overtreated the low risk “worried well” and undertreated the high-risk patients over the past decade. New tools to help identify who is appropriate to consider for treatment with an FDA-approved medicine are now available. The FRAX® tool that incorporates risk factors with bone density of the hip will help you and your doctor evaluate your level of risk. Click here to find the FRAX® tool calculator online then go to Calculation Tools and click on your country then race.
-Diane L. Schneider, MD