Monday, October 24, 2005
THUD!
Guys? Chad fell down. --That Thing You Do
To put it bluntly, I'm accident prone. I trip over my own feet quite often. This weekend was no exception. I was up at my parents' house helping my mom celebrate her birthday. My sister and I were cleaning up the dishes after lunch. On my way to the laundry room to put something away, my feet flew out from under me and I landed HARD on my left side. I hit my chin on the dryer on the way down and landed with a thud with my arm crumpled beneath me. Needless to say, I'm quite sore today.
I wouldn't have been surprised if I had broken a bone. I was recently diagnosed with osteopenia, so I have to be careful about getting enough calcium and vitamin D so that my bone density doesn't deteriorate. As some of you may know, osteoporosis is a growing concern for adults with CF. The fact that we don't absorb vitamins and minerals very well can result in bad things for our bone health. The basic difference between osteopenia and osteoporosis is the severity of lack of bone density. People with osteopenia are at risk for developing osteoporosis.
My doctor explained that osteopenia is not something to lose sleep over. Although it's important that I take calcium supplements (Os-Cal), the goal is to just slow down the rate of loss. Chances are, this won't become a hugely critical issue for me for years to come. Like a lot of things with CF, where losses cannot be completely eliminated, medications and proper treatment as well as exercise are useful in curbing the effects of co-occuring diseases like osteopenia.
