 Posted 16/08/2011 17:16:34
|
|
|
|
Dear Nurses
I have had hip problems now for over ten months and an x-ray I had on Friday revealed a wedge fracture to L2. I have had a partial discectomy at L4 and C5 due to mild scoliosis.
I suspect I have osteoporosis as my sister is borderline and my mother and my aunt were diagnosed. I also had a particularly early menopause and spent a lot of my childhood on steroids due to severe asthma and excema. For the last 7 years I have taken azathioprine and sulphasalazine due to continued severe excema and ulcerative colitis. I also had one episode of colonic arthritis. I am now clear of all of these and I am keen to keep taking these drugs which keep me in remission.
So I know you won't be able to diagnose me, I have to wait for the radiologist report to reach my GP even though the kind radiologist showed me the wedge fracture and explained it to me.
I have two questions:
Is there any research that suggests azathioprine and sulphasalazine might contribute to osteoporosis in the same way that prednisolone does?
Is it likely that I could have treatment to the wedge fracture to alleviate my painful symptoms even if osteoporosis is the cause?
I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanking you in anticipation
|
|
|
Posted 18/08/2011 14:54:19
|
|
|
|
| Dear Steff, Thank you for your post asking if your drug treatments for eczema and ulcerative colitis might contribute to osteoporosis, and if you would be able to have a treatment to relieve the pain of a wedge fracture (broken bone in the spine) even if it has been caused by osteoporosis. The drugs azathioprine and sulfasalazine are not known to cause bone density loss or fragile bones. Both of these drug treatments can be taken by people who have osteoporosis. A wedge fracture of the spine (also called a compression fracture) is caused by a vertebra (spinal bone) compressing downwards and healing into a wedge shape. If pain is experienced with this type of fracture it tends to be at its worst while healing is taking place – which usually takes around two to three months. After this, most people find that pain lessens. If pain persists well beyond the healing stage, this tends to be caused by a pinched nerve or pulled ligament or muscle in the area of the compressed bone. As most spinal compression fractures heal on their own they do not require an operation and pain is usually treated with pain relieving medications. Sometimes however, a specialised procedure called a percutaneous vertebroplasty (PV) or balloon kyphoplasty (KP) may be considered for persistent pain from a compression fracture, although it is important to stress that it will not be suitable for everyone. An assessment at a pain management clinic may be required first. This procedure involves an injection of surgical cement into the compressed spinal bone. It can be performed only if the fracture is relatively recent (within a few weeks or months) and there are some risks of complications associated with the procedure. Specialists differ in their views on the use of this procedure following recent research studies on PV which have cast doubt on its effectiveness in relieving pain. More information is in the charity’s leaflet ‘Percutaneous vertebroplasty and balloon kyphoplasty and osteoporosis’ which you can read by clicking on this link: http://77.86.16.98/~/document.Doc?id=424. Information on general pain relieving techniques is in our booklet ‘All about osteoporosis’ (section 5) - click here to view: http://www.nos.org.uk/page.aspx?pid=854&doctitle=All About Osteoporosis&docid=380.
Best wishesHelpline Nurses
National Osteoporosis Society
|
|
|
|