All Clients Need Bone Scans: LTCI Insider

What You Need to Know

Many women know about the dangers of osteoporosis.
Men may not be aware of the fragility of their own bones.
One risk factor: Heartburn medicine.

I am writing this while sitting by my husband’s bed in the hospital’s rehab area. He is recovering from emergency hip surgery and is in a lot of pain.

We have just learned that if he had received a bone scan, this trauma could have been avoided.

If you are involved with retirement planning or long-term care planning, and you know what a bone scan is, you are probably thinking: a bone scan for men? That’s what women get.

Here’s what happened.

Breaking Bad

My husband Bernie is in his mid 70s and in excellent health — or so we thought. He has been riding his stationary bike 20 miles every day. He does take a few medications, but nothing major.

On Tuesday morning at 12:15 a.m., he had a leg cramp and got out of bed to walk on that leg. Suddenly, he was lying on the floor in severe pain.

The bone in his upper femur had shattered, and then he fell.

I called 911 for an ambulance.

The trauma surgeon operated that day and then — hours later — came to talk to us. Bernie had what he called a fragility fracture, and it was caused by severe osteoporosis and brittle bones. We had no idea he had this problem.

The cause: He has been taking a very common medication for heartburn for years.

I first searched for the side effects of this medication, and nothing was mentioned about osteoporosis. I then put in the name of the medication and asked specifically, “Is osteoporosis a side effect?”

The answer: “This medicine may raise the chance of hip, spine and wrist fracture in people with weak bones (osteoporosis). The chance may be higher if you take this medicine (orally-disintegrating tablets) in high doses or for longer than a year, or if you are older than 50 years old.”

The pain and suffering my husband is going through now could have been avoided if we had known about this side effect.

Care Needs

My husband is now facing a pretty long recovery period. At least two weeks in the rehab facility with 3 hours of physical therapy daily. Then — hopefully — home with more physical therapy. We are anticipating a recovery time of up to six months.