Brittle bones - 'Talking to other people helps me deal with my pain'
- Introduction
- Symptoms of osteoporosis
- Causes of osteoporosis
- Diagnosing osteoporosis
- Treating osteoporosis
- Preventing osteoporosis
- Living with osteoporosis
- 'I didn't know I had osteoporosis until I fractured two vertebrae'
- 'Talking to other people helps me deal with my pain'
- 'Even lying in bed was uncomfortable'
Bob Rees was diagnosed with osteoporosis after collapsing in pain on a family holiday.
"I was 43 when I was diagnosed with osteoporosis. I was on a family holiday in the Dominican Republic in June 2002 when I collapsed in agony. In March 2003, nine months later and after extensive tests, I was diagnosed with severe spinal osteoporosis.
"I remember my relief at being told that I didn't have bone cancer, as had been suspected, but my relief was shortlived when I was told that I had the bones of an 80-year-old.
"I turned to the National Osteoporosis Society (NOS) for support and I'm now an ambassador for the charity. I find that talking to other people with osteoporosis helps me deal with my own pain, and I advise anyone who has recently been diagnosed with osteoporosis to try to keep active. Don't sit back and give in. Small lifestyle changes, such as walking regularly, can help keep your bones healthy."
© Crown Copyright 2009
