Having watched one of those drug commercials on an American TV station that tells viewers how great their drug is for curing one thing while causing major side effects… this morning I heard one such commercial mentioned from among a list of their side effects that it could cause thrush (which is a yeast infection), osteoporosis, etc.
That caught my attention. If a drug like this could cause thrush and osteoporosis… I started to wonder if antibiotics could be guilty of the very same issue… that being osteoporosis.
Having recently undergone major surgery for a total hip replacement (more on that next month), I was informed by my surgeon that my bones are very soft, which is a concern and that I have osteoporosis.
That only confirmed what my GP told me over 11 years ago now, without ever informing me of what I could do to slow the damage down.
I did start on a supplement that did resolve my badly swollen knuckle (which sent me to my GP 11 years ago) but now I realize that this supplement did NOT slow down the osteoporosis as I had hoped it would have.
Here it is, the 4th week from having received my total hip replacement, and I’ve been doing a LOT or researching online about osteoporosis in order to learn what all that I can do to slow this damage down.
On the 5th of this month, while taking a lunch break and watching TV while as I ate, I came across an infomercial on collagen. Ancient Nutrition Multi Collagen Protein to be more specific.
In their infomercial, they claimed that their collagen provides users with 10 different types of collagen, and if I remember correctly, the one doctor mention how taking this product relieves osteoporosis.
The use of this collagen by Ancient Nutrition Multi Collagen makes it an easier and much safer choice to start with. So, I ordered it and received delivery on the 9th and started taking it immediately. Am looking forward to their promise of experiencing improvement once when taking their collagen daily.
Wow… I’ve learned so much new information recently, and it seems to be coming to me all at once.
Having initially searched the topic on the use of calcium for treating osteoporosis, there is still far too much controversy on the different types and usage of calcium to make it a good choice.
However, I did learn one new tidbit of information that was news to me, and that is that users need to also consume a recommended dose of vitamin K that helps the human body to absorb calcium.
BUT…
Too much vitamin K also has side effects, so DO NOT USE without professional advice on this vitamin and dosage either. The side effects can be nasty, to say the least.
The use of calcium makes me hesitate using any vendor’s supplement until I’ve consulted a properly licensed nutritionist. As I’m sure you are already aware of the many side effects that consuming too much calcium can case, right?
If not, here is a list of those side effects as shown to be, on cancer.net:
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea and vomiting
- Constipation and belly pain
- Drinking more fluids and peeing more
- Muscle pain, tiredness, or weakness
- Difficulty thinking, confusion and disorientation
- Headaches
- Depression
And, according to the MayoClinic.org,
Too much calcium in your blood can weaken your bones, create kidney stones and interfere with how your heart and brain work.
Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hypercalcemia/symptoms-causes/syc-20355523
…thus my reluctance in using calcium supplements without proper advice from a professional.
Now…
Let’s get back to my original reason for sharing this information with you… do antibiotics bring on osteoporosis.
When a child, my GP diagnosed me with chronic bronchitis and that diagnosis followed me to every GP afterwards, until recent years. The GP I was seeing in the 70s, insisted that I needed to inform him whenever my phlegm came coughed out a greenish colour.
Seemed ever August and September, my phlegm did just that, and so that GP would put me on a regular dosage of antibiotics. PLUS, whenever I received any injury… well, even more antibiotics were prescribed.
From so many antibiotics… well, sometime in the early to mid 1970s, it was discovered that antibiotics were responsible for a major issue that many women were suffering from at that time in medical history, which was FINALLY diagnosed as a yeast infection, more commonly referred to as thrush.
It wasn’t long after that when doctors were being advised to stop their over prescribing antibiotics as there were even MORE issues being discovered from the over use of antibiotics.
Moving forward in time, here I was watching this annoying TV commercial where a pharmaceutical company are pushing their new drug to cure something and my ears picked up on those side effects.
That’s when I came into my office and searched for: “do antibiotics bring on osteoporosis” and soon discovered in Google’s featured snippet that according to news-medical.net that…
Novel research has found a link between the antibacterial and antifungal agent triclosan and an increase prevalence of osteoporosis in American females.
Source: https://www.news-medical.net/health/Does-Long-Term-Antibiotic-Use-Affect-Bone-Mass.aspx
While another medical site in the same search results, states that:
A new study about the side effects of antibiotic treatment reveals that it may dysregulate postpubertal skeletal development by interfering with gut bacteria.
Source: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324258
Shared this bit of news with my hip replacement surgeon on my follow-up appointment, which I’m sure he found this to be informative.
Once I’ve been professionally advised as to hopefully, slowing down the damage that osteoporosis is doing to my bones, I will be able to share my findings with you here as an UPDATE… or… in a future post.
In the meantime, stay tuned for news on my article to follow this regarding my total hip replacement. The new procedure is the ONLY way to go for me!
Summary
So not to leave you thinking that I hold the Canadian medical association totally responsible for my developing osteoporosis, I want to state CLEARLY here that I too had a part in this mess.
I used to consider myself a junk food connoisseur. You see, for just over 20 years of my early working career, I ate from fast food places, drank my share of Pepsi, and consumed far too much sugars for one person.
Not sure how I’ve been so fortunate to have escaped the BIG C, knowing how pathetic my early diet was, but now I see that I have in fact helped trade off my health from early poor eating habits.
Studies on Collagen
1.) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5793325/
2.) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11071580/
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