Dealing with Early Onset Osteoporosis: My Experience with Forteo

A few months ago, I got a bone scan and discovered I have early onset, severe osteoporosis. I was kind of shocked. I’m a man in my 30s. Osteoporosis is generally a disease that old women get. And when men or younger women get it, it’s generally not that severe. Mine is about as bad as it gets. Anyway, the doctor prescribed me this injection called Forteo that’s supposed to build bone. From what I’ve read, it’s a super strong drug, so I was a bit skeptical. In one study, it caused bone cancer in rats. But I asked two other doctors, and they said I [i]need[/i] to take it if I don’t want to break more bones, considering how severe it is (I fractured my spine about three years ago, before I knew I had it). So anyway, I figured having a third opinion was enough. I took my first dose of the Forteo last night. It didn’t seem too bad. No adverse side effects (yet). Injecting myself was a bit weird. I’ve never done anything like that. I take lots of medicines, but only pills (my doctor says that’s probably what caused the osteoporosis). You have to store the Forteo in the fridge, which is a bit weird. I don’t have that much room in my fridge, but I managed to find a spot for it. I do wonder how I’m going to store it if I go on a road trip… The doctor said I can only take it for two years to avoid getting bone cancer like the rats. Then I’ll have to go on some other medicine for bone maintenance (to keep the new bone I’ve developed). I think I’m taking the Forteo correctly, but I’m not completely confident. I went in for training about a month ago, so I think I’m doing it the way she showed me. There’s a user manual I’ve been following to the best of my ability. The manual says to inject it for five seconds, but I think the doctor said ten seconds. So I did five last night and ten tonight. Anyway, pray that this works…