What is Osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis is a condition of thin bones. Our bones are constantly breaking down and replenishing themselves. When we are young and healthy, this process is balanced. As we age, we lose more bone than we make. Because of that, our bones become thin and fragile. After menopause, women start losing bone if they are not on estrogen therapy, and medications like prednisone and anti-epileptics also thin our bones. People with calcium kidney stones may also lose both the calcium they take in and calcium from their bones through their kidneys, increasing their risk of bone loss and osteoporosis.
Osteoporosis and fractures are major health problems for millions of people. Osteoporosis is silent like high blood pressure. You dont feel osteoporosis unless you fracture, and surprisingly, you can sometimes have a compression fracture of your spine or back and still not feel it! One third of all spine fractures are painless, you dont even know it occurred, yet it can lead to height loss and a curve in your upper back over time. The problem with silent fractures and a silent disease like osteoporosis is that your risk of another fracture can be 20 times greater if you have already fractured, even if you don't know you did.
There are no outward signs of osteoporosis until a fracture occurs. In the United States, half of women and one-fourth of men 50 years or older will suffer an osteoporosis related fracture within their lifetime.
ABOUT US
Dr. Lynn Kohlmeier
Dr. Lynn Kohlmeier received her undergraduate degree at Yale University and her medical degree at Stanford University. She completed her internal medicine residency at the New England Deaconess Hospital, Harvard Medical School and returned to Stanford for her endocrinology fellowship. Both at Stanford and following her fellowship, at the Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, she was involved in osteoporosis research studying hip fracture and vitamin D deficiency. Dr. Kohlmeier was awarded a National Osteoporosis Foundation Grant, and a Young Investigator Award for work with the calcium-sensing receptor.
Dr. Kohlmeier is a Clinical Instructor of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine teaching medical residents endocrinology. She is the Director of the Spokane Osteoporosis Centers, and a board member for both the Washington Osteoporosis Coalition and the BMD-Standardization and Site Accreditation Committee for the International Society of Clinical Densitometry. She is Co-Founder and Director of the Osteoporosis Resource & Screening Centers in Spokane, which provide free educational services and bone density screening for the community, as well as the Sacred Heart Women's Center Osteoporosis Education Program. Founder of Strong Start, Dr. Kohlmeier provides assistance to osteoporosis centers around the country helping them improve their bone density testing, precision and reporting. Dr. Kohlmeier has been a medical advisor for the exercise programs, Bones and Balance, and Mary Ann Wilson's Sit & Be Fit. She has chaired the Physical Activity Session at the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) annual meeting, is on the Board for the Advances in Mineral Metabolism (AIMM/ASBMR) meeting and chairs their annual AIMM ski race.
Dr. Kohlmeier is an editor for the Journal of Clinical Densitometry. She is very interested in the affects of exercise and bone and provides volunteer services for osteoporosis education and screening at the only triathlon in the country for osteoporosis, The Westplains Wunderwoman Triathlon, which is held in Medical Lake, Washington every August. Dr Kohlmeier is involved in osteoporosis research trials at both Sacred Heart Medical Center and at the Spokane Osteoporosis Center. For more information, call either facility.
Dr. Kohlmeier recently went to Washington D.C. to help fight for continued DXA bone density testing! If the "Medicare Fracture Prevention and Osteoporosis Testing Act of 2007" does not pass, H.R. 4206 and S. 760, sites to be tested for fracture prediction will shut down due to low reimbursement for their services. We will not be able to tell if someone has osteoporosis until they actually fracture! If you want to help, please log onto www.ISCD.org or call Donna at 860-402-2159.
Osteoporosis and/or Thyroid Clinic Sessions with Dr Kohlmeier
Osteoporosis and/or thyroid clinic sessions with Dr Kohlmeier are a way to learn more about your endocrine condition spending an hour discussing tests, labs, and treatment options. Billing is similar to a regular clinic visit with copays collected if required by your insurance.
Several other men or women with similar endocrine conditions will join you in the session with Dr Kohlmeier in our conference room. Before leaving our office you will have your blood pressure taken and for a short period see Dr Kohlmeier one on one.
Dr Kohlmeier will send you a letter within the next 2 or 3 weeks summarizing the visit and describing your individual care or tests and treatment.
Scheduling an Osteoporosis and or Thyroid Clinic Session is of course optional.
Forteo Information Sessions are not clinic appointments with Dr Kohlmeier. Sponsored by Eli Lilly and given by an experienced nurse practitioner, they are meant to help you better understand Forteo's anabolic bone forming action, how it builds bone and reduces fractures in men and women with osteoporosis. The session is accompanied by a short nursing visit first with copays collected if required by your insurance. At your nursing visit we will review your records and confirm that Dr Kohlmeier has all the information to recommend Forteo as a potential treatment for your osteoporosis. Whether you start Forteo may also depend on cost and we will help initiate the process inquiring about your insurance coverage. Family members are welcome to attend the Forteo session, which are offered twice a month.
