Thousands of New Yorkers take oral steroid treatments like prednisone. It helps relieve the pain of such chronic conditions as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and asthma.
What many of these patients may not know is that these drugs can put them at risk for steroid-induced osteoporosis.
"Steroids actually accelerate bone loss," said Dr. Mona Chitre of Excellus BlueCross BlueShield. "They decrease calcium absorption and they actually work by inhibiting the way our body and bones take in the calcium to make our bones stronger."
Thousands of New Yorkers take oral steroid treatments like prednisone, but what they don’t know is that those drugs can put them at risk for steroid-induced osteoporosis. Diana Palotas has more.
Chitre says studies show nearly half the adults taking at least five milligrams of oral steroids for more than 90 days experience bone fractures. This is a totally preventable side effect of oral steroids and something that can be helped by either taking a medication or making some changes.
There are some lifestyle changes you can make to prevent bone loss if you are on an oral steroid. They include quitting tobacco, exercising with weights and taking a vitamin D or calcium supplement.
"It's not a cure, but it will help mitigate the loss that the steroids will have on the body," said Dr. Chitre.
Chitre says Excellus is now sending doctors alerts to make them aware of the bone loss risk from oral steroids.
If you're taking one, the best advice is talk to your doctor.