BoomerGirl Diary

Dear Crabby:

My health care provider is after me to get one of those bone-density thingies. I’m not sure I really need it. What do you think?

Yolanda Femur

Dear Yolanda:

You should totally go for it. This may be the only time in mid-life that anyone tells you that you have the hips of a 20-year-old.

The bone-density test is a simple X-Ray that measures how dense your hip bone and your low spine are and assesses your fracture risk. It is a good test, and relatively risk free. Women are recommended to get a bone density test at least every 2 years after the big M (menopause) or yearly if they have osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis makes you shorter, gives you an unattractive upper back hump, and causes pain, loss of mobility, and fractures. Think Quasimodo with hot flashes and a broken hip and you’re there, girlfriend.

It’s a wise move to check it out and take care of the problem early if it’s developing. You can do this with increased calcium and vitamin D and weight bearing exercise.

Incidentally, this is one area where us big girls have the edge, because whenever we move around, we ARE weight bearing! (It’s true that tiny women are more at risk, as are Asian women, serious athletes, and women with eating disorders and certain metabolic conditions.)

If the problem is really serious, you may need weekly or monthly medicine, but hey, this is a small price to pay. Some of the latest research on preventing hip fracture involves wearing underpants with BIG PADDED HIPS, so if you fall, it cushions the blow.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I’ve been trying to make my hips smaller all my life, and I don’t want some nursing home aide slapping me into big-butt panties for my own good … so, honey, get the test, wouldja?

Crabby