So, during my surgery last month to take out a cervical disc, my neurosurgeon remarked that he noticed I had poor bone density. Once the neck brace comes off, my endo wants me to get a bone density test. I'm already on a Vitamin D3 supplement.
I've tried to do some research and found that poor bone density and bone issues in general are something diabetics need to watch out for.
So, I'm wondering, how does diabetes cause one to be predisposed to osteopenia and/or osteoporosis?Is there something about fluctuating blood glucose levels that affects the osteoblasts? Is insulin a doorkeeper for osteoblasts or something? I'm curious what the biological relationship is between diabetes osteopenia/osteoporosis.
Just guessing... would charcot foot be perhaps the most extreme case, and that even though most of us won't expect charcot foot, that osteo and bone problems may exist to a lesser degree in most of us?
Whether my guess is related to vitamin D levels or not, I don't know. Just a guess.
Warning: googling for pictures of charcot foot is pretty scary stuff but not too different than what my "diabetes education" of 30+ year ago consisted of.
I'm interested in this as well. I wonder if it is a mechanism related to osteoclasts too (blasts build bone and clasts destroy bone...perhaps some sort of insulin/vitamin D item does not inhibit the clasts well enough and they eat away too much bone through their activity?). Hopefully one of the science wizards around here will help us out :)
Except Charcot is caused by veins in the foot that don't respond to nerve signals to contract. They stay wide open and the blood rushes through and washes away the calcium. That's what my podiatrist said when I had Charcot. Since the condition is localized...in only one foot, even...I presumed that was true. Now that I repeat the story, though, it sure sounds simplistic.
Well, I think there is a strong connection. One route is through vitamin D and calcium processes. It turns out that proper vitamin D levels are very important to bone density and having diabetes is highly associated to vitamin D problems. I turn out to have vitamin D deficiencies and get tested regularly. I take 8-10,000 units per day in order to reach normal levels. Yes, you read that right. The fact that you take a vitamin D3 supplement doesn't necessarily mean you are getting enough.
I also weight train which is supposed to help maintain bone density.
