Q. Is my bone loss normal or excessive?

Dr. Brown suggests that if you are an older woman and concerned about your bone loss you should ask yourself a few questions. For example, how old are you and when was your last menstrual cycle? Are you near menopause or beyond menopause? The 2 years before and the 5 years after menopause is a time of rapid bone loss. If you are 5 years or so beyond menopause and still have high bone loss, we suggest that you ask your primary care doctor about a workup for osteoporosis. If your bone density is declining and the rate of loss is currently high, medical workups are very important.

Listen to Dr. Brown discuss more on this topic in her blog, Bone Testing — Assessing Bone Breakdown and Bone Loss.