Sarah’s story – The risk of an early menopause

In December 2020, when I was 48, I fell over when I was out walking. It wasn’t a big fall, but it resulted in a broken shoulder. A doctor at the fracture clinic told me it was quite severe and that I had broken it in four places. 

While waiting for an NHS physio appointment, I saw a private physiotherapist who encouraged me to ask for a DXA scan. They told me that as I had gone through the menopause in my early 40s and had suffered quite a severe break from a simple fall, I may have low bone density. I requested a scan but had to wait, so the scan didn’t happen until six months after I broke my shoulder (June 2021). 

“I felt a sudden strange sensation in my back, as though everything was out of place”

The month before I had my DXA scan, I bent down to pick up some washing and put it in the machine, and felt a sudden strange sensation in my back, as though everything was ‘out of place’. This was followed by extreme pain across my back when I started to walk. I knew I’d done something, but I had no idea what.  

It was painful to move and walk, and I needed a walking stick for support. My GP told me it was most likely muscular, so I didn’t think anything of it. 

After that, it was too painful to even lie down in bed to sleep, so I started sleeping on the sofa, propped up by cushions. While waiting for my DXA results, I bent down one day at home and felt the same strange sensation and pain as before. This time when the pain hit me it was very severe, and I shouted out in agony. I managed to sit down on a chair but couldn’t get back up again.  

I had not yet been told the results of my DXA, and when I called my GP surgery and spoke to the triage doctor, he inadvertently revealed my osteoporosis diagnosis over the phone while looking at my notes. 

“The doctor said he was 99% sure my back pain had nothing to do with the osteoporosis”

It was a massive shock to hear I had osteoporosis, especially as I was sitting there still in trouble with my back. I asked if the problems with my back were connected to the osteoporosis, but I was told that they weren’t and that I’d just put my back out. The doctor said he was “99% sure” my back pain had nothing to do with the osteoporosis. 

My physio suggested I request an MRI scan, but this was seen as a bit of an overreaction by the GP and he said it wouldn’t be urgent unless I had cancer. I was prescribed alendronic acid and sent for an x-ray - I had to borrow a walking frame to get to the hospital, and it had taken some days to make sure I was mobile enough to manage it. After the appointment, the X-ray confirmed that I had spinal fractures. 

I was still sitting up on the sofa to sleep and I was in a lot of pain. I could barely stand up and walk, even with a walking frame. I couldn’t wash or dress myself or get upstairs. It was very depressing and upsetting. 

I was finally given help from community therapy services and provided with a hospital bed and other mobility aids which were really helpful. But one day, I accidentally sat up too quickly from hearing my alarm in the morning. When I started walking, I experienced the same sensation - and then the pain hit me across the back. I knew I had fractured again. 

My mental health really suffered as a result. I couldn’t do any of the daily tasks I’d previously taken for granted. You can spend months slowly recovering from spinal fractures, then another one can happen again just like that. It made me very fearful. 

Four months after being referred, the orthopaedic hospital contacted me with an appointment for a DXA scan, after which I was told I had severe osteoporosis.  

An MRI scan the hospital carried out showed I’d suffered eight spinal fractures in total.  

Thankfully I haven’t had another break since starting osteoporosis medication, but the reality of osteoporosis has been life-changing for me, both physically and mentally. I live with chronic pain, and walking is difficult. I also have a curve in my spine due to the spinal fractures.  

When I first started breaking bones, at the age of 48, I’d been a busy working mum of three. My daughter was 8 years old, and my sons were 12 and 15.  

“I never thought that I could get osteoporosis at my age.” 

Osteoporosis was not a health issue that had ever entered my head before I broke bones. I wish there had been more publicity at the time around osteoporosis and the effects an earlier menopause can have on your bone density. It’s really important that everyone is aware of the increased risk of the condition after menopause, to help prevent osteoporosis and the devastating fractures it can cause. 

No More Broken Bones. No More Broken Lives.