Stephen's story

“A few years ago, I wouldn’t have given much thought to osteoporosis.”

“I thought it was something that women were prone to after the menopause, and certainly didn’t realise it could affect men.”

“l started to suffer back pain in November 2016. Nothing serious, just a niggle. However, it slowly got worse. l was starting to have difficulty lifting things at work so went to see my GP in January. l was told that it was caused by wear and tear on my back as l was 64 and did a lot of lifting at work.”

“l was advised to undertake only light duties for a couple of weeks and take paracetamol. l followed this advice but the pain got worse over the next 3 months, during which l made several more visits to my GP. l took time off work and the sick notes were mounting up. By April, my GP referred me to the local back clinic. At the appointment I asked about an MRI scan. l was unhappy that the pain was becoming unbearable and I was taking painkillers every day. l was refused and told that it wouldn’t show anything because the pain was just muscular. They suggested stronger pain killers.”

“Two weeks later l was walking into the kitchen to make a cup of tea, sneezed and collapsed to the floor in agony."

At that moment, it was obvious that my problem was more than ‘just muscular’. My family were really concerned, so they paid for an MRI at a private hospital in the middle of May 2017, followed by a full spinal scan one week later. I was unable to walk on my own by this point. When I saw the private consultant a few days later, he told me that l had severe osteoporosis and ten compression fractures in my spine. l was advised not to expect to be able to return to work and retirement was the best option. As my treatment had already cost £3,000 I asked the consultant to send his findings to my GP so that I could receive treatment through the NHS. l was chair-bound and having to sleep in the chair as l was unable to lie down.”

“The pain was too severe even with all the painkillers. I was finally referred to and saw a Rheumatology consultant in October 2017, 10 months after my first GP visit, after which I started a course of Forsteo injections (an osteoporosis treatment). l am happy to report that a year after starting treatment things are a lot better. l am mobile again and can live with the pain levels without painkillers. However, I have retired, lost four and a half inches of height and need help getting things off the top shelf at Tesco’s. l was very fortunate to have had financial backing of my family to go private. Without this, I shudder to think how much longer l would have had to suffer.”

*Note: a stock image has been used to illustrate Stephen's story.