Diagnosed with MGUS March 2014. Body x-ray scan revealed nothing. Dexa said mild osteopenia.
October 2015 - Full-body x-ray. Says I have a compression fracture of the T7 (old fracture).
Osteoporosis (I am still premenopausal).
Thoracic and lumbar spine vertebral body and disc degenerative changes. No lytic lesions noted.
I was only aware that I had mild osteopenia and degenerative disc.
So first, can compression fracture be from either osteoporosis or myeloma?
Second, is it unusual to change from mild osteopenia to osteoporosis in 1 1/2 years (before menopause)?
Third, I will see my specialist in a week. Do you think I should ask about having a low dose CT/PET to rule out lytic lesions?
I only have partial lab results, not serum protein electrophoresis (SPEP) yet.
Let me know your thoughts. I appreciate it.
Forums
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Toni - Name: Toni
- Who do you know with myeloma?: self - MGUS
- When were you/they diagnosed?: April 2014
- Age at diagnosis: 51
Re: Compression fracture - from osteoporosis or myeloma?
A compression fracture **can** occur due to myeloma, however compression fractures can occur for many reasons; a compression fracture does not necessarily indicate one has myeloma or soletary bone plasmacytoma.
What kind of specialist are you seeing in a week?
The other questions, I have no idea.
What kind of specialist are you seeing in a week?
The other questions, I have no idea.
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Little Monkey - Name: Little Monkey
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Father-stage 1 multiple myeloma
- When were you/they diagnosed?: March/April of 2015
Re: Compression fracture - from osteoporosis or myeloma?
Toni,
I would push for a PET/CT or MRI. I think of Tom Brokaw and his doc that missed the significance of Mr. Brokaw's compression fracture when he was first experiencing spinal issues (finally just got through reading his book "A Lucky Life Interrupted").
I would push for a PET/CT or MRI. I think of Tom Brokaw and his doc that missed the significance of Mr. Brokaw's compression fracture when he was first experiencing spinal issues (finally just got through reading his book "A Lucky Life Interrupted").
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Multibilly - Name: Multibilly
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Me
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Smoldering, Nov, 2012
Re: Compression fracture - from osteoporosis or myeloma?
Multibilly - I only saw Tom Brokaw's interview. I think I remember now that his fracture was missed.
You usually get annual PET/CT scans, don't you? Hasn't that borne out to be the best diagnostic tool for done disease in multiple myeloma? Is this the one they do contrast with and if there is a myeloma process going on the area(s) "light up"?
Thanks for your responses folks.
You usually get annual PET/CT scans, don't you? Hasn't that borne out to be the best diagnostic tool for done disease in multiple myeloma? Is this the one they do contrast with and if there is a myeloma process going on the area(s) "light up"?
Thanks for your responses folks.
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Toni - Name: Toni
- Who do you know with myeloma?: self - MGUS
- When were you/they diagnosed?: April 2014
- Age at diagnosis: 51
Re: Compression fracture - from osteoporosis or myeloma?
Toni,
My local onc and I have ongoing conversations about imaging. At one point, we discussed alternating PET/CTs with skeletal surveys for routine monitoring. However, if there was an obvious issue like a compression fracture, I think we would both be in agreement that we would verify any myeloma-related issues with something other than an xray. Also, if my markers really started to go south at some given point in time, we would also push for imaging other than an xray. And then there is always the issue of just what my insurance will cover at any point in time.
If I could do a whole-body MRI instead of PET/CT, I would probably push for the MRI for routine monitoring just because of the radiation exposure issue - but there simply aren't any whole-body MRI machines in Colorado.
On the other hand, Dr. Berenson (my out-of-state specialist) generally doesn't believe in routine imaging and thinks that I should only get imaged if I were to develop bone pain. So, I always feel a bit torn on what to do on the subject of routine imaging.
My most recent PET/CT only used FDG (radioactive glucose) and no contrast agents (which I was told to avoid).
I'm sure you've probably seen this great article by Dr. Kapoor?
Dr. Prashant Kapoor, "To PET or not to PET" (July 24, 2014)
My local onc and I have ongoing conversations about imaging. At one point, we discussed alternating PET/CTs with skeletal surveys for routine monitoring. However, if there was an obvious issue like a compression fracture, I think we would both be in agreement that we would verify any myeloma-related issues with something other than an xray. Also, if my markers really started to go south at some given point in time, we would also push for imaging other than an xray. And then there is always the issue of just what my insurance will cover at any point in time.
If I could do a whole-body MRI instead of PET/CT, I would probably push for the MRI for routine monitoring just because of the radiation exposure issue - but there simply aren't any whole-body MRI machines in Colorado.
On the other hand, Dr. Berenson (my out-of-state specialist) generally doesn't believe in routine imaging and thinks that I should only get imaged if I were to develop bone pain. So, I always feel a bit torn on what to do on the subject of routine imaging.
My most recent PET/CT only used FDG (radioactive glucose) and no contrast agents (which I was told to avoid).
I'm sure you've probably seen this great article by Dr. Kapoor?
Dr. Prashant Kapoor, "To PET or not to PET" (July 24, 2014)
Last edited by Multibilly on Thu Oct 08, 2015 7:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Multibilly - Name: Multibilly
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Me
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Smoldering, Nov, 2012
Re: Compression fracture - from osteoporosis or myeloma?
Multibilly -
Ah! I had seen the Dr. Kapoor article a while ago but I had forgotten about it. Thank you Multibilly. I will read it tonight.
Ah! I had seen the Dr. Kapoor article a while ago but I had forgotten about it. Thank you Multibilly. I will read it tonight.
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Toni - Name: Toni
- Who do you know with myeloma?: self - MGUS
- When were you/they diagnosed?: April 2014
- Age at diagnosis: 51
Re: Compression fracture - from osteoporosis or myeloma?
The 1st thing my family doc did to determine if anything was wrong was to take a blood test to see what my levels were and a urine test also. I had calcium and protein in my blood and/or urine. If those are positive for calcium and protein, you need further testing. Do not ignore those findings. 
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Dottie K - When were you/they diagnosed?: 8/2013
- Age at diagnosis: 59
Re: Compression fracture - from osteoporosis or myeloma?
Wow.
In the 10 years I have had MGUS, I am so surprised to see all the negative answers made about MGUS patients questions here at this site. Maybe us with "JUST MGUS" need to find a separate site. I guess these people feel that their toes are getting stepped on here. Sorry if we all offended you all here. We wish you all the very best. But we sure don't need any rude comments about our REAL health issues. You might want to remember when you were all first diagnosed. Please cut us some slack.
In the 10 years I have had MGUS, I am so surprised to see all the negative answers made about MGUS patients questions here at this site. Maybe us with "JUST MGUS" need to find a separate site. I guess these people feel that their toes are getting stepped on here. Sorry if we all offended you all here. We wish you all the very best. But we sure don't need any rude comments about our REAL health issues. You might want to remember when you were all first diagnosed. Please cut us some slack.
Re: Compression fracture - from osteoporosis or myeloma?
Just wanted to follow up.
My doctor has ordered an MRI of the thoracic and lumbar spine. I already had a lumbar MRI 1 1/2 years ago, but this will help identify any worsening, if as the radiologist noted, things are worse with the disk degeneration or bone strength. It is very possible that this newest radiologist over read the images. We (the doctor and I) cannot see the fracture to which she refers.
The MRI should give us a lot of information for bone and disk health.
The long and the short of it is I am no closer to finding the cause of my increasing pain, and I'd really like to address that so I can treat it and be more functional.
Thanks all!
My doctor has ordered an MRI of the thoracic and lumbar spine. I already had a lumbar MRI 1 1/2 years ago, but this will help identify any worsening, if as the radiologist noted, things are worse with the disk degeneration or bone strength. It is very possible that this newest radiologist over read the images. We (the doctor and I) cannot see the fracture to which she refers.
The MRI should give us a lot of information for bone and disk health.
The long and the short of it is I am no closer to finding the cause of my increasing pain, and I'd really like to address that so I can treat it and be more functional.
Thanks all!
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Toni - Name: Toni
- Who do you know with myeloma?: self - MGUS
- When were you/they diagnosed?: April 2014
- Age at diagnosis: 51
Re: Compression fracture - from osteoporosis or myeloma?
Thanks for your update, Toni. I hope the new MRI helps you figure out what the source of the increasing pain is that you're experiencing.
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JimNY
10 posts
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