Treat Paget's Disease of the Bone

Paget’s disease of bone can happen as you get older. It’s a condition where your bones don’t replace old tissue with new tissue, so your bones can become misshapen and fragile. Paget’s disease of bone is treated with pain relievers and lifestyle modifications.

Steps

Seeking Medical Treatment

1. Take prescribed medication. A common treatment for Paget’s disease of bone is medication. Usually, patients are given medication used for osteoporosis. Many of these drugs are taken orally, but some are given through injection. Oral medication may cause digestive side effects.
   • Some common medications used for Paget’s disease of bone are alendronate (Fosamax), ibandronate (Boniva), and risedronate (Actonel).
   • For those who can’t take the bisphosphonates used for osteoporosis medication, you may be given calcitonin (Miacalcin).
2. Get supportive therapy to help with mobility. You may be able to undergo supportive therapies to help treat your Paget’s disease. Physical and occupational therapy can help. During these exercises, your therapist will lead you through exercises to help with mobility and everyday tasks.
   • They will also provide techniques to help you manage pain.
3. Undergo surgery for fractures and damaged joints. Surgery is uncommon for Paget’s disease of bone. However, there are certain instances where you may need surgery to deal with conditions caused by Paget’s disease. Your doctor may suggest surgery to assist in healing fractures and replace damaged joints with arthritis.
   • You may also have surgery to help align bones that have become deformed or to alleviate pain caused by pressure on the nerves.
   • If you are to have surgery on bones affected by Paget’s disease, you are at a risk for severe blood loss. Your doctor may give you medication to help with this prior to surgery.

Treating the Disease at Home

1. Determine if you need treatment. Sometimes, doctors won’t recommend treatment if you don’t have any symptoms. You may not need treatment because the disease is dormant. Even if you have no symptoms, the doctor may recommend treatment if the disease is active and affects certain key areas of your body, like your skull and spine.
   • The treatment despite having no symptoms helps reduce the risk of complications.
2. Try over-the-counter pain medication. Paget’s disease of bone can lead to pain in your bones or joints. To help with this, you can try over-the-counter pain meds. Ibuprofen, such as Advil or Motrin, and Acetaminophen, like Tylenol, are generally helpful.
   • If you have pain after taking these medications, see your doctor.
3. Use walking aids to help with mobility. For some with Paget’s disease of bone, help walking is a beneficial treatment. Walking aids can be prescribed to help you take the weight off the bones affected by the disease. This can help your mobility and help reduce your pain.
   • You can try a walker or a cane to help you walk.
   • Try inserts that go inside your shoe to give added support.
   • Your doctor may suggest braces that help you keep your spine in the right position.
4. Modify your diet to increase bone health. A diet that supports bone health is a lifestyle change and at-home treatment that can help. Increasing the amount of calcium and Get-More-Vitamin-D in your diet helps increase bone health. Add these vital nutrients to your diet.
   • Dairy contains healthy amounts of calcium. Add more milk and cheese products to your diet.
   • Green leafy vegetables contain calcium. Try cabbage, broccoli, spinach, and kale.
   • Soy beans and soy products like tofu contain calcium.
   • Spending 15 to 20 minutes in the sun each day is a great way to get your vitamin D. You may also want to try oily fish, like tuna.
   • Some foods are fortified with calcium and vitamin D, so you can try to look for those. Your doctor may also suggest that you take supplements.

Diagnosing Paget’s Disease of Bone

1. Recognize the symptoms. This condition affects the body's ability to create new bone tissue, which leads to weak and misshapen bones. This condition generally affects people age 50 and older. Often, there are no symptoms. If there are symptoms, the most common is bone pain.
   • Commons areas this condition affects include the pelvis, skull, spine, and leg.
   • In addition to pain, you may experience headaches or hearing loss if the skull is affected, you may become bowlegged or have joint pain in the knee or hip when the leg is affected, and the condition in the spine may make the arms or legs tingle or become numb.
2. Get imaging tests. X-rays are the most common way doctors diagnose Paget’s disease. The bones will look very distinctive if you have Paget’s disease, so the doctor can easily identify it. Your bones may be denser, be abnormally shaped, or be enlarged. Some bones, like in the legs, may have tiny fractures.
   • The doctor may also perform a bone scan. This gives a clearer picture of the bones that are affected by the disease. This helps the doctor figure out how severe your condition is.
3. Have a blood test. Another way doctors can diagnose Paget’s disease of bone is through blood tests. The blood may be taken for a different reason, but the doctor notices the abnormal blood levels. Elevated levels of serum alkaline phosphatase is an indicator that you may have Paget’s disease.

Sources and Citations

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