ResignedToWait

I got the news last night that my AW (separated) is in the hospital due to a broken hip, and had to get a blood transfusion due to Anemia (probably not related to the hip fracture) from a fall she had while drunk at 3 am. The hospital had to get permission to give her the transfusion from her mother, because she was so "out of it".

I was quite surprised at this, as my AW is not even 50 y/o yet, so she (I thought) would be way too young to break a hip from a fall.
Only then did I google alcoholism and hip fractures. Wow! All these years of researching her alcohol-related medical issues, and I've never come across the effects chronic alcohol use has on the bones of the addict.

Does anyone else have any experience with their A having bone-related issues at a younger than average age?

unsureoffuture

I haven't heard that yet but I do know that alcoholism causes nutritional and vitamin deficiencies so it makes complete sense that these could affect bone denisty. It may also be how she fell and what she fell on. Anyone can break a hip if they fall the right way.

Seren

My maternal grandmother was an alcoholic, and her chin was basically on her chest due to osteoporosis--likely from her alcoholism.

honeypig

XAH has issues. He suffered a compression fracture in his lumbar spine from a relatively minor tumble. L-spine bones are big, heavy vertebrae, and especially in a 6-foot-plus, 200-lb-plus man, this should be a tough injury to get.

Drinking and smoking both are terrible on the bones. It's something I wasn't aware of either until recently. Google either topic for more info; it's readily available.

teatreeoil007

I've met a few people who have had this issue who are addicts or recovering addicts. Smoking also affects bone health. And many people smoke when they drink. It's all about bone health and how alcohol consumption can interfere with the body being able to get healthy nutrients to the bones; can interfere with the absorption of nutrients, can interfere with the appetite; can affect balance and lead to falls. So there are few things going on there. If you are not getting enough calcium in your system, for example, your body can start leaching calcium from your bones, leading to bone loss. I think we sometimes take bone health for granted with a mentality that a bone is just a bone and is there and is a hard structure that we don't have to worry about. We forget that we need to treat our bones good just like we need to treat any other organ in our body good.

I think about all the gazillion dollars that are spent on hair and skin. But what about the bones?

Nutrition and exercise are so important as well as managing STRESS !! Is it possible that people who over imbibe do so because of stress, and stress affects our health including our bone health. Just my thoughts....Interesting topic!!

Ladybird579

My exah is in a wheelchair now and his doctor said his problems with his bones and joints are caused by his excessive drinking and smoking since he was 13. Exah of course says this not true and has other excuses as to why he can no longer walk. lol

Susiequeue

My sister succumbed to this horrible disease at 62. When she was 56, she fell, one of many falls, breaking her hip.

There is definitely a relationship to bone health.