When to Stop Taking Strontium

When to stop taking strontium after having taken it successfully for a number of years is a good question. Once you reach normal bone mineral density (BMD), it makes sense to stop taking strontium and just monitor your BMD. If your BMD readings are at the osteopenia stage, defined as a T-score between -1.0 and -2.5, the decision becomes more complicated. As I see it, the choice, at that point, is either to reduce the dosage or continue with the full dose until normal BMD is reached. I would definitely not stop taking it altogether after reaching a BMD in the osteopenia range.

I have been taking 680 mg strontium from strontium citrate for osteoporosis for six and a half years. My lowest T-scores have always been at the spine. Last year (2013), my T-score at the spine from L1-L4 was -1.6, which is in the range of osteopenia. I have continued taking the same dosage since then. I may wait another year until my next DXA before deciding on any change.

One person I know from an osteoporosis forum says she had osteoporosis and achieved normal BMD after 4.5 years on strontium citrate (lucky lady!). She says she took 680 mg strontium for 3.5 years and then 340 mg for the final year. She then stopped taking strontium but had yearly DXA scans. Two years later, her BMD is still at the normal range. Don’t be discouraged if your results aren’t quite as spectacular; mine aren’t compared to hers. What is really encouraging to me is that she has retained most of her gains in BMD after two years!

http://www.inspire.com/groups/national-osteoporosis-foundation/discussion/strontium-citrate-25/?ref=as&asat=172752721 (Charella’s update after two years off strontium is nestled within a discussion started by another forum member.)

http://www.inspire.com/groups/national-osteoporosis-foundation/discussion/success-with-strontium-continues-to-be-great/ (Charella’s update after more than one year off strontium citrate is featured in a discussion she initiated.)