Some of you have been wondering. No newsletter last month and this month's newsletter is late. Well, I had unexpected quadruple bypass surgery and was away from the computer for some time.

I do want to share a few things learned - even though they are not Osteopenia related. First, women's cardiac symptoms are often different from men's - no severe chest pains etc. Also, you can have a normal cardiogram and still be suffering a heart attack. Only blood work that checks your enzymes provides an accurate diagnosis.

Back to Osteopenia and Osteoporosis issues.

1. One of the things that many of you have said you find frustrating is waiting 2 years for another dexa scan (one year if you are taking some prescription drugs).Well, there is an alternative. There IS a medical test that you can have repeated every few months that will tell if you have stopped excreting excess calcium. It is a urine test 'urine osteomark' or NTx test (it may have other names).

It is a simple test. The NTx tells tells you your rate of bone breakdown, a dynamic measurement of your osteoclast activity that can affect the probability for a decrease in your bone mineral density (BMD). Most people need to normalize their rate of bone breakdown before they can start building greater bone density. If this interests you, do talk with your health care provider. (I can not provide health care advice to individuals, so please do not ask.)

2. From time to time I have listed TCM (traditional Chinese Medicine) approaches to curing Osteopenia and Osteoporosis in this newsletter (the information has seldom shown up on the web site itself). As the number of scientific studies of TCM remedies increases, I have wanted to add a whole section about it to the web site. I am glad to report that after months of research, that section is now available to you.

Because TCM is a wholeistic health care program, it is really important to understand the basic TCM approach to life and health care. Unlike Western medicine, it is not helpful to just take 'this pill or that'. IN fact such an approach can be harmful rather than beneficial. I am delighted to tell you that the TCM page offers you a series of introductory lectures to TCM by a well known and advanced practitioner.

There are also several pages with links to explanations about specific remedies that have been subject to Western scientific research. There are a few additional ones that I hope to add in the next few months.

ADDENDA. Sometimes readers ask me where to buy specific TCM products. My advice is ALWAYS to find a practitioner and obtain remedies through them. First, you will be guaranteed authentic products [Herbs are unregulated. Anyone can package anything and call is whatever they want] AND what is even more important, you will have the advice of someone who can evaluate your whole system and make sure that the herbs you take 'fit' your constitution.

That is it for this month. Please understand that I am not up to answering a lot of emails yet.

Your good thoughts or prayers sent my way, will be much appreciated - especially in light of the studies that show that 'patients who are prayed for' improve faster than those in the control groups who did not receive such long distance attention.

Until next month......

Kate