Newsletter
Extracts from the March 2005 Newsletter
The Marshland Singers at our Social
The customary and always-enjoyed performance by The Marshland Singers at our annual Social, January 2005.
Opening Words
Spring will be springing up soon, so let’s put a smile on our faces!
We had a good year in 2004, with regard to speakers and exhibitions (thank you Ken and Edie) and a nice day out in Wisbech (thanks Jill). Our fund-raising events were mostly well attended and enjoyed by members and visitors alike.
Your Committee has been extended to include Ros Harre and Barbara Blacklock, so if you have any comments to make please approach them as well as the ‘old faithfulls’. We will soon be looking to elections for the Committee following our end of year in June 2005. The National Osteoporosis Society (NOS) has made a few changes to its rules to attract and keep Committee members; more about these changes further down the page. New faces are always welcome on the Committee.
We had a good collection weekend at Sainsbury’s recently and there will be another collection weekend at Morrison’s Supermarket on Friday 10 and Saturday 11 June 2005. Volunteers welcome!
Are you still smiling?
From the Chairman, John Fludgate
NOS Membership Campaign
The National Osteoporosis Society is about to embark upon a membership recruitment campaign to increase member numbers to 90000 in five year’s time. The target for this year is 8700 new members. The reason for this membership drive is:
- to help more people diagnosed with osteoporosis
- to aid applications to statutory and voluntary sectors for grants
- to give credibility to campaigning and lobbying for improved services.
Support groups, like ours, will be asked to help. We have the local contacts, so we should be able to encourage more people to join the National Society.
As part of that campaign, there is the option of Honorary Membership — free membership of the NOS — for those joining the Committee. Obviously, this is to encourage members to take more of an interest in the running of their own support groups and help to spread the workload of the present Committee members.
In the past all Committee members had to pay a subscription to the local Group and to NOS. At the moment that amounts to £25, (£10 local plus £15 to NOS). This could discourage some people. Committee members can still pay both membership charges but the NOS part of this would be classed as a donation. Also NOS membership is likely to rise to £20.
Our National Society is under some considerable financial pressure and it is up to us to support it!
Hunstanton Osteoporosis Roadshow
Saturday 12 March 2005
We will be at the Methodist Hall in Hunstanton between 10 AM and 3.30 PM (find the Methodist Hall on the map below).
This year, rather than concentrating on fund-raising, we would like to target raising awareness and spreading information — we have decided to apply for National Lottery and other grants to help us do this. It is with these goals in mind that we present to you news of our first Osteoporosis Roadshow, in Hunstanton.
Our first roadshow: Hunstanton, Norfolk
Our first Osteoporosis Roadshow is a pilot, already planned for Hunstanton. If we obtain our Lottery Grant we would also like to take the same format to the West Norfolk village of Docking, and the towns of Downham Market, Swaffham and Wisbech.
The need for more and better information
Recently, while giving our usual NOS talk to local groups in Swaffham and Marshland St James, it was obvious that GP services to patients vary tremendously. Improved information always helps people to know the choices open to them.
The Hunstanton Roadshow will take place on Saturday 12 March 2005, from 10.00 AM to 3.30 PM in the Hunstanton Methodist Hall (on the corner of Austin Street and the A149 — see the Hunstanton map below). This is where we held the Hunstanton Scanning Day and many of you who attended will know what an excellent venue this is.
What’s planned?
We aim to have speakers on topics including What is Osteoporosis?, Living with Osteoporosis and Diet, with an exercise demonstration by the Active for Life Group. This format will be repeated at intervals throughout the day, so that people coming in at different times should still be able to have access to all the information. There will be stands giving information on the above and also on osteopathy, aromatherapy, scanning and natural health products; plus information about LIST, PALS and free energy-saving light bulbs.
See you there
Who could resist all that?! We do hope the first Roadshow, particularly, is well supported. Anybody who can help in any way, making tea, talking to people, helping man the stands, would be most welcome. Contact Edith Finbow.
Strontium ranelate
There is a new drug, Strontium ranelate (Protelos), now licensed for post-menopausal women with osteoporosis to reduce the risk of fractures in the spine and hip. At present it’s not licensed for men, but ongoing research trials may lead to the licence being extended to include men in the future.
As you know, the bones in our skeleton are made of a thicker outer shell and a strong inner mesh filled with collagen (protein), calcium salts and other minerals. The inside looks like a honeycomb, with blood vessels and bone marrow in the spaces between struts of bone. With osteoporosis these struts become thin and break easily.
Bones are continually being broken-down by cells called osteoclasts and rebuilt by cells called osteoblasts (‘bone turnover’).
How Strontium ranelate differs from other drug treatments
Strontium ranelate is the first in a new class of drug treatments that aims to strengthen bones and reduce the risk of fractures. Other drug treatments work by either suppressing the action of the osteoclasts that break-down bone or by stimulating the action of the osteoblasts which build bone. Strontium ranelate is the first treatment that works by performing both these functions.
Not many studies have compared this new treatment with other existing ones but it appears to be similar in reducing risk of fractures in the spine. The results of trials reporting the effects on other fractures have not yet been published.
NB: Sometimes DEXA scans are used to check the effectiveness of treatment. The appearance of strontium may cause bone to appear denser than it actually is. This means that scan results will have to be adjusted to allow for this.
A full NOS Strontium ranelate information sheet is available from Edith Finbow.
Wrist Scanning in North Lynn
Our next DEXA-scanning day will be held at the Healthy Living Centre, North Lynn, King’s Lynn, on Saturday 23 April 2005. We already have a nearly full waiting list and will be shortly telephoning people to offer them appointments.
We would welcome any helpers for the day. Please contact Edith Finbow.
NHS Falling Short
The All Party Parliamentary Osteoporosis Group (APPOG), for which the NOS is the Secretariat, flourished last year. The Group now has 50 members. Their report, “Falling Short” was launched in the Houses of Commons on 8 December 2004.
The report looked at the implementation of the National Service Framework (NSF) for Older People Standard Six on integrated falls and osteoporosis services. Doctor Stephen Ladyman MP, the Health Minister responsible for osteoporosis, addressed the breakfast launch that was attended by about 20 MPs, Peers and Department of Health officials.
Report findings
Although progress had been made by the NHS with initiatives to prevent falls, these efforts had not widely been reflected in osteoporosis prevention. If services are to be effective in reducing the number of fractures, they need to be designed so that the impact of falls, as well as their number, is reduced.
A 10-point action plan was outlined. Every PCT received a copy. We will be checking this out!
Locally, our Falls Co-ordinator, Roy Crane, has been given a permanent post.
Fosamax or Actonel Guidance
Remember
When taking Fosamax or Actonel, remember the guidance:
drink a full glass of water and stay upright for a good half hour after taking.
We have heard of one of our member’s rather serious experiences. She had been in the habit of changing her bed, having taken her one-a-week tablet. This meant a great deal of bending. First she developed a skin rash, and then this seemed to turn into thrush in her mouth that spread down her gullet, making swallowing difficult. As a consequence she had to liquidise her food. The GP did not make the connection and organised an endoscopy to find out if there was a growth in her oesophagus. She is now on antibiotics and off her osteoporosis treatment for the moment; and, gradually, she is recovering.
Supplements of Calcium & Vitamin D
If you are taking a treatment for osteoporosis and have a low dietary calcium intake, the use of a calcium and vitamin D supplement will ensure that you are getting enough. Remember, Didronel already has a calcium supplement in the pack.
Many people struggle to achieve 1200 milligram (MG) of calcium per day through their dietary intake which is the daily amount suggested by the NOS medical advisers for people with osteoporosis. Calcium works together with osteoporosis treatments to fill-in holes in old, worn-out bone.
Normal advice for most adults is that they need 700 MG, but the higher amount is recommended for people with osteoporosis.
This is particularly important for people who receive steroid (glucocorticoid) tablets who may have decreased calcium absorption and for people with malabsorption problems such as Crohn’s or Celiac Disease.
Vitamin D controls the absorption of calcium from the gut. It is mainly obtained from sunshine and also from fortified margarine, and oily fish such as sardines and herrings.
For those people who hope to obtain their vitamin D through the use of cod liver oil, it would be advisable to discuss an increase in your dosage with your doctor as this would also increase your intake of vitamin A, which in high amounts could be detrimental to bone health in older individuals.
Can I have too much calcium? There is an upper limit to the amount of calcium that can be taken safely: 2000-25000 MG of calcium per day in food, drink and supplements. Consistently exceeding this upper limit may increase your risk of medical problems; a high level of calcium in the blood may interfere with the absorption of other minerals, such as iron.
If you have a history of kidney stones, consuming a diet rich in calcium will not increase your risk of further stone formation. Interestingly, most renal doctors do not restrict calcium intake for their patients these days.
A full NOS information sheet is available. To obtain it, telephone or email Edith Finbow.
Past Fund-raising
Eddie Seales and his Big Band, with The Fiona Marshall Singers | November 2004
Our show at the Corn Exchange, King’s Lynn on Tuesday 23 November 2004 was our main fund-raising event of the year. A great deal of work went into preparing for this, both from the marketing and performing sides. In a way it was a pity it could not have been staged for two performances but perhaps we would not have sold all the seats. However, Eddie Seales and his Big Band was excellent and Fiona’s young people were really professional — and great fun!
Bookings were late in coming and that caused the Group some headaches. In the end, however 480 of the possible 760 seats were sold and a profit of £2100 was made after all expenses had been paid. Not quite as much as we had hoped for but quite respectable.
Collection | February 2005
On Friday 4 and Saturday 5 February 2005 several members of the Group and friends collected for the National Osteoporosis Society in Sainsbury’s, King’s Lynn. The sum of £397.74 was raised. Many thanks to those few who stood and collected and of course, to those of the public who gave.
We really do need some more volunteers to help us on these collecting days. We have another one planned for Thursday 9 and Friday 10 June 2005 in Morrison’s Supermarket. If anybody would like to help, please contact one of us. Extra help would make all the difference. If there are only a very few this makes for a very tiring event.
Forthcoming Fund-raising
Please check our Diary Dates page for all our meetings and events.
Other Recent Past Events We’ve Enjoyed…
Here are just a few of the handful of events we’ve organised and enjoyed recently.
Norfolk Reeds | November 2004
Roger Lines and his clarinet ensemble, Norfolk Reeds, entertained the Group. Roger regaled us with information and anecdotes, and the ensemble played many types of music. The clarinet is used in orchestra, jazz band, marching band and as a solo instrument and all these were illustrated.
The clarinet is obviously Roger’s favourite woodwind instrument and his enthusiasm was contagious.
Our ‘Social’ | January 2005
There were 19 invitees attending our Social this year. It is always good to have the chance to thank the people who have helped us during the year.
The Marshland Singers sang for us, Gordon Barnard and Les Finbow played the piano, Ken Eade provided the paper competition and John Fludgate the fun quiz.
The buffet as usual was magnificent, and a good time was had by all.
Many thanks to all those who helped in so many ways, especially in the kitchen.
