@marzNC. I can be a guinea pig for you
I just had a bone density test and have osteopenia. My hip is not too bad but my spine is worse. I'm not taking any drugs but am on a mission to build my bones back up. I'm having a follow up scan in two years time.
My history is that I went through natural early menopause at 41 and had a bone density test after missing 6 cycles. My bones were not good and my Dr put me on the low dose pill and I was to take it for my bone health until I was 50. At 46 I had a follow up BD scan and my bones were excellent...equal to a woman aged in her 20s. At around 49 1/2 I got tired of taking the pill so I stopped. I turned 50 in May last year, so it was about a year or so after stopping the estrogen that I again had a BD scan and got the bad news about my bones.
I have a weights program sorted and I am walking and doing heaps of gardening, which are supposed to be very good for bone health (though I have a big problem with my foot at the moment and my walking and squats/lunges have been put on hold, but still doing heaps of gardening as we have a new big acreage to plant out and maintain).
I have been having lots of lower back pain over the last six months, which I have never had before, but my Dr. says it's not usual to feel it when your bones are weak. However, as soon as I turned 50 I felt my body change. I've now got two years to hopefully get my bones to match my age.
Of interest also... I breastfed our 3 children : the 1st - 9 mths, 2nd - 10 1/2 mths and the last 18 mths. I have been reading up on studies about how this can affect bone health too.