Two Years. One Decision. A Reversed Diagnosis.
- trulyflavius
- 16 hours ago
- 5 min read
Petula Truly Flavius
Keynote Speaker Helping Organizations Support & Retain High-Performing Women | Fear, Burnout & Life Transitions | Workshops | ERGs
July 21, 2026
In April 2024, my DEXA scan came back with a diagnosis: osteoporosis.
Not osteopenia. Not "something to watch." Osteoporosis, with T-scores in both hips low enough to flag low resilience to fracture.
I was given one option: medication plus lifestyle changes. I tried the medication. My body rejected it, an allergic reaction within the first month. I stopped.
So I made one decision: I was going to do this another way, through strength training, dietary changes, and faith that the work would show up in the numbers.
Two years later, my 2026 DEXA scan told a different story. Osteopenia. Spine density increased by 4.1%. Left hip density increased by 12.3%. Right hip density increased by 5.7%.
The diagnosis had reversed.
How I Got Here
In June 2020, I had an emergency hysterectomy and bilateral oophorectomy. My ovaries were removed. That means my body's primary source of estrogen was gone overnight, not gradually the way natural menopause works, but immediately and completely.
Estrogen plays a critical role in regulating bone formation. When estrogen levels decrease, the rate of bone breakdown increases while the rate of bone building decreases. No ovaries means no estrogen. No estrogen means bones that are breaking down faster than they are building back up, every single day, from the moment of surgery forward.
The data on this is stark. Women who have undergone hysterectomy have more than twice the risk of developing osteoporosis or bone fracture compared to women who haven't, with vertebral fracture risk nearly five times higher. Women who have had their ovaries removed lose bone mineral density at twice the rate of those who kept their ovaries.
These are not rare outcomes. They are documented, predictable consequences of a surgery that removes the primary hormonal protection bones depend on. And yet what I was not told after surgery, not clearly, not in a way that connected these dots: I needed to start strength training immediately. I needed calcium. I needed vitamin D3. I needed estrogen replacement. These are the foundational interventions that protect bone after surgical menopause.
I didn't get them. Not because anyone was malicious. Because I had emergency surgery, was transferred between providers, changed insurance, and in the gap between all of those transitions, nobody was holding the full picture. Nobody handed me a bone protection plan, because nobody was assigned to do that.
So my bones broke down, quietly, for four years, until a DEXA scan in 2024 put a name on what had been happening the whole time.
What Osteoporosis Actually Means
Bone density is measured using T-scores. A T-score at or above -1.0 is normal. Between -1.0 and -2.5 is osteopenia. At or below -2.5 is osteoporosis.
In April 2024, my left femoral neck T-score was -2.6 and my right femoral neck was -2.7. Both in osteoporosis territory.
By June 2026, my spine T-score had improved to -1.0, right at the osteopenia boundary. My hip density had shifted meaningfully across the board.
Approximately 40% of women over the age of 50 will suffer from an osteoporotic fracture during their remaining lifetimes, with hip fractures particularly associated with high morbidity and mortality. Those numbers aren't abstract to me. They're what I was looking at in 2024 when I decided medication wasn't going to be my only option.
What the Research Says About Strength Training and Bone
Here's what I didn't fully understand before 2024: bone responds to load. When muscles contract against resistance, they pull on bone, and bone responds by building density in the stressed areas.
Regular strength training enhances bone mineral density, increases muscle mass, and improves balance, directly reducing the risk of the falls and fractures that make osteoporosis so dangerous.
High-intensity strength training has been shown to improve bone mineral density and physical function specifically in women with osteopenia and osteoporosis, not just prevent further loss, but actually improve it.
This is what my numbers proved. Not theoretically. On paper, from one DEXA scan to the next, over two years of consistent work.
Naming It
Naming it, after that April 2024 DEXA result, meant sitting with a diagnosis I had been avoiding the appointment to find.
The fear hadn't been irrational. The number was real. Osteoporosis, at 52, after five years of surgical estrogen deficiency with no replacement, was exactly the kind of result I'd been half-expecting and fully dreading.
But naming it also meant saying: now I know. And now I can do something about it.
Fear without information keeps you stuck. Fear plus a diagnosis, as uncomfortable as it is, gives you something to act on.
Breaking It
Breaking it didn't look dramatic. It looked like showing up to the gym consistently, changing what I ate, adding calcium and vitamin D3, and doing the research to understand what my bones actually needed.
It also looked like praying through the uncertainty. Two years is a long time to work toward a number you won't see until the next scan. There were months where I didn't know if it was working, where faith was the only evidence I had that the effort was adding up to something.
It was.
Voicing It
I'm voicing this because "your bones are getting worse" is a sentence a lot of women hear and don't know what to do with. The standard answer is medication, and for many women that's the right answer.
But when medication isn't an option, the answer isn't hopelessness. It's load-bearing exercise, nutrition, and consistency, applied over time, with patience and faith.
My numbers are the proof. Not just that it worked, but that it works.
What This Means for You
If you've had a hysterectomy or oophorectomy, ask your provider directly: what is my bone protection plan? What calcium and vitamin D3 levels should I be targeting? Should I have a baseline DEXA scan now, if I haven't already? What role can strength training play in my bone density going forward?
These are not passive questions. They're the beginning of a plan. And the earlier you start, the more you have to work with.
Practical Takeaway
Bone density responds to resistance training, but it takes time, consistency, and the right kind of load. If you're starting from a low bone density diagnosis, work with a physical therapist or trainer experienced in osteoporosis to build a safe, progressive program. Do not wait for the next scan to start. The work you do now will show up in numbers two years from today.
She's Losing Bone Density in the Conference Room Too
Right now, there are women sitting in your organization who have had hysterectomies, oophorectomies, or both. Some of them were never told about the bone implications. Some of them have a diagnosis they've never mentioned at work, because there's no framework for that conversation and the fear of being perceived as less capable is louder than the diagnosis itself.
Women who have undergone hysterectomy have more than twice the risk of osteoporosis or bone fracture compared to women who haven't. This is not a rare health story. It is happening inside your workforce right now, quietly, without language, without support, and without the organizational awareness to even ask the right questions.
Burnout is a signal. So is a body that has been running without the hormonal, nutritional, and physical support it needs. Organizations that invest in the whole woman, not just her output, keep their most experienced people longer, and send a message that she doesn't have to perform through everything alone.
I bring this conversation into women's events and organizations through Breaking Your Agreement With Fear and Burnout Is a Signal Not a Shame.
Book a keynote or workshop: trulyflavius.com/booktrulyflavius
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