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DR HILARY'S DIAGNOSIS

By 18, a girl’s bones are normally at their strongest.

They start to become more brittle after 35, and then even more so after the menopause when there is less oestrogen in the body.

In Nikki’s case, anorexia would have caused a lack of body fat and depleted her oestrogen levels earlier, leading to absent periods and brittle bones.

It’s great that she’s beaten anorexia, but like everyone who needs to keep their bones strong, she should avoid smoking and excess alcohol, which can prevent the absorption of calcium.

Nikki should also take plenty of weight-bearing exercise.

She’ll need at least 1,500mg of calcium with vitamin D a day, along with calcium-rich foods.

But as her osteoporosis is acute, she should talk to her GP about oestrogen or biphosphonate medication which could halt, or even reverse, the thinning of her bones.

'One fall could paralyse me'

EVERY WEEK A CELEB ASKS OUR FABULOUS DOCTOR FOR ADVICE. THIS WEEK IT’S REALITY TV STAR NIKKI GRAHAME, 26

Every time I go out, I worry about tripping over.

Just one fall could break my back and leave me paralysed for life because I suffer from the brittle bone disease osteoporosis.

It’s unusual for someone as young as me to have it, but it was brought on by my anorexia.

I started under-eating when I was eight, and it got so bad in my teens that I was often hospitalised.

The doctors told me I was depriving my body of calcium and oestrogen, which would help keep my bones strong, and gave me a supplement to increase the oestrogen in my body.

But I didn’t take it as it made me gain weight and feel depressed.

When I finally beat anorexia at 19, osteoporosis was the last thing on my mind.

But my mum kept on at me to get checked out, which I finally did last year.

I really didn’t expect to have it as I’d always convinced myself I would be OK, so I was horrified by the results.

Normally a woman in her 20s would have a bone density of between 0 and -1.

When it gets to -2.5, you’re diagnosed with osteoporosis.

A scan of my spine revealed it was -3.2, which is classed as acute, so I knew it was really bad – especially when the doctors then told me that the damage couldn’t be reversed.

Since then I’ve been taking a calcium supplement and eating as many calcium-rich dairy products as I can to stop it getting worse.

But is there anything else I can do to prevent any further damage to my bones?

For more information, contact the National Osteoporosis Society on 0845 450 0230 or visit Nos.org.uk

Words: Claie Wilson Photography: Camerapress/Rhian AP Gruffydd/BCM

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