Summary

"There was never any doubt in my mind that if I went after osteoporosis, I could control it and lead a healthy life. That's my message to other women: No one can do this for you-you've got to do it for yourself. And you can." (Ann Richards) Forty-four million Americans, thirty million of whom are women, will face osteoporosis in some form. Often triggered by hormonal changes that occur after menopause, osteoporosis results in the fracturing of bones, which can prove fatal to the elderly. One out of every six affected women will break her hip; only one out of three will regain her independence. In 1994, after falling and fracturing her hand, Ann Richards went for a bone density test. She was diagnosed with osteopenia, an early stage of osteoporosis. After witnessing both of her grandmothers and her mother fall victim to the disease, Richards was determined to overcome its incapacitating effects. She began a physician-approved regimen of medication and dramatically changed her lifestyle. In I'm Not Slowing Down, the former Texas governor, known for her saucy straight talk, and leading osteoporosis authority Sydney Lou Bonnick tell women what they need to know to combat this devastating disease. Nearly a decade after her original diagnosis, Richards's bone density remains essentially stable. Readers will benefit from advice on everything from diet to exercise to the individual histories that must precede the implementation of any bone-building program if women are to begin the second act of their lives with strength, agility, and confidence.

Author Biography

Ann Richards was governor of Texas from 1990 to 1994, and has been active in politics for over half a century. In 1988, she gained national prominence with her keynote address at the Democratic National Convention.

Sydney Lou Bonnick, M.D., F.A.C.P., is medical director of the Institute for Women's Health at Texas Woman's University in Denton, Texas. She was formerly the director of Osteoporosis Services at Dr. Kenneth Cooper's internationally recognized Cooper Clinic in Dallas. Dr. Bonnick is the author of The Osteoporosis Handbook.

Foreword	p. xi
A Note to Readers	p. xiii
Prologue	p. 1
Mama	p. 3
Family	p. 19
Getting a Bone-Density Test	p. 35
What Is Osteoporosis?	p. 53
Menopause, Estrogen, and Bones	p. 67
Bone Breakers: Caffeine, Tobacco, Alcohol	p. 87
Bone Helpers: Calcium, Vitamins, Prescription Medications for Prevention and Treatment	p. 99
Exercise	p. 131
Epilogue	p. 169
Typical Questions	p. 173
Resources	p. 185
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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Excerpts

Prologue Right after I was elected governor of Texas, we were in turmoil trying to put things together, hire staff, move into the capitol office, and move from my house to the Governor's Mansion. In the midst of all this, we got a notice that the Queen of England was coming to Austin. It is a real undertaking to entertain the queen. We had to go to "entertain the queen school" to learn how to act around her. Secret Service flew in from Washington to tell us where we could and could not go and what we could and could not do. On the day she was to arrive, I was in my office at the capitol when I got the call saying the queen was at the airport. I went tearing down the stairs and running across the rotunda to meet her on the capitol steps and my mother's voice went through my head as clear as a bell saying, "Where do you think you are going, to see the Queen of England?" And I thought, Yes, Mama, I am! Chapter 1 Mama People do not think of osteoporosis as a fatal disease, but it is. My mother died of it. Well, that is not literally true. She died from cancer, but I swear her spirit died from osteoporosis. Mama’s name was Iona Warren, but everyone called her Ona. She was an industrious, thrifty child of the Great Depression, born and raised in a tiny town outside of Hico called Hogjaw. Her father was a farmer and they were dirt poor, but she was ambitious and hardworking—the only one of three sisters to leave home and make a life on her own. In fact, her sisters still lived in Hico when I was a child. Mama finished high school, an enormous accomplishment in her time, and left the family home to move to the big city of Waco. Today, young women do this all the time, but back then it was highly unusual and courageous. My uncle I. V. lived in Waco and he encouraged Mama to come to the city. In Waco, she took a job in a dry goods store and later she met my father on a blind date. I have told the story of the day I was born to people in the past because it perfectly illustrates her character. Before she went into labor, Mama had arranged for a neighbor lady to fix Daddy’s supper on the day she delivered me, but the woman did not know how to wring a chicken’s neck. To kill a chicken, you break its neck, and it takes skill to pop your arm in a way that breaks the chicken’s neck clean. When my mother would do it, the head of the chicken would literally come off. That day, Mama delivered me in the morning and she was lying in bed when the neighbor came in to say she did not know how to kill the chicken. Mama said, Bring it here,” and she lay in that bed and wrung the chicken’s neck. Both my parents came from poor farming families, and all of my young life I remember Mama trying to figure out how she could make a little money, but whatever she made went for necessities or into the savings. When she was not working to make money, there were chores to be done. She spent every second housekeeping, tending the vegetable garden, sewing clothes, or taking care of our chickens. There was no time reserved for having fun because she always had so much work to do, but she said, You do whatever you have to do and you do it without whining.” It was from Mama that I learned the value of hard work and to never linger over those things in life that could hold you back, and it had a great influence on me. Mama taught me that you should never expect anyone else, a man included, to do what you can do for yourself. About five years before Mama died, I went to visit her and when I walked onto her patio, I looked up and saw her on the roof of the Austin condo she and my father had bought after they had sold the house in Waco. She was in her early eighties. She looked down at me and said, I know you are going to fuss at me, but the TV said it was going to rain and the man who was supposed to clean out the gutters d