Following Her Dreams

Lindsay, who recently retired from her much-loved job as a librarian after 20 years, has always kept fit, practising yoga since her 20s and regularly hiking and climbing mountains especially in the Lake District.

She was surprised by the diagnosis of osteoporosis, not least because she’d been told for seven years that the pain was probably caused by bruised ribs. The real reason was only uncovered after a chiropractor took an X-ray and discovered a fractured vertebra and requested her GP do a DEXA/bone density scan which revealed osteoporosis.

Lindsay believes that this could have been exacerbated by her long-term use of Ibuprofen, initially for a shoulder injury, and then for the 'bruised ribs'; she now only takes Paracetamol for pain relief whenever she needs it, and uses Freeze Relief Gel (non-Ibuprofen) as well as massages.

“I’ve always been in the information business!” says Lindsay. “Working in a library is not just about books per se but about finding things out for people, looking things up for them, researching, and answering questions. I have always passed on information, then people can do what they like with it but at least they have the info. So, I really want everyone to know about what I believe could be a possible pitfall of taking Ibuprofen on a long-term basis.”

To help counteract the effects of osteoporosis, she drinks Kefir every day, as a great source of Calcium, as well as taking supplements such as vitamins K2, D3, Magnesium and Zinc to aid its absorption.

“I managed to get to the top of Skiddaw last June,” says Lindsay. “You can see in my face the exhilaration and happiness of reaching the summit! I was so thrilled to have achieved it. It took seven hours, what with all the stops for water, pain and photos. It’d normally have taken us about half that time... and some very fit people (fell runners especially) do it in 2.5 hours at most! 

“But it was a glorious blue sky, sunny day and such fun, chatting to people on the way up, promoting my zigzag way of climbing putting less strain on the knees. One man thanked me on his way down and said it was so much easier to climb that way up and down. A day to remember and a great sense of achievement.”

If you are logged in to your Holles Connect account, you will be able to see another photo of Lindsay surveying the view from the top of Mount Skiddaw below.