My wife, age 82, has had dementia for a dozen years and osteoporosis for as long. Years back she was prescribed alendronic acid and calcium for the latter. I gave up on the alendronic acid as there were strict rules - stand up, swallow glass of water, empty stomach, no food for half an hour, etc., which she simply could not follow. I ought to have told the doctor and obtained an alternative but I failed and did not, which I bitterly regret as her current physical pain could possibly have been avoided. Recently she cannot bear to be touched and I discovered on the internet only this morning that this is the osteoporosis. A week ago she fell in the house, broke her pubic bone and could not weight bear. Now in hospital, which is what I have dreaded for her; her treatment varies with the quality of the staff on duty; chief trouble is of course that she cannot communicate in either directon. It is heart breaking. I had hoped that she would die at home but now I'd be lucky if she recovered enough to enter a proper care home.