Panut
07-10-2003, 12:05 PM
I was diagnosed with osteoporosis three years ago and have been taking Fosamax, 1 a week, ever since. I am also taking calcium suppliments and drinking / eating more dairy products. My question is this, what type of calcium supplement is best to take. There are so many types and forms. I can't help but wonder if any of it is really being absorbed by my body or just being flushed away? Also there is a big difference in price, I am willing to pay more if I know it is really better but I don't want to just throw money away. Thanks for your advice
[This message has been edited by Panut (edited 07-10-2003).]
[This message has been edited by Panut (edited 07-10-2003).]
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bjg
07-10-2003, 12:39 PM
my gyn recommended os cal
peregrine
07-10-2003, 12:55 PM
I like the liquid calcium I take by Innovative Natural. It is the only calcium that works for me as it is highly absorbable.
Panut
07-10-2003, 05:57 PM
Thanks for the advice.
marciakeeney
07-10-2003, 06:29 PM
You can do a test to see if your vitamins and calcium are absorbable. Put the pill in a little dish of white vinegar. If it isn't mostly dissolved in 30 mins, it's probably passing through your stomach fairly intact and is not doing you much good. I did this with all the vitamins I take and it was pretty interesting.
On a different note, you need vitamin D to absorb your calcium, so make sure you are getting enough orally and getting some sun several days a week. Also, magnesium and boron are important for bone building, so you should be getting some of that (some calcium products include these).
Good luck. The choices in calcium are truly overwhelming, aren't they!?
On a different note, you need vitamin D to absorb your calcium, so make sure you are getting enough orally and getting some sun several days a week. Also, magnesium and boron are important for bone building, so you should be getting some of that (some calcium products include these).
Good luck. The choices in calcium are truly overwhelming, aren't they!?
OppOnn
07-10-2003, 09:14 PM
You can get your doctor to arrange for the 24 hour calcium urine test to see if you are absorbing calcium.
And the Vitamin D 25-Hydroxy test to see if you are absorbing the Vit D, equally important, especially if you don't get enough sun.
I take Life Extension's easy to swallow slim capsules called Bone Assure during the day and the Innovative Natural Liquid Calcium and Magnesium, as recommended by Perigrene, at night because I can't swallow too much at night. Which means I am taking about 1,800 mgs a day of calcium. My new interesting doctor went thru what I am taking and says it is OK.
Our body can only absorb so much so I may have expensive urine!
It is important, I have researched, to take some before sleeping at night, the best time for the bones.
Make sure you take half the amount of magnesium, and
enough Vit D - 400 to 800 max IU.
I also take 10 mgs of Vitamin K to help the calcium reach the bones.
O
And the Vitamin D 25-Hydroxy test to see if you are absorbing the Vit D, equally important, especially if you don't get enough sun.
I take Life Extension's easy to swallow slim capsules called Bone Assure during the day and the Innovative Natural Liquid Calcium and Magnesium, as recommended by Perigrene, at night because I can't swallow too much at night. Which means I am taking about 1,800 mgs a day of calcium. My new interesting doctor went thru what I am taking and says it is OK.
Our body can only absorb so much so I may have expensive urine!
It is important, I have researched, to take some before sleeping at night, the best time for the bones.
Make sure you take half the amount of magnesium, and
enough Vit D - 400 to 800 max IU.
I also take 10 mgs of Vitamin K to help the calcium reach the bones.
O
peregrine
07-11-2003, 08:21 AM
Opp,
I think that information is now leaning toward the advisability of taking more magnesium, at least the same amount as calcium, if not more. I know that you cannot do this because of your Crones, but I find that supplementing my liquid cal/mag with Natual Calm magnesium powder works well for me.
P
I think that information is now leaning toward the advisability of taking more magnesium, at least the same amount as calcium, if not more. I know that you cannot do this because of your Crones, but I find that supplementing my liquid cal/mag with Natual Calm magnesium powder works well for me.
P
nancycarol
07-11-2003, 11:27 AM
I take Osteo Protect by Vita Logic. It contains:
Vit C 100mg
Vit D 200 IU
Vit E 30 IU
Bit B6 16 mg
Calcium 1000 mg
Magnesium 300 mg
Manganese 20 mg
Boron 3 mg
Silica 12 mg
Betaine 10 mg
Shark Cartilage 400 mg
This came highly recommended by MD. We will see when I have DEXA scan in Nov.
Vit C 100mg
Vit D 200 IU
Vit E 30 IU
Bit B6 16 mg
Calcium 1000 mg
Magnesium 300 mg
Manganese 20 mg
Boron 3 mg
Silica 12 mg
Betaine 10 mg
Shark Cartilage 400 mg
This came highly recommended by MD. We will see when I have DEXA scan in Nov.
OppOnn
07-11-2003, 11:51 PM
Interested to hear what happens with your DEXA scan in November, don't forget to let us know.
P. You're right, I can't take too much magnesium. But I also need a certain amount, or I get constipated with the calcium. The right balance is important. Which is why I started taking such small amounts of your Liquid Calcium when I first started. All seems fine on the southern front. I think (?) one should have half the amount of magnesium to calcium. And we can take up to 800 IU of D a day - which I try to do because I don't get a lot of sun sometimes (when I'm working too hard, which I do often.)
I am now taking a total of about 1800 calcium/day.
which I discussed with my interesting rheumie.
I'm taking your Liquid stuff at night, sometimes the full tablespoon, sometimes less, depending on how much
calcium I take during the day (varies, depending on
whether I am in our out)
O
P. You're right, I can't take too much magnesium. But I also need a certain amount, or I get constipated with the calcium. The right balance is important. Which is why I started taking such small amounts of your Liquid Calcium when I first started. All seems fine on the southern front. I think (?) one should have half the amount of magnesium to calcium. And we can take up to 800 IU of D a day - which I try to do because I don't get a lot of sun sometimes (when I'm working too hard, which I do often.)
I am now taking a total of about 1800 calcium/day.
which I discussed with my interesting rheumie.
I'm taking your Liquid stuff at night, sometimes the full tablespoon, sometimes less, depending on how much
calcium I take during the day (varies, depending on
whether I am in our out)
O
marciakeeney
07-12-2003, 12:23 AM
And one more thing that no one told me is that you should divide your calcium supplements and dietary intake throughout the day rather than take them all at once. The body can only absorb about 500 mg at a time!! Wish I had found that out earlier as I had been slugging about 1000 + at breakfast, not knowing any better, and nothing the rest of the day.
OppOnn
07-12-2003, 12:01 PM
Marcia: You are so right. Me, too, I was doing it all wrong. My doctor just said take 1,500 mgs calcium a day. That was it. Didn't tell me which ...kind of calcium would be kinder to my stomach (Crohn's) or
when to take them.
I now take my multi-vit and Vit K in the morning. I take 2 Bone Assure after lunch, sometimes 2 after tea, if I have tea, and 2 after dinner. Then I take the last lot just before bed, the best time to take it,
I have researched, although my doctors don't tell me that, either. As I said above, I tinker with the bedtime dose, depending on how much I get during the day.
There's also 200 in my Centrum Silver multi vit I take after breakfast. But only 333 mgs in 2 of my Bone Assure. So I am spreading it all out.
Not so easy when one is out and about and busy. A real drag in fact. And dosages often get lost when busy!
O
when to take them.
I now take my multi-vit and Vit K in the morning. I take 2 Bone Assure after lunch, sometimes 2 after tea, if I have tea, and 2 after dinner. Then I take the last lot just before bed, the best time to take it,
I have researched, although my doctors don't tell me that, either. As I said above, I tinker with the bedtime dose, depending on how much I get during the day.
There's also 200 in my Centrum Silver multi vit I take after breakfast. But only 333 mgs in 2 of my Bone Assure. So I am spreading it all out.
Not so easy when one is out and about and busy. A real drag in fact. And dosages often get lost when busy!
O
NancyH
07-13-2003, 12:34 AM
Same here, Doc said take 1,500mg calcium a day but didn't bother to say in small doses, like we should already know! I did it all wrong the first year after being diagnosed so alot of good it did me to pop it in all at once when just 500mg was absorbed and the rest flushed down the toilet, duh!
Canyonbabe
07-13-2003, 02:57 AM
I have been taking the Calcium Chews with D. Now I have noticed they added K. I take three a day which gives me 1500. I read it is that is all the body can absorb. At least I know they are not sitting in my stomach or in my digestive tract as many of them do. They taste good too. My dessert.
Panut
07-16-2003, 10:46 AM
Same here, my doctor told me three years ago to take at least 1200 units calcium a day. Didn't find out until later that I needed to divide the doses, also didn't recommend any particular form of calcium. I do take vitamin D with it but have always wondered about the differences in oyster shell, coral, and other calcium sources.
Canyonbabe
07-17-2003, 02:32 AM
The only one my Doctor told me not to take was the coral calcium. Too much chance of contamination she said. Anything else was fine with Vit D included.
yogi
08-21-2003, 08:44 AM
Tums is what my doctor told me to take for calcium...........it's also the cheapest
USAFMOM
08-21-2003, 09:33 PM
Yogi, Don't be deceived by the Tums pitch. There is no vitamin D in Tums, which is ESSENTIAL for utilization of the calcium. Calcium is only as good as the vitamin D taken with it.
OppOnn
08-21-2003, 09:49 PM
Yes, forget Tums. My doctor told me to take that at first too. I now take litte notice of her recommendations for vits, because she doesn't know much about them! Not many conventional doctors do. But they should, they should.
O
O
marciakeeney
08-21-2003, 11:46 PM
If you are taking a multi vitamin with D and drinking D fortified products (milk, etc.), as well as getting some sun each day, you may not need a calcium with D and Tums might be OK. My OBGYN suggested them, though I have also heard some other sources say they aren't great so I only take them in a pinch.