Calcium supplement - Menopause Message Board

Belle2003 · 03-31-2004, 07:05 PM

I recently went for my annual exam and the resident doctor said that I needed to take calcium supplements even though I drink a lot of milk and each yogurt every day. (I am perimenopausal) The trouble is that when I have taken calcium supplements before I ended up with bad side affects. I had continuous bloating and abdominal pain and I went to the doctor who ran tests, only to find out it was the calcium supplement.

After hearing this the resident doctor then suggested that I take Tums every day. My husband does not like the idea of me taking Tums. I don't mind they taste pretty good! Does anyone know of a good calcium supplement that did not have any side affects? ( My husband is afraid of me taking antacids daily.)

Thank you for your help!

nornie · 03-31-2004, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Belle2003

I recently went for my annual exam and the resident doctor said that I needed to take calcium supplements even though I drink a lot of milk and each yogurt every day. (I am perimenopausal) The trouble is that when I have taken calcium supplements before I ended up with bad side affects. I had continuous bloating and abdominal pain and I went to the doctor who ran tests, only to find out it was the calcium supplement.

After hearing this the resident doctor then suggested that I take Tums every day. My husband does not like the idea of me taking Tums. I don't mind they taste pretty good! Does anyone know of a good calcium supplement that did not have any side affects? ( My husband is afraid of me taking antacids daily.)

Thank you for your help!

Do you recall what specific type of supplements you were taking? Was it calcium carbonate or calcium citrate? It may be that only one of them is giving you the problems and you'd be okay with the other.

I'm also almost positive I once saw in the store Calcium Tums or something similarly named. They were basically tums minus the antacid part. Have you had problems taking tums in the past? I guess I'm just not sure how to advise you without knowing more about what particular aspect of the calcium supplement was giving you the bloating.

I take calcium citrate pills and chewable caltrate (which tastes just like tums!)

Nornie

molly123 · 03-31-2004, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Belle2003

I recently went for my annual exam and the resident doctor said that I needed to take calcium supplements even though I drink a lot of milk and each yogurt every day. (I am perimenopausal) The trouble is that when I have taken calcium supplements before I ended up with bad side affects. I had continuous bloating and abdominal pain and I went to the doctor who ran tests, only to find out it was the calcium supplement.

After hearing this the resident doctor then suggested that I take Tums every day. My husband does not like the idea of me taking Tums. I don't mind they taste pretty good! Does anyone know of a good calcium supplement that did not have any side affects? ( My husband is afraid of me taking antacids daily.)

Thank you for your help!

Hi Belle,
How much did your dr. say that you have to take? My GYN said I should be taking 1500mg a day! I am taking Oscal chewables now. AdvCal by Lane Labs was recommended by another poster here. I will give it a try once I finish the Oscal. There are different types of Calcium - such as calcium carbonate and calcium citrate - but I don't know what the differences are and why it matters (absorption maybe?).

Molly

Belle2003 · 04-01-2004, 12:46 AM

I do not remember what kind of calcium I was taking, just that it contained magnesium too. It was about three years ago. I took it for a month or two before I started noticing the bloating. It was gradual and then came the sharp pains that progressly got worse. Since the side affects took awhile to appear I did not relate it at all to the calcium. When the ultrasound technician suggested it could be the calcium, I went right off of it. It took a week or two for the bloating and pain to subside. I have never taken calcium since.

At my visit the doctor told me to take 750 mg of calcium or one Tums. Then when I hit menopause I should take 1500 mg of calcium or two Tums.

I will try to find the Tums without the antacid, or I will look into the Citrical.
I had no idea they sold Tums without the added stuff.

Thank you for your suggestions. I really appreciate it.

nornie · 04-01-2004, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by molly123

Hi Belle,
How much did your dr. say that you have to take? My GYN said I should be taking 1500mg a day! I am taking Oscal chewables now. AdvCal by Lane Labs was recommended by another poster here. I will give it a try once I finish the Oscal. There are different types of Calcium - such as calcium carbonate and calcium citrate - but I don't know what the differences are and why it matters (absorption maybe?).

Molly

Yes, I recently asked exactly that question about citrate vs carbonate on this board because I didn't know which to buy. The answer is that calcium citrate is better absorbed, so you get more calcium out of each tablet. However most citrate is more expensive than the carbonate. So what I do is take one calcium citrate pill, and then 2 chewable carbonates. I was also told that carbonate is better absorbed if you take it with some sort of acidy stuff like orange juice.

Oh, the other important thing I learned is to make sure the calcium supplement also contains vitamin D as that also assists with absorption.

Nornie