Calcium

If 400 mg elemental calcium is per 2 pill serving that would make it 200 mg per pill. If the serving size is 1 pill that would be 400 mg per pill. What you seem to be saying is that it is 2 pills per 400 mg. If you take 5 pills that would be 1000 mg elemental calcium (200 mg x 5). I think that is not near enough calcium given the malabsorption issue that we have going on. Quite likely the reason why some post-ops get kidney stones is because of the wrong calcium. There can be other causes as well, but calcium citrate is not known to be one of them. The only way to tell about the liquid calcium supplements is to check the label for how it is written and when in doubt contact the manufacturer about how much elemental is in the product per serving. The UpCalD has improved their powder and it is not the same gritty stuff that it used to be. Sandy

I tired the powder and didn't like it. Yes I know it has little taste, but it was still not good to me. I do however use the strawberry flavor liquid one in my chocolate protein shakes. That one i think is okay. I will have to double check the label on it though I'm sure its okay as my doctor recommend either that or the petites. Thanks again for the info.

i went out and bought Citracal Calcium Citrate Petites with Vitamin D, and they are 400mg. each. So do i need to take one in the morning, and one at night. Help me out with this, cuz i am very new at taking this. in fact, this will be my first time.

Sally, the Citracal Calcium Citrate Petites I believe are 2 pills for the 400mg. At least mine are. I was taking 5 pills a day to get my 1200mg, but from my understanding we would have to now take like 25 pills to get in our full dose of calcium

Glad i clarified that. I was scared I was going to have to take 25 pills..PHEW I have enough of a hard time getting the few down I do take.

Haha - the only time you run into taking 25 or so is if you are doing capsules. I have done that. As it is my pill box resembles a fishing tackle box because of all that I have to take. Well, that is a bit of an exaggeration, but I do take a lot of stuff. My lab work consister os 12-15 vials of blood every 6 months too and I tweak my supplements accordingly. Sandy

This lab coming up I have to do is $500.00. I can't imagine how much your's must be. Not to mention how many times they must have to stick you to get that many vials. OUCH. My last allergy test I had to pump out 6 or 7 vile's and I hardly got those out.

Without insurance my labs would be $2500. I only get stuck once if she hits the vein right. I drink about 17 ounces water pre-draw to hydrate my body and I am good to go. Sandy

Sally - first you need to know what the serving size is. If it is two petites per serving that would make it 200 mg elemental calcium each. I space my calcium supplements by at least two hours between doses. Personally, I feel that as post-ops we need to be taking more than the recommended daily amount because of the malabsorption that RNY post-ops experience. Normies can absorb from 400-600 mg at a time, we have shortened tracts for absorption with a lot of the absorption area bypassed. I have successfully improved my bone density with 2300 - 2500 mg daily. My personal recommendation is to take at least 1600 mg daily (4 doses of 400 mg) and do an annual DexaScan to see how your bone density is doing. Remember the calcium levels in your blood work do not tell you how healthy your bones are. Your body will rob from your bones to keep that number normal. Sandy

Sandy, I found som Liquid Calcium Magnesium Citrate at Sprouts, it says in 1 tbsp there is 600mg calcium from citrate elemental, 300mg magnesium from citrate elemental, and vitamin D 400 IU as Chlecalciferol. Does this sound like the right kind of calcium, and how many tbsp's should I be takeing daily? Any info would be great. At this time, I have been doing 2 tblsp's a day, at the same time! Thanks so much for you insight on this topic! Sarah