PTH trending up.....more calcium?

ALL the literature on fat malabsorbers recommends taking vitamins with food, so trust me, this is no easy feat for her.  LOL

Not to hijack the post...but are there any vites that we should be taking with food?  Or is everything being absorbed ok on an empty stomach?

Not really required, maybe iron would be better with a little citrus fruit but I can't think of anything that needs food for increased absorption. Your body needs to have good protein levels to help your body process the vitamins you take but you don't have to be eating or drinking protein when you take your vitamins. My PCP would rather I take my vitamins with plan water but my dietitian has not really commented other than the hard-to-absorb vitamins, but that's based on your own labs.

--gina

I've struggled with calcium all four years of my DS. 

High PTH is a sure sign that calcium is being leached from your bones to supply calcium to your body.

I've found that upping my calcium intake puts my parathyroids back to sleep.   According to my coursework on the road to becoming a RD, the parathyroids are usually silent, until low calcium levels are detected by the body.  They "wake up", and start the chemical process to provide the body with the calcium it needs, by taking it from the bones.

The PTH reference range (normal limits) at my lab are 15-72.

It could be that you're not getting enough calcium or it could be that your vitamin D level is not high enough to be effective.  If you're taking less than 2000mg daily of calcium, I'd recommend upping it to 2500 increasing your vitamin D.  I found that currently taking my 50Kiu D pill three times a day is really helping my PTH come down (just got my labs and have at least cut my PTH in half.  Will post tomorrow.).

Your labs will tell you what combination needs to be done.  Try keeping calcium at about 2000-2500 daily and upping your D to 100K or 150K daily and see if you can recheck just that in a couple of months.  Each step will dictate the next.  Good luck.