Trouble eating today.

Today I'm having trouble eating. I took some Calcium Citrate tablets. Those things are horse pills! They're 400 mcg per two tablets and they are huge. I figured to spread them out, one at a time throughout the day to make up about 1200 mcg with my calcium carbonate chews but I swallowed one between my protein bar snack and my yogurt snack and an hour later tried to drink some iced tea...Funny feeling like something is plugging up the pipes in there. Now I'm nibbling on lunch (pork stew and carrots) and still getting that plugged up pipes feeling. I called my nutritionist but she's not in till tomorrow when I'll be in a meeting..So it's Friday when I'll get to ask her about the carbonate/citrate debate. Dr Pehrsson said carbonate was fine but all this site says citrate is the ideal. I'm afraid to let it go and then end up with problems because you can't correct those problems after you have those problems...Sorry for the rambling.  I'm 16 months out. Lost over 100 pounds. Down below goal but obessively trying to maintain and keep all my vitamin counts up. Last blood work shows everything is fine but didn't do a bone density test..Thinking of asking for one in December but I don't want to get into trouble first.

I'm not clear on the question - are you asking about the calcium? I'm happy to help!

Actually, I have a couple of questions.  Should I be okay to take big pills like this at 16 months? Should I worry about the pill going through without being dissolved? How much gets absorbed in the intestines on an average, if any? I know that calcium carbonate isn't good. How bad is it? How much calcium do we get from that, if any? How much calcium can we get from our food, if any?  Is the full feeling that I felt for an hour or so from the pill being bigger than the stoma? Is that harmful?

You might not tolerate big pills and you might do better with chewables.  Vitamins come in many different forms, find the one that works best for you.  A feeling of discomfort is not a good thing. For some people, taking large pills is no problem - there's no rule based on time out from surgery.  It can be completely safe to take pills - but some people don't like them. Good thing there are options! Check out this link - we have discussed the calcium citrate vs carbonate question before.

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/nutrition/a,messageboard/a ction,replies/board_id,5389/cat_id,4989/topic_id,3422493/pag e,1/#26667069

I'm so glad you sent me the previous discussion on calcium. So, if I'm reading this correctly, I could just take more of the calcium carbonate so that I'm sure I will get between 1500 and 2000 mcg daily...Supposing that none of the calcium i get from yogurt or cheese that I can eat is being absorbed. If it is being absorbed, even alittle, then 1200 to 1500 daily would probably suffice.

There shouldn't be a down side to too much calcium in bariatric patients, right?

I have to clear up one little thing - for calcium it is measured in mg or milligrams.  It can be confusing using metric measures.  Micrograms or mcg is a very tiny amount and refers to the usual dosage for other nutrients, such as folate. Yes, you can get adequate calcium from carbonate.  It is not absorbed as well and taking a little more to off-set the absorption is perfectly reasonable.  You live in a sunny place, so getting adequate vitamin D (which helps with calcium absorption) is likely not an issue. Getting extra calcium is not a problem, but supplementation usually doesn't need to go above 2500 mg per day . You're on the right track!

I wasn't sure of the units on the calcium but the numbers, those I can remember. I'm an accountant and the numbers stick but the mg or mcg...Those are just "guesses" for me. Thanks!  Nice to know that I'm doing something healthy for myself if I drive with the top down on the convertible. It sure helps my mood anyway. Thanks!