calcium?

 OK, OH friends, need some advice in a form I can remember! I take Caltrate + D minis and the other day my gynecologist (fellow wls patient) mentioned that we should only take a certain kind of calcium but I can't remember which kind? So what do ya'll take?

I looked up Caltrate and it is calcium CARBONATE and we do not absorb that form very well.

You need calcium CITRATE - Citracal is one of the name brands, but there are generics at Wal Mart also - just check the label.

Have you had your labs done recently?  I noticed you are a little over 3 years out......

 yes, had labs last week and everything checked out OK, but I'm almost 55 yrs old, post hysterectomy, and under a lot of stress, so I take a lot of vitamins and stuff, plus, the stuff Dr. Spivak recommended. I'll ditch the Caltrate and get a bottle of Citracal. My primary has told me to double the calcium because I'm having a lot of cramps in my legs and feet at night. So it better be the right kind. Thanks

Muscle cramps are usually a sign of not enough Vitamin D. You need to take vitamin D with calcium it helps with the absorbption of calcium. My wife who does not have a thyroid glad has to take even more calcium than I do has to take large doses of vitamin D. I personally take 2,000IU's of vitamin D a day and some people take even more.  Calcium Citrate is the correct type of cacium that most individuals should be taking even if they do not have our types of issues.

The Vit D needs to be dry in pill form in oil like gummies and gel we cannot absorb due to less stomach acids. I found that out from having severe muscle pain in my chest and rt. arm. Once I got the right citrates and Vit D I was much better in just a few days. These vitamins and minerals are nothing to play with. Make sure you have the right kind or your levels start to get lower and lower and sometimes cannot be corrected.