Calcium Citrate question

 I started my vitamins along with my pre-op diet two weeks prior to surgery. I am taking the Bariatric advantage vitamins whi*****lude the calcium citrate cherry lozenges.  After about a week and a half of thinking that the protein shakes were upsetting my stomach- I realized that it was the calcium citrate that was giving me diarrhea (so sorry TMI). 

I am trying to figure out now whether it is the actual cherry lozenges, the bariatric advantage brand, or calcium citrate in general. I picked up a couple of samples of the BA calcium citrate lemon chews at my dr.'s office yesterday and (attempted) to try one.  My first question is -Do all of the calcium citrate supplements have that horrible salty taste to them?  Because I don't believe I will EVER be able to take them if they do.  I had to spit the chew in the sink and that is the first time I really felt like vomiting since my surgery.

Next question, has anyone ever had this problem with Calcium citrate and found a solution? And lastly, I know that Citracal makes the petite pills, I am just wondering how big they actually are and how far out from surgery were you able to take those without any swallowing/VSG issues? Currently I am 10 days out from surgery.  (I am not sure this is going to make a difference if I discover its the actual calcium citrate that causes the stomach upset).

I really would like to be compliant with all my vitamins so I am hoping for a solution.

Thanks for your help!

Sometime starting a new vitamin regeem is enough to cause stomach upset and diarrhea. Usually it will tend to go away after a few weeks. Also try taking them later in the day sometimes helps. I also find that the no name store vitamins are smaller and easier to take.

Good Luck.

Do they contain artificial sweeteners? Some people have stomach issues with them.

I take the Citrical Petites and started when I was about a month out.   They are still pretty large even though they are called petites.  Usually I take 2 in the morning and 2 at night.  Around lunchtime I take a chocolate Calcet calcium chew.  I don't think they taste salty in fact they are a treat but at 35-40 calories a piece I refuse to eat 3 of them a day.    

I started out taking Tums right after VSG surgery for one month and at my one month checkup, I was changed to Calcium Citrate.  I chose to take the Citracal Petites.  I take 3 Petites 3 times a day.  Sometimes, It's hard to swallow but it's better than the regular Citracal and I can buy them locally at Walmarts.

Marlene

Calcium citrate will not normally cause any stomach or intestinal problems.

As to Bariatric advantage, all of their products are among the most expensive you can purchase, they have absolutely no advantage over any other brands, and they really hit your pocketbook hard.

Vitamin and mineral content is regulated by the FDA.  Therefore, any vitamin or mineral product produced in the US MUST meet government standards.  So, there is absolutely no advantage in purchasing expensive brands, they are no better than the cheap one (with ONE EXCEPTION, some 99cent tyoe stores have been caught selling outdated vitamins, and they are NOT good).

Personally, I purchase all of my vitamins and calcium citrate from Sam's Club.  They are inexpensive, and of the best quality.

I used the chewables for one week, and then went back to the traditional pill forms (with my surgeons permission).

 Thanks for the info everyone.  I suppose I will probably wait it out until around the one month mark and attempt the citracal petites then-hopefully they will not upset my stomach like before. I might try some tums or viativ until then to get some calcium in (although I know that we don't absorb them like we need to-at least its something). 
I will look to see if my local Costco carries the petites also next time I'm there!

Thanks again.

i just purchased my calcium citrate from costco i didnt look  for the petites . i dont have any trouble with larger pills i started at 1 month out with full size pills . they were kirkland brand 300 tablets for $8.99. hope this helps!BETH

my dietician says you can take chewable tums for the first few weeks even though its calciium carbonate. i guess you are supposed to take with food. i now take the citracal petites which are not exactly small but maybe 2/3 size of the biggies. i think  did it after a month or two. also later used the big ones but cut them in half so had to swallow more pills but smaller ones. hope this helps. d

I've been taking the Celebrate brand chewable calcium and I just can't do it anymore.  I heard about the Citracal Petites and bought some last night.  I plan to take 2-3 per day along with a Calcet creamy bite (which I'll be receiving next week).  I hope this helps me to do better with my calcium intake.

And just for comparison's sake, here is a picture I took so you can see the size of the Citracal Petite compared to a "regular" size pill and a penny.