Calcium

Good morning all, I take liquid calcium citratte w/ vit D etc... Should it be in the AM or Pm or does it not matter? Should I divide the dosage into two? My Doc never required Calcium but I am afraid not to take it. I have developed serious back issues (spinal) will be going for a bone scan next month... Thanks MaryLyn

First of all, is your calcium ALL citrate or is it a blend? You want to make sure what you take is ALL citrate and not a mix with carbonate or other forms of calcium. You want to take calcium in 500 mg doses separate by a couple of hours. I think most folks take 1500-2000 mg a day minimum. So that is 3-4 doses of 500 mg each per day. How are your calcium, Vitamin D and PTH (parathyroid hormone) labs? Just reviewing calcium level isn't enough. Vitamin D and PTH need to be checked too. The body works hard to keep calcium normalized at the expense of stealing from your bones to do so. You are having a bone scan on your back? Have you had a bone density scan? Be sure to have one of those too. That'll let you know the status of your bones as it relates to calcium. Good luck, MaryLyn! Hope you get your back issues resolved. I had lower back surgery prior to WLS so I know about issues. Best wishes Kathy

Hi Kathy, It is all citrate I got it throu OH, I do not have it with me right now, but I know it is at least 1000 per tablespoon & I take 2 TBS, usually at night. I take iron & b-12 sublingual. I am anemic but have gotten better. I will have my PCP check the vit D, what is the parathyroid? I take meds for hypothyroid. I will be having a scan in September. I have two herniations in my cervical area alond w/three bulges, inflamed spinal column in the cervical area, taking meds for that now. C2 & C3 are fused together, the list goes on, I am waiting to hear from the Neurosurgeon. This has been devloping for some years now is what I was told. Not at all related to WLS. Thanks for the helpful advice. MaryLyn

MaryLyn, If you got the calcium through OH, I'm sure it is the right stuff. I would take 1/2 tbsp 4 times a day separated by a few hours. Normal bodies (not just post-ops) only absorb 500 mg at one time. If you have a problem taking the liquid calcium with you during the day then perhaps you can get... then I'd get a more transportable calcium citrate for during your day and keep the liquid for at night. Citracal makes a calcium citrate "petite" tablets (they aren't that small but better that others) - 2 of those are 400 mg. Citracal makes calcium "chews" they are sweet and many like them - 1 is 500 mg. Twinlabs makes a chewable calcium citrate that tastes a *****alky but they resemble sweet tarts - 2 are 500 mg. So there are lots of choices out there. Make sure you are tayking your med for your thyroid separate from your vitamins. They can interfer with each other. The parathyroid glands (4 of them) are located in your neck or upper chest usually near the thyroids. Their only job in the body is to regulate calcium levels. They work really, really hard to keep calcium at a normal level. And if you aren't intaking or absorbing enough calcium they will give off more PTH (parathyroid hormone) which causes calcium to be pulled from your bones. So on lab work... you calcium will look just fine when in reality... your body is losing bone. The way to see this is to get your calcium, vitamin D (it plays a role in calcium absorption) and PTH. If you are pulling calcium from your bones... your PTH would be elevated. Good luck with the neurosurgeon! Sorry you are having so many back problems. Best wishes, Kathy

I will be sure & have the PTH checked. Thanks for the useful/helpful/needed advice. MaryLyn

Kathy, I thought your note above was really informative. How often do you go for blood work? At 2 1/ years out, I've been going every 6 months. What tests do you ask the doctor for. You mention PTH and Vitamin D. Where you given a list at some point because I was not and I find it a pain every time to try and get a wide enough range of tests to see how everything is doing CathyA

Cathy, I was getting blood work every 3 months for the first year. I think I'm supposed to do every 6 months now but I'd prefer every 4 months. My surgeon gives a list that I give to my PCP. It has: CBC (complete blood count) CMP (comprehensive metabolic panel) Lipid Profile (cholesterol stuff) Iron, ferritin, TIBC, % Sat (all iron related) PTH (parathyroid hormone) B12 & Folate Vitamin A, Vitamin D A1C (if diabetic though they aren't running that on me anymore since my sugars are stable) I think that's it. My PCP also runs other tests on her own from her own reading. She tested my selenium levels and sure enough... I was deficient. Children's multis have none. Duh! There are tons extra that would be good to have run like: Homocysteine and MMA (both can tell if you are using your B12 correctly) Vitamins Bs (B1, B6), C, and E Zinc Thyroid panel (T3, T4, TSH) Pre-Albumin Those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. Kathy

Also, make sure that you are taking your calcium and iron at separate times. They compete against each other and the calcium will win and get absorbed, while the iron will be excreted as waste. This will be bad for your anemia. Separate them by about 2 hours. And don't drink caffienated beverages for about 2 hours before you take your iron. It will interfer with absorption, as well. XOXOXO, Sharyn

Sharyn, I knew about taking Iron vs calcium somewhat but did not ralize that it needed to be about 2 hours apart thanks for pointing that out. The caffiene info is usefull also. I will move my iron to later in the day because I must have my coffee in the morning. MaryLyn

Looks like we take about the same meds so I'll let you know my routine. First potty run of the morning, I take my thyroid med. We are supposed to take it at least one hour prior to eating. I keep a bottle of vitamins and calcium +D at work. I take 3 calciums (630 mg) and 2 vits per day, spaced out at about every 2 hours. I wait at least 30 minutes before eating and 1 hour after eating to take any of these. I take my iron right before going to bed. I was told to take it on an empty tummy, especially seperate from wheat products, plus it's a little hard on my tummy and I can sleep thru the discomfort. I really feel for you on these back problems.... I wish you the best. Becky