Question:
Question about calcium--TUMS

Hey all, my doctor told us to take 4 TUMS a day for calcium. Do most of you also do this? I was taking them at work and a coworker said "With all that calcium you are going to get kidney stones!" So needless to say, I thought about it. The box said to take 2 per day...so I stopped on my third one and just wanted to hear everyone's opinions on this! Thanks for your help!    — Craig A. (posted on May 3, 2002)

May 3, 2002
Hi Craig. Calcium is still being debated on the message board from time to time but, personally, I didn't buy into the "chew a few Tums and your calcium will be fine" nonsense that my surgeon was spouting. I take a calcium supplement and I make sure it's calcium citrate instead of calcium carbonate. Carbonate can make your labs look real good but does not get into the bone the way citrate does. Best of Luck!
   — Pam S.

May 3, 2002
Calcium carbonate (tums, viactiv, caltrate) needs stomach acid to break it down so that it can be absorbed. Michelle (vitalady) Curran did the carbonate for years and now her bones are paying the price, she and her husband both have osteoporosis. She now takes the citrate among other helpful vitamins so that her bones have a chance. Carbonate will cause kidney stones and won't do a darn thing for your bones. Calcium citrate is the only form of calcium that is bioavailable for us. Many doctors (including mine) still recommend the carbonate because they just don't know. My nutritionist has switched us all to the citrate after some research, but the surgeon still is unsure, he's a surgeon though. Glad he's good at what he does.
   — Cheri M.

May 3, 2002
I think among nutritionists and pharmacists, the one to take is the citrate. Surgeons just haven't figured it out yet. Mine also says to take Tums, and every time I mention the citrate to a nurse or someone affiliated with my surgeon, they say, "Do as the doctor says." I say baloney! The doctor isn't the one who will be crippled with osteoporosis! Thank God I trust him in HIS job, the surgery itself. Look at Michelle Curran's website (www.vitalady.com) and read about her story.
   — Kristie B.

May 4, 2002
My doctor also says Tums and Viactiv, but they say to take it with food, and then there shouldn't be a problem. I don't necessarily believe them though. I'm only 4 weeks post-op so I haven't had the courage to swallow pills yet and have been using Viactiv. Once I start swallowing pills, I will switch to citrate.
   — Christine L.

May 4, 2002
Calcium CARBONATE is useless to all post-ops except VBGs; it needs one hour of exposure to stomach acid to be at all bioavailable, and even then, it's only half as available as Calcium CITRATE (even for those with normal plumbing). Also, as others have mentioned, excessive calcium CARBONATE can form kidney stones; I had one two years ago and it was a special kind of hell.<p>Calcium CITRATE does not require any stomach acid exposure to be bioavailable. Don't assume that a calcium supplement is citrate unless it explicitly says so; you want to get in around 500 mg twice a day, with one dose taken right before you go to bed (the body absorbs more calcium from a dose at night). <p>If you're taking carbonate and your labwork is fine, it's because your smart body is stealing calcium from your bones and teeth to keep your muscles, including your heart, working! That might seem fine right now, but in five years when you have osteoporosis, you will deeply regret it.
   — Julia M.