Question:
Im confused with calcium....All I can find are HUGH pills.

In order to get the recommended dosage,,,I would need to take about 8 pills a day............Any suggestions.........    — Deb R. (posted on September 11, 2002)

September 11, 2002
I have to take 1500 mgs daily. My surgeon recommend that we chew Tums. The extra strength calcium tums are 750. and I chew 2 each morning. They are cheaper also.
   — Don D.

September 11, 2002
This is addressed to the previous poster. You need to make your surgeon aware that Tums/calcium carbonate - cannot be used for calcium supplementation by WLS patients as it needs stomach acid to assimilate the calcium carbonate. <p> What you need to take is calcium CITRATE.
   — John Rushton

September 11, 2002
My surgeon and nutritionist recommend the Citral Liquid Tabs for early post-op. They about quarter-sized pills which you put into whatever amount of liquid and drink. I tried mine in both water and various flavors of Crystal Light. You will want to let them site for a few minutes as they tend to be a bit fizzy. So you want to let the fizz out. I had a lot of trouble drinking liquids after surgery so I had difficulty with these. The taste isn't bad...I switched to TwinLabs Calcium Citrate chewable wafers. These are also about quarter sized or so and I have been told they taste like less-tart sweet tarts. I don't know about that. They are citrusy flavored and aren't all that bad. At 8 months post-op I've switched to Citracal pills which are horse pills!! I cut them up into several pieces and sometimes I STILL have trouble getting them down my gullet! I go between the pills and the wafers. Calcium has become my nemesis - but what can you do?? Gotta use it! Either way, I end up taking 4 pills a day or 4 chewable wafers a day. Best of luck to you!
   — Pamela P.

September 11, 2002
YES - IT MUST BE CALCIUM CITRATE! There. Whew! That's out of the way. =)<p>I use two products that are a great relief from the horsepills I used to take. 500 mg capsules from www.bodybuilding.com (one in the AM one in the PM) OR liquid calcium citrate from www.vitaminworld.com (one tablespoon AM, one PM). The flavor I bought was lemon custard and it tastes just like lemon yogurt but a little chalkier. I don't find it any more unpleasant than taking Maalox or something like that. The capsules are my all-time fave, tho. They are portable and the liquid must be refrigerated. They go down really easy, too. Hope this helps!
   — ctyst

September 11, 2002
I have used calcium citrate powder-(with added magnesium and boron) This comes in geletin capsules which slip right down and disolve quickley. Take 1500 total calcium. The magnesium is at 2 to 1 (twice as much calcium as magnesium) but I want it 1 to 1 so I supplement with 2 magnesium pills a day. So I take 4 capsules plus 1 magnesium pill - morning and eve. (that's 8 capsules and 2 tabs per day. I pick up calcium at a health food store- I see another company has started- read how much in each capsul. I try NOT to buy magnesium oxide - but stearate etc supposedly better- good luck finding it. My calcium blood tests came out a little above normal BUT the dr said that was probably because I fasted with very little water - take some water before tests.But what bothers me - they can measure the blood calcium - but you still don't know if you are absorbing in your bones or what. The "scans" tell that story - There are many ideas out there - I am sticking to this routine for now. The dr took me off HRT for awhile - now I suppose that will be another theory about calcium absorption. sigh - that is why they call it the PRACTICE of medicine!
   — charlene M.

September 11, 2002
I have found Citracal chewables work well..My surgeon recomends them with vitamin D, He recomends 2 per day.
   — Christine A.

September 16, 2002
You can take the Tums with calcium or the Viactiv chocolate chews, although some people say that post-op wls patients don't absorb biocarbonate and that we only absorb calcium carbonate. I don't know how true that is. Hope this helps
   — MURRAY

September 16, 2002
Mercedes - please look at the previous posts. If you are using Tums or Viactiv and you've had an RNY, you are NOT getting your calcium! The kind of calcium you need is calcium CITRATE.
   — ctyst