Question:
how much calcium do you take per day

I know the recommended daily is 1200mg but should we be taking more since we are not sure we are absorbing all of it? I'm taking the calcium citrate chewable wafers from twinlabs. The bottle says to take 4 for 1000mg. I was thinking maybe to take 6 for 1500mg. Can you get to much calcium? Sorry to ramble on.    — Alison N. (posted on June 25, 2002)


June 25, 2002
I know I have seen lots recommending to take 1500 per day. Just remember that you can only take 500 mg at a time, so you'll have to split it up into 3 doses. I myself only take 1000, but that's cuz I eat lots of cheese and cottage cheese, drink calcium fortified orange juice, and just generally have trouble remembering to take the stuff I have to. It puts a cramp in your style to not be able to take the multi-vit with the calcium, but with the iron it won't be absorbed. I think it IS possible to get too much calcium, but I don't think 1500 mg is above the limit.
   — ctyst

June 25, 2002
Try the Caltrate chewable 600s - you can get them at Walmart. I take two a day, morning and night. But I also get in other calcium - I have to take my medications with sugar free instant breakfast so I get two glasses of milk in a day in addition to my meals.
   — sheltie

June 25, 2002
Are the caltrate chewables calcium carbonate or calcium citrate? We should be doing citrate, carbonate is not the choice for rnyers. Personally I do 1500 a day, splitting it into thirds as the previous poster mentioned. Try not to take your calcium with iron or synthroid if you are taking that, both block calcium absorption. Good luck
   — Becky K.

June 25, 2002
My Doc recommended 2000 mg. per day.
   — Lisa J.

June 25, 2002
I was advised to take 1500 a day and not to exceed 700 at a serving as your body cannot absorb more than that at one time. This advice was from a nutritionist experienced with working with WLS patients.
   — Cindy R.

June 25, 2002
We just had a meeting on how much calcium we should have and the doctor stated that we should have 1,000 mg a day in addition to our meals. He suggested Viactiv that has 500mg plus vitiam D & K. I love them, they come in chocolate, orange, and carmel. At first they are chewy but they do disolve in your mouth. Plus you can take care of your chocolate craving, they are 20 calories each, not bad...I have purchased them in Walmart and Sam's club, of course Sam's is the same price as Walmarts for double the amount.
   — Laura M.

June 25, 2002
Viactiv & Caltrate are both carbonate forms. They are a ticket to kidney stones, for sure. I se calcium citrate. 2500mg per day
   — vitalady

June 25, 2002
Could people just be prone to osteoporosis and the kidney stones? How do you know that they wouldn't have gotten them on as you say "the type of calcium we should take". I have been told that there is not enough medical information on RNY patients to say if this is true.
   — jenna F.

June 25, 2002
Some doctors and nutritionists out there may say there's not enough info about carbonate v. citrate in gastric bypass patients to say which is best, but here's my thought. There IS enough research on calcium itself that shows that citrate is the easiest to absorb REGARDLESS of whether you have a normal digestive tract or a reworked one like us post-ops. It seems to me that if citrate is the most easily digested of all the calciums, gastric bypass or not, why chance it? I pop my calcium citrate religiously every day because I, for one, want to have healthy bones. It's not like it can hurt to take citrate as opposed than carbonate, so why take the risk?
   — PT LawMom




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