Reminder about calcium

Just wanted to post a little reminder about calcium.  The ASMBS says we need 1500-2000 mg calcium per day and recommends calcium citrate.  The two most common kinds of calcium found in supplements are calcium citrate and calcium carbonate.  Tums, Viactiv and Caltrate are all calcium carbonate and we don’t absorb that well at all.  We absorb about 4% of the calcium in it so you’d need to take about 60 Viactivs every day to get enough calcium.  No, that’s not a typo.  Optisource also contains calcium carbonate and Bariatric Fusion has a mixture of calcium carbonate and calcium citrate.

Citracal and generic forms of Citracal contain calcium citrate, which is what we need.  It’s hard to find chewable calcium citrate in stores but Celebrate and Bariatric Advantage both make them and you can order online.  Upcal D, which is a powder you can mix in a drink, is also calcium citrate.  You can find liquid forms as well.

Tricalcium phosphate is another kind of calcium found in some supplements and it is also not absorbed well at all.  That’s what’s in Flintstones.  Wellesse, a liquid calcium supplement, contains a mixture of tricalcium phosphate and calcium citrate, so you’ll only absorb some of the calcium in there.

Make sure you take your calcium in doses of 500-600 mg and take them at least two hours apart.  Read the label carefully to see what the serving size is.  Like, Citrical petites have 400 mg per serving but a serving is TWO pills.

Take them two hours away from your iron.

Thanks for the reminder Kelly. I got the chewables from Bariatric Advantage. They are huge. I've stopped chewing them. I crush them and mix with applesauce because it seems to go down easier that way  but it's like eating half a meal. (I'm 12 days out.) I think I'll look into the Upcal D. Thanks for the tip.

I get my Upcal D from Colonial Medical online.  I really love it.  It's easy to use and I really don't even notice it in my drinks and you don't have to bother with crushing it up.

I want to add to check you magnesium also. I was taking my calcium but not absorbing it because my magnesium was too low. We need magnesium citrate for absorbing calcium, but magnesium oxide seems to be doing great for keeping me regular (have given up the miralax), so I take both.

Jan

I can never remember which one is for keeping you regular.  Thanks for mentioning this.

  Hello~  a few questions about this.....  why would a surgeon's office say that calcium from oyster shells is okay to take? Especially after they have posters in every room recommending calcium citrate.... and it's a "center of excellence"? and the NUT made it very clear, in class, we need calcium citrate.
 My surgeon's assistant told me the oyster shell would be fine. I was very annoyed when I heard this, cuz I know that's not true, and why would she say such a thing to a RNY patient. 

I'm going to bring it up on my 3 month appt. this 4th. They need to know I am on top of the scene, and treat me accordingly. I also plan to keep track of my blood work results and make sure I get all tests I need, and not just listen to a " they were good" response. I learned this from OH. :)

How is a center of excellence title even given? Don't they have to meet strict criteria? I would think that recommending the wrong calcium, verbally, and on print outs recommending Flintstones  would not be cool.

I take the Citracal petites, 2 pills 4 times a day, but hey I need too. I enjoy my teeth and bones.

I have no idea why.  You'd have to ask them.

As far as the Center of Excellence, they do have to meet certain criteria, but none of it has to do with nutritional recommendations.  They are not even required to provide patients with the ASMBS recommendations, even though the ASMBS is the organization that names CoE.

Some of the criteria they must meet include doing a certain number of surgeris each year, having extra large beds and wheelchairs and floor mounted toilets ('cause I guess we might be fat enough to break a wall mounted toilet off the wall?), have professionally facilitated support groups, and provide follow up fo a certain percent of patients (but apparently not for all).  They can tell patients to take Flintstones, gummy vitamins, Tums, or no vitamins at all.

 Wow! that was  kinda disappointing to hear, but the toilet joke was funny.

I do plan on asking her why she told me this. It just makes me very aware we patients , and our loved ones, must be our own best advocates and really educate ourselves. I mean vitamins are SO important... they should be right up there on the COE list.  uggg.


Thanks for the reply kelly.

I actually wrote to the ASMBS some time ago asking why they did not require Centers of Excellence to provide patients with their vitamin guidelines.  They never even bothered to write me back.

' I actually wrote to the ASMBS some time ago asking why they did not require Centers of Excellence to provide patients with their vitamin guidelines.  They never even bothered to write me back." quote






We patients need to get organized!   File a petition. Collect signatures.... I think that is absolutely outrageous they omit it. It is crucial.

Sometimes the information Doc's offices give is so contradictory. I think they they need to be held to higher standards then just toilets and larger accommodations for patients.