Please Educate Me on Calcium

What do you know about calcium?  What do you take?  I'm having difficulty finding something that I like without a bunch of calories (like the chocolate chews EWWW).  My fitness pal tells me I'm getting enough from my food, but is it enough? 

Per my doctor to me:  (This was from an email I got from the nurse)

You should be taking Calcium 600mg plus 400IU Vitamin D twice a day.  Therefore, you should be taking a total of 1200mg of Calcium with 800IU of Vitamin D daily

I take Citracal + Vitamin D (petite tablets) twice a day.  I know that your body can not absorb it all at one time so it needs to be broken up throughout the day into 2 or 3 times a day.

Totally agree with taking supplements with food, and with spacing them out.  Vitamins were meant to be "carried into" the body by attaching to either fat molecules (from food) or water molecules (available in food and/or water we drink).  ADEK are fat-soluble, the rest are water-soluble.

But I *think* the rule is not to take IRON with dairy products, not calcium.  (Dairy products contain calcium.)  Iron and calcium use the same receptors in the gut, and if both are present, calcium wins out, so taking iron with calcium, dairy products, or other calcium-rich foods will only be a waste of iron pills.

I would also like to know. I wasn't taking any supplements pre VSG and my bone density and calcium levels were just fine. I think! Never occured to me to test nor was it ever suggested. I guess it is assumed that if we have a normal diet we get enough of everything from food. Now that I track, I wonder how much I am really getting...is it enough and how much should I be getting and from what sources. I think I eat as much dairy as before the VSG. I am taking 1200 mgs a day split i to 3 (morning, mid day and evening) but I too wonder if its enough or too much...I read that too much calcium causes problems too so who knows what the absolute right balance is. Looking forward to replies to your question from the experts!

You're right, normies do get their vitamins and minerals from food, mostly.  Also a lot of hydration comes from food.  Post-op, when we have a smaller capacity, we're typically not eating enough food to get appropriate vites and water, so that's why they ask us to supplement, both water and vites.  That may improve further out, when we're closer to a (small) normal capacity.  Luckily we don't malabsorb, so we don't need to worry about taking more-than-enough, just to get enough.

I eat a lot of dairy, too, and wondered how much calcium I was getting.  So I set up SparkPeople to track my calcium from food sources, and then I supplement to get around 2000 mg per day (since I'm post-menopausal).

Water is an excellent analogy. Pre op never in a million years did I drink 64 oz of water (or any liquids). I was never dehydrated. Now I can say that I am truly hydrated and what a difference it makes!!! I would never pee more than twice a day before. Now five, six, or more times is sort of the low to average for my bathroom trips. It has been an adjustment but I am getting used to it.

First thing you must take Calcium Citrate and not Calcium Carbonate.  Second of all a chewable is the best as it is broken down quicker and therefore best used by our bodies.  

Initially for the first three months I took Celebrate Calcium Citrate chewables as this was given to me by my surgeon's office.

http://www.celebratevitamins.com/shop/calcium-plus-500-cherr y-tart-30-day.html

After that I did about three months of Vitacost Calcium Citrate with Vitamin D3 & Magnesium 1000 mg as they are much less expensive.  http://www.vitacost.com/vitacost-calcium-citrate-with-vitami n-d3-magnesium

Now at about 10 months post op I take a generic form from Kroger of Citrical.  Since this is a large tablet I crush the pills and throw them in my protein shake in the morning and a bowl of oatmeal (after cooking so as I am not cooking or altering the calcium with heat) in the evening.  I use an all metal garlic press from Calphelon to crush these.  This has worked well and is pretty inexpensive as well.

Good idea on the garlic press!  Never thought of that!

Yes, I was trying to figure out how to easily crush pills.  At first I would crush them between a teaspoon and a tablespoon.  That was a little messy.  I started to think about how the garlic press has small holes with metal spikes that when fully closed go through those holes.  So I put two pills in and tab at them until they are powder.  Obviously not a fine powder but good enough to work for me.

I am all about creative thinking and figuring out how to accomplish things with the least expense involved.  My computer programming background helps me look at problems or issues in unique ways.  

Your body absorbs 500mg of calcium at a time.  The guidelines suggest that you supplement 1500mg per day - so three 500mg doses taken at least 2 hours apart of calcium citrate.  Bariatric Advantage and Bariatric Choice both have a bunch of options.  Or you can take the generic pills or Citracal or pretty much anything else thats calcium citrate.

Whether you continue to supplement at that level depends on your labs and your bone density tests.