Calcium Citrate questions

I am under three months out and have been religious about taking my vitamins(almost full vitalady with a couple small changes), but I have a question about Calcium.

Currently I am taking 3 citracal max pills each day. I take one around noon, one around 5pm, and the last around 10pm.
Each pill contains 630mg Calcium Citrate and 500IU of D for a total of 1920 Calcium Citrate each day.

This is more than what my surgeon recommends (of course), but it is less than what I have seen many people on here taking. The Vitalady plan that I have seen shows around 3000mg/day total. Other plans (Baltasar Plan:1500-2000mg)) show closer to what I am taking.

Also, how much can I absorb at a time and how far should I spread out doses?

I am a male age 35, if that makes a difference.

Thanks for the help!

 You should re-check your label. It takes (2) pills to make a serving size. I take (2) four times per day.

Wow!

I feel like an idiot!

So glad I caught this today while it is still not too late!

Time to double up immediately!

Thanks!!!!

 It happens a lot. I'm glad you caught in now also. Just keep spacing them out. You'll absorb them better that way.

Happens all the time. That tricky calcium!!! Magnesium also had me fooled for months. Was taking one pill......yeah, the dosage should have been three!!! You are  not alone, my friend.

Other than correcting your dosage (which we've all been there, trust me), I would say look at your labs for the ultimate answer to your questions. Not just your calcium level, but your D and PTH, which give the complete picture.

You ARE getting labs drawn, getting a copy for yourself (not just trusting your doc to read them and tell you if you are ok or not), and entering the information in a spreadsheet to track trends up and down, right? Right?

(vitamins, labs, spreadsheet blanks, and other handy docs in a link in my siggy)

Different people seem to need different amounts of calcium (and other supplements as well), which is why the lab work is so important. Your needs may also change over time.
      I think your present plan, now that you know about the dose thing and will double up, is fine for starters. Once you see where your labs go, you may, or may not, need to adjust your calcium intake. The key on the labs, though is NOT your calcium level. Your body regulates blood calcium level tightly because calcium is necessary for your heart. So, if you don't take enough, or don't absorb it because your vitamin D is too low, your body adjusts by stealing calcium from your bones. It does this by raising PTH (parathyroud hormone). That's why you need to have PTH and vitamin D levels checked along with calcium. If you PTH level is high, you aren't taking, or aren't absorbing, enough calcium and need either more calcium citrate, more Vitamin D, or both.
     Does that make sense?

Larra

Makes sense. I haven't gotten my first labs yet. My first labs are coming at four months instead of three. I will definitely get a copy and share with everyone here. I know you guys are the real experts.

Hard to believe I have an Ivy League degree and can't read a simple vitamin bottle!

Proof again that the DS is not for everyone...it takes hard work and diligence.

Steve, I started out taking your (corrected) dose. We're around the same age. In my case it turned out to be not quite enough. As mentioned by others, I knew this not because my calcium was off, but because my PTH was rising. I upped to 4 doses per day and that still didn't do it, so I have switched to another form of calcium and I'll see how that goes.

I'd follow Larra's advice if I were you. How much does the U of C program recommend?

Thanks Chad.

U if C just raised their recommendation to 1800 to 2400mg a day. Used to be half of that.

What form of calcium are you using now? And at what levels?