Time to start calcium

I've been taking generic Calcium Citrate tabs since a week post-op. If you can swallow, which you say you can, it's what I recommend cost wise. I think I may get some bites though to mix up the routine a bit. Some days I am bad and miss a dose of my calcium and I think this might help me be more diligent. 

All the calcium citrate choices look yummy?!?!?  Have you actually TRIED any of them, LOL???  The only ones that even come close to yummy, IMO, are the Calcet Creamy Bites (but they are really expensive compared to Upcal D powder or regular calcium pills.  

As Kelly said, anything that is calcium citrate is fine, but beware calcium blends (they blend them because citrate is more expensive than other forms of calcium) and look closely at the serving size on ALL calcium products (on one bottle that I looked at, the serving size was FOUR tablets!)

Lora

I will defenitly be watching the serving sizes. Good heads up girls! Thanks!

My surgeon doesn't have us starting our calcium until 6 weeks post-op.  I thought that was normal, but it sounds like you're starting yours earlier.

Do most surgeons have their patients start the calcium earlier than 6 weeks?  What's normal?

Oh, and I got the Citrical petites, which I found out later aren't all that small and I will have to take 6 of them a day..so yeah, I'll rethink my plan when I start taking them. :)

Jen

The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery says to wait no longer than four weeks to start calcium.  Why does your doc think it's good to wait longer?

With the petites, you need eight to ten a day to get the 1500-2000 mg we need (according to the ASMBS).

I have no idea why he wants us to wait 6 weeks.  I'll start them at 4 weeks, though, since it sounds like that's what it should be.  I just went back through my paperwork and I can't seem to find where I read that they wanted us to wait 6 weeks.  I know I remember that, but just can't seem to find it right now.

On the petites, the paperwork I have says to take 6 a day...3 w/lunch, 3 w/dinner.  The bottle I have says there is 400 mg of calcium in 2 tablets, so 6 would be 1200mg.  This same paperwork I have says we only need 1200-1500mg a day, so I'll probably go ahead and bump that up to 8 a day to be on the safe side.

Thanks Kelly!!  I was hoping you'd respond to my question about when to take the calcium.  I didn't realize that we needed more calcium than my paperwork says, too. :)

Jen