Reminder about calcium

I've posted this before but thought I'd post it again because I've seen so many posts lately with people taking forms of calcium we can't absorb, including calcium carbonate and tricalcium phosphate (the kind found in Citracal gummies and one of the forms of calcium found in Wellesse liquid 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 (most forms of it, anyway, but not the gummies) 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.  The Citracal gummies also have tricalcium phosphate.

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.

Wellese must have a higher amt of Calcium Citrate than you think because my PTH went from 88 to 54 in a month. When I was 88 I was taking 6 333mg Calcium citrate (only)tabs a day.

Pup

I think the manufacturer said it has either 70% or 80% calcium citrate.  All I'm saying is, if you use Wellesse, make sure you adjust the dose so you're getting the 1500-2000 mg calcium citrate you need daily.

My problem with your post was you were not specific you just said Wellese was bad. Perhaps with your knowledge of supplements you could specify things like percentages etc for people who cannot tolerate certain forms.

Pup

I'm sorry if you thought I was saying Wellesse was bad.  What I actually said was that Wellesse contains some tricalcium phosphate, which we can't absorb.  I'm not certain about the exact percentage, but you can contact the manufacturer to find out for sure.

Thanks for this info poet_kelly.  Fortunately my surgeon's office sells all the supplements we need (at cost).  They buy in bulk and get a discount, so I can get them pretty cheap.  I understand a lot of surgeons don't provide this service.  

This is valuable information you're giving, I appreciate it.  I too was confused and taking viactiv until you helped me.  

That is a wonderful service for patients! I wish that more centers did that, it would save us money and be sure that the right (hopefully) vitamins are being taken,

Martha 

So my surgeon recommends two tums three times daily, with a vitamin D. Are you telling me that I am NOT getting my calcium?

Right.  Because that's calcium carbonate and we can't absorb it.

I asked my surgeon and NUT this same question because of Kelly's recents posts. I too need to take 3 tums a day.  They said I should do this for the first 3 months because our pouches are still healing.  They said I may start the calcium citrate after 3 months.