Just a reminder, we need three or four doses of calcium citrate a day

I've seen a lot of posts lately where people say they take calcium twice a day and just wanted to remind everyone, the ASMBS says we need 1500 to 2000 mg calcium citrate daily (needs to be citrate, not carbonate) AND we can only absorb about 500 mg at a time.  So that means we need to be taking three or four doses of calcium citrate a day.  Doses should be taken at least two hours apart (says the ASMBS).

Thanks for the reminder I have been taking 4 a day but 2 at a time guess I should spread those out more

How much calcium is in each pill?

Lora

There are 1200mg of Calcium, 800iu of vitamin d and 80mg of magnesium in 4   soo in one 300 mg calcuim, 200iu vitamin D, and 20 mg of magnesium.  My nut said we could absorb 600 at a time so i could take 2 at a time.  I figure I can break them up easy enough and be safe on all fronts!

I would like to take this opportunity to also remind people that the serum calcium level indicates only the amount of calcium in the blood and does NOT indicate whether the calcium intake is sufficient or whether the body is leaching calcium from the bones.  Your body MUST have calcium for your heart to function properly (which is your body's "prime directive", if you will) and if you are not getting enough from food and supplements, it will pull it from your bones.  So just because your lab sheet shows your serum calcium level within the "normal" range, all that means is that there isn't anything interfering with your body's ability to get calcium into the blood, NOT that you are getting enough calcium from your supplements.  (I did not know this when I had my surgery even though my surgeon provided some information on vitamins and potential signs of deficiency, and am guessing that MANY other people also don't know it.)

So if your doctor's nurse or nutritionist suggests that they can tell whether you need to increase or decrease your calcium supplements (I am assuming that ALL doctors know this as part of basic physiology), they are mistaken.  Also, if you are taking something other than calcium citrate and are using your lab work as "evidence" that the calcium you are taking is ok, you should reconsider.

The only way you can tell if your calcium supplementation is adequate is by having a bone scan done.  Unfortunately a bone scan can only show you that you ALREADY have a problem, so it is really important to adhere to the ASMBS guidelines on calcium supplementation.

Lora

That's a great explanation!! Thank you for that.

I would like to say that I just ordered the new Bariatric Advantage 500mg Caramel Calcium Citrate chews - and it is the BEST chewable calcium by far!!  They have some other great ones, but the fact these are 500mg puts them in the lead for me for sure.  

I try to use some caltrate petites too - since the chewies are so expensive (comparatively).

 

 

I heard they will be coming out with an Orange Cream (think ceamsickle) and Raspberry in 500 mg soon. Can't wait! LOVE the Carmel

Thank you for sharing this - I'm about 10 days out from surgery right now and have been taking Caltrate chewables (2) per day as it was listed on the supplement list my dietician gave. I wasn't aware about needing to take citrate over carbonate at all or to even look at the ASMBS' guidelines!!

I'm so sorry your dietician is recommending calcium carbonate.  That's what my surgeon told me to take, too.

Here's a link to the ASMBS guidelines.  Perhaps you can forward it to your dietician.  http://nutrition.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/file/0005/4784/Ba riatricNutritionReading.pdf

Thank you so much!!

Can you recommend a good bariatric-friendly multivitamin also that contains iron? I think they're holding off till my post op visit to start me on iron (I think to help prevent constipation in the beginning), but right now they had me start Centrum Silver chewables which contain no iron, and that has me slightly concerned...Thanks!