Tums as a calcium supplement

[DebE13]

My doctor mentioned that I may need to take a calcium supplement after I have my thyroid removed. I've looked over past posts and see Tums is MC safe but why would you want to take an antacid daily as a calcium supplement? I'm tickled that its a fairly easy thing to do but since many of have low stomach acid anyway, doesn't this potentially aggravate another problem?

I've experimented with HCL to see if it would help and I was undetermined. Although it seems I go for a period of time with no stomach aches (usually caused by soy) to having a mild yuk feelings after eating. I usually then take an HCL with my meal since I still have an almost full bottle. I'm only guessing that I may have low stomach acid but it seems counterproductive to then use Tums. Maybe I'm not clear on how it works??

There are also so many calcium supplements it is hard to choose what's the best fit. I'm already taking a vit D supplement so I shouldn't need a blend of the two. Tums seems easy but I just waned to ask. The bottle says take two a day. Since we MCers often don't follow the standard dosing (pepto comes to mind- I couldn't believe I could take that many tablets in a day) I wanted to know if two is the rule.

I've already got my big bottle of spearmint tums. I figured since it said GF and it was white (no dyes) it may be ok. I also got some ricola and cepacol lozenges. Apparently it is going to be a week before swallowing will not be painful and that's if there are no complications.

I also have been taking entocort since February of 2012. It has not been often at the 9mg dose but I still worry about the osteoporosis warning for long term use. Not sure if this is considered long term but I had only planned to take it for a few months. My MC decided differently.

Good news from my pre op blood work- everything is normal so I don't have to do anything additional before the surgery. I am curious if my vit D levels would have been too low if I had not taken the advise here and used a supplement. Although, whenever I hear normal and blood work in the same sentence I tend to snicker because I've heard that before!

[tex]

Hi Deb,

You are right on target, I believe, with your assessment of the calcium carbonate/stomach acid dilemma. The problem is that most calcium supplements fall into two categories: calcium carbonate and calcium citrate. Calcium carbonate, of course, is the form of calcium found in Tums. Consider this quote from the reference at the link below:

The two main forms of calcium in supplements are carbonate and citrate. Calcium carbonate is more commonly available and is both inexpensive and convenient. Due to its dependence on stomach acid for absorption, calcium carbonate is absorbed most efficiently when taken with food, whereas calcium citrate is absorbed equally well when taken with or without food [4]. Calcium citrate is also useful for people with achlorhydria, inflammatory bowel disease, or absorption disorders [1]. Other calcium forms in supplements or fortified foods include gluconate, lactate, and phosphate. Calcium citrate malate is a well-absorbed form of calcium found in some fortified juices [5].

http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Calciu ... fessional/

Now bear in mind that this webpage is provided by the government's National Institutes of Health, Office of Dietary Supplements, and it's targeted at health care professionals. Unfortunately, I can pretty much guarondamntee you that these folks don't know beans about treating MC. Remember that these are the same people who insist that 400 IU of vitamin D daily is more than adequate, but it's OK to take up to 800 IU of vitamin D if you want to really push the envelope.

Anyway, despite their promotion of calcium citrate for IBD patients, please remember that many/most of us cannot tolerate citric acid very well while we are in recovery. I couldn't handle it at all, back in those days. In addition to D and nausea, it would usually cause vomiting. YMMV.

So if I were in your shoes (and had a condition of low stomach acid), I would probably try the calcium citrate, but I would be looking for signs of adverse side effects. If it turns out that the calcium citrate causes problems, you may have to use Tums to get the calcium you need, and take additional Betaine HCL to restore your gastric acid level to where it needs to be for proper digestion. Both medications are relatively inexpensive, and presumably safe to use together.

Or, since you already have a good supply of Tums on hand, you may want to simply use them, and increase your Betaine HCl usage if needed.

That's good news on the test results. I agree with you though that many/most doctors have their own interpretation of the word "normal", that usually won't hold up under closer scrutiny. At least all systems seem to be "go", at this point.

Tex

[DebE13]

Super! Thanks for the info, I guess I am learning a bit

That sounds like a good plan. I liked it better when I just did what the doctors said and assumed they knew what they were talking about. Then again, in those days I had no health problems that I knew of. MC and any other health issue changes the game.

[tex]

Yep, doctors usually do a first-rate job of treating healthy patients. It's the really sick ones that give them fits.

Tex