Calcium supplements

[barbara]

In January I was diagnosed with osteoporosis. I am taking Actonel once
a week. I dont understand how I developed osteoporosis, I have always
consumed plenty of Calcium in foods such as skim milk, cheese, yogurt
etc. Nevertheless I do have osteoporosis.

I moved to my present address 2 years ago and was forced to find a new
gynocologist. I am not happy with her at all . I am taking OsCal
twice daily. Is Oscal the best OTC or is another brand better? How
does OsCal differ from other supplements? What is the difference
between Calcium citrate and Calcium carbonate? I am 66 years old, does
age matter when deciding which supplement to use? My doctor did not
discuss any of this with me. I intend to find another before the end
of the year. Thanks for opinions or suggestions.

[Shirley Thebaglady]

My doctor tells me to take extra calcium for Osteopenia. I am 65. No
help from him.( Bone density test showed my left hip)

I had to look on the internet for what I Calcium is best for me. I take
Citrate +D. The vitamim- 2x a day. 6 hours apart. Your body absorbs 600
mg at a time with water. I buy mine at CVS or Brooks. I use their store
brands, it saves a couple of dollars.( any other kind of calcium makes
me constipated.)

dissolve 1 calcium pill in 1/2 glass of water. This is how your body
absorbs calcium. Mine dissolves very fast.

shirley

[cyli@visi.com]

On Fri, 22 Aug 2003 23:45:38 -0400 (EDT), ddjsma@webtv.net (barbara)
wrote:


> What is the difference
>between Calcium citrate and Calcium carbonate?

Citrate is good, carbonate is not good.

Carbonate is one of the forms that comes from nature, which is (most
often) a good thing, but it comes from coral, oyster shell, or animal
bone, nature gives it a nice addition of whatever heavy metals the
creature that made it shouldn't have in its bloodstream or whatever
passes for one. You don't want to have additional lead, mercury, and
all that in your system. Also I've heard that it's harder to digest
and harder for the body to metabolize.

Drinking lots of milk should have given you enough Vitamin D,
magnesium, and potassium to make the calcium into bone. But you could
have lousy heredity in that area, have had some illness (thyroid or
other hormone problems are one example), or have taken cortisone stuff
for long enough to mess things up.

Most doctors don't explain things to patients. There are reasons,
starting with most patients not wanting to know, just wanting to be
made well magically. Followed by the inability of many patients to
understand what the doctor is telling them (take a notepad along when
you go to the doctor?) and the tendency of patients to only remember
part of what they're told. Sometimes it's because the doctor doesn't
have the time. Sometimes it's because the doctor him/herself may
understand the subject but can't explain things clearly. And then
there's the one where the doctor treats a particular disease or
syndrome by rote because he/she doesn't understand it themselves, but
can prescribe and advise what's been taught them. For about 90
percent of all the cases a general practitioner sees, that last one is
adequate for the patient and the treatment.

For those of us with specialized problems, particularly long term
ones, we do need to dig and find the right information (btw, there's a
lot of screwy stuff on the Web, so don't just trust all the printed
words...) and find the right doctor, if the one you have is not
satisfactory. In my case, my general practitioner is just fine. For
some a lot more expertise is needed than their own gp can give.
--

rbc:vixen,Minnow Goddess,Willow Watcher,and all that sort of thing.
Often taunted by trout.
Only a fool would refuse to believe in luck. Only a damn fool would rely on it.

http://www.visi.com/~cyli

[barbara]

Thank you everyone for giving me som insight. I would like to get back
to this later in the week. A family situation has arisen and I will be
gone several days.

I do take other medications besides the calcium supplement. I take both
a preventative and abortive prescription for migraine headaches, also
take 1 Centrem Silver daily. I also take Actonel once weekly. As I
said all my life I had plenty of Calcium in my diet. It wasnt something
I tried to do, I simply liked the food that contained calcium and I
still do.

I am not sure what is meant by weight bearing exercises. I walk at
least 30 minutes a day. I had a mastectomy 10 years ago. During the
surgery 20 lymph nodes were removed. I took Tomoxifin for 5 years.
Lifting heavy weights can cause my arm to permanently swell twice its
size. I do have some small hand weights (3 lbs each) Since they are
so light I wonder if I am just wasting my time with them. Because of
the lymph nodes removal I hesitate to do anything that will cause
edemia (arm swelling).

Soda was mentioned. Doctor didnt say anything about soda.

I am sure this will be posted today. As I mentioned, I must leave for
several days. I will need to unplug my web, tv and cable line before I
go. I live in an area where almost daily afternoon summer lightening
occurs. Hope I can continue this subject when I return. Many thanks
again. Barbara

[Beach Runner@nospam.com]

Walking helps, but it's not enough. Weight trainng will help build bones
and make you stronger. Don't be afraid of light weights to get you started.

Bob

barbara wrote:

> Thank you everyone for giving me som insight. I would like to get back
> to this later in the week. A family situation has arisen and I will be
> gone several days.
>
> I do take other medications besides the calcium supplement. I take both
> a preventative and abortive prescription for migraine headaches, also
> take 1 Centrem Silver daily. I also take Actonel once weekly. As I
> said all my life I had plenty of Calcium in my diet. It wasnt something
> I tried to do, I simply liked the food that contained calcium and I
> still do.
>
> I am not sure what is meant by weight bearing exercises. I walk at
> least 30 minutes a day. I had a mastectomy 10 years ago. During the
> surgery 20 lymph nodes were removed. I took Tomoxifin for 5 years.
> Lifting heavy weights can cause my arm to permanently swell twice its
> size. I do have some small hand weights (3 lbs each) Since they are
> so light I wonder if I am just wasting my time with them. Because of
> the lymph nodes removal I hesitate to do anything that will cause
> edemia (arm swelling).
>
> Soda was mentioned. Doctor didnt say anything about soda.
>
> I am sure this will be posted today. As I mentioned, I must leave for
> several days. I will need to unplug my web, tv and cable line before I
> go. I live in an area where almost daily afternoon summer lightening
> occurs. Hope I can continue this subject when I return. Many thanks
> again. Barbara

[Chip]

<cyli@visi.com> wrote
> > What is the difference
> >between Calcium citrate and Calcium carbonate?
>
> Citrate is good, carbonate is not good.
>
> Carbonate is one of the forms that comes from nature, which is (most
> often) a good thing, but it comes from coral, oyster shell, or animal
> bone, nature gives it a nice addition of whatever heavy metals the
> creature that made it shouldn't have in its bloodstream or whatever
> passes for one. You don't want to have additional lead, mercury, and
> all that in your system. Also I've heard that it's harder to digest
> and harder for the body to metabolize.

Where does calcium citrate come from?

Chip

[cyli@visi.com]

On Sun, 24 Aug 2003 11:29:17 -0700, "Chip" <chipmonk___36@hotmail.com>
wrote:

>
>
>Where does calcium citrate come from?
>
Same place, AFAIK, but more refined. I'm all for refining in things
that might have heavy metals. It could be from limestone, which would
also apply to carbonate, but I see carbonate too often listing oyster
shell, etc.. And it's a citrate, which means it can be taken between
meals and is more easily digested.

I thought oyster shell had been dropped as a source. I looked at a
bunch of calcium brands recently and found it hasn't been.
--

rbc:vixen,Minnow Goddess,Willow Watcher,and all that sort of thing.
Often taunted by trout.
Only a fool would refuse to believe in luck. Only a damn fool would rely on it.

http://www.visi.com/~cyli

[Françoise]

Do you get enough vitamin D from the sun or otherwise? Calcium needs vitamin
D to be assimilated.

Françoise.

barbara wrote:

> In January I was diagnosed with osteoporosis. I am taking Actonel once
> a week. I dont understand how I developed osteoporosis, I have always
> consumed plenty of Calcium in foods such as skim milk, cheese, yogurt
> etc. Nevertheless I do have osteoporosis.
>
> I moved to my present address 2 years ago and was forced to find a new
> gynocologist. I am not happy with her at all . I am taking OsCal
> twice daily. Is Oscal the best OTC or is another brand better? How
> does OsCal differ from other supplements? What is the difference
> between Calcium citrate and Calcium carbonate? I am 66 years old, does
> age matter when deciding which supplement to use? My doctor did not
> discuss any of this with me. I intend to find another before the end
> of the year. Thanks for opinions or suggestions.

[OhJeeez]

<< Walking helps, but it's not enough. Weight trainng will help build bones
and make you stronger. Don't be afraid of light weights to get you started. >>

i may be mistaken but i understand that weight training builds muscle around
bone, not bone. the benefit i understand comes from the protection muscle
provides bone.

[Françoise]

Muscles are attached to the bones. When we have strong muscles the shock to the
bones are bigger. Though a process that I do not completely understand, from these
shocks, the muscles gain mass. It is the reason why weight training is good for the
bones.

Françoise.

OhJeeez wrote:

> << Walking helps, but it's not enough. Weight trainng will help buildbones
> and make you stronger. Don't be afraid of light weights to get you started. >>
>
> i may be mistaken but i understand that weight training builds muscle around
> bone, not bone. the benefit i understand comes from the protection muscle
> provides bone.

[Art S]

"OhJeeez" <ohjeeez@aol.com> wrote in message news:20030828215149.10923.00000124@mb-m29.aol.com...
> << Walking helps, but it's not enough. Weight trainng will help build bones
> and make you stronger. Don't be afraid of light weights to get you started. >>
>
> i may be mistaken but i understand that weight training builds muscle around
> bone, not bone. the benefit i understand comes from the protection muscle
> provides bone.
>

There are studies that show a relationship between muscle mass and bone
density. My guess is that this happens for several reasons:

1) the same activities that result in increased muscle cause the bones to
compress, causing them to get adapt and get denser (stronger).
2) Since the muscles are stronger, they can apply more force to the bones
(again causing the bones to compress and adapt by getting stronger).

Keep in mind that when you lift something, your muscles will be pulling on
two different bones (one on each side of the joint), potentially causing the
bone to compress between the ends of the muscle.

(When you push something, your muscles will tense up to keep the joints
involved from moving, adding to the bone's compression from pushing
against something.)

Art

[Chip]

"OhJeeez" <ohjeeez@aol.com> wrote
> i may be mistaken but i understand that weight training builds muscle
around
> bone, not bone. the benefit i understand comes from the protection muscle
> provides bone.

weight training increases muscle strength and bone strength

Chip

[bj]

"Chip" <chipmonk___36@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:bio3i9$bgc7p$1@ID-82687.news.uni-berlin.de...
>
> weight training increases muscle strength and bone strength
>

Many weight training exercises also help you with your balance.

Aside from any direct effect on your bones, improving your balance can help
you avoid falls & fractures -- which is also a goal in osteo-penia/porosis.
bj