How to take Calcium

[GARunner]

I had a prostatectomy in 2014 for Gleason (4+3), salvage radiation in 2017, PSMA PET/CT January 2023 followed by Proton SBRT in April this year for mets on T10 and anal lymph node. I have been told to take daily 1000mg Calcium. Looking for guidance on the best type, other needed supplements to take with it. Any specific brand recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Tall_Allen]

Do you have low serum Calcium? Otherwise, avoid it - too high calcium may encourage progression, as well as heart and kidney adverse effects. Bony fish like sardines are the best source in the diet.

[Hidden in reply to Tall_Allen]

They also add Omega 3

[GARunner in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for the information.

[GARunner in reply to Tall_Allen]

Thanks. I love sardines.

[TN1932 in reply to Tall_Allen]

What if one doesn't get enough daily calcium intake by food and has oxalate stone in urine? His calcium in blood is normal high. He's just started taking 325 mg Calcium supplement daily after he got the news that he has moderate amount of calcium oxalate stones in urine. Should he avoid calcium completely? Thanks for any input.

[Tall_Allen in reply to TN1932]

Who told him to increase calcium intake when he has kidney stones? It sounds crazy to me - the opposite of what one would normally do. What makes his doctor think that he "doesn't get enough daily calcium intake by food.?"

[TN1932 in reply to Tall_Allen]

This is from kidney.org about calcium oxalate: "Include the right amount of calcium in your diet. Some people may think they can keep stones from forming by avoiding calcium, but the opposite is true..You need to eat calcium so that it can bind with oxalate in the stomach and intestines before it moves to the kidneys..." I understand that it's best to eat and drink calcium and oxalate-rich food together in order to prevent stone formation. But food with calcium like dairy products and fish are not on his menu.

[Tall_Allen in reply to TN1932]

Thanks. A normal diet usually supplies all the calcium we need. Green leafy vegetables are particularly high in calcium. Supplementing calcium is not required unless serum levels are low.

[Chubby42]

I take K2 & vitamin D to help with the calcium absorption and eat sardines or salmon with bones a couple of times a week.

[dixiedad in reply to Chubby42]

I do the same plus work out with 15 lb dumbbells twice daily.

Last scan showed 5% increase in bone density.

😊

[dhccpa in reply to Chubby42]

How much K2 per day? I've never seen an official dose recommendation.

[Billybob2]

K2 puts calcium in bones keeps out of tissues, artery walls, etc. Check it out

[dhccpa in reply to Billybob2]

How much do you take per day?

[Billybob2 in reply to dhccpa]

100 Mg k2 10000 is of d3

[ritchiek in reply to Billybob2]

I think you mean 100 micrograms , not milligrams.

[Billybob2 in reply to ritchiek]

Correct sorry. Need my glasses

[dhccpa in reply to Billybob2]

got it thanks

[dhccpa in reply to Billybob2]

thanks

[Chubby42 in reply to dhccpa]

I take 1 x200mcg tablet daily.

[dhccpa in reply to Chubby42]

thanks

[Explorer08]

You might consider AlgaeCal by Osteostrong. It is a plant based source of calcium and comes with the other minerals/supplements essential for better absorption such as K2. My wife’s endocrinologist supports her taking it for osteoporosis.

[Foldem]

I found the 500mg calcium pills very hard to swallow because of their size I recently switched to gummies (from Costco) Problem solved! Good luck!

[Foldem in reply to Foldem]

I now use edibles from Costco. Really easy and tasty. I take them last of my pills like a dessert.

[Jerojj]

Una inyección de prolia ayuda a fijar el calcio a los huesos, en mi caso es una cada seis meses. La marca Danone tiene un yogourt con calcio y el100% de la vitamina D que necesitas diariamente. Una persona normal necesita 1000mg así como la suficiente vitamina D. También hay Calcio en pastillas masticables que aportan entre 500 / 700 mg.

[edgeh in reply to Jerojj]

Jerojj, Mira a las respuestas de Tall Allen en otra menciones sobre Calcio. Aparentamente, si tienes suficiente Calcio en una prueba de sangre, no es necesario para incrementar con pastillas. Reserche demonstro que demasiado de Calcio es peligroso para cancer de prostata.

[maggiedrum]

I did a fair amount of research on how to take calcium so that it could give the most help. I found that calcium carbonate is the most widely used calcium salt. Studies have found that is is really not very well absorbed through the digestive tract. And, your system can only absorb so much at a time.

I take calcium citrate, which has been shown to be more readily absorbable orally. And I take it twice a day. Too much calcium is indeed harmful. More is not better. Each individual may need more than another. Ca is critical to more than one system in your body. It is part of the ionic balance in your fluids, critical to maintaining pH, transport of other items in and out of your cells, and a fundamental part of muscle contraction and relaxation. It is for far more than just building bones, although that is critical too.

One of the, still, controversial part of discussions is whether Vitamin D is important to take for the best absorption of Ca in to your blood, and perhaps its utilization. What I found is that too much Vitamin D is much more harmful than too much or too little Ca. I decided to stop taking Vitamin D as a supplement and just try to get enough through it production by sunlight on the skin and the fruits, vegetables, and proteins that have significant Vitamin D.

I get my calcium citrate from a popular online shopping app (starts with an A) in tablets, 300mg each. I take one in the morning and one at night. I don't know that I have a Ca deficiency or that I am losing bone mass. If I were to start having noticeable bone loss issues I probably would bump my intake so that it is available, although that does not guarantee that it will actually be able to be used to replace bone.

[Derf4223]

GA-- Are you on any androgen-reducing meds? Lupron, Zytiga, etc.

These and such like these cause your rate of bone loss to go up, as if you were 10-15 years older overnight. (They also accelerate muscle loss aka sarcopenia, to a similar extent.)

I would not recommend taking any supps/vitamins without getting the appropriate blood tests and a bone density scan aka DEXA, and discussing the subject with your urologist and MO.

The subject of supplemental calcium's potential bad effects has been covered ad nauseum elsewhere on this site. Add D3, K2, and magnesium to get it to bones and not elsewhere.

Also exercise your arse off. A subject also amply covered on this site.

My MO told me what causes cancer. 1, bad genes, 2, bad luck, 3, bad lifestyle. I'm just trying to bend the odds in my favor. PCa is a relentless hydra monster.

[GARunner in reply to Derf4223]

I am not on any anti-androgens. I do have DEXA scan schedule and will request calcium and VitD levels before I start taking any calcium supplements. Thanks for replying.

[dhccpa]

Subscribe to ConsumerLab.com.

They analyze supps and vitamins and recommend best one for best price.

[ragnar2020]

Hello GARunner,

My suggestion from personal experience is to get a DEXA scan annually to determine your bone mineral density (BMD) and whether or not you have osteoporosis. If you're taking HT with ADT drugs for your PCa there is a good chance that your BMD is being diminished. With aging, osteoporosis is silent serious ailment that all aging folks will find themselves learning about. Our bones become fragile due to diminished BMD. Men with PCa that is being treated with ADT HT will find themselves learning about it sooner than men without PCa. If you find yourself having back pain, have your MO or PCP refer you to an orthopedic specialist. This orthopedic specialist will send you for a DEXA scan first and then imaging follow-ups using a CT and possibly an MRI to determine the source of the back pain. The final stop to determine your bone health and BMD is a consultation with an endocrinologist. Endocrinologists specialize in hormones within our bodies and most work closely with MO at COEs. Endocrinologists will use your blood tests to determine if you're lacking calcium after reviewing your DEXA scan, your diet and your PCa ADT drugs..

[Derf4223 in reply to ragnar2020]

"If you're taking HT with ADT drugs for your PCa there is a good chance that your BMD is being diminished" --> "HT with ADT drugs accelerates normal age-related BMD loss." Fixed it for you.

If one goes into PCa with ostepenia plus ADT + Abiraterone, and doesn't take all measures to protect BMD, one will come out with osteoporosis.

[skiingfiend]

Diagnosed with borderline Osteopenia / Osteoporisis on top of mCSPc. Supplementation were recommended but with the caveat - don't expect too much from them.

Take D3 (1000 IU)+ Ca (600 mg) twice a day with breakfast and dinner. I was told it is probably more effective to spread the dose over the day than take it all at once.

[CAMPSOUPS]

How/when to take Calcium: When you are on a bone "repair" med such as Zometa which takes Calcium from the bloodstream and brings it to the bones.

How/when not to take Calcium: When you have or are trying to prevent Prostate cancer and you have normal Calcium blood levels.

[Derf4223 in reply to CAMPSOUPS]

Here we have the essence of a PCa-vs-another-bad-thing tradeoff. Don't take Ca and your odds of a bad frac in 10-20 years are higher but your PCa might not be as bad. Take it and frac odds are lower but PCa might be worse. With the incredible advances in PCa treatment my money is on that getting better before I need them whereas advances in reversing osteoporosis are dim. Taking Ca + D3 + K2 + Mn for bone health. Being largely vegan, we need to pay attention to missing elements.