calcium supplement: I would like to... - Advanced Prostate...

Advanced Prostate Cancer

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calcium supplement

Sam2346 profile image
67 Replies

I would like to know, if it’s beneficial to take calcium 1200 mg with 1000u D3 for someone who is on trelstar, xtandi and completed radiation. Dexa scan shows osteoarthritis. Stage 4 also with pacemaker. I am asking specifically about calcium, I am aware of D3 studies .

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Sam2346 profile image
Sam2346
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Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allen

Do you think you will get better info if you ask random people on the internet?

Sam2346 profile image
Sam2346 in reply to Tall_Allen

no, I try to rely on this group for info.

Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allen in reply to Sam2346

That's my point. This group is only random people on the Internet.

Sam2346 profile image
Sam2346 in reply to Tall_Allen

depends on whose advice you are taking…

Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allen in reply to Sam2346

I always give the evidence-- why would anyone accept less?

Sam2346 profile image
Sam2346 in reply to Tall_Allen

I believe my question could be misinterpreted. I meant, I have your info on D3, and now I need to know if calcium is either good or bad for someone in my husbands shoes. I certainly didn’t mean I need further clarification of your info on d3, not my intention at all. You are a person I always refer to when I have questions. By clarification, I meant clarifying in my mind versus what Dr is telling us..

Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allen in reply to Sam2346

The cautions about calcium supplementation are in the same article. It can contribute to CV disease as well as kidney issues. Moreover it has not been proven safe for PCa. There is no reason to supplement if serum levels are normal.

Sam2346 profile image
Sam2346 in reply to Tall_Allen

thank you.

robobob7777 profile image
robobob7777 in reply to Tall_Allen

I eat 2 cans of sardines weekly, take 20000ui d3 and 500k2, how that for a balance!

Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allen in reply to robobob7777

That much D3 pulls calcium out of bones, and serves no known purpose.

robobob7777 profile image
robobob7777 in reply to Tall_Allen

I here up to 50000 for 6 months have no toxicity. That's what my GP said, so he tested me Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy 119 nmol/L

76 - 250 nmol/L, as you can see, i'm on the low side of normal. I believe, if I took normal amounts I would be the a typical low D cancer patient. Cancer usually, if not always,(I'm definitely no expert and undoubtedly not as smart as you) has low D's and low PH in every case and often possibly calcium complications (Calcification of my prostate= adenocarcinoma . I take K2 sends calcium where it is needed for balance. Personally, just a hunch, I have never taken Calcium. I don't trust it, in bones, kidneys, blood, arteries and lypomas , bumps and cancers.

robobob7777 profile image
robobob7777 in reply to robobob7777

The key, all natural calcium. Not milk and chemical supplements. Salmon, omega 3...yummmm

robobob7777 profile image
robobob7777 in reply to Tall_Allen

Vitamin K2 balances Ca and D, under-rated vitamin.

Radars profile image
Radars in reply to Tall_Allen

hi,I have locally advanced prostate cancer t3b no mo finished treatment rt/ht in 2016 psa is0.04,I testosterone not recovered hence severe osteoporosis, I have recently had a blood test, and my serum calcium level is below range as is my creatinine level and red blood cells, I can't take adcal-d3 because of constipation, I know calcium is not good for p/c but I had a reclast infusion last April and I have been reading that you should take a calcium supplement while on reclast, can you please recommend a safe one for me please.

Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allen in reply to Radars

If your serum calcium is low, make sure you are getting at least 1200 mg/day from dietary sources and supplement, if needed, to get serum Calcium in the normal range. IMO, calcium supplements with microcrystalline hydroxyapatite are the most absorbable into bone, but total intake of calcium (diet+supplements) should not exceed 2,000 mg/day. If your serum Vitamin D is low as well, you can take 600 iu/day.

Radars profile image
Radars in reply to Tall_Allen

thanks, but that calcium has growth factors, calcium citrate seems most easily absorbed

Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allen in reply to Radars

Hydroxyapatite (Ca5(PO4)3(OH)) is an inorganic mineral - it has no growth factors. It is the inorganic mineral that bones are made of.

robobob7777 profile image
robobob7777 in reply to Tall_Allen

this is not a random site, it has many knowledgeable people with PCa

Mrtroxely profile image
Mrtroxely in reply to Tall_Allen

Hah.I don't think you meant that to be funny.

But that made me spit my tea out!!!

I've been given calcium tablets as doctor said they can help?

Big chalky tablets????

I was always told lots tablets clog up our kidneys, livers and not good?

So???

I been thinking of just not taking them.

But no clear evidence to show effectiveness?

Was just going alter diet?

Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allen in reply to Mrtroxely

If your blood serum calcium is in the normal range, there is no reason to supplement. The best way to assure adequate calcium is with food, not supplements.

Most of these are observational studies, but they suggest caution:

Osteoporosis/Fracture Risk

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

sciencedirect.com/science/a...

Prostate Cancer

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

aacrjournals.org/cebp/artic...

CV Risk

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

bmj.com/content/346/bmj.f228

spencoid2 profile image
spencoid2 in reply to Tall_Allen

when i was getting doxytaxel i think there was a concern about osteoporosis caused by ADT. i got a bone supplement shot, Denosumab i am pretty sure that at that time they told me to take calcium supplements. my last test shows blood calcium level right in the middle of normal. not getting Denosumab but no testosterone due to orchiectomy. should i stop calcium supplements and see what the next blood test shows? add it to the questions for Dr. Aggarwal on tuesday?

Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allen in reply to spencoid2

Foods with the most bioavailable calcium are canned fish with soft bones like sardines, herring, and salmon.

robobob7777 profile image
robobob7777 in reply to Tall_Allen

👍

spencoid2 profile image
spencoid2 in reply to Tall_Allen

it is normal but i am taking supplements now so maybe they are responsible for the current level. since i have no osteopenia or osteoporosis now i think it is safe to stop the calcium and see what the next blood test shows. this will make more room in my pill box and make it easier to get the other pills out. I was going to make bigger boxes (made with my laser engraver) because the pills are really tight but without the calcium there is plenty of room. I read most of the articles you have linked and am convinced, i do not need calcium. Will also ask Dr. Aggarwal on tuesday. I would love to eat more salmon but in CA it is not being fished. Even the native Americans can n ot fish for it and are being paid to not. Can get it from Costco from Alaska but out of season and frozen making it not smoke very well. I finally got quite good at smoking salmon and now can't get it.

Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allen in reply to spencoid2

Only canned salmon has soft bones.

spencoid2 profile image
spencoid2 in reply to Tall_Allen

and are soft bones needed for calcium to be available? canned salmon, yuk. We got a lot of fresh salmon a few months ago when it was legal to catch and I made stock with the heads fins bones etc. Would this be a good source? It is not the nicest thing to drink, pretty intense.

Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allen in reply to spencoid2

Only soft bones in canned fish.

spencoid2 profile image
spencoid2 in reply to Tall_Allen

and are soft bones the only source of available calcium? what about stock made from fresh fish, there is plenty of gelatin does that carry calcium with it enough to be of value? google search says it does but only 4mg per cup that is not much

Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allen in reply to spencoid2

What does that response say? "Only soft bones in canned fish."

spencoid2 profile image
spencoid2 in reply to Tall_Allen

just what it says but do soft bones not have calcium? does fresh salmon have calcium in the flesh? does the stock made from salmon scraps have calcium? is it in the gelatin or the clear liquid or ??? you mentioned salmon as a natural source of calcium but what form of salmon?

Tall_Allen profile image
Tall_Allen in reply to spencoid2

Is English your first language? “Foods with the most bioavailable calcium are canned fish with soft bones like sardines, herring, and salmon.”

spencoid2 profile image
spencoid2 in reply to Tall_Allen

if you have ever clicked a link in an email from health unlocked you probably know that the insertion point in the page that pops up may have very little to do with where the reply really is. with a complex hierarchy of replies in a thread it can be real easy to miss the most relevant reply. i missed where you first said "Foods with the most bioavailable calcium are canned fish with soft bones like sardines, herring, and salmon". and then you repeated a few times that only canned fish has soft bones and did not restate that only soft bones have bioavailable calcium. by that point there was quite a lot of text after your first statement. it would be nice if threads were more carefully managed and that clicking on a link would bring you to the reply to your post and not some other random place as it does now or at lease for me. maybe other browsers are different than firefox. For example when i click on the shortcut for advanced search in ebay one would expect that the cursor would jump the the place to write the search criteria. It doesn't in firefox and who knows what it does for other browsers. It is entirely possible to do this In HTML of CSS or whatever web pages are written in today.

spencoid2 profile image
spencoid2 in reply to Tall_Allen

I just clicked on a link in an email from health unlocked and it took me 2 minutes to find the actual response. HU places the cursor in a totally random point and if the hierarchy of responses is deep you can easily miss the response altogether unless you search for it by poster. That is why I missed your first responses about canned fish. I consider it quite rude the way you responded, asking if English was my first language. Even if it wasn't this has nothing to do withe the reason that I missed your reply and I also consider it rude to non English speakers to even suggest this. I think that I and non English speakers deserve an apology.

robobob7777 profile image
robobob7777 in reply to spencoid2

Eat cheap sardines at least once or twice a week, stop taking chemical supplements and fortified garbage, in fact quit milk!

robobob7777 profile image
robobob7777 in reply to Tall_Allen

Sorry disregard my last reply. I agree! But even normal range..mmm, salmon!

Histbuff profile image
Histbuff in reply to Tall_Allen

Thank you, Tall Allen. These reports are most convincing, including the possibility that surplus calcium intake is associated with the metastasis of prostate cancer. I agree with you that evidence should be a major determinant in the decisions that we PC Warriors make but I don't think we're a bunch of random internet users. Though we don't always read research reports as much as we should, we generally are careful to qualify the information that we share. I find it useful to read individuals' summaries of how their bodies responded to a given treatment. Also, it's helpful for me to read what other oncologists are saying to their patients.

Derf4223 profile image
Derf4223

Randomly speaking, people on ADT and abiraterone also take prednisone for the entire duration 4 months, 2 years, etc. And LT of even a small dose (5mg) prednisone causes bone density loss and calcium supplementation is recommended.

To Allen's point, here are links

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/157....

ard.bmj.com/content/64/2/176

Maxone73 profile image
Maxone73 in reply to Derf4223

prevention.cancer.gov/fundi...

For the older warriors but still….

Derf4223 profile image
Derf4223 in reply to Maxone73

Maxone73, Good find. You buried the lead though -- high dose vitamin D ==> effect (good) on BMD and muscle loss. Thanks. FWIW, I've been taking 28,000 IU/week for quite a while but also Prolia and lots of exercise.

Maxone73 profile image
Maxone73 in reply to Derf4223

Hi!

I take some supplements as well, always after reading some reputable (even if often conflictual) research and applying a caution principle. So I try not to touch anything that could for example protect when you are in early stages but hurt when you are metastatic (e.g. what creatine seems to do) and I tend to avoid every supplement that gives 100% RDA of anything unless I have a specific deficiency. If I am close to higher limit or lower limit in a range of values, I may take something to keep myself in the middle (it's my brain that works that way, there is no specific reason to do that :-P ). I will start biphosphonates soon as well just to make sure that my bones stay very thick as they are now, but I am still going to discuss them with my MO, especially to see if we can monitor the situation for a while before starting them.

And yes I exercise a lot, but that is not a change in my everyday routine and increasing exercise makes me feel just better!

What to do with the rest of my life is another thing...and I will have to work on that as well.

HikerWife profile image
HikerWife in reply to Maxone73

Thanks! Great info. Saved.

HikerWife profile image
HikerWife in reply to Derf4223

thank you. Good info, saved links. Randomly speaking.

jackcop profile image
jackcop in reply to Derf4223

"Randomly speaking,..." 😂; links 👍

spencoid2 profile image
spencoid2 in reply to Derf4223

i am taking prednisone but not sure why. i have been castrated not on chemical ADT now and abiraterone has been stopped due to castrate resistance. i thought that the pred was to control edema and sort of remember that when i did not take it my edema was pretty bad. so now i am confused again about the calcium. my levels are perfect now, does that suggest that there is not a risk of cardiovascular involvement if the level is not high? Lots of questions for Dr. Aggarwal on Tuesday.

robobob7777 profile image
robobob7777 in reply to spencoid2

Yes I now see what you mean by the replies not appearing where you reply, therefore it may make you repeat and sound dumb. but it is the poster fault, not yours.

robobob7777 profile image
robobob7777 in reply to Derf4223

I have Primary Aldosteronism. I also have PCa, st4 mCRPC bone met. I take abiraterone for without prednisone. My doctor says why did I stop prednisone and I found this link, in effect it says glucocordicoids can be replaced with mineralocortocoids. My doctors do not like me, they don't like that I self medicate and challenge them. I think they have difficulty seeing beyond their narrow tunnel vision and they must follow protocol. They don't seem interested in links I send them from their own Bible (PubMed) For my Aldo, they used to prescribe spirolactone, a mineralocordicoid, After researching this, I realised it has drug interactions with abiraterone, (see Drug interaction.com) so I asked them to switch , they did, to epleronine. I later researched that this interferes as well with PCa cells. So does prednisone. So tomorrow, I will ask my Kidney doctor to change to my latest suggestion. Amiloride. Check it on PubMed. I suggested Amiloride 8 months ago, he didn't seem to think it was necessary. Does anyone see my point. Prednisolone, spironolactone, and eplerenone increased LNCaP cell viability, while amiloride reduced it

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/287...

London441 profile image
London441

‘Dexa scan shows osteoarthritis’

You do mean osteoporosis, correct?

Flathead profile image
Flathead

I dunno. I'm just a random dude here. I have almost 18 months. ST4, metastasized to spine, pelvis and left femur.

Due to the bone mets, they put me on 1000mg D3 and Calcium, 1000mg. Starting Prolia injections while retaining Lupron.

I had one lesion in left hip grow on Zytiga and Pred, they did 2wks radiation, pain gone, changed to 1000mg D3 and 2000mg Calcium. Supposed to help bone growth/regeneration.

Zytiga started failing almost three months ago, 3 wks cold turkey, now just finished 2 months of Xtandi and Talzenna.

Dexascan when it can be scheduled, then see. Apparently that's backwards of normal.

That's the plan for me, anyway.

Lettuce231 profile image
Lettuce231

Hello Sam2346,

I have been taking pure Glucosamine, with nothing else added for many years. I too have osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. After the last bone scan by the same clinic it showed an increase in bone density.

The doctors didn't understand why and I didn't tell them, accepting alternative medicines can be difficult.

It has had no detriment effect on the treatment for the cancer. But it does take a while to show results. Use the purest form you can get if you try it, no Chondroitin in it.

My wife uses it too and also our Collie Beau, he is better on it too.

I hope this helps you. 🙂

Medline profile image
Medline in reply to Lettuce231

On paper, glucosamine and n-acetylglucosamine, like xgeva or prolia, are a RANK ligand inhibitor and may suppress bone loss [pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/215...].

Lettuce231 profile image
Lettuce231 in reply to Medline

Thank you, I had to look that one up. From what I've read, all in all it can be quite useful.

Thak you for the info 👍

in reply to Lettuce231

If you have a SHRIMP allergy, check the Glucosamine bottle label.

Lettuce231 profile image
Lettuce231 in reply to

Thank you, I'm okay with that. 👍

in reply to Lettuce231

Not you, it's a PSA. Some Glucosamine use shrimp.

Im glad I read the label, Im allergic.

Lettuce231 profile image
Lettuce231 in reply to

Yes we should all do, it's like not reading the instructions before we use something. Glad you did too.

85745 profile image
85745

Many studies state in order for calcium to transport to the bones it should be taken with vitamin K2 , Thats why you see many vit D3 sold as D3 /K2. Side note, fermented Kimchi, and,Sauerkraut has several benefits- it's a great probiotic, has vitK2, High in vitC. I have a serving of fermented foods everyday, Good gut biome is important they say. Forgot to add magnesium in the mix for proper absorbtion/ delivery of D3 and calcium. All the enzymes needed for D3 to work are Mag dependent, Mag/ calcium balance ratio also regulates calcium, ie blood vessel build up, again proper delivery to the bone. I use mag citrate aids in sleep , bowel movement, These are my thoughts and part of my protocol. As always do your own research to see what fits your needs.

robobob7777 profile image
robobob7777 in reply to 85745

I agree, this is the solution

Atdabeach profile image
Atdabeach

I'm 15 months into a planned 2-year course of ADT (Eligard and abiraterone+prednisone). I began to have low back problems a couple of months ago, and MRI showed sacral insufficiency fractures, and fractures to the S2 vertebral body. DEXA scan showed osteopenia. I'm now on Reclast, and calcium+D3+magnesium supplement. You may not need extra calcium to fight prostate cancer, but you might need it to fight the side effects of your PCa treatments.

robobob7777 profile image
robobob7777 in reply to Atdabeach

Don't be shy to eat natural calcium, sardines, and take a few thousand ui of d3, but most importantly balance all this with vit k2

Professorgary profile image
Professorgary

I am now on Xgeva and doc says I need to take calcium, I say I’ll wait on blood tests. Calcium requires magnesium for proper utilization. Very few people have problems getting enough calcium through diet but the same cannot be said about magnesium. My wife was borderline osteoporosis and was told by doc to supplement with calcium and have another scan in six months. I know her diet and know she eats foods high in calcium. I suggested no calcium and a supplement with 50 mg of D3, 15mg zinc and 450 mg of mg. She did another scan in six months and showed enough improvement that doc said she did not need Prolia.

robobob7777 profile image
robobob7777

I agree with all your supplements except 50mg.I have my doubts about calcium supplement or milk fortified. Have sardines or salmon instead.

j-o-h-n profile image
j-o-h-n

Take milk baths............ Not Pasteurized mind you.. Just up to your tits.........

(Sorry folks, I can't resist temptation)....

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Monday 10/23/2023 7:19 PM DST

monte1111 profile image
monte1111 in reply to j-o-h-n

Talk about a random reply from a random guy on the Internet. You are excused. Jack Daniel baths are much more fun. Just be sure to wear your Mae West.

j-o-h-n profile image
j-o-h-n in reply to monte1111

Milk - Calcium.... Catch the Connection? I know you want me to draw pictures with my new box of crayons......(btw I ran out of the titty pink color, can I borrow yours?). I think you meant Mae Vest....and her friend the guy Jack off and left her looking for a pistol in his pocket.

youtube.com/watch?v=UA78e27...

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Monday 10/23/2023 8:20 PM DST

monte1111 profile image
monte1111 in reply to j-o-h-n

Jack Daniels - Alcohol. I'm catching some here don't drink. Udders do. Please don't post your drawings here - I can only imagine. Thanks for Daniel. One of my favorites.

Sam2346 profile image
Sam2346 in reply to j-o-h-n

udders. up to your udders

j-o-h-n profile image
j-o-h-n

Which udder? This udder or the other udder?

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Monday 10/23/2023 8:44 PM DST

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