I have recently been prescribed chewable calcium and vit D3 tablets which I take twice a day. I started them yesterday and within an hour my heart was all over the place. One minute my pulse/heart rate was 46 and then it went up to 100. I felt out of sorts and wondered if it was coincidental that I had begun the new tablet and getting arrhythmia issues. I chewed another tablet this morning and the same thing happened within 30-45 mins so think I may have an issue with them?
I do have a problem with fillers and colours in pills, although my GP not convinced that this is possible .
Have any of you had something similar?
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fairyfeathers
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My heart will take off racing if I consume anything containing artificial sweeteners and I also I avoid anything that has Maltodextrin. In fact I try to avoid anything containing artificial additives. It certainly sounds like your new tablets are the cause, check if either of those are in your new tablets.
Hi, thank you to you all for your replies to my query. As it's easier I am going to reply to all your responses with this one post.
My chewable tablets are Adcal-D3 which contain 600mg calcium vitamin D3 400iu. Also has E967 xylitol, modified maise starch, sodium saccharin E954, magnesium stearate and tutti-frutti flavour propylene glycol E1520. The Vit D3 compound DLatocopherol, edible fats, soya oil, gelatin, sucrose and corn starch.
These tablets were prescribed by my Breast Surgeon as I am undergoing breast cancer treatment. I have osteoporosis and am about to start estrogen blocking tablets. I have not been tested for my D3 levels. I am having a DEXA scan soon. I am also concerned as the estrogen blocking tablets can cause blood clots.
It looks as if I am going to have to be very careful with my meds going forwards. I will contact my Breast Care Nurse on Monday as I am still suffering with heart arrhythmia. I just hope these tablets have not impacted on my cardiac ablation for flutter which I had in Sept 2022.
If you have trouble eating at the moment with everything else you are going through, you might be able to see an NHS dietitian to help you get adequate nutrition, especially if your appetite is poor. Good luck with your treatment and recovery ❤️
hi thank you. I’m all over the place at the moment and have been grateful my heart was behaving itself so for it to start being erratic was a shock. I have taken my PIP and it is settling down although has taken a long time. I have been doing the breathing exercises etc to calm me down and they have helped. I will keep an eye on the ingredients in any new meds I take. Im eating ok and thank you for your good wishes x
Obviously I'm not a medical doctor, but I was not prescribed medication for Osteopenia until I had been tested for Vit D levels and had a Dexa scan. When it was established that my Vit D levels were low (I live in South Africa and although I love the warmth of the sun, I never lie in it, I sit in the shade - there are too many cases of malignant melanoma to make sunbathing attractive!) I was prescribed a Calciferal tablet once a week -now reduced to once a month as my levels have normalised, and Idandronate , once a month. I am on a holiday from that after five years and there has been improvement after five years. They like you to have a break from bisphosphonates as there is a slight risk of osteonecrosis of the jaw for overuse of the drug. I have no idea what the fillers are in these tablets, but I had no problems and I'm a very allergic person !!!!!!!
If you don't get sun exposure ( without sun screen and on large parts of your body- face and lower arms won't do) then it is not possible go get enough vit D from diet esecially if you do not eat oily fish or liver. I was found to be severely vit D deficient years ago despite eating oily fish nearly every day and taking 400iu a day in a chewable calcium supplement. Also I spent most of my time outside gardening for large parts of the year in a part of France that has more sunshine than the UK. But I did not actively sunbathe. Also the UK has very low levels which are considered to be sufficient - lower than the European norms.
Thank you. I have telephoned my BC specialist nurse to flag up issues with Adcal-D3. Waiting their call back. I have an appt with my GP booked for 1 June 23 which I made 5 weeks ago as a routine appt so I will mention getting Vit D levels checked.
The amount of vit D is below what is needed to bring vit D levels up to normal if you are deficient. And what is really missing is vit K2. Calcium supplementation especially over 1000mg a day or even heavy consumption of dairy other than aged cheeses should be accompanied by vit K2 . It directs calcium into the bones and teeth where it belongs and stops it accumulating in tissues where it does not belong ie arteries and in women breast tissue. The cocktail of chemicals other than the calcium and vit D in the chewables are probably there to make them edible. It could be these excipients that are affecting your heart. You could try an experiment. Take 600mg of calcium and 400 iu vit D in ordinary pill form and see if you get the same effect. If you don't explain to your consultant that the chewable are causing arrythmia and could you have conventional pills .
thank you for information. It doesn’t help I’m vegetarian although I do try and eat alternatives to top up my calcium levels etc. I will try your experiment and see what happens. If not will have a chat with my BC team.
Dosage is 2 tablets a day which you can take together or separately. Leaflet will says ideally separately but my nurse and pharmacist have said together or separately is fine but not within a period of 2-4 hours before or after certain other drugs and antacids. I take mine together late morning ish so I’m within that time scale.
Are you on medication? You need to be careful with supplements if you are taking a calcium channel blocker. I would ditch these tablets and just take vitamin D3 while making sure that dietary calcium intake was adequate. That’s what I did. I was prescribed adcal D3 but didn’t see the logic in taking a calcium supplement when I didn’t need to. They’re like chewing on chalk, those things. I also rang the National Osteoporosis Society helpline and they said no need if you get enough calcium in the diet. I trust you’ve had your D3 levels checked? Most of us in the UK need to supplement for at least half of the year.
Yes the same thing happened to me. If you look at the ingredients on the leaflet that comes with the tablets, you will no doubt see one of the ingredients (fillers) is aspartame. This is a very common trigger for AF and apart from that has a lot of other nasty effects.
How can drug manufacturers get away with adding this to a tablet?
I asked the pharmacist at Boots and it appears that all the chewable calcium/vitamin d tablets contain aspartame.
I purchase them in capsule form from Simply Supplements.
I had to take very high dose Amoxicillin for Lyme last year. It came in the form of soluble tablets that had aspartame in them . I was very worried about taking them bit luckily they did not kick off my afib.
It is the only antibiotic I am sure I can take without problems. A lot of my health problems stem from exposure to Cipro - a fluoroquinolone antibiotic.
It's such a nightmare trying to keep well as so many meds cause side effects. Heard back from my BCConsultant apparently she has no alternative to the chewy tablets calcium and vit D3 so advised me to eat healthy containing calcium rich foods. I will wait and see what the DEXA scan flags up.
There is probably no alternative for prescription but you will be able to get calcium supplements and vit D supplements from Boots or any health food shop. Unfortunately you will have to pay for them. I used to buy a chewable calcium supplement from Boots when I lived in the UK. They were like fudge and never caused me any problems . There is no alternative to supplements for vit D for vegetarians.
hi, I will start taking an alternative as I don’t think I will get enough thro my diet alone. I am having trouble with my teeth which has got worse in the last 6 months so a supplement is a must I feel.
It’s funny I get palpitations when I stop anything and they continue at night for ages. Can happen with supplements I stopped fish oil once by accident and heart went berserk. I obviously habituate very easily to things, good job I never started smoking . You are obviously also sensitive , the problem is likely in the excipients. That said, too high and too low levels of vit D can trigger AF so am assuming they tested you and didn’t just dole out the tablets with their usual follow the protocol reactions
hi thank you for your response. I have not had my levels checked for calcium or vit D so I have no idea what they are. I think it’s the fact I have osteoporosis and my etrogen blocker tablets will make this worse, so it’s a belts and braces reaction from my Consultant?
If you already had osteoporosis you should have been advised already about calcium intake and vit D supplementation. There is research that shows that women with inadequte vit D levels are more prone to breast cancer and that after treatment it is advisable to keep levels at high normal to prevent recurrence. You can get vit D tests online or you could make a fuss and try and get one from your GP. Normally women only get osteoporosis after the menopause when their oestrogen levels have dropped anyway.
Thank you for your helpful info. I have been taking a calcium magnesium supplement for a little while which I purchased my self as my GP refused to prescribe them due to cost. But it looks as if they are not strong enough hence the chewable chalk tablets prescribed by my BC Surgeon. I will mention to my new GP about getting a check for Vitamin D.
It is possible to get various strengths of calcium and magnesium in supplements but not necessarily combined in the same tablet/capsule. Combo tablets often have a lower amount of each mineral and often are more expensive so in my view their convenience is offset by them being a bad deal financially and less flexible as to amounts of each mineral. IMO there is never enough vit D in combined calcium / vit D supplements .
Hi, I too take Ad-cal D3 for osteoporosis and have done so for over 5 years. I had oestrogen + breast cancer and was also HER2 + . The blocking drugs (hormone therapy) not only kills oestrogen but can deplete bone density. Due to that I had a Dexa scan and was found to already have osteoporosis. I have not had any adverse reactions with the ad-cal that I am aware of. It doesn’t have aspartame in but does have some sucrose in the Vit D compound. I finished hormone therapy last December but have to continue with ad cal now because of the osteoporosis. Hormone therapy can have side effects but many found different brands were better and that was mainly due to fillers. Certainly was for me. Never knew or was told by consultant or BC nurse about the potential for blood clots but have been on apixaban for 7 years. It’s the same with flecainide and fillers. I have a best and second best brand I am ok with and my pharmacy have this on my notes and will move heaven and earth to get me the right one.
I wish you well with your BC treatment. I was 65 at diagnosis. Like this wonderful group there is a lot of help for BC as well. Don’t be afraid to ask. xxx
thank you so much for your response. This is my 3rd time with BC and it is easier this time as I know what to expect. What is new is the fact my heart arrhythmia is now in the mix so something I will be aware of going forward. I have always reacted to colours and fillers but now meds seem to mess with my heart rhythm too. It’s a challenge but will do my best to find meds that help me but also do not cause me problems. I have a new GP and will see her soon so I’m hoping she is easy to talk to and sympathetic to the fact I have issues with some meds.
I am sorry this is your 3rd time. You are one strong lady. I had had Afib for 12 years before BC diagnosis and no one was phased by it. Only thing different was having to stop apixaban prior to surgery. BC and treatment didn’t seem to affect Afib or vice versa. Obviously can’t be 100% sure. Some side effects could have been due to Flecainide/apixaban/Anastrazole mix but the Anastrazole alone is know to cause them. I also have annual Zometa infusions (last one this October) as couldn’t tolerate the weekly tablet of Alendronic acid and others. Have suffered with GORD for 18+ years and that sent it off the Richter scale! Absolutely fine with infusion and you also get tea and cream biscuits whilst sitting in a comfy reclining chair. x
I don’t know about being strong, I think it’s a case of having no choice 😏. I’m trying to keep an open mind about meds and possible side effects. I have had excellent care from my BC Consultant and from my EP so am grateful. I’m working on trying to have less stress in my life as this I’m sure has impacted on my health.
The tea and bikkies sound lovely. I’m pleased you are still doing well. x
Thank you and yes, very true, we don’t have a choice. I didn’t get side effects from the Anastrazole for nearly 2 years. Accord was my brand of choice followed by Teva. I do hope you can relieve some of the stress as I am sure it does have an impact on health. It does with me. x
thank you for info about brands of estrogen blockers. I feel sure heighten stress (I was caring for my parents who had challenging health issues. Both have passed now) on top of my GAD has not helped with BC diagnosis plus the add on of Arrhythmia. I am trying mindfulness which I am finding a challenge .😏 All in all I have a lot to be grateful for so onwards and upwards. x
It could be a calcium issue.. good way to lower calcium quickly is to drink a half tumbler of water with a tea spoon of sodium bicarbonate.If the ectopics stop within a few minutes.. avoid anything that raise calcium… for now.
If you are on PPI’s then this can lower your magnesium levels… and give calcium the upper hand.
Magnesium taurate stops ectopics due to PPI’s … I know after years of intermittent ectopics this works every time.
Get you thyroid levels checked… this can increase calcium levels in the blood along with taking D3 this could give rise to symptoms such as yours.
Finding balance may simply means stopping calcium for a little while… look into K2 (nattokinase) this takes calcium’s from serum and soft tissue and directs it to bones and teeth… blame the western diet.
I hope you find some way to lessen these symptoms.. it looks like you have a lot to deal with without these things joining in.
Please read Dr Tom Levy…especially on calcium…he has made some YouTube videos on this…and for what it’s worth …he seems to have something worthwhile to say…
I buy a liquid form D3+ K2 from Amazon. You need this in order to facilitate the transfer of calcium into the tissues (cells and muscles), otherwise it just floats around in the blood and has the potential to harden your arteries, etc. It’s pure and easy to digest.
You also need magnesium and I also buy a liquid form of “ionic magnesium” from Amazon. It too is 99% absorbed, with no fillers, cellulose capsules or additives.
Personally I’m going to start looking for liquid forms of all my supplements, cos I too don’t think all these anti-caking agents, bulking agents, fillers and cellulose (or whatever they use) capsules can be good for me.
I had Ad Cal for years due to thyroid/parathyroid issues, no problem. Then got switched to Accrete D3 a few years ago (not sure why) still no problem but just to show there is an alternative supplement to Ad Cal if that one isn't suiting you. All the best with your treatment.🤞
First off I would get checked for my levels with a blood test. I'm quite a bit surprised a Doctor would prescribe a supplement without first seeing if you are deficient. Good luck.
Just as a guess it is calcium taken as a supplement.
I take cCB Calcium Channel Blocker to stablize my H/R Day and it does not affect my night rate avge at night. 47. Diltiazem 120mg (360mg full dose) AM.
Bisoprolol slow release to stablize my BP.
Both assist rythmn.
Get yourself under a Heart Specialist as a Dr normally wont try introducing a Heart controlling med.
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high blood pressure
Post ablation arrhythmia 
what on earth am i supposed to do...cant have anti arrhythmia meds?
choice between meds and ablation 
AFib or other arrhythmia?? 
