My story is , I was diagnosed with osteoporosis 2 years ago but only one digit into it on my right hip 2.6 the rest osteopenia. I decided after much research not to take prescribed medication owing to the terrible possible long term effects. So started to take vitamins. Vitamin D Calcium citrate, Vitamin K2, Boron, magnesium, etc. After a year taking all this I was suffering terrible irritable bowel pain, put on medication such as Buscapan , I had scans tests etc. Nothing so definatly irritable bowel, I was so scared of eating anything in case it got worse. I decided because I was going on holiday I wouldn't take all my vitamins with me so stopped taking them a few days before we flew of abroad. Once we were on holiday my pain disappeared I ate and drank everything I wanted , my apatite returned and I felt so well no pain. I've since come to the conclusion it was all the vitamins I was taking,
So got rid of them I take a multi Vitamin and a vitamin D, plus a probiotic. I suppose my bones will suffer but my quality of life is much better without constant pain in my tummy.
I am 79. Don't know if anyone else has suffered from irritable bowel while taking a bunch of expensive vitamins.
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JulDeb7374
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I have avascular necrosis of both hips and osteopenia I'm taking cal-D3 VITAMIN B12, VITAMIN,A VITAMIN K2 VITAMIN E, MAGNESIUM, Buscopan,and I have really bad ibs
I was diagnosed with osteoporosis in 2020. I started on all the same vitamins - D3, K2-Mk7, Algae based Omega3-DHA, magnesium, boron, algae based calcium to top up my daily intake - I never take multivitamins though - no effect on the IBS from the vitamins though.
I did go totally gluten free in 2014 when I was diagnosed with inflammatory arthritis- a couple of years after developing Graves Disease in 2012 (I’ve been taking D3 since then and I also used to take B12) I do my own home testing and adjust what I take. I feel there is a certain amount of bad press about going gluten free when you aren’t coeliac but it has certainly made an amazing difference to my IBS so I intend to carry on being GF. I occasionally take Buscopan but not very often.
I should add that although I top up with vitamins and minerals I also eat a very good diet with lots of oily fish, dark green leafy vegetables, seeds and unsalted nuts. I never eat processed or junk food.All drinks are decaf but I mostly drink plain water. I never drink Coca Cola or fizzy drinks and don’t drink alcohol. I do three hour long sessions of Pilates every week and walk for a minimum of half an hour every day.
It is better to get your vitamin intake from eating good diet, lots of veg, fruits, fish and nuts, and some pulses beans and lentils if you can tolerate. Taking vitamins in pill form is good only if your body cannot eat a good balanced diet. The only one you can't get from diet is Vitamin D which you get from sunlight so that depends where you live. If you live in a cold country you need to take that one. Everything else is unnecessary. Cheese and milk for Calcium.
My bone specialist told me that we oldies become very inefficient at converting sunlight to vit D, even with optimal exposure, so vit D3 is needed for all of us. Otherwise a good diet can provide everything (but vit K2 also suggested for bones).
I would suggest that Vitamin K2 is also something many of us are deficient in and it's really important for our bodies to actually use the calcium properly.
I was diagnosed with Crohns about 17 years ago which is now in remission because salizopyrin works so well for me. I won’t take the osteoporosis drugs either and my tscores are much worse than yours. Our age, for a start, is a good reason not to, in my opinion. I can also not tolerate some medications by brand so I avoid that brand in particular. Something in those vitamins of yours was a bad mix possibly even the coating. I would assume all those are the culprits. Vitamin K2 is very important as it aims the calcium into the bones. There are different brands so one will agree with you. Check you are getting enough calcium in your diet. If you can eat prunes every day and have a checklist of all you need for your bones you can get most in your diet. It is basically a fruit and veg diet with yoghurt, cheese, oily fish, etc. Avocado, salad veges, all help. Even meat has a small amount of calcium. You only need to top up with what can’t be covered in your diet. Where you are short then go to vitamins but one at a time to check they don’t upset you. You can still cover everything by calculating what you get in your food. Don’t give up as your scores are pretty good you’ve got this!
I was diagnosed with osteopenia and was put on calcium tablets straight away. I took these for a very short time before I suffered from bone pain and tummy ache. I came off the calcium straight away and the pain soon went. I went back to the drs to tell them that I wasn't taking the calcium anymore. They then did a blood test and said that I had enough calcium in my body! So taking these supplements can be as bad as they can good. Beware .... I'm now just going to drink lots of milk, have yogurt and cheese etc and do lots of exercise. Who knows what to do really.... it's a minefield
I was prescribed a calcium and vitamin D combination and boy did it upset my gut. I was changed onto another combo with the same result - probably it was because thay was also calcium carbonate. In the end I worked out that I was getting enough dietary calcium and with the blessing of my osteoporosis nurse I stopped the calcium. I buy my own vitamin D3 capsules and I also take one capsule of seaweed based calcium as a top up to be sure I’m always getting enough calcium. I was told by my nurse that calcium carbonate can cause stomach upsets. It certainly upset my IBS.
Calcium carbonate also clogs up the arteries. It is basically chalk. I like the idea of topping up with seaweed derived calcium. Which brand do you buy please?
Thank you. I just need to top up up too. When I came off Calcichew, the endocrinology doctor said that I was probably getting enough calcium from my diet, but I feel that there is a shortfall.
It may just be one of the vitamins that caused all the problems and/or it may not be the vitamin itself but one of the added ingredients. I have IBS and so far haven't found magnesium that suits me in any form. Magnesium is a definite possible culprit, particularly in the higher quantities found in an individual supplement. Most of us can get enough calcium from diet, but need Vitamin D and K2 is highly recommended to help send calcium to the bones. So I would re-introduce Vitamin D on its own and see if that suits you, then add K2-MK7, then any others one at a time in a similar manner. If any don't agree with you, there's always the option of trying a different formula. For example, Vitamin D is available as tablets (usually with other ingredients to bulk it out), oil-filled capsules (different oils, so one may suit where another doesn't), drops and spray.
Hard for me to have high calcium diet as allergic to dairy, so happy to have calcium and now Vit D as not much sun atm! If you just take a multivit and mineral tablet once a day instead of bits of this and that, they ensure you get the maximum recommended dose. Otherwise you risk an imbalance, avitaminosis/ hypervitaminosis which can cause its own problems. Multivits are safest option, no faff, inexpensive, all worked out for you. Much like a complete diet for cats- though I would not recommend the latter! 😸
p.s I used to have colitis, 18 years, probably from all the stuff I used to try for my M.E, everyone recommended something different and in desperation I tried them all. Nowt worked, they cost a fortune now so gave up. Colitis mostly cleared , just occ. ibs and I can usually explain that from what I ate as I keep a diary, which also helps me stop further weight gain as know the culprits!🤭
My first thought was that the culprit could very likely be magnesium. I have tried 3 different forms of magnesium in different doses. I can't take magnesium citrate or magnesium oxide. They both give me stomach cramps and diarrhoea - magnesium citrate especially.I've recently been taking magnesium glycinate each evening, which in small doses I find doesn't have any adverse effects on my tummy.
I believe also to many vitamins cause stomach problems.I did take calcium,a one a day,magnesium,Vit D and collagen.I was always a little bit nauseous,so just lately i dropped the collagen and magnesium,and the nausea has left.So I'm assuming it was to many vitamins at one time.
Thank you I agree, now I took collagen powder and had no problem, at least I don't think I did. But I think it's the magnesium that didn't agree with me. I only take a vitamin D and a probiotic, I won't take the aladronic acid don't want to end up with old bones and breaks because they stop the old bone cells from eating the old bone doesn't make sence to me. At 79 I will just carry and be very careful not to fall, So far never broken any bones. Good luck.
JulDeb7374, have you been taking vitamins and minerals with food? If so, check the foods for their lectin and oxalate levels to identify possible irritants causing the IBS pain. Although it wasn't listed, research the role of activated thiamine (vitamin B1) has in the digestive system and for IBS. Adequate magnesium is required to activate thiamine and also vitamin D so a deficiency of either can result in a critical factor being missing, a multi vitamin will be low in these principles. Magnesium glycinate is the gentlest form. Check the "other ingredients" in supplements to identify the possible cause of your experience using them. Also anti thiamine factors can diminish or destroy thiamine, please search for a list of them.A very important item to add to your training table is weight bearing and resistance exercise. It stimulates the bones to produce more bone tissue. As a result, bones become stronger and more dense and the risk of osteopenia, osteoporosis, and fractures decreases.
In general I would say that capsules with powder or liquid are more easily handled by the body than hard tablets. Also some things are much better tolerated with food. Calcium, for example, is supposed to be better absorbed if consumed with a bit of yoghurt.
Also we can take too much of something. Usually a few extra vitamins are a good idea these days just because our food supply has become so corrupted and many foods are simply not providing the nutrition they once did. Also as we age we become less efficient at absorbing nutrients. But more is not always better, especially when it comes to vitamins.
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