My GP put me on ADCAL when he diagnosed PMR and started Prednisolone.
At my first telephone consultatioon with a rheumy (I sacked him yesterday!) he said to come off it as it is dangerous. I am not on any calcium medication.
Anyone confirm this or make any comment?
Thanks.
It may be in certain circumstances, but if it was as bad as he infers I’m sure the subject would have been discussed before.
Having been on it for 8 years both with and post GCA/Pred, I’d be interested in his thoughts!
One reason I got rid of him is because he doesn't discuss - just gives out the orders (which, as you will have seen in my 'So angry' thread, demonstrate his ignorance of PMR/GCA.
Possibly your GP is pushed for time, especially with so many Covid19 cases sprouting up. ?
Not a good time at the moment to expect a long meeting. 🙄
It's the rheumy I got rid of. My GP is ok. I have no problem with milk and, in fact, my GP put me on ADCAL even though I drink a large glass of milk every day.
DorsetLady: the rheumy's profile says he is 'Rheumatology: Adult & Paediatric'. Perhaps he prefers children rather than an eighty year old with a background in research who can make a reasoned argument!
Sorry, morning brain fog. 👍
Very likely! Plus of course children don’t get PMR or GCA.
It is the rheumy who said this - not the GP.
Yes. I think this is yet another downer for him?
Would you really want to get in his head??
Not really- but just wondered where his thoughts on Adcal came from!
And me too. It's one of the things I will mention to my GP - maybe he will know - but he did prescribe it orginally so maybe not.
My rheumatologist said I can get enough calcium from milk products.
Possibly you have on your GPs records that you are allergic to milk products ?
It’s not dangerous to take calcium tablets, but in certain cases it may be detrimental..
Stay safe and feel well.
YuliK. 😷
🌹🌹🌹
There is evidence that milk products are not particularly good sources of calcium for humans - HeronNS has quoted links - but you do have to use dairy products and many people don't these days or don't eat/drink enough to supply the extra that older people or, even more, people on steroids, appear to require to protect them against loss of calcium from the bones.
After developing kidney stones my GP advised me to come off AdCal but to increase my vitamin D levels. I decided that I would take a gentler form of calcium -extracted from seaweed - in case I wasn't getting enough in my diet and this seems to work with no recurrence of kidney stones (fingers crossed).
I think that is rather over-egging the pudding!!! And possibly talking about half a story.
A study found that young, healthy people, mainly women as I think it was from the so-called nurses study, found that those who took more calcium supplements had a higher rate of various conditions that could be linked to calcium being deposited in the wrong places. This was only found in people taking calcium alone, those who took vit D as well did not show the same increases. Vit D is probably more important than the calcium and even if you don't use the AdCal you do need to keep up the vit D supplementation - unless of course you have a very high blood level which in the UK and at your age is fairly unlikely!
The only obvious problem I had with calcium was cystitis - almost certainly due to the formation of calcium grit in the urine.
I have cystitis for the first time in my life. How did you know it was the calcium that caused it for you? How did you treat it?
I didn't realise it at first but then I realised it almost always happened after we had been travelling and I had been drinking less - usually I drink 2-3 mugs of tea before I get out of bed! That resulted in more concentrated urine - more likelihood of grit forming in the bladder which irritates the bladder and the urethra (the outlet from the bladder). I stopped taking the calcium on the days I wouldn't be likely to drink loads. I had had bladder problems during the years of PMR without pred but they improved on pred - and the calcium problem was different.
Hi there again
I eat a lot of dairy. But I try to stick to produce made from low fat goats milk.
My blood tests haven’t shown any calcium deficiency, so I’m pretty lucky.
Very interesting what you say that calcium is sometimes detrimental. I can believe that.
YuliK 😷
Thanks for all your comments.
In sum, I think folk are saying there MAY be detrimental affects but I cannot see any real problems mentioned.
Another feather in the hat of my GP for originally prescribing it. At the very least he'd read the recommendations. Presumably the rheumatologist had not or thinks he knows better.
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