What is the difference between calcium and calcium citrate? I'm currently taking calcium citrate pills but they're pretty big and I read on here that a lot of people are doing chewables for after surgery, so I got viactiv calcium chewables plus vitamin D in the chocolate flavor 500 mg and I think you're supposed to take two or three a day? Is this okay? What do you guys take or find the easiest? I have surgery on August 26th.

I think virtually all bariatric surgeons and the staff that works with you for WLS says calcium citrate is the right way to take calcium. The citrate helps your body absorb and malabsorption is a big issue post-op and for rest of your life with RnY.

I think the viactiv chewables have a lot of sugar and calorires, esp. when you need 2 or 3 a day. /and are, in my view, a bit expensive. I am super carb conscsious because I have diabetes, the more carbs I eat, the more insulin I need.

On the other hand, yes the pills are big.

I was all set to buy a pill crusher and just put the powder i Water and quick drink it down or add it to my Protein shake, stir into hot Cereal or Soup. I don't think you'd taste it. But it seemed expensive to pay for pills and crush them.

So I bought, with my surgeon and nurse case manager and NUT's support, big, pretty chip powdered calcium citrate. One limitation of this stuff: it does not come with Vitamine D3, which we also need for the rst of our lives post-op. But I bought a liquid Vitamin D3 on amazon -- I find best prices for all my supps on amazon, or links on amazon. The calcium citrate powder came from a non amazon provider with an add on amazon. I bought two 8 ounce contaienrs of powder, enough for a couple months of high doses in each container for about $4.50 per container. I bought two cause they were cheap and I figure post surgery I'll be glad to just take care of self and not order packages for awhile. I checked about the liquid D3-- it is like in an eye dropper or a tincture bottle. They said this is fine, actually a bit better because the body absorbs the owder faster.

The calcium citrate pills with /vitamin D that I've been taking - my surgeon put me on post-op Vitamins immediately so I'd be disciplined by the time I have the op -- for months and they are big and I have come to hate them, hence I was eyeing the pill crushers.

We'll see, but my nurse case manager said the powder calcium citrate and liquid D3 was smart and not many do it and she always wonders why cause everyone hates the big pills.

But I am pre-op so I don't know what post -op will be. My nurse says the powder is easier and the liquid D3 goes down easy peasey. Initially I'll add the calcium citrate powder to Protein drinks, chicken boullion -- I'm gonna have a couple gallons of organic homemade chicken broth in my fridge and freezer when I go in for surgery. I'll take out all the chicken and freeeze it cooked so when I move to pureed food I can use the chicken for more protein. I am fussy about only organic, altho I could not find organic calcium citrate.

Funny story: I just read in an amazone review about some calcium product that a person deciced to dry out egg shells, which are virtually all protein and grind the egg shells with a coffee grinder and eat that for her calcium to save money. I am pretty tightfisted but that is a bit too frugal for me. I do't want to rinse egg shells, dry them, plus I don't eat enough eggs to get all that much calcium plus eggshshells don't have the citrate, do they? It takes all kinds. Mass produced chickens get fed a lot of chemicals to harden their egg shells: I wouldn't trust egg shells as my calcium source. I thought it was a funny story.

I'm sticking with calcium powder. It is supposed to be kinda flavorless but it has to be a little chalky texture, right? stir it in hot cereal, how boullion, into a scrambled egg, into a Protein Shake and the owder is not noticeable, I'm betting. we'll see.

They actually just answered this question at my group meeting on Wednesday. Calcium needs stomach acid to break it down to be used. Surgery has separated off most of our stomach and there is not much stomach acid being produced in our much smaller pouches. Calcium citrate doesn't need stomach acid to break it down. (Aso, that is one of the reasons that chewables are preferred, too.) Therefore calcium citrate is preferred for rny patients.

another factor for chewables is the saliva as you chew is important to digestion and with less stomach acids after the rny, the saliva becomes more importnat probably and the chewing matters.

We'll see if my powder works, eh?!

What is the difference between calcium and calcium citrate? I'm currently taking calcium citrate pills but they're pretty big and I read on here that a lot of people are doing chewables for after surgery, so I got viactiv calcium chewables plus vitamin D in the chocolate flavor 500 mg and I think you're supposed to take two or three a day? Is this okay? What do you guys take or find the easiest? I have surgery on August 26th.

If you like the chews there is one company that makes calcium citrate..celebrate vitamins...you can get a sample but the are tastey and my doctor and NUT recommended them