Hello!

I finally have a surgery date after 2 years of diets, nutritionists, psychiatrists, insurance companies, and lawyers. My conversion from lapband to RNY is scheduled for November 20th. To say I'm excited is an understatement!

For the last two years I've been taking a multi-vitamin, B12 (sub-lingual) and Vitamin D3 so I'm in the habit. My issue has been with getting my calcium in. At first I tried the Citracal (sp?) pills but they were hard to swallow with my lapband. Next I tried the Bariatric Advantage caramel chews but they were so chalky I couldn't stand them. Most recently I tried Solaray's calcium citrate which is this huge chewable tablet. I thought the orange flavor would make it bearable but I couldn't stand it. Makes me shudder.

Any recommendations on other forms of calcium citrate that y'all take? I'm starting to get a little desperate.

Have you tried the Citracal Petites? They're smaller pills than the regular Citracal.

I also like the Calcet Lemon Creamy Bites, although these tend to run out quickly and end up on back-order with retailers.

https://www.amazon.com/Calcet-Lemon-Calcium-Citrate-Creamy/dp/B003AL6LWW

https://www.citracal.com/calcium-products/petites.php

There is a liquid form of calcium citrate available (Solgar and a couple of other brands that I have seen) that may work for you. My wife used to make it into her smoothies that had a lot of her supplements. Her current thing is to simply dissolve the pills into her smoothie which costs less, but the liquids worked well. There are a few flavors (orange, strawberry, blueberry, IIRC) so they can be mixed into something compatible in flavor.

One tip is to suck on the tablets instead of chewing them. I tried chewing mine and it was horrible, they grew in my mouth. I now suck on them, and no problem at all.

I do like the chocolate chewy bites. I eat 1 per nite with 4 almonds as my bedtime snack.

But right after surgery, I lost my ability to swallow large pills and I had to crush them. Taking crushed Citrical tablets in this manner was like eating chalk. The only way I could down these was by mixing them with crystal light and drinking them down. Because they formed a paste at the bottom of the glass. I had to remix these and chug them down several times. Luckily my inability to swallow lasted only a couple months and then I was back to normal.

I like the celebrate soft chews (Berry) they taste like starbursts. also like the celebrate protein and calcium bars

12 hours ago, Introversion said:

Have you tried the Citracal Petites? They're smaller pills than the regular Citracal.

I also like the Calcet Lemon Creamy Bites, although these tend to run out quickly and end up on back-order with retailers.

https://www.amazon.com/Calcet-Lemon-Calcium-Citrate-Creamy/dp/B003AL6LWW

https://www.citracal.com/calcium-products/petites.php

Thank you for the suggestions. The petites are actually the ones I had issue with - I know - crazy! After my revision, though, they may not be as hard to swallow. *fingers crossed*

I'll have to give the creamy bites a try!

12 hours ago, RickM said:

There is a liquid form of calcium citrate available (Solgar and a couple of other brands that I have seen) that may work for you. My wife used to make it into her smoothies that had a lot of her supplements. Her current thing is to simply dissolve the pills into her smoothie which costs less, but the liquids worked well. There are a few flavors (orange, strawberry, blueberry, IIRC) so they can be mixed into something compatible in flavor.

I'll definitely check out the liquid, thanks!

11 hours ago, Meryline said:

One tip is to suck on the tablets instead of chewing them. I tried chewing mine and it was horrible, they grew in my mouth. I now suck on them, and no problem at all.

Genius. Why didn't I think of that?? This is soooo much better, thank you!

4 hours ago, FluffyChix said:

I do like the chocolate chewy bites. I eat 1 per nite with 4 almonds as my bedtime snack.

Are these the ones sold here in the bariatric store?

3 hours ago, James Marusek said:

But right after surgery, I lost my ability to swallow large pills and I had to crush them. Taking crushed Citrical tablets in this manner was like eating chalk. The only way I could down these was by mixing them with crystal light and drinking them down. Because they formed a paste at the bottom of the glass. I had to remix these and chug them down several times. Luckily my inability to swallow lasted only a couple months and then I was back to normal.

Yikes! I guess I'll have to see how things go post-surgery. I do love crystal lite so crushing and mixing wouldn't be horrible. Still, I think the liquid option would be better so I'll try that first. Thank you for sharing that!

1 hour ago, Travelher said:

I like the Celebrate soft chews (Berry) they taste like starbursts. also like the celebrate Protein and Calcium bars

Okay, I will definitely have to give these a try!

I have the caramel soft chews from Celebrate and they aren't chalky. I'm pretty sensitive to the grit. These are smooth.

It's the Celebrate ones. I adore the chocolate, but can't wait to try the watermelon chews! https://www.celebratevitamins.com/celebrate-soft-chews.html

Vitamin World has there own brand of caramel and chocolate chews. They are the only ones I can stand and actually they are pretty good