Any recommendation for calcium citrate chews? Taste, cost, effectiveness. The ones I’ve seen when I look at the ingredients have sugar and calcium carbonate.

I got watermelon flavor from Celebrate (Bariatric online health store). No sugar
Lots of people like caramel or chocolate flavors too

I just bought the Bariatric Advantage chews in caramel and lemon flavors. They are very good, kind of like candy, and sugar free. Much better than swallowing the 6 Citrical pills a day I have been taking for the last 7 months. I may return to Citrical, however, given that the chews are fairly expensive.

i use Caltrate with vitamin d

taste great. I order from amazon so quick and easy supply

After surgery I took the Caltrate chewables and I think they are decent, taste wise. The price is pretty good as well. I took 2 chewables daily. The bottle was $14.22 and 155 tablets, approx. 2.5 months.

Recently though, I ordered the Caltrate minis, sense now I can swallow pills. They have 155 tablets as well, a 3 pack (465 tablets) on Amazon was $34.32. I will still take two per day. The Vitamin D and Calcium are increased in the minis as well.

Isn’t Caltrate Calcium carbonate rather than calcium citrate? That’s why I didn’t buy it and bought Bariatric Advantage instead. Citrate is more easily absorbed; we were instructed not to use the carbonate form.

10 minutes ago, brightfaith said:

Isn’t Caltrate Calcium carbonate rather than calcium citrate? That’s why I didn’t buy it and bought Bariatric Advantage instead. Citrate is more easily absorbed; we were instructed not to use the carbonate form.

I'm not sure to be honest! So I did a quick google search. It looks like the absorption depends on whether you take it with a meal. Which my program did specifiy. I always take my calcium with breakfast and lunch and never within two hours of an iron supplement. I just had my levels checked last week and I'm good to go on the Vitamin D and calcium.

https://labdoor.com/article/calcium-carbonate-vs-calcium-citrate-which-is-better-for-human-health

Edited April 16, 20188 yr by AshAsh1

The Caltrate I looked at in the store has carbonate. My surgeon specifically said to not do carbonate. Funny how all the surgeons have different thoughts

2 minutes ago, chellechelle77 said:

The Caltrate I looked at in the store has carbonate. My surgeon specifically said to not do carbonate. Funny how all the surgeons have different thoughts

I agree! My surgeon was fairly picky about bariatric vitamins. I know some people take Flinstones. It's crazy how different these programs are. I say, find what works for you, and if it's Flinstones or Caltrate.... safe the extra buck!

I take the Bariatric Advantage chocolate peanut butter chews. They're roughly $30 for 90 chews, which lasts me about a month. More expensive than I'd like, but it's the only expensive medicine/vitamin I'm taking now (as opposed to before surgery), so it's a trade-off.

Caltrate is carbonate.

For NORMAL people that is ok but here’s the thing... carbonate needs acid. So if you are on an acid inhibitor or have had your stomach altered (hello WLS) you don’t have enough acid to properly extract the calcium.

Please all don’t rely on carbonate!

I'm not sure to be honest! So I did a quick google search. It looks like the absorption depends on whether you take it with a meal. Which my program did specifiy. I always take my Calcium with Breakfast and lunch and never within two hours of an Iron supplement. I just had my levels checked last week and I'm good to go on the Vitamin D and calcium.

https://labdoor.com/article/calcium-carbonate-vs-calcium-citrate-which-is-better-for-human-health

This is true when you have a NORMAL Anatomy which we do not! It’s because the meal stimulates acid production. But we don’t have enough surface area left in the case of a sleeve and it’s not in contact with the surface area in a bypass so there isn’t enough acid exposed to the carbonate for proper digestion.

This is true when you have a NORMAL Anatomy which we do not! It’s because the meal stimulates acid production. But we don’t have enough surface area left in the case of a sleeve and it’s not in contact with the surface area in a bypass so there isn’t enough acid exposed to the carbonate for proper digestion.

It seems to be working for me. I wouldn’t recommend it for someone else if that’s the case but my levels are great.

Citrical is citrate ---Caltrate is Carbonate---My vote? is Citrical if this a pageant of pills ?

It seems to be working for me. I wouldn’t recommend it for someone else if that’s the case but my levels are great.

Your blood calcium levels are a measure of how your parathyroid glands are functioning and nothing else. If they don’t get enough dietary calcium they will leech it from your bones because if you don’t have enough calcium in you blood you with have severe muscle spasms (tetany) and eventually not be able to breathe because calcium is necessary for nerves. Bones are secondary. I developed osteoporosis with a high level of blood calcium because I had problem with my parathyroid glands.

Please don’t rely on blood calcium to see if you are getting enough.

And let me weigh in here. Would anyone like to hear what tetany is like? Too bad, because I'm going to tell you anyway. I was nursing baby #2, a very allergic child in 1976-77, had a casein intolerance so no cows milk. He could accept my milk because the main protein in human milk is lactalbumin , not casein,the primary protein in cows milk. Upon,the recommendation of baby's pediatrician I had also removed many potentially allergic items from my diet including cows milk. Do you see where I'm leading? No, well then I shall continue. Nobody reminded me to continue my prenatal vitamins or take suplemental Calcium. So I woke up,and day with a case of tetany. The muscles all cramp at once in your arms and legs, it is extremely,painful . On a pain scale somewhere between acute pancreatitis and passing a kidney,stone, yeah just THAT painful. We were living in Columbus on the outer edge. Luckily,we had a touch tone phone, I called the Sharon Township Emergecy Sqaud in Worthington by using my nose?. Sounds crazy but honey it worked, what else could I do? All 4 limbs were in spasm. Luckly they were able to come in because the front door was unlocked. Yes Columbus is a big city but I still,was small town enough to mot always lock my,doors. They had to roll me onto their stretcher because I wasn't able skoot over myself, start a calcium-containing
containing IV and transport me to Riverside Methodist Hospital where I spent the next few hours getting pumped full,of lovely electrolytes and Calcium. After. I got stabilized I had to start on big horse pill sized calcium pills, and get a script for extra strength penatal vitamins and,have them until he was weaned many,months later,when we found a toddler formula that was soy-based that he could tolerate. When baby #3 came along 3 years later there was no quibbling, back to calcium and prenatal vitamins for the duration, And that is my tetany story by someone who,knows TAKE YOUR CALCIUM!!! Okay??