Confusion reigns supreme in my brain!

Jenniferz

Confusion reigns supreme in my brain!

Jenniferz

For the past 18 months, I have been told I was er/pr-.  Ok--now coming to terms with the fact that that was wrong information, and trying to move forward.  Not easy, but will happen.

NOW, comes more confusion---at the vitamin counter.  I have to take 1800 units of calcium for my osteopenia.  Since I live in Texas, I was told that I don't need Vit. D because we get ample sun.  Really? Been cloudy here most of the day, and promises to get worse.....ample sun??  Ok---need to stop that.

The question is this.  The calcium that I took was just calcium....no D or anything else. Of course, I can't find it---it's not on the shelf anywhere.  So, I grabbed a bottle of Calcium that had 600 units w/ D. Got home, and looked up to see how much of that I could take...."they" said up to 1200 units.  THEN, I looked at the bottle again, and saw the dreaded words "contains Soy".  

Here's the question. Since I now know that I am hormon receptor positive----is this safe to take?  It appears to me that everyone is all over the place when it comes to this type of question. Why on earth is there soy in there?  Does it help with the absorption of the D?

I ran back to Wal-Marts, and grabbed another bottle of pills.  (Like I'm this rich and just throw my money away on stuff).  These have 500 mgs. of calcium.....with a dosage of 2 pills.  There is 400 units of D in these, but no soy. So, to get close to 1800 units, will it be 6 horse pills, or 3?  I feel like an idiot here.

Anyone have a clue for a clueless person?

Binney4

I'm sure someone will be along to clarify the calcium bit, but I wanted to warn you about the Vitamin D. I too live in a sunny place (the Arizona desert -- it doesn't get sunnier than this), but my gyn ordered a Vit D serum test and I was waaay low. Probably because in sunny places we tend to protect ourselves from sun exposure (sunscreen, staying indoors when it's 115 degrees in the shade, etc.) I now take mega-doses of D and plan to sit in the sun without sunscreen 15 minutes a day. So why not ask your doc for a Vit D blood test, just so you'll know? The calcium can't protect your bones if you have insufficient D on board.

So, did I just add to the confusion?! Sorry!

Binney 

TenderIsOurMight

You're not clueless, you're paying good attention! Soy would be best avoided: I hope you were able to get an exchange at Walmart.



So your new bottle: 250 mg Calcium per pill x 5 is 1250 mg of Calcium per day. I don't know how high you wish to go, but Calcium is somewhat funny, imo, and many studies show the body absorbs it best by breaking it down into 500 mg Calcium intake per sitting . So may be go up to 6 pills or 1500 mg of Calcium 3 times per day. A lot of us like the Calcium citrate, yet there are many possibilities, just search under "calcium" in the search site above us.



400 mg of Vitamin D per two pills (if I understand you correctly) for a total of 6 pills is 1200 I.U. (International Unit) of Vitamin D. Dr. Norton of Memorial Sloan Kettering recommends 2000 mg Vit D for we NE's ladies and gentlemen. Most give a range of 1000 to 2000 I.U.



I agree with Binney that a vitamin D level is a great idea, as is a Calcium level 4 to 6 weeks after starting your Calcium supplementation to ensure you're not nearing too much supplementation (I'll let others comment if you would need free serum calcium, and/or if they even agree with this). My internist did advise this. Occasionally, excessive calcium is associated with "stone" development, as in kidney stones, etc. Particularly significant if you have a history of them (or calcium gallbladder stones) or family history of kidney/urinary stones.



Good pickup on the soy!

Tender

Jenniferz

Thanks Binney and Tender. I looked at the bottle again, and it is 600 mgs. per capsule.  So, I can take three, and get me to the 1800 units that my gp wants me to have.  I go back to her on the second of January  for my blood workup, and I will ask to have my vitame D levels checked.. Will also ask about the calcium levels....never been suggested to me to have those checked.  Hopefully, because I haven't been taking D, they will be in the safe range.  Then from there on to my new onc., and see what she has to say about things.

I have a friend who said to keep the calcium tablets, that she will buy them from me, so no loss there.  I really would like to know why there is soy in there.  Maybe I can get intouch with that company and find out.  Curiousity is a terrible thing to waste...might as well put it to good use.

Thanks for your input.  I greatly value your opinions!!