Calcium Supplements and Medicines

[Dawnmg 0]

Hi, Does the Calcium supplement have to be chewable? I know my dietician said no more then 500 mg at a time, and wants me to take 1200-1500 a day. I have found small Calcium pills in 500 mg and as small as a tylenol so I am sure I can swallow them. I just am so tired and hate taste of the chews.

Also does anyone else take a bunch of meds and if so how long does it take. I have one med that was a horse pill and I used to take two, so instead I now take 6 small ones so that I can swallow them. I also until I loose enough wait take one diabetic pill, one cholestrol and one blood pressure. Yes you can imagine how long it is taking me to take these. Any ideas

[RestlessMonkey 7]

No they don't have to be chewable. I take ALL my meds, in pill/capsule/tablet form, have great restriction, and no problems. My potassium is bigger than a horse pill! LOL

Follow your doc's advice if in doubt...(some do have a size limit, like "size of an M & M" for example) and some say "do what works for you".

As for time involved; it depends on if I'm in a rush or not. I take about 20 pills a day (many of them supplements) and I split them up am and pm. I can take them in about 30 seconds (one at a time) up to 5 minutes (if I'm malingering)

I have found, though, that I need to take my potassium 2 hours after I eat or it hurts my stomach.

Edited August 12, 2009 by RestlessMonkey

[mbranham0306 0]

I take 10 pills in the morning and 7 in the evening. I do split most of mine in half because they are quiet large. I've found that taking my with juice really helps me as I mix my actigal with juice. When I first started taking my medicine after my surgery, I kept a bowl of f.f sugar free pudding in the fridge and used it to take my meds. Maybe that would help you? They say everyone is different. I'm finding we each have to try our own thing to make this work.

As far as the Calcium chews--have you tried Viactiv Chews? OMG! They are just yummy! I use the caramel ones. My friend takes the chocolate. They are awesome! Good luck!

[ThinAli 0]

And even better with those viactivs target has a generic which is much cheaper! I love to save!

[Buckcreek 0]

I just had surgery yesterday, and The Doc told me how too take my blood pressure meds and such , but i cant remmeber if he said to crush them . the nusrs said just take them . think i will call tommorrow to make sure..Hey its good to see a fellow kentuckian on here. I live close to pikeville. My son lives in pike county..

[dbinnc 0]

I had bought the Bariatric Advantage calcium citrate Wild Cherry Lozenges - 90 tablets and Celebrate Multi-AGB Blackberry chewables - 60 tablets.

I found a liquid supplement I like better. I only took the above Vitamins for about 1 week. If anyone would like them, I'll ship them to you with samples I got from my nutritionist for a good price. I paid $50 incl shipping.

Let me know.

Derek

[hessekids 0]

just a question but aren't viactiv chewables Calcium carbonate? i know my doctor told me to avoid the carbonate and take calcium citrate. just wanted to share this info or see if anyone was told differently.

[RestlessMonkey 7]

I was told calcium citrate, too...but not all docs think it's that important, actually.

[Padanelle 2]

just a question but aren't viactiv chewables Calcium carbonate? i know my doctor told me to avoid the carbonate and take calcium citrate. just wanted to share this info or see if anyone was told differently.

From reading the posts on this site, it seems most recomend calcium citrate. My nutritionist lists both. Since I'm supposed to take 1500 mg p/day, taken in 500mg doses spread out during the day, I take caltrate in the morning, and Viactive later in the day. I also get a lot of calcium from food sources (milk, yogurt, etc).

[beasley 0]

I also have a problem swallowing the horse pills. This past April my surgeon told me about Celebrate Vitamins and they have a chewable Calcium 500 mg pill. I like the Berries N Cream flavor but they also have a cherry one I have not tried. I get them from Amazon because my doctor's office is 2 hours away but I am very pleased with them so far.