Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

What Are Ok Calcium Levels?


hannisa

Recommended Posts

hannisa Rookie

Hi All :)

I have problems with my calcium and vit D levels being low and the doctor has been prescribing Adcal (calcium/vit D3 supplement)for about a year. I got sent for a dexa scan which showed my bones were fine, so the nurse there said to stop the Adcal when my levels were OK.

I've just had my blood test results. The serum calcium was 2.06 and the albumin was 50 (whatever that is!)I was told the calcium levels were normal, but when I looked up online that seems to be on the low side.

For some reason they haven't done the vit D but they might have done it by the end of next week! :unsure:

Should I stop the Adcal? I'm asking here because my doctor doesn't fill me with confidence (long story short).

Many thanks!


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



frieze Community Regular

Hi All :)

I have problems with my calcium and vit D levels being low and the doctor has been prescribing Adcal (calcium/vit D3 supplement)for about a year. I got sent for a dexa scan which showed my bones were fine, so the nurse there said to stop the Adcal when my levels were OK.

I've just had my blood test results. The serum calcium was 2.06 and the albumin was 50 (whatever that is!)I was told the calcium levels were normal, but when I looked up online that seems to be on the low side.

For some reason they haven't done the vit D but they might have done it by the end of next week! :unsure:

Should I stop the Adcal? I'm asking here because my doctor doesn't fill me with confidence (long story short).

Many thanks!

the problem with this thought process is that it took a supplement to get you to normal, what is going to happen when you stop?? good luck

Skylark Collaborator

My doctor told me to aim for 1000mg of calcium a day, either from my diet or supplements. I also have 2000 IU of D3 prescribed.

Was your calcium lower than than 2.06 before the supplements? I wonder if your parathyroid gland isn't working quite as well as it should?

hannisa Rookie

Hi, thanks for your replies. It is a gamble stopping the Adcal but my assumption is that as my gut heals it will be absorbing nutrients better and I may not need it. Presumably the advice from the Dexa scan clinic to stop the Adcal when my calcium levels were OK, was because there are increased risks of other health problems from taking Adcal.

:blink:

So, I dunno. I wish I had a doctor who was a bit more clued up and motivated!!

Skylark Collaborator

Hi, thanks for your replies. It is a gamble stopping the Adcal but my assumption is that as my gut heals it will be absorbing nutrients better and I may not need it. Presumably the advice from the Dexa scan clinic to stop the Adcal when my calcium levels were OK, was because there are increased risks of other health problems from taking Adcal.

:blink:

So, I dunno. I wish I had a doctor who was a bit more clued up and motivated!!

You need to check the strength of the AdCal. Maybe it's strong. The US RDA on calcium for women aged 19-50 is 1,000 mg a day. Taking a LOT more for a long time (the RDA recommended upper limit is 2,500 mg) gives some people constipation or even rarely kidney stones.

You can estimate your dietary intake from food labels, then find a supplement like Tums to make up the rest of the 1000 mg. For example if you eat a cup of yogurt at lunch you would only need another 600 mg from your supplement.

Open Original Shared Link

Hopefully your doctor will advise you on the D3 based on your blood tests.

frieze Community Regular

Hi All :)

I have problems with my calcium and vit D levels being low and the doctor has been prescribing Adcal (calcium/vit D3 supplement)for about a year. I got sent for a dexa scan which showed my bones were fine, so the nurse there said to stop the Adcal when my levels were OK.

I've just had my blood test results. The serum calcium was 2.06 and the albumin was 50 (whatever that is!)I was told the calcium levels were normal, but when I looked up online that seems to be on the low side.

For some reason they haven't done the vit D but they might have done it by the end of next week! :unsure:

Should I stop the Adcal? I'm asking here because my doctor doesn't fill me with confidence (long story short).

Many thanks!

don't know the ranges in europe...looked up AdCal, all it is is extra strength Tums with a very small (read:barely worth the bother of) amount of Vit D3, made by a pharmaceutical company! 750mg Ca++ and 200 IU of D3. and if you are sensitive to soy, you should not take. Albumin is a protein in the blood, do you commonly suffer from swelling? are you protein malnoursished, do you have kidney disease?

good luck

hannisa Rookie

don't know the ranges in europe...looked up AdCal, all it is is extra strength Tums with a very small (read:barely worth the bother of) amount of Vit D3, made by a pharmaceutical company! 750mg Ca++ and 200 IU of D3. and if you are sensitive to soy, you should not take. Albumin is a protein in the blood, do you commonly suffer from swelling? are you protein malnoursished, do you have kidney disease?

good luck

Hi frieze,

No, I'm not aware of any kidney/swelling/protein problems. I guess my concern is really about trying to understand what the optimum levels of calcium in the blood should be. I was told mine were OK (in which case it would make sense to reduce or stop the Adcal) but looking online my levels of calcium seem a little on the low side (in which case I should keep taking it). So that's what I'm confused about :unsure:


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Skylark Collaborator

That's really up to your doctor to determine. He will do that partly by evaluating whether you have signs of calcium deficiency as well as reading labs. As I mentioned, if your blood levels tend to fall below the bottom of the "normal" range you might have parathyroid trouble.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      131,171
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    kyle68j
    Newest Member
    kyle68j
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.4k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • DAR girl
      Looking for help sourcing gluten-free products that do not contain potato or corn derived ingredients. I have other autoimmune conditions (Psoriatic Arthritis and Sjogrens) so I’m looking for prepared foods as I have fatigue and cannot devote a lot of time to baking my own treats. 
    • Scott Adams
      I am so sorry you're going through this. It's completely understandable to feel frustrated, stressed, and disregarded after such a long and difficult health journey. It's exhausting to constantly advocate for yourself, especially when you're dealing with so many symptoms and positive diagnoses like SIBO, while still feeling unwell. The fact that you have been diligently following the diet without relief is a clear sign that something else is going on, and your doctors should be investigating other causes or complications, not dismissing your very real suffering. 
    • Oldturdle
      It is just so sad that health care in the United States has come to this.  Health insurance should be available to everyone, not just the healthy or the rich.  My heart goes out to you.  I would not hesitate to have the test and pay for it myself.  My big concern would be how you could keep the results truly private.  I am sure that ultimately, you could not.  A.I. is getting more and more pervasive, and all data is available somewhere.  I don't know if you could give a fake name, or pay for your test with cash.  I certainly would not disclose any positive results on a private insurance application.  As I understand it, for an official diagnosis, an MD needs to review your labs and make the call.  If you end up in the ER, or some other situation, just request a gluten free diet, and say it is because you feel better when you don't eat gluten.      Hang in there, though.  Medicare is not that far away for you, and it will remove a lot of stress from your health care concerns.  You will even be able to "come out of the closet" about being Celiac!
    • plumbago
      Yes, I've posted a few times about two companies: Request a Test and Ulta Labs. Also, pretty much we can all request any test we want (with the possible exception of the N protein Covid test and I'm sure a couple of others) with Lab Corp (or Pixel by Lab Corp) and Quest. I much prefer Lab Corp for their professionalism, ease of service and having it together administratively, at least in DC. And just so you know, Request a Test uses Lab Corp and Quest anyway, while Ulta Labs uses only Quest. Ulta Labs is cheaper than Request a Test, but I am tired of dealing with Quest, so I don't use them so much.
    • Scott Adams
      PS - I think you meant this site, but I don't believe it has been updated in years: http://glutenfreedrugs.com/ so it is best to use: You can search this site for prescriptions medications, but will need to know the manufacturer/maker if there is more than one, especially if you use a generic version of the medication: To see the ingredients you will need to click on the correct version of the medication and maker in the results, then scroll down to "Ingredients and Appearance" and click it, and then look at "Inactive Ingredients," as any gluten ingredients would likely appear there, rather than in the Active Ingredients area. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/   
×
×
  • Create New...