What Are Ok Calcium Levels?

[hannisa]

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!

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

Many thanks!

[frieze]

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!

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]

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]

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.

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

[Skylark]

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.

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.

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

[frieze]

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!

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]

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

[Skylark]

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.