Oh the joys of aging. My bone density scan showed that my hips were in the peri osteoporosis zone. My spine was fine and my hips aren’t that bad yet, but...
So I discussed options with my doctor, I didn’t really want to take Fosamax or Binosta due to possible problems with reflux, so he suggested that I take Provia, the new drug that you have injected twice a year.
My first red flag was that he didn’t administer it, I had to have an oncologist do it. So I made an appointment, came home and started reading. Well, let me tell you, the side effects scared the holy beejus out of me. And it wasn’t just a few women, it was a lot of women who said to stay away from this. It’s in your system for six months, over and over again people were reporting trouble breathing, intense jaw and back pain, muscle aches, nausea, blisters, itching, swelling of the face, low energy. Sometimes symptoms didn’t show up for a month or two, the comments were so negative, it was frightening.
So, the closer to the appointment I got, the more wary I was, and finally decided this just wasn’t for me. The one thing I’ve learned in life is to listen to my gut, and my gut was telling me not to do this!
So what to do? You only can absorb 400mg of calcium at a time, and at our age we need 1200mg a day, and I’m the worst at remembering to take pills multiple times during the day. So yesterday, I Googled time release calcium, and up popped this Citracal Slow Release 1200. Just what I needed, so I was offf to CVS, they didn’t have it, Walgreens, they didn’t have it either. Amazon has it, but it’s either an add-on to Prime or you have to buy a 3-pack of it for $40. I checked Target online and sure enough, they had it in stock at our local store.
80 tablets is a 40 day supply and it cost me $11 and change. You take two in the morning, and yep, they’re horse pills, but once a day and it’s done.
Medicare only pays for bone density tests every two years, so I’m going to do my best here. Leafy greens, salmon, yogurt, and 1200mg daily of calcium. Weight bearing exercise is a biggie, I need to check into that and see what I can do. Dr. Weil has good suggestions, you can access his page here.
I’m just telling all of you this because maybe some of you aren’t aware that you can get time release calcium/vitamin D/magnesium tablets, and others don’t realize that your body only absorbs small amounts of calcium at a time. You can take a large dosage of calcium, but your body just dumps the excess in your urine.
I always say if I can help just one person, it’s worth posting. ~ Jan
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