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Wednesday, January 28, 2009 Phyllis asks

Q: Failure to absorb calcium

What prevents the body from absorbing calcium and vitamin D?

I've been diagnosed with osteopenia and my doctor mentioned starting Fosamax. I am an active, healthy 57-year old woman and hesitate to add Fosamax therapy to my daily regimen of a multi-vitamin, calcium (bid), vitamin D, fish oil and two medications for hypertension. Could the blood pressure medications be interfering with my body's ability to absorb the calcium and vitamin D? I live in the Northeast. Could this contribute to the thinning of my bones? What options do I have beside Fosamax or one of the other drugs on the market? Thanks.

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Answers (1)
1/28/09 4:49pm

Hi Phyllis:  According to the National Institute of Health several things can interfere with the absorption of calcium.  Here's a link to that site that explains the various items that can cause this.

 

If you don't get adequate vitamin D from the sun, then you'll need to supplement with oral D.  Some people with low vitamin D levels also have low calcium, so you may want to have this checked.

 

If you're not sure you want to try Fosamax here's a link from Dr Gonter that explains the other medications that are available to treat osteopenia/osteoporosis.

 

Some diuretics can cause problems with calcium absorption, read article.

 

Good luck...

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