Jackie Posted February 17, 2004 Report Share Posted February 17, 2004 I am the first and only person I know and evidently the only person my doctors and every doctor in the hospitals in my area including endocrinologists, etc. have ever heard of that could not tolerate calcium and collectively they had absolutely no idea why I would have any problem with it.Specifically, for me, it was nausea, thirst and urination and I mean extremely noticeable and worse the higher the dose I took. I ended up having hot flashes and nausea that persisted for weeks afterwards from attempting to take some doses over a few week period of time 1 year and then last year it threw my whole system out of whack (the thirst and urination caused electrolyte imbalances and then heart racing, palpitations, leading to morning sweats, hand/feet sweating, anxiety....like a total hormone blow-out or my system went completely out of balance).What I want to know is is there a connection between calcium and hormones somehow? Why would calcium cause an imbalance in a person's autonomic system?Can the people who posted who said they could not tolerate calcium either please elaborate on your symptoms...I am so shocked to hear I am not the only one who cannot take it. (problem is though I'm lactose intolerant and have irritable bowel so I have osteoporosis at 36). Thanks so much because this is the first I've heard of anybody else in the world besides me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EarthMother Posted February 17, 2004 Report Share Posted February 17, 2004 I've tried calcium off and on for years and can't really say why it seems to make me feel worse. Even non-dairy sources of calcium supplements seem to be problematic. If you are dairy sensitive it is still possible to get the calcium you need but you'll need to be tricky about it. I am vegetarian, so things like canned salmon with the soft bones is out for me but may be a good alternative for you. Here's a web page that lists other high calcium foods:http://www.bcm.tmc.edu/cnrc/consumer/archi...s/non-dairy.htmIt will be interesting to hear what others have experienced with calcium supplements as well. My intuition tells me it has something to do with our basic electrolite composition ... salt and thyroid tend to be related, so maybe our parathyroid and calcium balance is all mixed up in that somehow.Good luck,EM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted February 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2004 Thanks for your suggestion and it is true I can try to get the calcium I need from other foods.I don't get the calcium connection myself believe me. At first I feared it was hyperparathyroidism or something and my family doctor thought my symptoms lined up entirely with hyperthyroidism (diarrhea, sweats, tachycardia, rapid weight loss, etc.) but I went to an endo guy and even though by the time I got to him my TSH had trended down from 1+ something to 0.08 (with 0.50 on most scales being the defining number...i.e. lowest normal...anything below to my understanding is hyperthyroid) but he insisted my symptoms were not related.Well, I felt maybe the numbers are normal range but maybe not for my body. I think sometimes people suffer symptoms of hyper and hypothyroidism even in the high and low normal ranges, but who am I....certainly not a doctor and not God either (and not both as some doctors seem to think haha).....I am following your line of thinking though with the electrolyte question....it makes sense to me whether it is medically proven or not...calcium is an electrolyte and I spun out with electrolyte imbalance after taking it. (Note though even though my numbers didn't go that low (i.e. potassium only high normal 5.1 and then 3 days later in low 3 range...never dropped into 2 range where doctors claim you become symptomatic)...I was very symptomatic and one doctor said...hmmm, you must have a very sensitive nervous system....hmmm...do you think?!I hope more people post. I am so curious about the people who cannot take calcium either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denabob Posted February 18, 2004 Report Share Posted February 18, 2004 Just curious, have you ever had a brain wave test? My first bad experience with a nuerologist one of the first things that was said to me was that I had calcium deposits on my brain and by watching my calcium intake I did a little better for a while then when it started again the ball rolled to a new diagnosis and a bunch more tests. Oh well neither here nor there but the point is excess calcium makes me worse also.Not real sure why though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted February 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2004 Article about calciumI found this interesting article. Of course, I need a degree to figure out what it means, but it seems to indicate a genetic issue and a calcium connection. I was lead to look for articles like this after reading that Gulf War Syndrome involves a component of calcium channel something or other I can't remember the name of.I know it is a stretch, but maybe I wasn't crazy after all that calcium supplements caused my recent imbalance problems and threw my body out of whack. I mean I'm not crazy in knowing what happened to my body, but that doctors couldn't explain it and said it was coincidental when I knew otherwise made me feel crazy. There is so much that is unknown and I just wonder if this has some correlation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted February 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2004 Okay....the link didn't work so here I will just post it...you will have to copy and paste it in the browser to get to it...http://www.mdc-berlin.de/englisch/research...ular/jordan.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle Sawicki Posted February 19, 2004 Report Share Posted February 19, 2004 I've always wondered if maybe it was the interaction between calcium and other minerals at the cellular level that could be the reason. Who know?I did come across this article while researching, which I thought was interesting:http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/200...s-rrc020304.phpMichelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geneva Posted February 20, 2004 Report Share Posted February 20, 2004 I have osteoporosis, am lactose intolerant and have IBS as well AND I cannot take any calcium supplements or meds. When I have tried calcium supplements I develop joint pain. My doctor can't figure out why but when I stopped the supplements the pain went away. 2 months later I tried again with the same results. I have a very low tolerance for exercise but am trying to begin light weight lifting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted February 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2004 To Denabob, no I've never had a brain scan of any kind but would like to. I located another doctor recently where I live who deals primarily with children who have dysautonomia but I found out from my sister who used to work with her and also their office today that she does take adult patients occasionally and works with them on the side. Their office sounds wonderful and very involved and knowledgeable. They have you see a social worker (?) but also a nutritionist and this doctor specializes in these disorders and has helped so many people. My sister said she is very thorough. I think she is just what I've been praying for....a person to take an integrative approach and look at all my symptoms. I have yet to hear back from their office but I ask for people to pray for me that this comes through because I feel it will be so beneficial. She works so closely with her patients I understand and is very involved and accessible. She would be my regular MD and I would still have Dr. Grubb as my specialist (this doctor used to work at MCO too) so it would make a great team.The calcium issue is so interesting to me. I just feel so much like my problems are metabolic but nothing significant ever showed up in my blood work for thyroid or female hormones (estrogen only though)...they ruled out diabetes insipidus but the symptoms I suffered from calcium were so much like you hear about diabetes. It was a real fluke thing to go through and set me out of balance. I realize our bodies are so complex and there is so much we do not know but I look forward to getting on track with some real effort and physician attention.Thanks Michelle for the article you posted. Realizing others have some kind of calcium connection confirms in my mind what I knew to be real at the time I first had this episode. If there is a calcium issue connection with POTS and me (at least this episode), that would be enlightening but I also realize it is so complex and convoluted that there may not be an answer to it still though anyway. Still knowledge builds upon itself and someday who knows?Also, Geneva you sound a lot like me. IBS, lactose intolerance, osteoporosis, calcium intolerance (although different symptoms).....we have so much in common! Hey are you fair complected and in Ohio? Wouldn't doubt that either given the "Ohio connection"! How old are you if I may ask? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scamelo Posted February 20, 2004 Report Share Posted February 20, 2004 having recently had a slew of blood tests, I found out my blood calcium ( I take no supplements daily, but a tums here and there if I feel like I have heartburn and do eat yogurt daily) is on the high side. The upper norma calciuml limit on the blood test was 10.6, mine was 10.5, then after I stopped eating so much dairy, 9.8, which is still on the high side.Everytime I go to a Dr. they ask about calcium supplements, when I tell them my blood tests they so oh, guess you don't need them.Has anyone had their blood tested for calcium levels? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted February 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2004 Scamelo - I did when I was in the hospital last summer. I can't remember my numbers but I know this...the calcium went below normal at one point because of my albumin being low or something like that...evidently it needs the other to bind...my ionized calcium (free floating) was higher I think (but again it didn't have anything to bind to)...the was the last calcium blood work I had done.I would look into hyperparathyroidism. When I was suspecting that for myself I did some reading and I thought there was something about high calcium levels. I could be wrong and have it mixed up (low vs high...but I think it was high) so maybe you should do an internet search and possibly have your doctor evaluate you for this (hyperparathyroidism). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justme Posted February 20, 2004 Report Share Posted February 20, 2004 My wife is also on the high side for calcium, which was amazing because she stays away from milk and a number of other high calcium foods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scamelo Posted February 20, 2004 Report Share Posted February 20, 2004 Hi, I have checked into Hyperparathyroidism. If the calcium is above normal there is a problem, mine was within normal, just on high end of normal. I have had so many tests in last six months. If i had not had the tilt table in cleveland, the mystery would have still continued Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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