Ewww. Now I’m not complaining about aging (or maybe I am) but who amongst us of a certain age takes a daily calcium supplement (besides me)? If you do, would you mind answering a few questions?
Is your supplemental calcium in liquid, pill, or bugspray form? (Do I ever wish it came as an aerosol!)
Does it taste like molten chalk lava?
If it’s liquid, does your actually pour from the bottle? Or does it slide out in chunks?
My answer is yes. To all the questions.
I’m no chemist (as if you didn’t know!) but my calcium magnesium pours like liquid for the first few days (like it’s supposed to) after you open a new bottle, then afterward, something chemically weird happens – maybe because it comes in contact with O2 or something? – and then it plops out in chunks until the entire bottle’s finally finished. Ugh. Yes, I said chunks. Like spoiled milk only thicker. Reminds me of the uber thick yogurt they served us in Israel for breakfast – you could turn it completely upside down and it wouldn’t budge.
What am I doing wrong? Anybody? Why does it turn into a big, fat, thick glacier? I can’t see how I can help it oxidizing (or whatever it’s doing) because I live in an oxygenized environment and the stuff is everywhere. If I dosed myself in a zero gravity simulator wearing a space helmet maybe it would be different. But ours is out of order.
Honestly, I can’t abide mushy, nasty textures. They make me gag. I don’t eat boiled okra or raw oysters or mustard greens for that very reason. And now the devil’s last laugh is to turn my health-boosting, bone-building, physician-recommended vitamins into disgusting month-old spoiled mashed potatoes.
I dread taking my morning dosage so much that I’ve taken to hiding the bottle from myself. But I can’t keep that up forever. At some point my aging brittle bones will start to snap like twigs. So I’m forced to either stick my poor disgraced tongue down into the little measuring cup and attempt to scoop out the
clingy dregs, or keep adding more water to thin it out (stirring with my pinkie – yuck, yuck, yuck) until the last of the too-expensive-to-waste mess is down the hatch.
Nothing like starting the day in toss-your-cookies mode.
So what’s a gal to do? Any and all suggestions are welcome. (P.S. I tried calcium pills before I shifted to liquid and they were almost as difficult for me to choke down.)
Say, girlfriend, what medicine (yes, I include vitamins and dietary supplements in that category!) do you absolutely rue? How do you stuff it down for your own good?
Oh, yuck and double yuck! No way! That sounds awful!!! I’ll gag down the pill. (But why do they have to be so large?) I do NOT like liquid meds or supplements – which is why my doctor-recommended liquid turmeric does not get down every day. I just can’t do it. I guess I’ll die from inflammation that daily LIQUID turmeric would have prevented.
Diane, you are a woman after my own heart! I agree – why are we expected to swallow football-sized pills that horses would surely choke on? And then you burp up the absolute WORST taste all day long. That’s why I switched to liquid but that comes with its own set of problems. In this medically advanced age, why can’t they taste like chocolate creme pie?
What a wonderful dream!
You crack me up, Diane! Hugs and thanks for chiming in!
Deb,
Buy the Citrical petites with vitamin D3. The D3 helps you absorb the calcium and they are much easier to swallow than the larger ones. Hope that helps!
Sure does, Marsha. I’ll look them up! Than so much for offering a viable alternative. Hugs!
Deb, I buy the mini-calcium pills. The problem with those is that you have to take more of them to get the RDA, however, I at least get some of them down. There are some calcium chewable that are chocolate flavored. I think it is false advertisement, but it may be worth the try!
Mini’s are a possibility – here, I thought the liquid would omit the choke/nasty burp problem. Ha! If I could only believe the chocolate models actually tasted like chocolate and not pasteurized mud, I’d consider them. You’re right – we can’t trust advertising claims these days, can we? My taste buds aren’t exactly fine tuned but they’re discriminatory when it comes to chocolate.
Hi Deb,
I had to laugh as I read your blog because I could relate to your dilemma.
I was taking the Costco brand of calcium but, the pill was so large I often choked on it. Being a frugal woman, I finished my large bottle and the bottle a friend gave me because her mom could not swallow the pill either. I joined Consumer Lab and they rated the Kirkland Calcium gummy as a top pick. I bought the gummy. I do not like the fact that it has a thick coating of sugar, so sugar is everywhere when I fill my pill case. They are a fairly large gummy and two (suggested dose) fill the entire section of the weekly pill case. The flavor is good and the gummy is soft, so other than the sugary mess there is no problem taking them. It beats choking on something that is supposed to be good for me. I hope this is helpful.
Carolyn, now why in the world would the manufacturers of calcium gummies coat them with sugar? To add sugar at all is a travesty, but to put it on the outside where it makes a mess instead of the inside? How silly. They could at least roll them in chocolate chips! I hadn’t thought of gummies as an alternative so I DO appreciate the suggestion! I’ll look into them. Hugs and thanks for taking the time to write!
I’m not there yet with the calcium ordeal, but it strikes me that maybe you could blend it into a smoothy? Love to know if that works! Certainly with you on the awfulness of gooey, clumpy and thick ?
Jennifer, not a bad idea! In fact, probably a very good idea if I can get enough of some strong fruit flavor like raspberry or lemon to camouflage the taste of the calcium. Thanks for the suggestion! Hugs!
That really does sound awful!
I have learned a couple of tricks that might help you take pills, but no help for that yucky liquid: try taking it along with a spoonful or two of yogurt. It helps it go down better. Also try freezing the pills to avoid burping it up. That way it gets digested before it thaws, and thus no burping! Yea! I do that with my fish oil supplement. Hope this helps!
Lou – freezing pills is a new idea for me; never thought of that. My thick liquid calcium is pretty much like taking a spoonful of yogurt (that tastes like food-processed attic insulation) so I’m going to need to avoid that for a while to tamp down the gag reflex. I have 4 containers of yogurt in my fridge right now that I just can’t seem to face. Thanks so much for sharing your dosage wisdom with me, girlfriend!
Hi Deb
I’m right there with you as well, severe osteoporosis. I use the Viactiv Calcium+ Max Formula chocolate chews. They also come in Carmel. Two chews along with my gummy women’s vitamin gives me what I am supposed to take each day. My doctor approved of both. Low in sugar, flavor not bad at all! Horse pills were impossible!
Have a blessed day!
Paula
Your teeth must be sturdier than mine, Paula. I’m not sure my fillings and crowns could withstand daily chews and gummies, but I’m sure they taste better and are more manageable than my liquid chalk or the horse pills. Hugs, dear friend!