Increasing Bone Mass

Pratik,

Yes, that is from the same family of  bisphosphonate drugs.

Your hormones also have a big role in bone strength, so once again, keeping iron low helps.

Hello Andy,

What is your opinion on taking Calcium Sandoz. Both of my sons have been on this in the past?

Emby,

Can you post the ingredients? Apparently, Novartis has two completely different preparations with the same name.

I'm sorry Andy. I don't have the ingredients as the boys were on it a good few years back. The preparation was a liquid in a big brown bottle.

I have mixed feelings about this preparation. It is a favorite of doctors, but it includes dyes and artificial sweeteners, both of which are inappropriate in medications, although it is difficult to get the medical profession to pay attention to this. I prefer a well thought out formula like Osteocare, which also contains the trace minerals that are necessary for bone growth.
http://www.amazon.com/Osteocare-Vitabiotics-Original-90-Tablets/dp/B000LNCB4O

Thanks Andy

Pharmaceutical slogan should be ''We will get rid of your sickness but it's in our best interest to give you another''

Hello Andy, I have been researching on meds/vitamins that help increase bone mass. can I please ask your opinion about Alfacalcidol (One-Alpha) and Calcitrol (Rocaltrol). Are these safe to take?

Both are widely prescribed by doctors to treat vitamin D deficiency or to increase absorption of calcium and both are considered safe.

Thank you Andy.

I have read that these meds increase absorption more effectively of calcium and phosphate through the intestines. Perhaps the boys calcium is being absorbed from the bones making the bone mass decrease. The urine does not show anything negative with calcium.  So, would these meds stop absorption of calcium from the bones? Their calcium range is normal, would taking more calcium be harmful?

As I mentioned before, my older son is not on bisphosphonates but has only been suggested to him and to the bone specialist whom he is still to meet. I'm not keen on this at all...he does not want to take that route either. The other thing may be cinacalcet. Is that a better treatment? My understanding is that it is meds like calcitrol and one-alpha.

Rocaltrol is Vitamin D itself. I took it for some 3 and a half years till in Feb 2013 where I started ordering it from Puritan instead and have never switched back!

Rocaltrol is also costly and is not a value for money, instead Vitamin D 5000 IU would be far better from Puritan at a much lessor cost and bigger quantity.

-P.

Cinacalcet lowers blood calcium. I'm not sure why that would be suggested.

I find the problem with doctors prescribing Rocaltrol is that the dosing is not sufficient, and as Pratik mentioned, it's a costly way to get D. High doses of D3 can be found rather cheaply and they are quite effective. For teenage boys, I would suggest 5000 IU D taken with at least 1000 mg calcium and 500 mg magnesium. 25-50 mg zinc should also be taken daily, and a good quality product like Osteocare with trace minerals should also be taken.

Thank you Pratik and Andy,

Although all bloods check out as normal with calcium and phosphate for my sons, the consultant think there could be a case of probable hypoparathyroidism for the younger one. Bit confused.The only thing is that the PTH level was a bit low. But when I asked the Endocrinologist seeing my older son, I was told low PTH levels does not mean there is a case of hypoparathyriodism when other bloods are normal. Sorry if I'm confusing you. I'm checking up on both hypo and hyper to see what treatment is recommended and the diagnosis of it. And also trying to stay away from bisphosphonates which has been suggested for my older son...   

Canadian Family, if you don't mind me asking, can you please tell me how much calcium and vitamin D is your little girl on?

Here the doctor thinks vit d at 54 is very good for thals but I disagree as that level is just considered as adequate. They don't recommend calcium at all when blood levels are normal.

Emby,

Please look at this study. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2994558/

...supplemented with vitamin D (60,000 IU for 10d) and calcium (1500 mg/day for 3 months)...
The results thus suggest that patients with thalassemia have hypoparathyroidism and reduced serum calcium concentrations that in turn were improved with vitamin D and calcium supplementation.
Supplementation of vitamin D and calcium to the patients of the present study resulted in normocalcemia, however, they still had reduced levels of serum PTH. It could be due to the reason that supplementations received by these patients might not be sufficient and should have been continued for a longer duration. 

Hi Emby,

Little Miss A has been taking one tablet of 500mg calcium with 1000IU of vitamin D, three cups of milk, yogurt cup and a cheese (all daily) for the last three years.

Now, I read the responses above, here is what our experience has been so far. Any tablets (sandoz etc.) mentioned here have limited capacity to be absorbed in the body. These tablets are usually made from calcium carbonate (the molecule is bigger) and hard to absorb in the body. For example if somebody is taking 500mg of calcium carbonate tablet daily, does not mean the body absorb 500mg. The absorption rate is anywhere from 50-60%. Yes you heard it correct !!!!

The nature has provided calcium in food (best for absorption), to complment the tablet, one has to take dairy, or other source of calcium and lots of it on a daily basis. Excersie daily for bone mass is also must. Rope skipping has been proven to increase the bone mass. All these for longer period of time and you should get good results.

Hope this helps.....