Calcium Consumption and Dexa for Men

April 14, 2003

Mama should be proud, after three years of harangue, said with a

smile, I just had a Dexa done today (the lay down and be still on the table

kind) on the spine and hips. I will be curious as well about the results

because even though I am a proximal proximal, 75cm and male (which is the

reason my doctor fought me off for three years in ordering one) I have

supplemented like a distal from the third or fourth month when I was cast

under a spell from Washington State. Serum levels have been good, actually

super,,,,but still interested in do this as a baseline.

My wife was commenting on the number and sequence of exams and procedures I

am having and have had done over the last three years. I guess I am a

typical guy mentality. I never had anything until I considered having WLS

then I had upper and lower GI's with a colonoscopy just cause I saw

Currick up close and personal one morning on the today show and it occurred

to me that I have never even considered that exam and I was 55 at the time.

Turned out I had five benign polyps removed, found they were benign later,

so the followup to that wonderful experience occurs next Monday. Kinda like

Rose Ann nna Dana used to say " if it ain't one thang it's another! " But

in all honesty she may have said that with a more Down East accent than I

have.

On calcium consumption I used to take one of Vitagal's super duper knock em

down caps with all the ingredients in them,,,,,,,then the D got too

high and I switched to naked calcium with magnesium and a wee bit O boron

along the way,,,,,,,,now,,,,,,back to four a day routine. We shall see what

Mr Dexa Scan reports shortly.

Dan Slone

Surgery 5/2/2000

Re: Obesity Surgery May Lead to Weakened Bones

if only it was so simple as taking 1000mg. a day of calcium.

if its not citrate, if its not at least 1500, if there is no D, mag,

boron you are up a creek. they should have continued the study with the

proper nutrients to see what would happen. but its about time someone

realized it. can we all send it to our docs and enlighten them now?!!

mine seems to be one of the few who knew this, calls it a side effect of

the surgery and insists on a bone density scan within the first yr.

sue

> Thought everyone should see this:

> Obesity Surgery May Lead to Weakened Bones

> Mon April 14, 2003 10:20 AM ET

> By Stenson

> SAN DIEGO (Reuters Health) - People who have undergone gastric bypass

surgery to lose large amounts of weight may also lose bone mass, even if

they're taking recommended calcium supplements to help keep their bones

strong, new findings suggest.

>

> A study that followed patients for about 10 months after the surgery

> found

they were losing more bone than they were replacing. Bone is a dynamic

tissue that is constantly being created and destroyed by two types of

cells, which will maintain bone strength if the cells are in balance.

>

> It's not clear if the increase in bone turnover seen in obese patients

> is

a lasting effect that could put patients at risk for significant bone

loss leading to osteoporosis, but the results raise concerns, said study

author Dr. Penelope Coates, an endocrinologist at the University of

Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.

>

> The reason why it is occurring is also unclear, said Coates.

>

> One potential explanation is that the surgery, which by design reduces

> the

absorption of calories, also decreases calcium absorption. Another

possibility, she said, is that the excess body weight that once put

" increased mechanical force " on these patients' bones -- causing them to

become stronger, just as weight-lifting helps build bone -- has

decreased, so the bones are simply adjusting to the reduced weight

burden.

>

> Whatever the reason, patients should have their bone density measured

every couple of years, Coates said here Sunday at the annual

Experimental Biology meeting.

>

> If bone loss is detected, patients may need more than the 1,000

> milligrams

of supplemental calcium that is currently recommended for them, she

said.

>

> The new study involved 27 male and female patients who had the popular

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery and another 29 people who were awaiting

the procedure. During the surgery, doctors staple off a section at the

top of the stomach to form a small pouch that can hold only a small

amount of food. They also add a bypass that allows food to circumvent

part of the small intestine, limiting the absorption of calories.

>

> Ten months after surgery, patients had lost an average of 80 to 100

pounds. At the same time, urine and blood tests indicated that bone was

breaking down faster than it was being rebuilt.

>

> " The more weight people lost, the higher their rate of bone

> breakdown, "

Coates said.

>

> By comparison, in patients awaiting surgery, bone was breaking down

> and

rebuilding at similar rates, as it should.

>

> " The major finding is that the rate of bone breakdown was higher --

> about

twice as high -- among those who had surgery as those who didn't, "

Coates said.

>

> Nonetheless, bone scans did not reveal that surgical patients were

> showing

clear evidence of bone loss, said Coates, possibly because it was too

soon to see such an effect.

>

> She and her colleagues plan to continue studying patients to see if

> the

early signs of bone turnover actually translate into marked bone loss

over time.

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April 14, 2003