Discouraged

Unfortunately, I have no idea what is causing the high readings.  I don't feel really bad--whenever I have blood drawn, I try to do it when the steroid will be maximized and usually when I'm feeling really OK.  For the bones I took Fosamax for the first ~10 months and since then have had an infusion of Reclast yearly (2 times).  I eat a lot of calcium (30 cal. Almond milk has 450 mg of calcium, and I have at least 3 cups a day, plus one yogurt.  I also take Vit D, magnesium and Pantothenic acid--I don't have the exact dosages in front of me.

So you are doing the normal things, good! I also walk daily, take MSM. You are taking magnesium with your calcium, right? I take 1200 mg of each daily. No pain, no cold and high blood reading, why? And the doctor has no explanation? Something is causing the high level, normally caused by some inflammation.

So interesting that you disagree about my Rheumy's "acceptable for age"--maybe it's a US thing, because I saw my Primary Care Doc today and she said the EXACT same thing--this is the calculation--(age divided by 2) plus 10, so for me that's 35.5 + 10=45.5.  Anyway, my symptoms are OK, other than occasionally I wake up with acute pain in my left knee.  She had it x-rayed and emailed me right away that it's normal.  Her best suggestion was exercising.

I really do wonder sometimes!

The calculation is now reagrded as out of date and anyway she has it wrong! It was age divided by two for men and age plus 10 all divided by 2 for women - so that would be 71 plus 10 equals 81, divided by 2 is 40. But that only applied up to age 55 - which gives a maximum of 32.5. 

However - as I say, it is now discredited:

The widely used rule calculating normal maximum ESR values in adults (98% confidence limit) is given by a formula devised in 1983:

ESR = (age in years + 10) / 2  (for females)  (In the text to took it from it is written differently but with symbols)

This formula is no longer credited. Other studies show only a small dependence of ESR on age and much lower values, as seen in the following:

ESR reference ranges from a large 1996 study of 3,910 healthy adults:[10]

Age                               20      55      90

Men—5% exceed         12      14     19

Women—5% exceed    18      21     23

These last figures suggest at age 70 perhaps 1 in 20 healthy adults would have an ESR over 22. BUT, all sorts of things will raise your ESR - even a cold or other simple infection.

Exercise is good - but keep in your limits for the PMR. We talk about all over the place on the forums.

 

I AM taking Vit K2--I'm sure I read about it here.  I had never head of liquid milk not being a good source of Calcium.  Endocrinologist seems to think it's great.  Could you suggest any articles that talk about this?  You'll see above that my Primary Care Doc also suggested exercise.

SectionedThrice, the incidence of PMR is much higher in Europe than here so it is a bigger problem and gets more attention. Exercise is good just try not to over do it. Try to get pain free and work to increase your activity slowly. Think positive and I always try to have a smile on my face as I travel on my journey. 🙂

Yes, defnitely weight bearing exercise.  I think the problem with animal sources of calcium, including plain milk, is that they also have quite a lot of phosphorus, or something - in the protein - and that means the calcium isn't as well absorbed.  Something like that.  It's a while since I read about it so not quite sure how it works.  But fermented foods, including dairy like yoghurt, are better because the micro organisms which ferment the food change it chemically somehow so that the calcium is better absorbed. 

Hi Anhaga,

I cannot eat dairy and I have osteopenia.

Many of the nut/soy milks have added calcium. I have wondered if there is much difference to me taking a calcium pill versus getting the "ground up" calcium in the nut milks. 

By taking the the pills I better control which kind of calcium I take (eg cal citrate is better absorbed but some nut milks tend to use cal carbonate). 

Have u read anything about this?

I'm not a dietitian, but I'd imagine to the body calcium is calcium and it wouldn't matter how you got it.  I do agree that citrate is supposed to be more easily absorbed, but I also read that hydroxyapatite is better absorbed by people on pred so for quite a long time I took a bones supplement which had that form.  I'm now taking the citrate again, quite a lot less expensive.  The formulation also includes magnesium, D3 of course, and zinc, along with a warning that zinc supplementation can lead to copper deficiency so I wonder why they don't either drop the zinc or add some copper!  Also, I've read that consuming some citrus fruit with calcium supplement aids in absorption so I wonder if that might help with absorbing the carbonate form?  I'll try to remember to ask my dietitian daughter.... There are other dietary souces of calcium as well, especially some of the leafy greens (kale, collards, broccoli being among the stars) and tinned fish if you also eat the bones (salmon, sardines).   

Are you allergic to all dairy?  My husband can't drink milk, but he eats cheese and yoghurt. 

I wish they was a web site where you could go to get good information. How much of this or that. Which manufactures we're producing good product. As it is now when you purchase a product you never know really what is in the bottle, you have to hope it is what is on the label. It is NUTS! And is going to get worse here in the states. Not smiling on that note!

Thank you for all this information. It will be interesting to see if your next dexa is any different since you switched calciums.  I hadn't heard the citrus - calcium connection, but that is an easy change to make. 

Yes, I have a strong sensitivity to all dairy. When this first started just after my pregnancy I was 30 and it was just certain dairy, then over the years I could tolerate less and less.  But I could have goat products for many years but now not even that.  Perhaps when I get off the prednisone I may have some positive changes to my dairy issues too.....who knows!

I have only ever used calcium carbonate - that's what comes on prescription. I had a few problems with one manufacturer after a few years, seemed to cause cystitis, but a change to a different product has improved that no end. But my bone density has been fine, barely changed in 7 years.

I'm not eligible for another DXA scan for at least another two years, and they'll probably want me to stretch it out to five.  Last recommendation, last year was between three and five, and they had already attempted to change my initial one year recheck to two but I managed to get it done anyway.  I had been taking calcium citrate basically since before I turned 50 so the calcium hydroxyapatite was a response to being on pred.  What I think I may do is every once in a while I'll give myself a course of the hydroxyapatite again, especially as the other ingredients in the formula are also very helpful.  But I really do believe it's not so much the calcium which is found in a lot of our foods as it is some of the other micronutrients which may be lacking on our highly industrialized food supply.  We are told, for example, that the Finns who have one of the highest rates of dairy consumption in the world also have one of the highest rates of osteoporosis.  But is that because of the source of their calcium or because they don't get enough Vitamin D?  And I do think that fermented foods are really good for us as they help to rebalance gut flora which have been upset by modern dietary habits or by antibiotics.  They are actually absolutely key to our digesting our food properly and being able to absorb the nutrients.

All the detary calcium in the world won't do much without vit D...