Calcium & ordering

The recommended daily amount of calcium required, in the U.S. and Canada, for most people are:

• Infants and children from birth to age 3
  U.S. 400 to 800 mg
  Canada 250 to 550 mg
  
  
• Children from 4 to 6 years old
  U.S. 800 mg
  Canada 600 mg
  
  
• Children from 7 to 10 years old
  U.S. 800 mg
  Canada 700 to 1100 mg
  
  
• Males from adolescence through adult
  U.S. 800 to 1200 mg
  Canada 800 to 1100 mg
  
  
• Women from adolescence though adult
  U.S. 800 to 1200 mg
  Canada 700 to 1100 mg
  
  
• Women during pregnancy and breastfeeding
  U.S. 1200 to 1500 mg
  Canada 1200 to 1500 mg
  
  
• Post-menopausal women who do not taking estrogen
  U.S.
  1500 mg
  Canada 1500 mg

The amount of calcium that you need may be adjusted by your clinician based on your personal health.

Calcium and Drug Interactions

Certain medications or dietary supplement may interact with calcium supplements. You should inform your clinician if you are taking any of the following with calcium so that precautions may be taken or doses changed:

• Some medicines contain calcium (ask your clinician or pharmacist if any of your medicines contain calcium), this can sometimes lead to excess calcium in the blood or urine and can potentially cause health problems.
  
  
• Patients who take cellulose sodium phosphate along with calcium supplements may decrease the effectiveness of cellulose sodium phosphate.
  
  
• Heart patients who use digitalis glycoside and take injections of calcium supplements are at increased risk for irregular heartbeat.
  
  
• Sometimes the timing of other medications and calcium supplements can mean the difference between effective medication and/or decreased effectiveness. Etidronate is one of these drugs and it should not be taken within 2 hours of calcium supplements to prevent a decrease in the effectiveness of the etidronate.
  
  
• Patients on gallium nitrate should discuss the use of calcium supplements with their clinician because this drug may not work properly when taken with calcium supplements.
  
  
• Using calcium supplements while receiving injections of magnesium sulfate can cause either drug to lose effectiveness.
  
  
• Calcium supplements should not be taken within 1 to 3 hours of phenytoin because the effectiveness of both may be decreased.
  
  
• Antibiotics called tetracyclines (oral) and calcium supplements taken together may decrease the effectiveness of tetracycline. If you are using tetracycline for an infection be sure that you do not take calcium within 1 to 3 hours of taking the antibiotic.

Other Health Issues To Consider Before Using Calcium Supplements

Sometimes other health conditions can affect the use of calcium supplements. Be sure to tell your clinician if you have any of the following conditions:

• Diarrhea.
  
  
• Stomach or intestinal problems (extra calcium may be necessary).
  
  
• Heart disease.
  
  
• Thyroid disorders
  
  
• A condition of too much calcium in the blood called hypercalcemia or a condition of too much calcium in the urine called hypercalciuria (in these cases calcium supplements can make these conditions worse).
  
• Hyperparthyroidism or sarcoidosis (calcium supplements can increase the risk of hypercalcemia.
  
  
• Hypoparthyroidism (calcium phosphate can increase the level of phosphorus in your blood and possibly increase the risk of side effects).
  
  
• Hypercalcemia or kidney disease or stones (the risk of kidney stones increases with the use of calcium supplements).