Osteoporosis treatment or strontium citrate?

Do you mean no calcium at all or calcium supplements. I take the same amount that you and my bone density increased 6 1/2% osteoporosis to osteopenia. I’m taking it a couple of years and no obvious side effects.

@donnasantella strontium at 680mg will make the DEXA look better than it is. Strontium is denser than calcium. It replaces calcium in bones, making bones look denser. A radiologist can sometimes adjust the reading if they know you have taken it. I am not saying it isn't helpful. Strontium ranelate is used in the UJ and EU. But you can't rely on the DEXA to assess progress, I have been told and read.

I also posted this comment on another question:
I take New Chapter Bone Strength, another calcium supplement sourced from algae (red marine algae). Each serving contains 5.5mg of strontium, as it's naturally included in the algae. I'd like to know how much strontium is in AlgaeCal Plus, for comparison, but couldn't find the amount on the label or website. Does anyone know? AlgaeCal recommends taking their Strontium Boost (680mg strontium), but I'm concerned about the safety and how it might affect my DEXA scans.

New Chapter daily dose is 3 slim tablets. In addition to the trace amount of strontium, each serving contains Calcium, D3, K1, K2, Magnesium and Vanadium. It's sold on Amazon if you want to find the amounts of each. I've been taking this for 6 years and my osteoporosis levels have remained stable.

@ripley I didn't see strontium in AlgaeCal Plus, only in Strontium Boost. Your 5.5 mg is a lot less than the 680mg that is therapeutic. Not sure if 5.5mg affects DEXA but maybe a radiologist would know.

I have a concern about combination supplements since I separate calcium and magnesium by at least two hours because I was told they compete.

Since strontium isn't listed on the basic AlgaeCal label, I called and asked them. Their rep said it does contain trace amounts of strontium because it naturally occurs in the algea. They don't list the amount on the label because it can vary in each batch of algea.

For AlgaeCal Plus, their label says it contains minerals such as "strontium, magnesium, boron, copper, manganese, silicon (silica), nickel, selenium, phosphorus, potassium, vanadium and zinc." They are small amounts that are naturally in the algae, per their rep.

I don't want to take extra Strontium as I'm concerned about it's safety and I read it can affect DEXA score accuracy.

The New Chapter algae calcium that I take lists 5.5mg of Strontium and only 62mg of Magnesium (15%RDA), the same amount as basic AlgaeCal. ACPlus contains 175mg of Magnesium (42%).

I am taking a quarter of a dose of Tymlos and I also take Strontium Citrate. My DEXA score improved considerably from osteoporosis to osteopenia. I also take Algae Calcium, Magnesium, Vitamin K2 MK7, Boron, Vitamin D and Collagen. I am concerned that the Strontium may be replacing the Calcium in my bones, but my endocrinologist said I should keep taking it because it is working. Is anyone else taking both Tymlos and Strontium?

@drsuefowler does your doctor know that strontium makes the DEXA results look better than they are? Some docs don't seem to know much about strontium!

Curious how it came about that you are taking both Tymlos and strontium. I would think it would be hard to tell what Tymlos is doing for you or if 1/4 dose is even doing anything. Have you tried moving the dose up?

Thanks so much @windyshores for your response. Now that you mention it, I don't think my endocrinologist knows that about Strontium. All I said during the appointment was that it weighs more than Calcium.

I have been trying for years to strengthen my bones the natural way. I have been taking the minerals that AlgaeCal recommends, although I buy a better product from Now Foods. Last year I broke 2 bones, so I added Strontium to the minerals I was already taking. This year I broke 2 more bones, so I decided I should take medicine. My endo recommended Tymlos. I couldn't tolerate a full dose last Spring. Thanks to your posts, I learned that I could take a lower dose and work my way up.

I asked my endo to put in a prior authorization several times last fall, but it never happened. I stayed at 20 mcg because I didn't know if insurance would pay for Tymlos. Now with the good DEXA scores it probably won't. My endo thinks that my improvement is from Tymlos. I was going to increase it, but he said not to. My blood pressure is low, running 90/56, which is a concern. You are right I don't know what helped my DEXA score and I don't know if my bones are much better as far as not breaking.

I'm curious how much strontium are you taking? It seems supplement companies are offering anywhere from 250mg to 750mg as a suggested dose. Natural intake of strontium from food and perhaps water is estimated to be 1-5mg per day. Some folks say that the problems with strontium meds side effects all came about because the strontium med was in the form of strontium ranelate. The ranelate being an unnatural substance.

Dr Alan Gaby a nutritionally oriented md that I respect has offered that taking 50 times or more the normal amount of any trace mineral has the potential for serious side effects. Check out what can happen with selenium or manganese. He says there is not enough evidence to know whether the problems experienced with the strontium ranelate product were due to the strontium or the ranelate or both. So he does not feel that enough is known to use high dose strontium citrate for our bones. He laments that low dose strontium citrate has not been studied, thinking it might have some real bone benefits even at low doses like 2-5mg. And at that dose it probably would not "artificially" alter the DXA scan.

Thanks @awfultruth. I am taking 340mg of Strontium Citrate, half the AlgaeCal recommended amount. This is more than 50 times the normal amount found in food, so according to Dr Alan Gaby it may be detrimental. Maybe I should lower the amount that I am taking. I think I saw it somewhere in Great Bones that if you stop taking Strontium you get a rebound of weakened bones.

The question is does Strontium Citrate strengthen bones. If it does, does it matter whether it's Calcium or Strontium that helps? We don't know.

I also wonder about the other minerals that I am taking. It seems that there are recommendations to get your minerals from food. I know I would have trouble getting 1200 mg of Calcium just from food, since I can't tolerate milk. There is so much contradiction about whether we should drink milk at all. My endo said that he has a patient who drinks a lot of milk and has wonderful bones.

My endo wanted me to keep taking the Strontium and told me not to increase my Tymlos. Unfortunately, he is the only one here that I can see. Maybe I should try to set up a phone consultation with Dr McCormick. Does anyone have his contact information?