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The Strontium Debate: Is it good for bone health?
Is anyone taking strontium for bone health? My husband is reading studies on its benefits. I am currently getting Prolia injections 2x/year.
***Director's Note:***
There’s not enough clinical research to know if strontium citrate effectively prevents or treats osteoporosis. Mayo Clinic does not recomend its use. Clinically researched osteoporosis medications have demonstrated fracture prevention benefit with less risk.
The FDA doesn’t regulate supplements in the same way as prescription drugs, so it's not possible to know if if they are safe or work well or even how much of the main ingredient they contain.
If you wish to take a strontium supplement, it is advised to discuss with your doctor.
All information shared by members on the Mayo Clinic Connect is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding your health. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on the community.
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to @singingbones
At the moment my doctor recommended to repeat DEXA, so I am not taking any medicine yet.
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2 ReactionsI was taking Algae Cal but it's expensive and the level of calcium in the capsules is below other supplements so I stopped. Do you get enough calcium with algae cal?
I wanted to chime in here and give you another option of calcium. I take Nature’s Way Alive Calcium. It’s 1,200mg plant Source. I needed more calcium then AlgaeCal offer.
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1 ReactionI recommend taking Algae Cal half doses of the "Algae Cal +" combined with Costco’s Kirkland Mature Multi and, maybe most importantly, some amount of Algae Cal Strontium Supplement. Take a full dose of Strontium (well away from Calcium of any amount) if you have osteoporosis and half doses otherwise. I think Strontium is key, and I don’t know of any other place to get it. It’s hard to get in diet as it depends on rare availability in certain soils. I have osteopenia with a family history of osteoporosis (my mother would break if you turned her over in the nursing home). I did a ton of research on bone health before discovering Algae Cal, and Algae Call has it all! It’s worth it to take some, augmented with cheaper calcium and multi’s. Costco’s Mature Multi has a wide variety of what you need, is in expensive, and most importantly all of the Kirkland brand supplements I’ve tested break down easily, while many others don’t. To test, put a pill in a glass of ordinary vinegar. If it breaks down easily in vinegar, it will break down quickly in stomach acid. If it doesn’t, don’t bother buying or taking. Pills that don’t break down are just pooped out of your body, useless. To your good health!
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5 ReactionsHi - what is the 4 day saliva test for? I am also not doing meds for my OP so I’m always interested in finding out what works well for people. When did you get diagnosed? How low are your tscores? Have you had a new DExA since starting your new routines?
Strontium Citrate is available inexpensively from VitaCost, Swanson & other companies at the same recommended dose of 680 mg daily taken at least 2-hrs away from calcium in order not to compete. There are so many success stories on the forum Inspire.com.
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1 ReactionKaren Olivia 47th,
May I ask what decade of life you are in (or your age)?
I can't imagine those supps doing anything better than providing stable T-scores (not getting worse) for someone at my age, which is 70.
Also, I wonder what the medical reason is to take a medicine right now (that is not zero risk) if your T-score is going in the right direction?
Thanks!
Hi researchmaven!
I'm 78. I was wondering the same thing. I spent the whole weekend researching Reclast--research studies and anecdotal stories from patients. It was rather terrifying. In the end I sent my endocrinologist a polite note declining the Reclast. She didn't blink an eye and said essentially "fine." Told her at my age there are myriad aches and pains and I didn't need to purposefully add to it. At my OsteoStrong session this morning one of the gals was telling me about another woman in the group who took Reclast and was confined to bed for a week with aches and pains. Yikes!
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3 Reactionsthis is so interesting to me because Algae Cal is actually my main source non food calcium but my Evenity pushing dr (so far resisting) scared me off strontium after my first bottle. Said "I wouldn't put heavy chemicals in my body." For now I'm also doing something besides Algae Cal - ran out and didn't want to go w/out for a week so bought something at this great vitamin store we have locally -- Jarrow Bone UP
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1 ReactionAlso want to say I am happy to see your scores improve (this is to the first writer, my other comment was to the person who talked about necessity of strontium)
Anyway I am resisting Evenity although most of my friends succumbed to Reclast That sounds a little less scary And pushing is def the word for what these doctors do
Interesting to see you're doing Osteo Strong Margaret Martin seems to think those are too intense, she pushes that Marodyne. I was ready to order, then read something quite depressing on substack by this ortho - not an osteoporosis doc - I've been following on twitter for years. He says NOTHING really works except LIFTMOR/Onero (he doesn't mention the second name) level exercises and gives a very thorough breakdown on why. I was like "no wonder my scores got worse even tho I wear a weighted vest and did go to a PT" (but only got up to 25 pounds. The nearest PT who offers Onero is an hour and a half away from me. I think i'm going to try to get up to 45 pounds, maybe w a personal trainer or PT up here , and then go down so i don't have all that commuting while building strength. Oh, what this guy says about jumping is also interesting. https://howardluksmd.substack.com/p/osteoporosis-prevention-and-treatment
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