strontium ranelate v strontium citrate

• By Jo-Ann
• Posted September 1, 2008 at 9:19 pm

Hi Dandelion,
If you search strontium, there have been lots of discussions in here. There's also a great website that I stumbled across that may be of interest:

http://gilliansanson.wordpress.com/2006/03/07/strontium-%e2%80%93-a-novel-b one-building-treatment/

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• By Dandelion
• Posted September 3, 2008 at 11:23 am

Dear Jo-Ann,

Thank you for that. I found the website really interesting. I've been lucky enough to have been offered strontium ranelate here in the U.K. on prescription but due to bad side effects previously on biophosphonates was a bit wary of trying it. I think I would prefer to buy the over the counter strontium citrate but it is not available in the U.K! I'm not sure if I can buy it over the internet and if there is a reputable supplier.

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• By BoneLady
• Posted September 3, 2008 at 12:59 pm

Hi Dandelion and Jo-Ann, That was a good summary article about strontium on Gillian Sanson's website. Thanks, Jo-Ann, for providing the link.

Dandelion asked for a reputable supplier. I only know the one I use for Doctor's Best Strontium Bone Maker. It's an on-line supplier in the U.S.A. that will ship internationally. If the product is returned to them by customs, they will refund your money for the product but not shipping cost. It is up to you to find out if the United Kingdom allows strontium citrate to be shipped in. The website is www.vitasprings.com. You can probably find other suppliers closer to you to reduce your shipping costs.

I have been taking strontium citrate for more than seven months now and feel great. You might find my blog interesting. Visit http://strontiumforbones.blogspot.com/.

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• By Jo-Ann
• Posted September 3, 2008 at 5:55 pm

Hi Dandelion, (and Bone Lady too of course :-))
I also started Strontium citrate several weeks ago, and am rather looking forward to my doctor's response...she's bound & determined that I'm going to "have to" (her words) take one of the standard medications. Hah...little does she know!!!! :-)
It's interesting that you can get the strontium regalate but not the natural form. Do you suppose that has anything to do with the fact that the French company has a product they can sell for much more??? (I'm becoming cynical with my growing medical awareness)
Of course the site that Bone Lady referred to is always an option for you, and I'm sure the product is very good.
I suppose the big question will be how long it takes to get to you, and how often or how large an order you would want to place. I've ordered products on line (and internationally), and while it's sometimes slower than I would like, I've never had any problems.
Good luck, and I hope this all comes together for you. Keep us informed.
Jo-Ann

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• By Dandelion
• Posted September 4, 2008 at 6:07 am

Dear Bone lady and Jo Ann,

Thank you both. I've ordered strontium citrate from a supplier online. I read on your blog that without calcium strontium citrate can cause osteomalacia - I'm not sure if I've remembered how to spell it correctly. At the same time we're not supposed to take them simultaneously. Osteomalacia is to do with kidney failure I think if I understood correctly. I remember someone with that when I was in hospital once,it was dreadful. The woman's toes had literally fallen off. waah!

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• By BoneLady
• Posted September 4, 2008 at 11:55 am

Hi! Dandelion, I'm glad you've ordered strontium citrate and read about its interaction with calcium. It is important to ensure adequate intake of calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D and to not take strontium with calcium supplements or calcium-containing foods. You can take strontium in the morning on an empty stomach and then wait an hour before having breakfast, or take it before bedtime at least two hours after your last meal.

Strontium has been shown to cause osteomalacia, a softening of bone, in rats with chronic kidney failure. For this reason, people on kidney dialysis should not use strontium supplements. The most common cause of osteomalacia is vitamin D deficiency.

Best of luck to you.

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• By Tom-WI
• Posted September 4, 2008 at 1:33 pm

Hi Bonelady,

I just ordered a 680 mg Strontium Citrate online from another source. Is it true it can be taken at bedtime? I'm going to have to do some adjusting due to my goofy schedule and the fact that I'm a "snacker". I'm not one of those folks that has to grab a snack at bedtime (my wife's habit). I'll have to keep the strontium a couple hours away from my 3/day calcium w/Vit.D, correct?

While I have your attention, is there any truth to the rumor that iron must be taken at a different time than the calcium? I moved my Centrum Performance already to bedtime when I heard that. One can only do so much juggling of pills. For that matter, would iron or multi-vit's conflict with strontium citrate? Thanks for your help.

Tom

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• By Jo-Ann
• Posted September 4, 2008 at 11:06 pm

Hi Tom,
I take my strontium at night, just as I'm going to bed. I take my calcium & Vit D throughout the day, and make sure that I haven't had any calcium for at least 2 hours before the strontium. I've read of people taking strontium with food, but I assume it's important to ensure there's no calcium in that food!
I absolutely can't help re the calcium and iron or the multi-vitamins. I just plain and simply don't know.

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• By BoneLady
• Posted September 5, 2008 at 12:08 pm

Hi! Tom,

Yes, you need to separate your calcium and strontium supplements by at least two hours. You can take strontium in the morning on an empty stomach and then wait an hour before having breakfast. You can also take strontium before bedtime at least two hours after your last meal. I eat dinner and take my calcium supplement around 5:30-6:00 p.m. and take my strontium around 9:30 p.m. each day.

I have never read of any interaction between iron and calcium or iron and strontium citrate. Strontium citrate and a multi-vitamin could conflict because most multi's contain some calcium.

You may have a valid reason for iron supplementation, but most multi-vitamins for people age 50+ no longer contain iron because it's not needed and can even be harmful. Too much iron in the blood can promote formation of free radicals and increase the risk of heart disease, especially for men.

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• By CelticRose
• Posted September 8, 2008 at 11:46 am

Re Multivitamins and Strontium Citrate - I contacted Doctor's Best asking them if it was ok to take the Strontium with my multi vites. (One brand contains 20 mg of calcium and the other one contains 90 mg of calcium.) The person who replied said there shouldn't be any problem taking them together as the calcium in the multis is very low.

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• By Tom-WI
• Posted September 15, 2008 at 1:35 pm

Hi Jo-Ann,

Thank you for the info. I'm glad to hear that bedtime works for you. I've just gotten my 680 mg Strontium Citrate and started taking them 1st thing in the morning. However, that conflicts with my weekly Alendronate/Fosamax, which I take Sunday morning.

My bottle says take on an empty stomach for best absorption. BTW, I also take magnesium at half the calcium dosage, 3/day.

If taking Strontium citrate at bedtime is okay, I could actually take during the night. I'd thought that one had to stay up after taking it, similar to alendronate.

Tom

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• By Tom-WI
• Posted September 15, 2008 at 1:40 pm

Hi Bonelady,

Thanks much for that input. I could save money I think by switching from Centrum Performance to Centrum Silver and dropping the risky iron. Good info indeed.

Tom

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• By Tom-WI
• Posted September 15, 2008 at 1:43 pm

Hi Celtic Rose,

That helps me figure out my schedule. Think I'll go back to taking the multi-vit with first dose of calcium+D and mg at breakfast time. Thanks for checking this out.

Tom

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• By CelticRose
• Posted September 17, 2008 at 4:23 pm

Tom - are you saying that you are taking Cal/D/Mag along with your multi-vit? Won't the calcium interfere with the multivitamin absorption?

I take the strontium with my multivitamins in the morning. Then I take my first dose of calcium in the afternoon.

Cheers!

CelticRose

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• By BoneLady
• Posted September 18, 2008 at 12:25 pm

Tom-WI and CelticRose, Calcium works best with vitamins A,C, D;iron, magnesium, and phosphorus. (Too much phosphorus, as in soft drinks, can deplete calcium.)

Calcium supplements are absorbed best when taken with meals. If you take your supplements on an empty stomach, or are over 60 years of age, calcium citrate is your best calcium source.

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• By Seerwise
• Posted September 23, 2008 at 2:49 pm

I subscribe to Dr. Andrew Weil's newsletter titled Self-Healing. Some time ago in it he mentioned that Strontium Citrate is not effective in building bones and suggested Strontium Relanate which he said was much used in Germany. As far as I can determine Strontum Relanate is not available in the United States, although the FDA is said to be looking into it. Does anyone know what dose of Strontium Relanate is recommended? For Str. Citrate I got the Strontium Bone Maker capsules made by Doctors Best but the 680 mg dose is not based on any trials etc., and after a year of use following the directions an taking Calcium Magnesium as suggested, I found the Citrate did not make any difference in my BMD.

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• By Seerwise
• Posted September 24, 2008 at 1:10 pm

I should have corrected the spelling above to Strontium Ranelate

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• By CelticRose
• Posted September 25, 2008 at 9:13 am

BoneLady,

Thanks so much for the info about calcium. I always thought calcium inhibited absorption of other supplements although I do take magnesium and vit D with my calcium. I take calcium hydroxyapatite (Yarrow's Bone Up). Should I still take it with meals? If so, it might be a challenge as I take two doses of Armour Thyroid morning and night as well.

Thanks again!

CelticRose

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• By BoneLady
• Posted September 25, 2008 at 12:22 pm

Hi! CelticRose, Yes, you would get the best calcium absorption if you took the calcium hydroxyapatite with meals, but if you can't take it then, you can't. Remember, your best source of calcium is food! Your best natural sources are milk and milk products, all cheeses, soybeans, tofu, sardines, salmon, peanuts, walnuts, sunflower seeds, dried beans, kale, broccoli, and collard greens.

When you figure your total daily calcium intake, include food and supplements. You can only absorb about 500 mg calcium at a time, so you want to have some calcium source at each meal.

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• By BoneLady
• Posted September 25, 2008 at 1:07 pm

Hi! Seerwise, I am sorry the strontium citrate has not worked for you after one year. The recommended dose for strontium ranelate is the same as that for strontium citrate. It is 2 grams (2000 mg) of the strontium salt, which equals 680 mg of elemental strontium. That is the recommended dosage based on clinical studies. It is the elemental form that works on the bones.

Protelos (strontium ranelate) is packaged in 2-gram sachets. You empty one sachet a day into a glass, add water, and stir. It is not available in the U.S. and the French company, Servier, is not looking to market it in the U.S.

There is a U.S. company, Osteologix, Inc., with U.S. patents pending for strontium malonate. They had good results with Phase II tests.

You need to look for causes of your osteoporosis. There are various blood and/or urine tests your doctor can order. Have you taken steroids?

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