I am writing this post because of a mistake I recently made. I
want to prevent others from doing the same. I have repeatedly written that,
because products containing calcium may prevent your body from absorbing your
strontium, you should not take products containing calcium within two hours
before or after taking strontium. Yet, recently, I began taking calcium polycarbophil
at night, with my simvastatin (statin drug for lowering cholesterol levels),
followed an hour later by my strontium citrate. A week or two later, I realized
I may have reduced the effectiveness of both the simvastatin and the strontium
citrate.
I knew there was calcium in the polycarbophil laxative, but I simply
forgot while trying to juggle all my over-the-counter medications, prescription
drugs, and supplements. I also knew that
laxatives can make it harder for your body to absorb other medicines.
Therefore, you should avoid taking polycarbophil within two hours before or
after you take any other medications.
Calcium polycarbophil is used to treat constipation. It is known as a
bulk-forming laxative. Brand Names include: Equalactin, Fiber Lax,
FiberCon, Fiberlax, Fibernorm, Konsyl Fiber, Perdiem Fiber Caplet.
I’ve been using Publix Fiber Caplets, which contain 625 mg calcium polycarbophil (active ingredient) per caplet. The list of inactive ingredients includes calcium carbonate. Each caplet contains 125 mg calcium, and the normal dose is two caplets up to four times a day. My one dose once a day contains 250 mg calcium. FiberCon has 244 milligrams of calcium per two-caplet dose.
