You should stop taking calcium and strontium supplements 24-48
hours prior to your bone density test. Calcium and strontium are very dense
materials. If they do not dissolve, they could be seen in the intestines that
cross over the area of the spine being measured and could affect the spine BMD results.
Most calcium supplements (e.g. calcium citrate) will dissolve well, but others
(e.g. calcium carbonate) may take longer to dissolve completely.
Here are two references that mention calcium and DXA scans. I don’t have a reference for strontium, but the same would hold true for it since it is even denser than calcium.
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/test_procedures/orthopaedic/bo ne_densitometry_92,P07664/ See: “Before the procedure.” This article says, “…you may be advised to stop taking calcium supplements 24-48 hours prior to your bone density test.” Apparently, some testing centers provide this advice, but mine did not.
Here are two references that mention calcium and DXA scans. I don’t have a reference for strontium, but the same would hold true for it since it is even denser than calcium.
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/test_procedures/orthopaedic/bo ne_densitometry_92,P07664/ See: “Before the procedure.” This article says, “…you may be advised to stop taking calcium supplements 24-48 hours prior to your bone density test.” Apparently, some testing centers provide this advice, but mine did not.
Two days before my
last DXA scan, I stopped taking my calcium/magnesium supplement, my strontium
citrate, and my multivitamin. Don't
forget that your multivitamin contains calcium, and it is usually calcium
carbonate.
http://www.mmc.org/mmp_endodiabetes.cfm?id=5562 See: “Why can’t I take calcium before the test?” This article says, “These days most calcium supplements will dissolve well but you should notify the technologist if you took calcium so she can see whether it appears in the spine scan.” I say that it is better to avoid the problem altogether and not have to have a repeat DXA scan.
http://www.mmc.org/mmp_endodiabetes.cfm?id=5562 See: “Why can’t I take calcium before the test?” This article says, “These days most calcium supplements will dissolve well but you should notify the technologist if you took calcium so she can see whether it appears in the spine scan.” I say that it is better to avoid the problem altogether and not have to have a repeat DXA scan.
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