Are liquid supplements better?

Tue., Nov. 25, 2008

Peter H. Gott, M.D.

Dear Dr. Gott: I am a registered nurse and was taking my coffee break with a friend who is an X-ray technician. She was looking at the abdominal X-rays of a female patient. I noticed several little white spots on the lower intestine and asked her what they were. She told me they were calcium tablets that were being passed without being broken down, and that it was quite common.

Since then, I have taken my calcium supplement in liquid form. Perhaps the reader who complained about the Allegra-D tablets passing undigested could benefit from a liquid allergy medication such as Zyrtec, instead. I hope this helps your others readers, as well.

Dear Reader: I have received a few letters with similar claims of several types of pills passed relatively undigested. Yours is the first from the medical community, claiming it is common with pills that are not time-released.

I have chosen to print your letter in the hopes it will help my readers, especially those using calcium supplements. Perhaps more medications should be made into liquid form in order to combat this potential problem.

Your suggestion to use liquid allergy medication is also an excellent one. There are several over-the-counter liquids, such as Benadryl, that may be beneficial. To the best of my knowledge, Allegra makes an oral suspension only for children.

Doctor Gott is a retired physician. He writes for United Media.

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