Bisphosphonates! :(

[OakLeaf]

One thing to remember is that milk isn't the best place to get calcium, since it also contains a lot of phosphorus. Try to increase your magnesium intake and decrease phosphorus.

[spindizzy]

Just another thought. The body tries to maintain a neutral ph. A lot of what we eat causes the body to be in a more acidic state forcing it to draw from alkaline stores i.e. bone. Lots of fruits and vegetables will help the body stay alkaline and prevent the use of bone stores to neutralize pH. Rather than trying to add more calcium (though I'm not saying that isn't important, especially now) perhaps focusing on preventing the body from losing it's calcium will better align with your feelings about not subscribing to the pharmaceutical regime suggested.

I know some individuals who had major jaw issues that developed while on bisphosphinate.

[Owlie]

Yes, necrosis of the jaw bone (what they used to call "fossy jaw") is a potential side effect of some of those drugs.

If you keep a healthy level of circulating calcium, the body won't have to draw on bone stores to keep the calcium levels in the bloodstream (and consequently other tissues) at the right place. There's probably a reason they tell you not to use bisphosphonates (at least, residronate) if you've got low blood calcium...