Let's talk Vitamins

This ties in a bit to my Protein Ponderings post: what vitamins are you taking and how often? I also found information that is stating that we should be taking vitamins more than just once per day, also because we don't absorb all we take in, including vitamin pills. This same information also stated we should NOT take capsules or coated pills. We aren't able to breakdown or absorb vitamins as well from capsules and coated pills. Anyone else heard that? I have been taking regular pills, but am wondering if going back to chewables and/or using those spray mist vitamins might not actually get more into our system. Here I thought I was doing so well.... perhaps I'm not!! Traci

I use Building Blocks vitamins from US bariatric. They're specially formulated for gastric bypass patients. Spendy, but I'm worth it, right? They are capsules. They begin to dissolve immediately as soon as they get wet. I have heard bad things about Vita Mist vitamins, check them out really well before you use them. Here's my regimen: 8am--1 multi, 3 calcium, 1 Coenzyme Q10 noon--1 multi, 1 30mg iron, 1 CoQ10 5pm--1 multi, 3 calcium, 1 CoQ10 I get a b12 shot every 3 months so I don't supplement that. Personally, the idea that the same vitamin that a normie uses daily (and in the same dose) would work for a bypass patient doesn't pass the smell test for me...so I choose to look to vites & supplements that are specifically designed for bariatric patients. Pay now ($$) or pay later (osteoporosis? neuropathy?) as far as I'm concerned. Also, no coated (enteric, gelcaps, etc.) pills for us...they dont' get absorbed from what I have read. But talk to your doctor. Best wishes! MM

well i take centrum complete 2 a day . and my lab work was fine . I want you to know when i was in and seen dr r. i asked him if i could take my vitamins and calcium citrate together and he didnt see a problem everyone here says they cancel eachother out . so i have been taking vitamins in morning and calcium a couple hrs later and then at night if i remember .. so idunno i get confused on all thes issues . i am getting ready to order vitamins from susian maria i think thats where i seen them .

Sherrie I talked with Patty this morning about all this, and I tell ya, I'm not sure I buy what Dr. R's recommendations are!! I know he's our doctor, and I think he's great: BUT, if we know we don't absorb all of everything we take in (only 50%), and because of the bypass part, we can't absorb all of our protein needs through food - then it only makes sense that we need to take in MORE protein than we need (twice the protein in this case) to get in enough. Taking in only 50 grams of protein a day is only going to net us 25 grams. That's not enough. Countless post-ops (and surgeons too I imagine) have stated that when they get in MORE protein, they lose weight and their hair loss will stop and we won't lose muscle mass. The only reason I question this at all, is because so many surgeons are giving so many different answers for the SAME PROCEDURE! I don't think there's been enough studies done to say for certain how much we really absorb and what our true nutritional intake amounts should be. Does anyone have a link to an official source/study/report for WLS patients stating what our exact nutritional intakes should be? Something that is not just theory or speculation.

If you're looking for "exact" from medicine as a discipline you're going to be terribly disappointed! Medicine is a "practice"--everything is theory and speculation. You can do what I did, google nutrition for gastric bypass patients, vitamins and Roux-en-Y, etc. and make your mind up for yourself. Surgeons are often (not always, but often) woefully under-informed about nutrition...they're not, after all, nutritionists! BTW, IRON and calcium is what we're concerned about taking together. Any doctor or nutritionist will tell you that. They inhibit one another's absorption. Even for non-gastric bypass patients that is true. Bottom line is that you have to do the research and make up your own mind. What risks are you willing to take? How far are you willing to go to avoid problems that may or may not occur? It's up to you as an individual to identify all possible risks and choose whether or not to address them and how. I personally choose to take in 100-130 g protein every day and to take specialized vitamins because I find such changes are easy enough to make to head off any problems down the road. The effort is worth it to me! Again, best wishes! MM

I think dr ri is a great surgeon . but he is just that i think maybe you should ask cheryl . i need to tart seeing a nutisionalist as well they can give us the best advice i believe . post your protein question on main board .see what they say yeah its snowing out

Traci, I just had my 6 month labs done, and everything was great. I take 2 costco childrens chewables in the AM and then 2 more in the PM 2 Bariatric Calcium Citrate in the AM and 2 in the PM 1 Chewable Vit C in the Am and 1 in the Pm 1 sublingual B-12 once a week ~Debra

Everything I take is chewable, liquid, sublingual or crushable. 1. Centrum Chewable - 2 a day. Also vitamin C chewable 500mg. 2. B Complex - Sublingual once a day. 3. Vitamin B1 - 100mg one a day. 4. Vitamin B12 - 500mcg one a day. 5. Calcium Citrate -1200mg a day. 6. Pepcid AC Chewable - 2 a day Patti

I take one Centrum Performance in the morning (it has extra vitamins!) and two or three Calcium Citrate pills at the same time. If I remember, I'll take more calcium later in the day. I take a sub-lingual B-12 when I remember it, anywhere from 2 (recommended) to 5 times a week. I didn't ask Dr. Richardson about vitamins, although I did ask Cheryl. I was worried because I had heard we can't absorb much calcium at one time. But she said that we should be able to take about 600mg of calcium CITRATE at one time, because it absorbs differently than the other kinds. She also didn't say anything about the type of vitamins I have been taking (regular pills). But then, it's kind of weird getting nutrition advice from someone who looks like she's gained quite a few pounds since June when I first met with her... ANYWAY...as long your bloodwork is coming back just fine, there is really no reason to change your routine or types of vitamins. Pamela -83

I take the following: 2 Pioneer chewable chelated vitamins in the morning and 2 at night (before breakfast and dinner) chelated vitamins and minerals are absorbed much better by us. 1 iron capsule (very strong...150) I get it from Vitalady...I have a tendency toward anemia...take this about an hour before I take anything else. 3 calcium citrate capsules with magnesium and vitamin D (500 mg each) one after each meal...get these from Vitalady as well. B-12 shot once a month....feel great...no hair loss...and labs are super! Denise