Vitamins

Renay, I can not speak about the Vista Chewables as I have never took them or purchased them. However, I was on the Vista Wellness Plus Capsules for several months, starting at about one month out when I was given clearance to swallow pills by the doc. Yes they were a bit expensive, running me 75.00 for two months supply (but if you purchase them directly from Vista, you can get on the auto ship plan for 65.00 per two months). The regime consisted of two daily multi packs of 4 vitamins each. While at first I thought this was a pretty hefty fee, after I did the math, I found that truly they were not that expensive for a quality vitamin regime. Hubby and I have severe money limitations, so I have to weigh everything very carefully to count the costs and prioritize. Yes, I have had to make some pretty hard descisions to give up nice clothing for my vitamins. Currently I have a couple of shirts and two pair of pants. However, since I am not able to take in a lot in the way of nutrition, I have to do what I can to ensure that end up absorbing the vitamins that I take. And I have to ensure that I am getting the proper amounts of every vitamin that I can. What I can tell you is the vitamins made me feel so much better than my children's chewable did. I had to go off of them for about a month (lack of funds) in early spring and go back to my previous vitamins and before the month was out, I was sick. All winter long, when everyone around me was ill ... I did not get it. This was very unusual for me. I attribute that to good vitamins and plenty of protein. Both help build your immune system. Growing more and more concerned about what I was reading in the medical journals about vitamins, I did contact Vista directly and asked about additional supplementation and they did tell me that I would need additional calcium, B-12 and possibly extra iron (something I already knew in my heart but didn't want to face, cause I loved the ease of the system I was on). Anyway, this extra upped my monthly cost and catapulted me to start researching to find a better answer. Currently, I am taking an optimal multi regime that seems to be working well for me. In addition, I take iron chelated with vit c for better absorption (VItron-C), 1500 mgs calcium citrate with vit D and Magnesium, sub-lingual b-12 and 2400 mcgs biotin. I feel that vitamins are not something I can afford to play around with. Right now, this is my main source of feeding my body, so I have to do all I can to help ensure that I am giving it the best possible care I can ... ya know? I guess it does all come down to priorities and that certainly is a personal decision. As far as the Opti-Source goes ... I am so glad to hear that Brett does not recommend them. I was not at all comfortable with the stats on them, and yet was feeling a bit pressured to change my regime and take them. But decided to forgo and stay with what was working for me while I researched even further. When I read the stats on the Opti-Source and heard that they were all inclusive, including the vit b-12 ... alarms started going off for me. How can we absorb the b-12 vit in these if we can not absorb the B-12 vitamin in our stomachs or intestines??? They even mentioned at the meeting that we needed to take our vitamin b-12 sublingually because we can not absorb it through digestion, and yet they were recommending this vitamin regime and counting it as all inclusive? When I am confused on something I firmly plant my feet and refuse to move until I know the proper direction to move to. That is exactly what I did that day! I asked more questions at that meeting than I have ever asked at any meeting in my lifetime - combined! I was not at all satisfied with some of the answers. I left there with a lot of good information, but a lot of confusion as well. So for now, I am sticking with the last thing that Dr Irgua and Brett gave me the okay on. I STRONGLY urge everyone to study all you can about vitamins, not taking my opinion or anyone else's as carte blanc and making it your personal gospel. The better informed you are the better you can make an informed decision about your heath and ultimately your life. *stepping down from my personal vitamin, water, and protien soapbox* Hugs, Tammy

Thank you so much, Tammy. I appreciate this information a lot. I am more concerned about health than cute clothes as well. The better energy you feel is very interesting, especially with the unexected experitment you did with yourself. Do you get all your vitamins from VistaVitamins or do you get some from other sources? Thanks again, Renay

Renay, Don't get me wrong ... I would love some cute clothes ... but we don't have the money to do both so I had to make the decision for the vits and protein. About the Vista's ... I am no longer taking them ... after realizing that I would need all the additional supplementation, I simply could not afford to absorb the extra cost, so I had to go on search for something else that would fill the bill that I needed. Remember, I am far from an expert on this or any other subject, still trying to druge my way through all the research. Just sharing what is working for me at this moment it time anyway, again, who knows what tomorrow brings? Essentially I am taking several different brands of vitamins ... sure wish I could find a one size fits all routine!!! *grin* One optimum multi and then the extras as stated. At the last PMRI meeting, they recommended that we take our vits as chewables. I have not yet found a chewable multi that I am comfortable with the stats on it (suggestions appreciated). So I continue to take my multi regime and concentrate on the quality of the vits (purity and source) and the bioavailbility of the vits. And how long it takes to break down in the pouch and intestines. I also make sure I break up my vits in small portions during the day. I have also found that it works best for me if take them about a half hour after eating so they will stay in my pouch a little longer to help allow them more time to break down also. I only need a very small sip of water with pills, so this does not cause me a problem with overfilling the pouch. IMHO, this is such an important part of your aftercare ... please make sure you are taking at the very least, the required minimum while you study/research to find what will work best for you. Then you can change, add or tweak your vitamin regime if you find you need to do so. Pay careful attention to your labs, keep copies and watch them. Also, it is a real good idea to get a bone density scan early on and then yearly (same time each year) to watch your bone density. Sometimes your labs don't tell you that there is trouble brewing before there is already severe problems with loss of bone mass. Your labs will show the blood serum levels of calcium that is being leached from your bones and teeth and will look good on paper, all the while your bone density scan can tell a whole different story. Just my 2 cents worth ... and with inflation ... my 2 cents could be virtually worthless!!! Hugs, Tammy

Tammy, Have you tried the Isotonic Vitamins? I know Nikki has, and their cost seems to be less than the VistaVitamins. http://www.wlscenter.com/Vitamins.htm ~ Renay

Excuse me Renay, in that last post I stated that I take one optimum multi. That was wrong ... I actually take 3 per day to get in the vitamin requirements that I need without going over the limits bypass patients need. About the Isotonic ... tried it but it didn't work for me. Hear of others who love it though. Again, what works for one, may not work for someone else. I know "Dr Oh?" highly recommends them to his patients. And I know the concept seems to make a lot of sense to me. How better to absorb your vitamins fast? But they still didn't work for me. Go figure ... but then again I didn't give them much of a chance. When I started taking them and my body started aching right away, I knew I didn't want to get sick again, so I went back to the Vista's at least for a while. I am thinking that the calcium supplement in the Isotonic is calcium carbonate. Just wanted to let you know in the event you happen to prefer calcium citrate. Here is a place where you can contact someone who has far more knowledge about vitamins than I do. I think she is about 10 years out of surgery. Michelle has been a wonderful help to me. Check out her FAQ's page on vitamins. If you have any specific questions, email her ... perhaps she will be able to offer you some guidance on where to get the information that you need? Obviously I can not promise anything for anyone else though. vitalady.com/faqs.htm But please remember, there are tons of varying opinions on vitamins and bypass surgery. You really need to do the research for yourself to find your own way and what you personally are comfortable with and then make sure you speak to your doc about what you are wanting to do to help ensure that you are not doing anything contradictory to your pouch or body. Then be sure to watch for signs of deficiency in any area, and watch your labs closely to clue you in on anything that may be creeping up or down and adjust your regime accordingly. Best wishes for good health, and much continued success in your journey. Hugs, Tammy

and you may want to make sure that your PCP adds magnesium to the blood testing, since Dr. Baag did not check those levels. Magnesium deficiencies can have an impact on heart function. I now have mine checked every three months.

Great Point Rob!!!

I'm curious..do you see those that don't choose to spend an arm and a leg on special vitamins, or buying clothes as being so shallow that we don't care about the status of our health?

What? I'm not judging anyone. I'm just concerned about the long term effects of this surgery. I'm still fairly young (33), and I don't want to trade one major illness, morbid/severe obesity, for many others caused by malnutrition and vitamin/mineral deficency. Sure, I want to look good, but my priority in all this is my long term health. I'm not projecting on to anyone else. I'm just concerned about my health. ~ Renay

Well that's one thing we have in common even if we don't necessarily share the same vitamin theory I too spent many months agonizing and researching this surgery, it's hardly a walk in the park at times huh. Health is a major priority for me also with my whole family being diabetic and having high blood pressure and my own diabetes out of control for a few years. I'm happy to say that at least for now that problem has been eliminated and sugars are normal...BP has been cut in half too, my last "official" reading I was 104/70. I just wanted to make sure you didn't misunderstand me. Surgery affects us all in many ways during the journey, mentally as well as physically. You will also find as many opinions as their are people to have them, as Tammy pointed out, even within your own surgical group. Heck knows what your surgeon where you're going will tell you that conflictswith what you hear at PMRI or Dr's Irgau and Wynn's patients...or the doctors from downstate. I guess the whole point of my post was to call attention to the fact that there doesn't seem to be any ONE difinitive answer as to who's school of thought is the correct one. As I said, what works for one may not work for another. Oh and once you get a feel for the whole thing...it changes LOL. Good luck to you in your search for answers. Oh and once you get a handle on the health aspects, I'll save you a seat in the cute clothes section Linda