Bloodwork and vitamins question

I have heard that lab work is supposed to be at 3, 6 and every 12 months, with 9 and 1.5 years being added if there are problems.  I had my surgery in Mexico, so I was a little worried if the insurance company would pay for my three month labs but the whole thing probably cost be $40.00 with most of that going to my doctor for the office visit. 

My results were good, I will have a few questions, but that will be another post!  Remember when you read my words below that I am not a years and years old veteran, so ymmv. 

Also, I had a complication that caused a swallowing problem after my surgery.  It is loads better now, but I was very motivated to find a plan with the least number of pills for my first two months.  I still have the occasional bad day, but even these are fading out.   The full VitaLady program is around 35 pills a day.  There was no way I could do that.  I went with a modified Celebrate Vitamin program, with extra A, D and calcium.  And added some Centrum's as well.   I got it down to around 10 vitamins a day. 

I have found out, much to my shame, that I am a vitamin wimp.  I just can't force myself too far in regards to them or I start gagging.  I have had to try many different brands and types.  I must have $500.00 worth of vitamins sitting in a box waiting to see if I will ever cycle back to them. 

I have probably invested over $300 in just different types of calcium.  For example, I refuse to take any more Hot Cinnamon flavored regular strength calcium chews.  The VitaLady sent these in my DS starter kit.  I am not a huge cinnamon fan on the best of days, but since the surgery almost all spicy food is too much for me.  These pills do not sit will with me.  PLUS, there are calcium chews that have twice as much calcium, which means I have to take twice as many of these hateful hockey pucks.  Ick.  I have switched to UpCal or Celebrate Calcium PLUS 500 Chewable (Berries & Cream).  I'm playing around with some different liquid calcium supplements as well, but really don't have anything to report.  I'm hoping that someday I will cycle back to these cinnamon mummy pills because I have a billion of them, but then I remember I'm a wimp and realize I probably wont. 

Another factor is how cheap you want to be?   

UpCal D is positively cheap and highly recommended.  ~115 500 mg servings for ~$15.00 ...vs... 30 500 mg servings (3 pills each!) of those horrid Hot Cinnamon Tablets for ~$30.00. 

Another thing to think about is good ol convenience.  I switched to taking Proferrin ES Heme Iron Polypeptide Dietary Supplement Tablets even though they are god awful expensive (0.66 cents each!) because they are made from a type of iron that does not need to be taken at a separate time from calcium.  Reducing the number of rounds of vitamins really helped my whole day.  Generally my iron levels are low, but my three month report shows it being on the high side, so these might really be worth it. 

I also spent a ton of money getting all the good chewable vitamins and then discovered I could not deal with them right after surgery.  Many of these I could probably handle now.  But whom ever thought Vitamin B in chewable form was a good idea is probably an alien.  I can't prove that though.  At least not yet. 

And lastly, it is the side effects that have really sucked down the money!  Because I'm over 50, I want to get my calcium levels to around 2000 mgs a day.  Sadly, every time I go over 1000 I start running into horrid problems with constipation.  To break that up I take up to 8 Magnesium Oxides, 3 stool softeners and mirilax.   And I also have added aloe juice and aloe pills if it's a bad day.  I also take a daily fiber supplement.  I don't know how much money I've spent on hemorrhoid creams and their like.  Lately, I've been having more luck with some fresh fruit or fruit juice and just a stool softener and mirilax.   I'm up to 1500 mg now and I think I will be able to slowly work my way to 2000. 

From: http://www.eatliver.com/hemorrhoids/

I will say this though.  When I had only lost 50 pounds I told my husband that even if the surgery never helped me lose another pound, it has already been more than worth it.  I'm still a big, big girl but I feel so much better than I used to.  That is even more true at 70 pounds gone.  You can't put a price on it, you can only roll with it. 

You're too funny Brandy with the hemorrhoids comic and the aliens creating chewable B, I feel that way about "GoLytly"... not possible to do anything lightly with that stuff when used as directed! :) Thank you so much for the info, I appreciate it immensely.

Do you feel like you've grown accustomed to the act of having a vitamin schedule?

Before I went on a long vacation, yes.  It had pretty much become automatic.

Since getting home and also having access to my 3 month labs and wanting to tweak some things, I have had to crack the whip on myself.  For example, it is 1:30 a.m. and the only reason why I am still up is because I had to wait until now to get in my last round of pills.  I do believe that the occasional miss will not hurt a healthy person, but I got a little too lax so now I will be perfect for at least a week.  That will teach me!!!