Vitamin Patches
It's not that they don't work. The issue seems to be that results vary so widely. The vitamin D patches don't seem to do very well. People had more success with the multi patches and I saw some people seemed to have good initial results with the calcium patches if I remember correctly..
I'm not sure why results are so variable it would seem to be a no brainer for DS folks to bypass the malabsorption but I never got them to work well enough for me to replace my oral vitamins. It eventually was easier for me to go back to 100% oral vitamins.
PatchMD is the place most of us went. IF you search around they usually have a 30% or 40% off code floating around. I think there are still people in the FB group and there is some good information in the "files" section.
If you try them I would just keep an eye on your labs and perhaps only cut back on your oral vits instead of replacing them completely. Either way labs are the guiding principal.
Pete
This works for me. I try and space out the morning vits if I am not busy. Most everything moves back if I miss the synthroid wakeup and have to take it later.
Morning (usually between 6 and 8) ** 4 hours after synthroid *
Allopurinol - 300mg
IC Lisinopril - 10mg
magnesium glycinate chelated - 200 mg
D3 - 50k
Vitamin K1 - 1000 mcg
Vitamin A - 25k units
Probiotic
Multivitamin
Vitamin C - 1000mg
Mid morning (around 9:30)
Calcium Citrate - 500 mg
B-12 sublingual - 500mcg - every other day
Lunch (around 11:30 )
Calcium Citrate - 500 mg
Mid-afternoon (around 2pm)
Calcium Citrate - 500 mg
Dinner/evening (around 6pm)
D3 - 50 k
Multivitamin
IC Lisinopril - 10mg
2 zinc/copper 60/600
Wakeup/middle of night (try for 3AM)
Synthroid - 50mcg
Chlorthalidone 25 mg
No, that is specific to me. Sorry I left my meds on. There are a few people on synthroid or the equivalent it is for hypothyroidism ( low thyroid levels ) my endocrinologist found it by chance about 2 years after my DS, she was pretty clear not DS related. Same for the lisinopril and allopurinol are meds specific to me.
My vitamin list has change a little over time but has been pretty stable the last year and a half. Waiting for the results of my yearly bariatric followup labs now but I don't expect any surprises.
The problem with vitamin patches, or any drug patches for that matter, is that skin permeability is the main issue. Individuals have different rates of skin permeability, so for one person they might be great, but for another they will not work. There is no way to know until you experiment and get labs. Also, a confound in research as we say, or a factor that skews the results, is that people may be getting the vitamins and minerals from diet, so it looks like they are working when they are actually getting it from other sources. I'd love to see clinical trials for patches, as if they worked they would be great for many people *****ly on TPN nutrition, or who are recovering from cancer or anorexia... but this is a tangent.
At any rate, since the DS malabsorption is so strong (hence why it is so effective long-term), it's not prudent to gamble when so many vets already have established routines that work really well. After surgery you are healing too, and malnutrition makes the bowels very fragile. For optimal healing I would stick to proven and effective methods for supplements, especially. Don't mess with success, as the saying goes.
I follow a ketogenic diet post-op. I also have a diagnosis of binge eating disorder. Feel free to ask me about either!
It is not that we have so little time but that we lose so much...the life we receive is not short but we make it so; we are not ill provided but use what we have wastefully. -- Seneca, On the Shortness of Life
Unlike most people I had good results with the patches. I started on oral but was nauseous all the time from them. Read about patches on this forum and was sold. My only low results were potassium and none of the vitamins dealt with that and D. I was using the calcium and D combo so just added the D patch too. CleAred it right up. They are pricey so I had to go back to oral vitamins for awhile and my labs went down. Just ordered 3 months worth and am throwing out the oral. I just use one multi, one B, one calcium/D and one D per day. Best part? No nausea. I just wish they would come out with a multi mineral because mineral supplements really make me sick.
