Confused about Vitamins

Hello! 

  I have been reading some of the threads on the main board about vitamins.  There seems to be a lot of controversy.  At St. V's we are told that Flintstones are okay but many people on here have said they are insufficient.  I am freak about all of this.  I am scared that I am going to do serious damage to my body.  I want to do that right thing but find it hard to wade through all the information. 

 Andrea was leaving a lot of good information on the main board but I find her disrespectful.  She does not make you want to ask more questions. 

 I would like to know what some of you are doing?  Especially the people that are a few years out??  Have you had problems?  Should I be taking a bariatric vitamin? 

I do exactly what St. V's told me to do and my blood results have been fine...I'm 4 yrs post-op.

Sherri

Edited:

I had switched from Flintstone's to Kroger's childrens vitamins a few years ago. They were cheaper & tasted better. I make sure they say that they are 'Complete'. I asked my nut first if the switch was ok and she did approve it. I had asked her about some other adult vitamins & calcium and was told not to take them. I take three a day just as I was instructed to do. You are VERY new out. You may be an adult, but your pouch is not. Please listen to what your surgeon & nut told you and not what you read on the boards. They know your body better than any of us here on the boad does. If you have a question about what you should/should not be taking at ANY time during your journey, we can tell you what worked FOR US but it should be THEM to advise you as to what YOU should do...not us.

Some people may need to take vitamins that are geared for adults for reasons such as complications to where they weren't/aren't getting the proper nutrition that they should be getting. For others of us, they wouldn't break down properly in our pouch. Their doctors know of the particular situations and if anyone is taking something other than what they were initially told to do, it should be with the advise & approval of their surgeon & nuts.

Candy, honestly, I would NEVER advise ANYONE to do anything than what they are instructed to do by their surgeon/nut. If you ever have a question/doubt about your vitamins, etc, you are welcome to see what others are doing on here...but before you make any change, talk with your own surgeon/nut about it. It may seem like we are all on the same journey here...but we each have our own paths we must take to succeed on it. Only by working with your surgeon/nut are you going to be the most successful.

Sherri

Just in case it was read wrong I wasn't telling her to go against what she'd been told. The adult centrum chewables are listed as an alternative to the flinstones and St V's is pushing the bariatric advantage vitamins now.

I will say that Andrea is a very very wise person. Shes very passionate about her vitamin posts because she had suffered greatly from following what she was told by her surgeon and all vitamin wise. That is why shy is so passionate about it. She will answer questions too shes not as mean as she portrays really it's just that she has been on the down side of vitamin deficiencies and is still trying to play catch up.

If you have access to a bariatric vitamin or even the Centrum adult chewables maybe try those.

I did NOT tolerate the Flinstones and did liquid Centrum which was not adequate for me and my 6 month levels reflected that it was NOT a complete multi even though I was told it was okay to take. I did Centrum pills from there til recently I started the Bariatric advantage chewables and I feel better with those than I did with the pills. Sooo you can try the flinstones, but they are made for children. My advice is if you can do the Centrum adult chewables. They are geared more towards grown ups.

I also read the main board and have seen the vitamin posts, the more I read the more confused I become so I just stick to what my surgeon has told me to do and pray he knows what he is doing. My philosophy is I trusted him to do a major surgery on me, I should be able to trust him to handle my follow up care also.  I have faith in my surgeon, he is more than competent, with that being said this is my daily regemin...
I take a centrum chewable in the morning and at night, two citrical calcium petittes in the morning and at night, one subligual B12 daily and one omega3 daily.

Jeannie

I cannot take vitamins with vitamin k in them so i take the flinestone gummies i do 4 aday and everything works out ok.
I am low on vit d but thats always been that way and now b12,but he gave me a inhaler for my b12..
I say ask your doc whats best for you....

AS Sherri said... follow the Dr...they have been practicing alot longer than most of us...and they went to school to learn what they know... we just went to sleep.. Smile

I could not take the chewables... YEC!! so the first 6 months or so I took liquid GNC Multibased vitamins with cranberries. then I switched to pills that I break in half. I am 3 years out and my tests have all come back fine except ONE said I was a little low on Iron so I made sure my multis had iron..then all was ok.. I NEVER forget my Biotin and B-1. sometimes forget my B-12 but notice it when I start needing naps again..heheh

I know what you mean... I signed a contract with my Dr saying I would follow nutritional orders and take my vitamins.. so i do get a little anal about makeing sure I take them every day. I am healthy, happy and doin fine. But IF you make a change ask the nut about it... OH yea... I made sure my vitamins melted in an ounce of water within 5 minutes.. When I proved it to my Doc she said ok..I could take them.. If they dont melt they wont digest and get absorbed..

Linda Kay

I wasn't going to change to something not on the list.  I would ask the NUT first if I were going to do that.  But there are a few on our list of approved vitamins.  I don't know.  Right NOW I have trouble taking pills so I am going to stick with the Flintstones until my pouch is good enough to take pills.  Then I think I will change to an adult vitamin.  The flintstones are the easiest part of my regimen for me.  I have medications for other things that I STRUGGLE to get down. UGH.   I was just kinda wondering what everyone else does. 

I'm just trying to look things over for myself and thought I would ask.
Thanks everyone!

My vitamin/supplement routine:
Morning: one OTC pre-natal vitamin/mineral tablet (WalMart)

One Super B complex (again WalMart)
One iron tablet (63 mg)
One Omega-3 gel-cap
One stool softener gel-cap

Evening:
One Calcium Citrate Petite
One Biotin
One iron tablet
One stool softener

Every two weeks: One B-12 injection

My labs have always been great.  But the most important thing is that I eat a well-balanced diet and get the most of my required vitamins, minerals, etc from food.

Hi There
As many above posted PLEASE talk with your DOCTOR &/OR NUT.
I can't take the children's complete due to my allergy to
Aspertame. I take doctor presriped vitiams. Please check first, its important. Hugs Gail