An Interesting post I saw on the main board

I hope the below link works. This is a very informative post about a woman 3 years out who did not take her vitamins regularly and did not get her regularly scheduled blood work. http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/amos/action,replies/board_id,4856/cat_id,4456/topic_id,3 281047/a,messageboard/

Excellent reminder that we must take our supplements & monitor our labs for the rest of our lives ... Thanks for posting the link!

I stopped taking my vitamins and supplements after about 6 months out... for one right now I can't afford them and for two they make me feel really crappy... guess I'll have to start back on them but I wonder if dark circles under your eyes is a sign of a deficiency (sp)

TRY A DIFFERENT BRAND OF VITAMIN OR SUPPLEMENT, MS STEPHANIE. VISTA VITAMINS W/ CHELATED MINERALS ARE SUPBERB BUT MY POUCH DOESN'T TOLERATE THEM. MS DEB (from CA) LOVES THEM & DOES WELL ON THEM. I USE OPTISOURCE FROM WALGREENS; IT'S SPECIALLY FORMULATED FOR EASY ABSORPTION FOR GASTRIC BYPASS PATIENTS. YOU TAKE 4 A DAY & THEY ARE CHEWABLE & TASTE REALLY GOOD. THEY COST ABOUT $30 A MONTH, IF I REMEMBER RIGHT. YOU CAN GET SUBLINGUAL B-12 AT WAL*MART & IT IS VERY INEXPENSIVE. GET THE 2500 mcg TO START & IN A COUPLE MONTHS TRY LESS IF YOU WISH, BUT SINCE YOU HAVEN'T TAKEN ANY ... TRY THE HIGHER DOSE. YOU WILL PEE OUT ANY EXCESS YOU INGEST. TWIN LABS HAS A CHEWABLE CALCIUM CITRATE ... IT TASTES KINDA LIKE A SWEET TART. YOU CAN GET THEM AT THE VITAMIN SHOPPE. THEY ALSO HAVE A GREAT LIQUID B-12 WITH FOLIC ACID ... IT'S FRUIT FLAVORED & TASTES GREAT. REMEMBER THAT ONE OF THE REASONS WE LOSE WEIGHT IS BECAUSE OF OUR NEW-FOUND MALABSORPTION ABILITIES ... WE ABSORB LESS FAT & CALORIES SO WE LOSE WEIGHT ALONG WITH NOT BEING ABLE TO EAT AS MUCH. WELL, THAT ALSO MEANS WE ABSORB LESS NUTRIENTS FROM THE LITTLE BIT OF FOOD WE DO EAT. WE CANNOT LIVE HEALTHY FOR THE LONG TERM IF WE DON'T USE VITAMINS, MINERALS & SUPPLEMENTS. WE NO LONGER HAVE A CHOICE. OUR BODIES WILL ABSORB ONLY ABOUT 40% OF WHAT WE TAKE IN. SOME MAY ABSORB 50 OR 60%, BUT OTHERS MAY ONLY ABSORB 20 % ... WHATEVER YOUR PARTICULAR ABSORPTION RATE IS, IT'S TOO LOW FOR HEALTHY LIVING. BE SURE & GET TO YOUR DOC AS SOON AS POSSIBLE & GET YOUR LABS DONE SO YOU & YOUR DOCTOR KNOW EXACTLY WHERE YOU BODY IS NUTRIENT WISE. THEN HE CAN ADJUST WHAT YOU TAKE TO FIT YOUR SPECIFIC NEEDS. GOD BLESS YOU MS STEPHANIE ... DAWN & NICk