Vitamins: Limiting the number of different pills

Brand spanking newbie here...three weeks out of surgery and down 60 pounds.

Got a question for you more experienced DSers. I can't find one multi-vitamin that has all of the vitamins and minerals that my doc's nutritionist says I need. How few vitamin pills do you get away with taking?

Although I assume these recommendations are fairly consistent, for the record I've been told I need daily vitamins totaling:

10,000 IU vitamin A
2,000 IU vitamin D
300mcg vitamin K
800mcg folic acid
36mg iron
30mg zinc
1800mg calcium citrate

Thanks!

Those doses aren't even enough for most RNYrs or sleeve only folks. Many of us take 2 multivitamins a day, 25,000IUs or more of dry vitamin A (palmitate), 50,000IUs of dry D3, 1,000mcg of K1, 1,200mcg of folic acid, 300mg of iron (carbonyl), 100mg of zinc and 2400mg of calcium. Most of us take even more than these. Check out www.vitalady.com. There is a starter package for DSrs but it is many more vitamins not less.  

There are many DSrs on Facebook and proboards that can tell you what it take for them to get good labs. Here's the Facebook link www.facebook.com/groups/174102532625545/ Ask to join. Proboards is public weightlosssurgery.proboards.com/index.cgi

Unfortunately, for optimal DS health, there is no way around taking multiple pills. There are advantages to this:  If you need to adjust doses of individual vitamins or minerals, you can do so by increasing or decreasing the dose, without upsetting the schedule for the rest of the vites.

Your folate (folic acid) is easy, orange juice.  Get the kind with calcium added (frozen juice), and that will help  a little with your RDA of calcium, in addition to your calcium citrate pills.

Your main multivitamin should be a Centrum Complete-type (Walmart Equate Multivitamin/Multimineral is what I use)

Here's a list of all that I take :

Corrie’s Duodenal Switch LIFETIME Nutrition Requirements 64+ oz of hydration qd, preferably H2O   90-100g protein qd (Whey Protein Isolate shakes(25g each) with Daily Nutrition Plan)   4 Centrum Complete-type Multivitamin/Mineral Tablets daily (supplemented with NOW Multivitamin/Mineral Liquid PRN)    2400 mg Calcium Citrate with Vitamin D Tablet qd (supplemented with NOW Cal-Mag with D Liquid PRN) This is 8 pills, spaced throughout the day - Wally World Equate brand is what I use 
1-2 1.0ml B12 inj monthly, IM (supplies 1000 mcg B12 per bariatric supplement plan) You can do sublingual tablets daily, if you don't like shots. 
100 mg Thiamin (Vitamin B1) Weekly   Creon 24000 units (capsules) One capsule with meals or snacks (aids absorption of nutrients, also taken with vitamin, mineral and protein supplements per Dr. Margaret Inman, MD – bariatric surgeon/prescriber)   650 mg Iron weekly taken with 500 mg Vitamin C (Vtiamin C helps absorption of iron) Currently on infusion, due to moderate deficiency
B Complex 50 – 2 tabs qd   Chelated Zinc - 50 mg qd (moderate deficiency- added per 10/19/2011 bariatric labs)  Bumped up to 200mg daily, per Dr. Inman's PA at last visit
Dry Vitamin A – 25,000 IU weekly Dry Vitamin D – 50,000 IU weekly Dry Vitamin E – 400 IU weekly Dry Vitamin K 1- 800 mcg weekly Dry Vitamin K 2 – 10,000 mcg weekly (All fat solubles *MUST* be in dry form! Duodenal Switch fat absorption rate is 18-20% - oil-based capsules *will not be absorbed* )  (Currently taking D and K daily, due to moderate deficiencies, from 7/3/2012 labs)

JazzyOne I thought creon was to help stop losing??

Also would OJ not give a DSer diarrhea?

TIA

 If you're already at goal & want to stop losing or you're having problems with nutrition and can't get it under control with vites, creon is added to increase absorption.

OJ can give some DSers diarrhea, but I think most can handle it just fine.  Many DSers can handle simple sugars, but starchy carbs typically cause gas, bloat, diarrhea.

Hi Lisey, thanks so I understood creon correctly.  Sugar on the other hand not so much.  My surgeon VERY strongly warned me away from sugar saying it'd give me TERRIBLE diarrhea.  I know it'll affect my weightloss so I'll hold off as much as poss (I have had tiny amounts so far and been fine).

Basically all the things to stay away from are pretty much the ones that caused my IBS issues pre-op so I can't really complain ;-)  Many thanks for explaining.

REALLY?

That list is laughable!  Truly!

There is NO multi that will have everything you need.  You will have to supplement individually.  Check out vitalady.com for her recommendations for DSers.  Personally of the paltry list you have...I take 75000 iu vit a, 100000 iu vit d, 2000 mcg vit K, 2500 mg cal citrate.  I also take biotin, vit e, K2 and B12.  Along with a good multi, probiotic, antioxidant, potassium and docusate sodium.  If I was taking what you have, I would be in a world of hurt very quick!  Please get thee to vitalady and get on the appropriate regimen to keep you alive!

Surgeons and their nutritionists rarely give good post-DS vitamin regimen advice.  Before I had my DS, I got lots of advice from the good people here about not listening to my sureon's office regarding supplement; rather, to start off with Vitalady's suggested DS regimen, and then to make adjustments based on my own subsequent lab results.

There is no way that you will find a multi vitamin that has everything that we DSers need in it.  And those special bariatric ADEKs that are marketed to us are junk, too.  The fact is, you're going to have supplement pretty much everything individually.  Yeah, it's a lot of vitamins.   How do you like being down 60 pounds only three weeks out of surgery?  Pretty cool, isn't it?  Trust me - all of the vitamins are such a small trade-off for the great weightloss and health benefits you're going to get from your DS.

To give you an idea, I am 2 1/2 years out, and I take 38 vitamins a day.  That doesn't include my daily Zyrtec or Prevacid.  Sounds like a ton, but it becomes routine.  I modify what I take based on my lab results - for instance, this last time I was low on zinc, so I've upped my zinc to three times a day instead of two.  But you know what?  I'm healthy.  I haven't even had a cold since I had my DS, and I was one of those people that got sinus infections and bronchitis every single year, sometimes escalating to pneumonia.  I really think the vitamins have helped me fight off even common bugs, so they're definitely worth it to me.

 I think I take around 14 pills a day.  Even bariatric multi's provide all that we need.

 You meant        NO BARIATRIC MULTI'S provide all that we need.   right?