Do these vit A/D requirements look ok to you?

As I prepare for my VSG to DS revision on 10/20, I had labs done.  Although I don't have a copy of the results myself, my surgeon's office emailed me yesterday with some requirements after they saw them.  Currently I take:  1 multivitamin 1x per day, and a sublingual b-12 about 2x per week.  This has kept my labs good since my VSG in May 2011.

Now, after having a bone density scan (which i thought was fine) and my labs, I need to add: 

Upcal D Powdered calcium - 1000mg 3x per day

Bio Ae Mulsion Forte - Vit A Drops - 3 drops, 3x per day (12,500 IU PER DROP)

Bio-D Mulsion Forte - Vit D Drops - 3 drops, 3x per day (2,000 IU PER DROP)

Rocaltrol .5 mcg - 2x per day

Ferrex forte 150 - 2x per day

Between the powdered calcium, the Vit D drops, and the rocaltrol, it seems like thats A LOT of vitamin d.  Am I just not understanding that each of these items does something different?  Or perhaps he's just getting me ready for post DS life. 

The vit A drops make me nervous, because I thought vitamin A was one that you had to be careful of getting too much. Again, maybe he's just putting me on the post DS schedule now.

I know it's hard to make recommendations without knowing what my labs were.  I usually get a copy but I didn't this time since I haven't been to my surgeon's office lately. Thanks for any input!

Well, I do think the vitamin A is a little high but it certainly won't hurt for the 10 days pre-op. You're right some of this does depend
on exactly what your labs look like and while you can get high levels of vitamin A it takes a while for that to happen. My understanding
is that you should be able to see the changes in your labs.

If this rolls into your post-op vitamin schedule I think you will find that the vitamin D is low. I tried to maintain my vitamin D levels
with about 10-20,000 IU for the 3 months after my DS and my vitamin D level went down. It stabilized into the noremal range once
I started taking 50,000 units a day (Biotech) so just be careful to follow your labs as time goes on.

I haven't seen people talk about their experiences with drops. I suppose it's possible you will absorb better that way. Really you don't 
know yet if this will be your post-op schedule. He may just want to try and give you a boost pre-op.

Have a safe surgery and congratulations on getting the surgery.   

Pete

I agree with Pete. Also, be careful not to get taken in with the expensive vitamins, especially if they're exclusive to the surgeon. Post-DS you'll need a lot of supplements and you'll want a fairly cheep source. 

Thank you both for the info.  I guess while I knew there would be an extensive vitamin regime for life post DS, I never realized how high requirements would be for individual vitamins or minerals, like Vit D. 

My doctor has a website selling all sorts of supplements with only the brands he recommends, like Biotech, so I'm sure he gets some sort of commission.  For now, I'm sticking with what he suggested, but in the future, I will shop around a lot more.  Thanks! I appreciate your help!

Being pre-op, I don't understand why you need to do these designer vitamins.  You can get dry D3 at Walmart, 1000 iu per pill.  Why the drops?  As a post op I was swallowing pills by day 5, and never needed powders, chewables or drops.  Like Majormom said, you can piece together things cheaper.  Biotech is also for sale at Amazon, so compare their prices to your surgeon to make sure you're not getting the shaft on that.

I don't think you have anything to be worried about here, but you should call your doctor because it is his job to make sure you understand what is going on with your health.   

Some forms of Vitamin do build up, but some do not.  I couldn't find a product called exactly "biotics research vitamin A", so I can't check for you, but I seriously doubt that you will have a problem.  They have quite a few choices around this vitamin and they all looked safe.  If you want to post exactly what the bottle says I will look it up for you.  

I wouldn't worry about the D at all.  The current research suggests that it practically impossible to overdose on Vitamin D like they used to think could be done.  My doctor told me that it isn't like they are going to run purposeful double blind tests to be sure, but the antidotal evidence is very strong.

If you read http://asmbs.org/resources/integrated-health-nutritional-guidelines they talk about how many people come into surgery deficient in many key vitamins and how bariatric surgeons need to get on top of this issue pre surgery.  I think it is a good sign your doctor is doing something.  And I agree with the other's that think in the time span we are talking about there is little danger.  Still, you should not take that message from me, but get it straight from your doctor!  Shame on him for leaving you to stress over this. 

Good luck!