Vitamin Question

Hi guys! I've been slow to recover and have had lots of issues with nausea since my surgery 4 months ago. I did vitamin patches at first, as I couldn't keep much down, but now I'm switching over to the Vitalady regimens. I'm not going to lie, I'm really struggling getting all the vitamins down. It's literally hurting my pouch, it's so much. Did people start out doing less and slowly increasing, or were you able to do all the vitamins right away? It's 33 pills a day and the big Calcium pills 9 times a day are feeling impossible to swallow. I know how important the vitamins are, so I'm just wondering how people are able to get them all in. I've had a few days off, so I've been able to just focus on getting them all in, but I don't know how I'd have time at work. It takes me over and hour to swallow each batch. Help!

I'm six weeks out and I have been working my way up. I do not use the vitalady regimen. I take 4 Celebrate multi-vitamins that have dry ADEK in them. I take Proferrin Iron 3 times a day and Calcium citrate chews 3 times a day. I also take a probiotic once a day. I started with 2 multis and one iron and calcium and have finally worked my way up to the full regimen. So far so good. I get pretty nauseous as well. Most of the time it is because I am not getting enough fluids.

The calcium is my hardest pill to swallow. If there is a chewable form, it would be way easier. What brand do you use. The vitalady regimen is 33 pills daily. It's so much!

Celebrate has chews. I have chocolate. They are ok, but I think I might try a different flavor next time. Celebrate is a bariatric vitamin company based in Ohio where I live.

I started with bariatric advantage vitamins (they are chewable) but it didn't keep my levels up. At 6 months I started the vitalady regime and never went back.

I'd do the best you can with the Vitalady regime. You may want to buy the bariatric advantage vits, but recognize they won't keep your levels up.

Scott

Thank you! Did you have trouble getting all the vitalady vitamins down at first?

So 11 years ago, we didn't know about vitalady. Michelle was on other boards and people just criticized her that she wanted to sell vitamins. The reality is she was trying to save people's lives.

I asked her to come to our forum and she did and told us what she knew. So no, when I first started, I didn't know about Viatlady so I wasn't taking that many. I started her regime about the time I was 6 months out and got my first set of labs that showed my vitamin levels were dropping.

Scott

I absolutely could not get those calcium citrate pills down. It got to the point where I was choking before the pill was in my mouth. I switched to the Bariatric Advantage lozenges, which you can either chew or just suck on until they dissolve. They have been a lifesaver for me. They come in several flavors - I like the chocolate and the cherry, the mint is very minty and I haven't tried the cinnamon. Yes, they cost more than buying calcium citrate at Costco or some similar store, but it's worth it to me. And they are 500 mg each, so a dose is just one. I used to buy them from Vitalady (I love her!) but she doesn't carry everything any more, so I buy them from the BA website.

BA also has chewies, some 500 mg and some 250 mg, and I use those too, as they are handle to put in your purse, but they cost a bit more. Try both and see what works for you.

Larra

I literally am choking to get them down and have started having terrible anxiety over it. I literally cried last night trying. I had my tonsils out last year and ever since have trouble swallowing pills. I have no idea why. So, this has felt completely overwhelming. Thank you for the advice! I'm ordering some tomorrow.

Have you thought about liquid calcium?