iron in your multi-vitamin

Hi I'm just wondering how much Iron should be in our mutivitamin-minerals??
I was going through my papers and noticed it says to take a multi that contains iron, but doesnt say how much iron. 

thanks for the help :)

Hey Brandy...

I went and got my pkg and it says:

"If possible, choose a formula that has at least 18mg of iron"

I went to fast and purchased everything I needed for surgery and never even thought about the size of the pills.  The one I grabbed are so HUGE, I'll need to crush 'em...lol...but I know myself and will just get the liquid ones.  i'll check the next time I get to Cotsco, either in TO or in suds...I don't even know where to check here in Timmins...lol...guess Wal-Mart or Shoppers....:)

Take care!

I take 2 Life Spectrum Chewables from Shoppers with 18mg per pill. For first few weeks, I crushed them into a bit of applesauce, but at one month out, I now chew them.

Hi ,
Guelph recommends prenatal vitamins.  They have 27mg of iron.  If you go to Costco, they have their brand which is under $9.00 and is a 9 month supply. (279 caps)  Hope that helps a little!

Lu

 Thanks Lu, I had my surgery in Guelph and while it is still too soon for vitamins for me, that sounds perfect to me. You haved me some research!

you should be taking your vitamins now, Jackie, liquid or crushed, unless your centre has told you its too soon...

 Hi, in Guelph the instructions are to wait for 2-3 months before taking the pre-natal vitamins, so I will follow that. Also another interesting thing about Guelph is that on day 1 after surgery you take pills without them being crushed. One of my BP pills is 5/8 of an inch long and I haven't had any trouble taking that along with 3 other pills in the morning. Aslo the tylenol in the hospital is taken whole. I wonder (and hope) they are comparing the results in the different centres to see which are the best ?????
Thanks Monica

thanks ladies, Im going to go get some new ones, the ones i have only have 5 mg of iron.
they are the Jamieson chewable vita vim.

TWH is experiencing rates of anemia over 50% in post-ops and yet persist in not telling people to supplement iron separately and in greater amounts than what is in a multi-vitamin. Based on my research, I am convinced that what is in a multivitamin is not sufficient for an RNY post-op. 

Virtually every RNY medium and long term study I've looked at in the past six months shows rates of anemia in 40-65% of RNY post-ops and in menstruating women, it is as high as 80%.
 
You can continue just taking a multivit but I would compare your iron levels pre-op with your 6 month levels and if you see a decline (even if still within a healthy range), it would warrant supplementing seperately in my opinion.

My long-standing anemia issues related to a genetic blood clotting disorder is one of the main reasons I'm pushing for a DS rather than RNY - anemia is not fun.