"Spray" vitamin questions?

It's time to reorder my multi vitamin. I have taken Bariatric Advantage Multi formula in the easily disolved capsule for several years. I've been looking into the "Spray" vitamins. It says it absorbs easily through the tissue. I'm curious and would like further info before I spend a bunch of money on something that I may not use or that is not a trustworthy product.

I know when I saw a nutritionist the year after my surgery she said she used the spray. Anyone else out there that can offer information? I see Michelle at Vitalady now offers a "Tender Vitamin." I've sent for information about it also. My labs have been good for 4 years and I want to keep them that way.

I'm rewriting this as I read my post I realized that I was talking about vitamins and Calcium as tho they were one and the same.

I'm happy with my Bariatric Advantage multi vitamins.

Now to Calcium Citrate. I know this is what I need. I wasted a lot of money on chewables and liquids that I simply could not make myself take due to the chalky taste. I currently take Citracal with Vitamin D. Big tablets. I break them in half but still wonder about the absorption. I'm trying to get brave enough to crush them and see if I can get them down without gagging. I was wondering if a bit of orange juice would aide in helping them dissolve quickly. I know the calcium chews taste good but they are pricey.

Haven't seen a spray catcium citrate. Guess that's what I'd really like to find out about.

I know we shouldn't take calcium with iron. Can it be taken along with our multis? I just hate having to space everything out hours apart but if necessary I will figure out a way. I know this has probably been on here before but my "rememberer" doesn't work so great anymore.

Thanks for taking the time to attempt to enter my mind. I know it's a confusing place and I don't blame you if you find the most direct route out. I wish I could sometimes!

The sprays have been around since the 90's. I have never seen even ONE good set of labs from them. I suspect the doses are just too small for someone who is dependent on supplements. If you need 5000 mcg of B12, 100 won't cut it, you know?

If I was to recommend a "line", it'd be the BA family. I use the calciums. I like the cinnamon chewables and the crystals. I add the unflavored to my proteins. I also take capsules (not BA).

Since I address each specific vitamin per labs, I'm still using a Kirkland multi (2) as a base, then adding the malabsorbed group (iron, zinc, A, D, E, K, B12, B1, calcium) per my labs and latest studies.

Thanks Michelle. I sometimes fall for the sales pitch. The spray "sounds" good in theory! I like my BA multi with the capsule that dissolves even as I touch it with a wet finger.

I'm do to have my 4 yr labs done soon. And I'm scheduling a bone density test. It's been 5 years since my pre op one. I still can't "hack" any of the calciums that have any chalky taste and all chewables seem that way to me. The "bites" are good but so pricey. I'm going to give the UpCal D a try this next round. 

I know that I need to just do what is necessary whether I like it or not, but it sure helps if I like it! I've used the same protein shake now once a day in the morning for over 4 years now and I still like it. It's easy, mixes with a wrist shake in a pint mayo jar, pour over ice and down it goes. I am just really into keeping things as simple as possible.  Thanks for your reply.

Um, don't look here for UpCal D any more.

I put the crystals in 5 of my 6 shakes a day. One is taken with iron, so none in that one. Plus I chew the BA cinnamons if I find nice crisp apples. I call them my Cinnyums. AND I take capsules. But then, I just finished typing my dexscans into Excel and scared myself silly. These are numbers I should not ever SEE, especially attached to my own name! Fracturing gets your attention, but being turned down for long term disability, long term care and life insurance had already gotten my attention before I fractured.

Note: if something is network marketing (MLM), it might be a nice ADDER, but it does not take the place of any of the stuff you MUST have.

protein
iron
calcium
A, D, E, K
B12
B1 (so a B complex)
zinc
maybe magnesium

I consider all MLM as a general "tonic", not high enough in any one element to do me any good.

I'll post my list of labs and preferred levels, but not sure you'll get anyone to run the whole set. You can try for "I'd like a baseline" and then when you see the baseline is out of whack, you can keep getting labs run as you work to correct them.

Tell Dr. L hi for me if you see him.

I'll post the labs separately.

I don't know anything about the crystals that you mentioned, but am interested. This will be the first year I haven't seen Dr. Lauter. I really like going to him but my insurance won't cover any of his labwork or the office call which is really pricey. My PCP will do the labs that he requested. Thanks again Michelle

michelle- what "crystals" are you referring to??

Bariatric Advantage Calcium Crystals. They are the consistency of dust? baby powder? No, they don't taste like baby powder. Very, very fine. Leaves no residue in my cup. I use one scoop with each protein, but as I said, I also use other forms of calcium, as well.

I take a microcrystalline hydroxyappatite; boron; strontium; vit K1 and vit K2; a very large dose of vit D3 (dry), as well as about 8000 mg calcium. I've done Actonel for the 5 yr course and am scheduled for Reclast (infusion) this wed.

I'm WAY serious about this whole bone thing, in case you can't tell.

I can tell. When I was getting ready for surgery I tried to do Dr. Lauter's work for him. I wanted him to bypass way more than he wanted to. He refused saying that hopefully I wouldn't have as many malabsorption issues. I hope he's right but will stay on top of it.

Well, my take is that the nutritional issues are the same as mine, distal RNY, or a DS. But in a proximal RNY, they're more likely to do more damage because NO ONE SEES THEM COMING and it's insidious.

Vit D, for example. The range is roughly 32-100 or 32-150, and some labs have lower ones, but let's take the middle, 32-100.

No one ran pre-op, though ASMBS has now reported rampant vit D deficiency pre-op. It's stored in fatty tissue. Rather like storing your cash in the insulation of your house. It's there, but you can't use it.

So, let's say you present said study to your PCP, who will run it today. You test at 27 on the D 25 test, and parathyroid (nothing to do with thyroid), and written as PTH is 102 (range tops out around 60). Bad news. Your PCP freaks, wants to radiate your PTH thinking they're causing the bad D. NO, it's the reverse. Obesity, then malabsorption cause the D to crash, which sends the PTH thru the moon.

He gives you standard medical dose of 50k of oil based D2 (rx), one per week for 8 weeks, then test at 12 weeks. Now your D is 28 and PTH is rising (bad). He may run it again, but hint: we don't absorb oils or fats TO ANY RELIABLE DEGREE and we cannot convert D2 to D3, the only form the body recognizes.

Now, knowing this, you grab some D3 in 1000 IU at WalMart and take one/day, being scared of toxicity. I'm about to post something on that on the DS board, but can post it here, if you want, too.

You take the D3, and may or may not now be on a 3rd course of Rx, which is the same as nothing, just costs more. Now your D is 32! WooHoo! bottom of normal. PTH has come down to 100 now, still eating your bones. Now you have spent at least 9 months with KNOWN deficiency.

So, like me, you become desperate, and go to dry D3 at 50,000 per day for 30 days, then back off to 3 per wee****il you test again 90 days later. Now your D is 80, your PTH is 25 and your docs' eyeballs are all falling out of their heads. "How did she do that?"

D3 works. And the doses once considered toxic are now what we need to reach a safe level of vit D.

I can do this in each of the malabsorbed vites/minerals (examples), but I think most ppl would fall asleep. LOL

Yes, I seriously spent some time with him pointing out that even proxies DO malabsorb, he wanted my post-op vites plans, and we were going to get together (most likely to disagree), but schedules just kinda got in the way.

For most, the deiciencies do not show up til about 5 yrs when tooth damage and fractures begin to occur. By then, it's kinda hard to come back. We can fix the numbers on paper, but we can't undo the damage.

And so on with A (eyes), iron, blah, blah, blah.

If you are cautious about just randomly popping vites (it's not random to me), then test, test, test. Put it on Excel. Take note of trends. Is anything trending down? Is anything going up without you MAKING it go up?

Iron is easy to follow.
Range is usually right about 35-170. WIDE range. My target is the middle, around 90.

So, pre-op you are 70. Nice, needs a little push, but certainly not BAD. But no one will recommend iron at this point, because you are "normal".

1st labs, now 53. Not bad, still not bad. No one flags it. You take note that you WANT to be at 90, but have dropped almost 20 pts since surgery.

2nd labs, now 42. Whoa. You are now 50 pts below where feeling good and all function is a sure thing, and have lost 30 pts in 6 months (assuming labs every 3). Still, you are in range. No one will notice BUT YOU.

That's what I mean by watching trends yourself. You can decide when to take action. Most docs will not react until you drop below the bottom. That is their training, not a character flaw.

I just bring my spread sheet to visits with the stuff I don't like highlighted. Makes it SO easy for them. One wanted to know if we could market and sell the spread sheet. Um, well, no, Microsoft pretty well has it covered. LOL

I've never considered myself to be an uneducated person... but on some things I am.  I only take a BA w/A,D,E, & K.  I was supposed to take Calcium but don't.. and not the Evista daily... or the Prozac... or the fish oil.... so I'm not doing myself any favors.. but quite frankly, it all overwhelms me.  I'm doing good to pop the two BA's a day.  I've just had a battery of labs run so we'll see where I'm headed...which I'm sure is disaster.  I do take a B-12 shot weekly, when I remember to.  I got more syringes yesterday. 

I need a keeper.

Janet