Vitamins

 My OB wants me to only take my calcium citrate and my prenatal vitamins. Is that enough? She said my other multi vitamins is to much on top of it all. Please let me know what your Dr's have you on??

Thanks
Jess

My surgeon and OB have me on just the pre-natal no multi-vitamin. I also take B12, calcium, folic acid too.

Hope this helps!

Liz

I am on prenatal and calcium only - they said the multi-vitamin would be too much as well.

This is what I take daily:

2 multi vits
1 prenatal  vit
1 sub. b-12

HTH

Ash :)

A prenatal vitamin is basically a multi-vitamin with some extra stuff. Taking a multi vitamin top of that is redundant and you also end up increasing how much vitamin A you're getting, which isn't a good idea (you should not exceed 10,00 IU of vit A a day).
As a doctor once told me: all mega-doses of vitamins gives you is expensive pee.

I'm going to be the voice of dissent -- these OB's are not experts at WLS patients, nor have they read the ASMBS literature that recommends that all RNY and DS patients get 2x the adult multivite dose a day.

What I can tell you is this -- the docs are overly-concerned about the amount of Vitamin A you would be getting from two multivites.  What they don't realize (and why, I have no effin clue seeing as *I* can see it with my limited research, but they don't...?) is that 1) we malabsorb the fat-soluble vites unless they are in a water-miscible form (And yes, A is one of those vites), and 2) Vitamin A is ONLY toxic, and this includes to a fetus as well, when it is taken in one of the retinol forms (retinyl palmitate or retinyl acetate) -- you could DRINK BetaCarotene 24 hr a day, 365 days a week and the worst thing that would happen is that you'd turn BRIGHT FREAKING TRAFFIC CONE ORANGE.  Err, sorry, just driving home a point.

The point is this -- most multivites and prenates use a majority of their Vitamin A source as Beta-Carotene for this reason.  7 units of BC turn into 1 unit of Vitamin A -- which makes it almost impossible to overdose on, and makes it safe for unborn babies.


Additionally, your body will need higher doses of calcium (2000mg of citrate), iron (yes, even in addition to that in the prenate), and ALL of the B-vites.  I'd also say D as well, but that's another one of those "touchy fat vitamins" that make docs go all aquiver.

And since you asked, I took the following for my pregnancies --

Kaitlin -
2 centrums, 1000mg calcium, 800mcg folate, 1000mcg b-12 (every 2 days) -- labs PLUMMETED and so my b-12 went to every day, my calcium to 1200mg per day, and iron out the wazoo.

Daniel --
2 centrums, 1000mcg b-12 every day, 1mg (yes, MG, not mcg) folate, 1 bcomplex, 1500mg calcium citrate (and my bones suffered), and 300mg of iron


Every 8 weeks minimum, you need blood draws:
0,25(OH)D
hct
hgb
ferritin
b1
folate
b12

So let me ask you this.  I take a Dry A as well as a Dry D from Vitalady.  The A is palmitate.  I have historically had trouble maintaining my A levels.  I just had labs run a week ago - still waiting on my A & D results so I haven't changed my intake just yet.

What's your educated guess on continuing the A?  As a DSer you know I have even more issue with this.

And as to the rest, I'm taking a multi, and a pre natal, and extra calcium & folic.  All that malabsorption - I'm taking NO chances.

Sharon

Yeah, you probably take her 25k A palmitate -- I take it, too.

My best, but completely uneducated guess is this -- that if your levels are crap, not enough is going to get to the baby to be an issue.  Course, when we start looking at fetal medicine, all bets are off as baby will take and take and take and leave mama high and dry.. but I'd *think* that the body will try and restore your own levels before moving on.

And iron is why I think this.  Confuzzled?  Yeah, thought so.  Lemme explain.

Iron is toxic to children -- in fact, it's toxic to everyone in high doses.  Kids DIE from eating too many flintstones.  I could get off my ass and get the actual amount that is required for toxicity, but I'm too lazy to do it.  But point is -- iron can be toxic to everyone if given in a high enough dose.

I cannot convieniently put out there how many mamas on this board have had iron transfusions while incubating their aliens -- I know Julie has, and I'm thinking that a number have.. and yet babies all baked well with no iron overload, even though mama got HUGE killer doses of iron.  Reason being that mama needed her iron fixed and the body put it there.


But of course, I no doctor, and I don't know for certain.  Not that I have much you could take if you tried to sue anyway...  oh, and I have a damned good lawyer ;-)

Well it makes sense actually.  I had it on my mind since I saw the OB nurse for the first time today and brought all my supplements in a big plastic bag.  You should have seen her face.  She couldn't even find the Dry A to put it into my record (shocking).

I got the sense after talking to her that I am going to have to be the one telling THEM what needs to be done.  Sigh.  I had my bariatric doc run my labs b/c I wasn't about to waste any time.  Little do they know who they are dealing with :)

I was actually pleased with the labs I've gotten back so far - protein is up, calcium is up.  Good times.  PTH still high, which annoys me.  Iron is good but I don't see Ferritin, which really ****** me off since I know it was on the orders.  I had an infusion last year when the ferritin was at 6.  I'm hoping not to repeat that ordeal again but I won't be surprised if it does.


And yeah - I know about that lawyer of yours I'm not messing with her LOL.

Thanks :)

It's great -- I can lord it over hubby that Sam loves me more ;-)

Yeah, I told MY OB what to do as well.  At least you won't have the glucola fight like RNYers have all the time.