what vites do we need?

Here's what the ASMBS says you should start with:

A multi with 100% of the RDA of most nutrients.  Take two a day.  Stay away from kids' vitamins and gummy vitamins, because those will not have what you need.  Even though Flintstones says “complete" on the bottle, they really are not complete.  They recommend a multi with iron.  If you take a multi with no iron, you’ll need additional iron at a separate time.  They say to start your multi as soon as you get home from the hospital.

1500-2000 mg calcium citrate.  Make sure it's citrate, not carbonate.  That means no Caltrate and no Viactiv.  They say you can wait up to one month to start your calcium – not that you should wait, just that you can.

18-27 mg iron for menstruating women, unless your labs show you need more.  (If you’re using a multi with no iron, that would mean you’d need at least 50 mg iron.)  We absorb carbonyl iron best.  Ferrous sulfate will also make you constipated.  They say to start your iron as soon as you get home from the hospital.

B12.  You can use a sublingual, 350-500 mcg per day, a patch once a week, nasal spray once a week, or shots once a month.  Unless your labs show you need more.  They say you can wait up to three months to start your B12 – not that you should wait, just that you can.

They say a B complex is optional.

Many people also need D3 so you should get your vitamin D level to find out if you do.  Don’t take the prescription vitamin D, because it’s D2 and in oil so we will absorb very little of it.

Thank you for posting this!  I'm sure a lot of people will find this post informative.  I really appreciate the time you take to educate us on vitamins. 

I wish all surgeons adhered to the ASMBS guidelines.  I think it would save a lot of people heartache and vitamin deficiencies in the long run.  

This is slightly OT, but do people are people that have had RNY more susceptible to dental problems down the road due to the nutritional deficiencies?  I ask because I've got horrible teeth and I worry that they will get worse down the road.  They got really bad during my first pregnancy due to not getting enough calcium. 

I wish they all adhered to the ASMBS guidelines too.

I'm not sure about the dental thing.  I've never seen any stats on it but I imagine if you don't make sure you get enough calcium, that would be the case.  Also, you need to make sure your vitamin D level is good (at least 80) or you won't absorb enough calcium, no matter how much you take.

They didn't check my vitamins until right after I had my daughter, but my Vitamin D was a 5.  It would make sense that I wasn't absorbing what little bit of vitamins I took then.  I was better about it during my 2nd pregnancy and my D levels were up near 70 at that point.  I just had them checked last week and they were 96 and that's with me taking 50,000 IU every other day.  I wish I would of known all of this back then.  It would of saved me a lot of pain and suffering with the dental issues and the horrible pain that comes with low D.

A 5?  Good grief!

Well, you're great now.  Keep up what you're doing.

Yeah I remember the doctor calling me telling me I had to come in NOW.  She said she had never seen a level that low in her life.  I didn't take my vitamins like I was supposed to during my first pregnancy and I was on bed rest the last few months so I never went outside.  I also didn't drink milk so there was really no vitamin D going into my system.  Now I still avoid the sun, but I supplement like crazy because I know what low D can do.  The pain was unreal.  

Thanks Kelly, from coming here I learned that my doc is wrong in still recommending Flintstones, so I take chewable centrum for now, looking at getting away from chewables next round though, just tired of them I guess.

I got tired of the chewables real fast, myself.

Hey what about the Tums and Flinstones?  Don't see the yummy gummi vites me kids like either.

What about the Tums and Flintstones?  Won't do you any good.