For those that need a vitamin schedule

I see posts pretty often with people needing help with a vitamin schedule.

Here’s what I think is easiest:

Breakfast – multi, 500 mg calcium citrate, B12, B complex (if you take that), D3 (if you take that)

Lunch – 500 mg calcium citrate (take your D3 here too if you want to spread the pills out more and have less to take with breakfast)

Dinner – multi, 500 mg calcium citrate

Bedtime – iron, vitamin C

Yes, if you have iron in your multi and you take your multi with calcium, you won’t absorb that iron.  But if you’re taking iron at bedtime, that’s OK. 

Your other option would be a schedule like this, if you do have iron in your multi and you want to absorb it:

Breakfast – multi, B12, B complex (if you take that), D3 (if you take that)

Lunch – 500 mg calcium citrate (take your D3 here too if you want to spread the pills out more and have less to take with breakfast)

Snack - 500 mg calcium citrate

Dinner – multi, iron, vitamin C

Bedtime – 500 mg calcium citrate

These schedules have you taking the vitamins recommended by the ASMBS, along with taking vitamin C with your iron because then you’ll absorb that iron better.  If you pair your vitamins up with meals, it gets easier to remember them, I think.  And it doesn’t matter if you sleep late or go to bed early or whatever, because it’s not a certain time of day you take them, it’s just whenever you eat breakfast or go to bed.

 

You are a life saver ! I'm 2 weeks post op and I have been overwhelmed.

Do you know of a general amount to take with calcium iron vit D and vit. B 12 that will prevent deficiency? I plan on doing the celebrate chewables but since many brand vary so greatly I'm nervous. Like their multi has vit d and vit. B but I wonder if its enough to prevent deficiency in the majority of patients? My surgery is tomorrow bypass

The ASMBS says to take 1500-2000 mg calcium citrate a day, 54-63 mg iron if you menstruate and 36 mg iron if you don't menstruate, and 350-500 mg B12 if you use a sublingual.  It does seems like many post ops end up needing more B12 than that but that's a starting place.  You won't absorb the B12 in the Celebrate multi, you need a sublingual one that dissolves under your tongue.

For vitamin D, you will need more than what's in your multi but the amount depends on your vitamin D level.  Have you had yours tested yet?  Most post ops seem to need at least 10,000 IU D3 a day (yeah, I know that's a big dose) but a few need less and some need more.

I got my blood done on the 22nd for my history and physical but I dont know the results exactly. I will request a print out tomorrow. Why won't I absorb the b in my multi? I know I had low vit. D before cuz I've been on a supplement for it. Did you buy biotin and if so what brand? Most pill bottles are dark so I can't see how big they are. What do you take personally?

You won't absorb the B12 in your multi because you don't have enough intrinsic factor in your pouch, which you need to absorb B12 from supplements in your pouch.

I've never taken biotin.  For my multi, I use the store brand from Meijer right now.  It's like Centrum, only cheaper.

What about if you take thyroid meds?  I take mine in the morning then wait a few hours before taking my multi w/iron.

How many hours should we wait between thyroid and calcium and multi w/iron?  I read in another post that it should be 4 hrs between thyroid and calcium.  Could I potentially take my multi w/iron halfway between, so 2 hrs after thyroid and 2 hrs before calcium?

Thanks!
Jen

You  need two hours between the calcium and iron.  I'm not sure about the tyroid meds, though.  Maybe someone else that takes them knows, or you could ask your pharmacist.

I'm on hypothyroid med, Synthroid aka Levothyroxin, and best to take separate from all your other meds ( not just iron in all its forms whether heme or iron salts)...so take it at around 3 am when I wake up for a geriatric pee, swallow my thyroid med which needs to be on an empty stomach with plenty water, and at least 2 or 3 hours after a meal and at least 2 hours before the next ( which gives me a nanosecond to take it mid afternoon)...so I take it in the middle of the night and go back to sleep....

If you take heme iron, you can take it at anytime with all your foods and all your meds, but they suggest perhaps taking separate from your Levothyroxine (for slow thyroid) hence my advice to take Synthroid/Levothyroxine in the middle of the night...if possible and you will be safe, or take thyroid med at least 30 minutes before breakfast when you wake....

Jen, I take thyroid as well and this seems like a workable system.