I think I've messed up, but am trying to fix it.

I am seven weeks post-op.  I had a tough time with things.  My dad passed away the day after my surgery.  My surgery was more extensive as it was a revision and I simply felt like crap all the time.  About a week and a half ago I decided that I was tired of taking all the vitamins.  The big chewables are nasty.  I thought it wouldn't be a big deal.  For the last four or five days I've felt like death warmed over.  My hubby made me promise to start the vitamins back up today.  My weight loss has finally kicked in and I'm down 29 pounds. 

I was just wondering if there are others who quit taking the vitamins and realized that they were feeling bad so you started them back up, and then starting feeling better.  I guess I'm looking for hope that as nasty as these vitamins are, that they are worth it. 

Thanks!

Can't you take vitamins in tablet or capsule form that you swallow whole?  I had my revision surgery to RNY and was swallowing whole pills before I left the hospital.  I was never made to use chewable vitamins.  There really is no reason why you can't take regular vitamins unless you have trouble swallowing pills.  If you are worried about them getting stuck, swallow them one at a time (not a whole hand full at once).

They wanted me on the chewable vitamins for the first 8 weeks.  My hubby bought me women's multi vitamins yesterday.  Even having cut it in half I almost didn't get it down because it was so big.  What vitamins do you take, if you don't mind me asking?

I am almost 2.5 years out and I do Bariatric chews regularly. Celebrate tastes the best for me. I only recently added B1 capsules. My b12 is under the tongue quick melts. I add cayenne pepper for vitamin "A" boost, cause at 6 month I was low, and it was the only thing I changed. At year 2, I was only low on "D, so I added 5000 iu chews from rainbow light for 3 months, and now my stats are all where they should be. Please take your vitamins because I have read sad stories of people who decided not to and they video posted the regrets and telling of blood transfusions and permanent nerve damage as a result. You can check for the daily requirements for (google) post op bariatric people, since the requirements are different than people who have not had WLS.

Which vitamins are you taking hon?  Are they the bariatric advantage multi vitamins?  If so, they have different flavors, did you try all the flavors?  I will say that some days I have a hard time with mine as well.  What I do is use a mortar and pestle and grind it up and mix it into a spoonful of yogurt.  It helps so much.  My daily intake is:

Breakfast: 1 BA Multi chewable, 1 calcium chocolate chew, 1 folic acid, 1 b complex drops
Lunch: 1 BA multi chewable, 1 calcium chew
Dinner: 1 BA multi chewable, 1 calcium chew, 1 b complex drops

I take it all with my food so its easier to get the flavor out of my mouth, and it doesn't sit on my stomach raw.  And yes, I took a week off from taking the vitamins cause I couldn't keep anything down and I was just avoiding putting anything in my mouth.  Since I started taking them again I have noticed more energy, and my brain fog is gone, and I seem to be able to do more before my pain increases badly and I shut down.  So definitely get back on the vitamins.  break them up across the day and just make it part of your day.  You are with it for the rest of your life.  Not taking your vitamins can leave you severely unsupported and can cause many problems.  Make sure you are going into your doctor for regular blood tests to check your levels.  your brain and organs need certain things to keep running.  you need iron, you need calcium, you need folic acid, you need the B vitamins.  we used to get all of these from eating.  But we don't absorb our food the same way anymore.

About the chewables vs a regular pill, the regular pills are not absorbed as easily, and most doctors want them to be either in liquid or chewed form so they can be absorbed as much as possible while making its short journey through out digestive system.  There are some patches on the market but people are still testing them to see if they do the job, and you most likely do not want to start those vitamins while low on things.  You will want to take your vitamins and get your levels up and healthy before making a change.

Bariatric Advantage vitamins are formulated specifically for bariatric patients.  They are chewable and come in a lot of flavors.  You might want to check those out.

Solid, non-chewable vitamins actually don't absorb any less easily than chewable or liquid.  Surgeons *****commend chewables (or liquids) at first generally do so because they are concerned about potential problems with pills getting stuck while the stoma is swollen. 

Lora

I was told to not take my MultiVitamins and calcium together because they cancel each other out, have you heard this too??

Iron and calcium can not be taken together. If your multi contains iron, and you are taking it with calcium, you are not getting the benefit of the iron, but you are getting the rest of the vitamins in your multi. Iron and calcium need to be taken separately, over two hours apart from each other.

Calcium stops absorption of iron, but a multi and calcium at the same time is fine. Vitamin C helps iron absorption, so you should take extra C with your iron, two hours apart from calcium.