Vitiamins??

 Does anyone NOT TAKE their Vitamins and still have good labs?  I know that's not a good ides but I am having the hardest time taking these.  I was using Centrum Orange multi Vit then switched to Flintstones but they are sooo nasty that I don't want to take them.  I just ordered WELLESSE CALCIUM CITRATE LIQUID from Costco website maybe that will be better at least I can mix it with drink and only take 3 teaspoons 3x a day instead of all those pills. I'M SO STRESSED OUT ABOUT THESE VITAMINS..... 

I have been taking walmart brand adult gummy's they are ok. I had a difficult time with the chalky chewable ones.

 Alice3 does your Dr know your using gummys? If so what did they say about it??? I was told NOT to use gummys but I'm really thinking hard about it. Those pills are a killer just to big even when cut in half, and the chewable ones are just plain GROSS  I thought they would make them taste good since kids are suppose to be taking them, now I know why my daughter doesn't want them!

I showed the bottle to my nut and she said ok.

It DOES feel overwhelming at first.  So many vitamins/supplements, and then all the rules about when and how to take them, don't take X and Y together, take with food or without food, don't drink with food.

I promise -- it gets easier.  It gets better.  My vitamins and supplements are such a nonissue now!  It's like brushing my teeth; it's just something I do each day.

First, You MUST take your vitamins.  Not taking them is not an option.  You had this surgery to improve your health, not to get sick from vitamin deficiencies.

It's fine to try different combinations/brands/flavors to see what works best for you.  

For me, I can't take my multivitamin on an empty stomach.  At a minimum, I'll get nauseous.  At worst, I'll vomit.  So I take my multi with food, ALWAYS.

Don't take Flintstones.  Those are for kids, not bariatric patients.

I actually enjoy the Bariatric Advantage calcium chewy bites.  They taste like starburst to me, and they're a little treat :)    But I've taken Wellesse, and that's good, too.  (and less expensive.)

Hang in there, you'll find a system that works for you! 

 

 Jaded123,

My doc office said that the fLINTSTONS WERE (sorry for the caps) ok to take.  Did you doc say NOT to use that kind?

 Mine said it was okay, too.
 But after reading lots of posts here from long-timers, I've come to the belief that we need adult vitamins geared towards our particular needs.  

 You could pull up the websites for the Flintstones and compare them to one of the bariatric brands and see.  But be sure to compare everything -- including the trace elements.  

 

 I went and did the comparison.

 I won't go through and compare item by item, as I said, i'm no scientist :)

 However, the Bariatric Advantage vitamins have more A, D, Thiamin, Niacin, Biotin.  A ton more B12, however you'll be adding your own B12.  The Flintstones have iron; however they also have calcium, and the two will cancel each other out, so you're not able to use the calcium OR iron you get in the flinestones.

 The Flintstones don't have manganese, chromium, molybdenum, choline, bioflavenoids, inositol or vanadium.  They DO have phosphorous and iodine, which the BA don't.

 So do some research and come to your own conclusions :)

For a long time post-op i hardly ever took my vitamins other than a b12 shot once a month.. and my labs were perfect... although i started taking them the way i'm supposed to once i got the hang of all the other persccription med changes they put me through..

calcium citrate: try bariatric advantage chewy bites. its like minlaffy taffys. you chew them up. no weird vitamin taste at all. the raspberry flavor is my favorite. and i used flinstones at first too but i can't stand them so i'm just taking a regular pill one.

i'm temptd to try the oneaday womens i gues they have new gummy ones out. i'm 9 months out almost. i dont need the gummy ones. but a lot of the pills are huge. and i still have a hard time getting them all down without getting full on water.. haha.

it is a nightmare. you're not alone. but it'll get better when you're further out.

I use Bariatric Fusion chewables. I take four of them a day--two AM and two PM. They taste like iron with some berry-flavored sweetness. Pretty yucky but I deal with it because it's good for me. Good discipline practice, and I need the vitamins. They're specially formulated for bariatric patients so while I can afford them, that's what I'll use.

I did a bit of reading on other vitamins, looking for kids' vites for my extraordinarily picky eater (8yo son). They are not all they're cracked up to be and some of them have more crap than good stuff in them.

For me, I want EVERYthing I put into my stomach to count, and to be good for me and my weight loss plans. Of course there will come a time when I mess up. But this early out, I'm trying to do everything I can to set a firm foundation for the months and years to come. Undo as much of the bad behaviors and thought patterns now, while weight loss is supposed to be quickest and easiest, so that when I'm closer to goal or in maintenance, it'll be that much easier to keep living the new life I've given myself.

Okay, off the soapbox. I would think you could possibly crush your vitamins and mix them into a small cup with your shake. Maybe that would make them more palatable. I do that with my 3x daily reglan pills, which are VILE.