Vitamins - DO NOT TAKE

Vites are pretty much the same for me, although I do calcium three times a day in the form of a total bone supplement. And vitamin D.

I started out taking bariatric vitamins, but that pretty much sucked as they're too expensive and are horse pills. One a Day makes a women's "petite" vitamin pill that is not petite, but a reasonable size. Two of them meet the requirements my dietition provided. Additionally, I take calcium citrate 3x daily and not along with the multivitamins as the calcium can inhibit absorption of the vitamins.

I find that it's really a case of getting in the habit of taking them. I make sure I have them lying around places so I don't forget. I keep bottles by my desk in my home office and in my kitchen in plain sight. If you need help keeping on track, there are apps that can help, or you can simply set an alarm on your phone.

Suppose I should get a panel ran. Everything was normal during my checkups through a year and then I started eating more so I turned back to that stereotypical person who goes to the dr when the are about to die. I was low on vitamin D, mostly a combination of it being absorbed by fat and living indoors in MN - not VSG related.

Yes you need to take your vitamins & you are jeopardizing your health if you don't. Don't assume that because we don't have a "malabsorption" surgery that some doesn't occur. I speak specifically on the fact that due to our sleeve we don't make as much acid anymore so sometimes we don't get all we need from protein & our iron levels, specifically ferritin, can go down.

Also certain vitamins might not be absorbed as well as it used to be or maybe you absorb too much. You won't know this right away, it builds up over time, which is why you must get labs done, keep copies, track your trends & keep taking your vitamins & adjust as needed.

As rhey have said, post-bariatric labs are different from regular labs. Are they taking several vials of blood each time? Some physicians don't even know the recommended panels for post WLS. Are you, yourself, looking at the results? My doctors office emails me a copy so that I can keep it and monitor. It doesn't take any time at all.

Swallowing a multivitamin everyday is MINIMUM. Many people who have never had surgery take one as part of their daily routine. Grab some $5 ones from Wal-Mart and they last for several months. You can get calcium citrate chews from GNC or online that are caramel or fruity like starbursts. It's sort of like a treat. Julie posted a list of updated recommendations from the ASMBS on the General page, I would look it over and talk with your doctor maybe.

I take all my supplements (iron, MV, SL B complex, calcium citrate every other day) religiously, and my B1/B6 were still slightly low on my last labs. By the time you notice a problem, there will already be something wrong. If you make it a routine, it's easy. Take them right when you get up or even right before bed.

:-)

Are you advising people not to take vitamins?

NO I was simply saying I dont take them...

Ah. Your subject line comes across as though you are advising people not to take vitamins because not taking them has "worked" for you.

Here's the thing: when you go into surgery your body has a good store of nutrients in cells and bones because we've been eating like it's going out of style for years, and most of us have pretty good labs pre-op, although some do have some deficiencies. After surgery, we're on a a very low calorie diet, or VLCD, so the amount of nutrients we're getting is way less. Your body will use up those stores over a year or two, and you'll feel o****il you don't. And when you don't, you're in trouble. With the sleeve you don't have a malabsorption problem, but your still essentially on a VLCD for the rest of your life (unless you decide to overeat and regain weight) so that's why the supplements are necessary. It's the deal we made with ourselves deciding to get the surgery. For the rest of our lives we're not eating enough to get all the micros we need, so we must take supplements.

I had my VSG in June of 2015. I had my pre-op blood panel run yesterday. Turns out that my potassium was recently 2.5, and my protein was low despite having 80-120g of protein intake a day. I also had low Vitamin D - mine was 15. They want mine to be over 30 at least. And, I take bariatric vitamins daily, as well as dry vitamin D3. I must now supplement extra as a result on top of the already huge bariatric vitamin numbers and 5k of D alone that I take.

Many disorders can cause vitamin deficiencies. I'd argue all adults should get full panels run once a year even if they don't have WLS, because you can catch many illnesses preventatively doing so. Plus, the typical American diet is crap.

Also, lab ranges are theoretical averages made by looking at thousands (possibly hundreds of thousands) of lab values. So, for one person, a vitamin D reading of, say, 28 might actually be too low. Low B vitamins can cause all sorts of horrible neurological side effects. Low vitamin A can cause you to slowly lose eye sight. Low D can cause osteoporosis.

Supplementing is vital.

Moral of the story? Always take your vitamins and have them religiously checked yearly, or bi-yearly at minimum. Mine get checked 3x a year due to autoimmune stuff, and they might never have caught it otherwise.

And, make sure PTH and Ferritin get checked. While it's mandatory (IMO) for RNY and DS patients, you should get them checked occasionally if not every year to establish a baseline to compare future readings to. Most doctors won't order these out of hand.