what vitamins do you take

I am almost four years out and I take a lot.  I monitor my blood levels for a number of things (see my list of suggested lab work to get an idea of what I test for at www.acdlady.com/WLS_Labtests just add copper to that list as it is a new deficiency that they are discovering in RNY post-ops) Calcium Citrate - 2500 to 3000 mg daily in increments of 500 mg each Multi - Centrum Chewable - twice daily Iron Carbonyl (Vitalady's Tender Iron) 150 mg daily (middle of the night to keep away from my other supplements. Biotin - once daily Milk Thistle - 1500 mg daily (500 at a time) this is to help my liver enzymes Coromega - 1 or 2 packets daily - Emulsified fish oils - best absorbed by RNYers. Vitamin A - 75,000 IU daily in dry form Vitamin D - 5,000 IU daily in dry form and 50,000 IU once a week in dry form  Vitamin C - 1000 mg chewable with my iron Stress B complex - once daily B1 Thiamin - 200 mg twice daily Zinc - 50 mg 1 1/2 daily average  Magnesium Citrate - 1200 mg daily at bedtime - sometimes more Postassium - low dose OTC once daily Vitamin E - dry form 400 IU daily Cranberry - twice daily for my kidneys/urinary tract B12 sublingual - 2 daily 1000 mcg of methylcobalamin form Whey protein - 90+ grams a day in a shake, 30 grams at a time Some of my supplements can be toxic if too much is taken, but most RNYers don't have that particular problem. I do monitor them via blood work and adjust my intact up or down depending on lab results.  This would be specifically for Iron (I watch Ferritin levels), E, D, A.  There are a number of things that they are discovering that RNY post-ops are deficient in and I am sure that more will join the list over time.  I am extremely compliant about my supplements and have been from day one.  I rarely miss a round of supplements. Hope this helps.

I'm wondering also cause I am always so tired I did have surgery about 10 weeks ago and i havent been able to pick myself back up, its driving me crazy(tired of being tired) I was thinking it was low iron and my prim physician told me to take my multi 2 times a day instead of taking iron but i have heard the calcium in the multi effects the iron, so shouldnt  I just take an iron supplement, she did test my iron just waiting for the results. forgot to mention i take vit c to help absorb the iron. Im thinking 2 multi and start a iron. thanks everyone.

I hope she tested your Ferritin levels as well.  Most don't unfortunately.   Yes, Iron and Calcium do not belong together.  The calcium wil linterfere with the iron absorption.  I take my iron in the middle of the night with chewable C for best absorption and have successfully brought my very very low ferritin up to a nice level.  I use Tender Iron from Vitalady, it is iron carbonyl and my body responds to it well.  Many people find it the best for them, but not all absorb oral supplements or that particular type of iron.  I take 150 mg daily and monitor my Ferritin levels every 3 months.  You pretty much want to keep just about everything except C away from Iron for best absorption results. 

Hiya! Here's what I take (18 months out): Morning: 2 Calcium Citrate (Wal-Mart version of Citrical) - 630 mgs Lunch: 1 Ferro Sequel Iron - 65 mgs, 1 chewable vitamin C - 500 mgs (to help the iron absorb), 1 Colace (stool softener to counteract the constipation caused from the Iron), 1 multivitamin (Wal-Mart brand of Centrum for Women), and 1 B12 - 1000 mgs Afternoon: 2 Calcium Citrate (Wal-Mart version of Citrical) - 630 mgs I have always understood that the calcium citrate should be taken by itself to ensure proper absorption and that I should wait at least two hours before taking anything else. This is the same regimen that I've been taking since surgery. I have my labs checked every six months and thus far they've been great.  Good luck!

Did you say "a" chewable and "a" calcium? Not 2 chewables and a bunch of calcium? You didn't mention what you take for A, D, E, zinc, B12, B1, iron..........?

Are you addressing those or hoping that your multi covers it all?

I take:
2 multi (I prefer adult swallow type)
300mg Tender iron + vit C
more than 4000mg calcium citrate
30k IU of vit D daily + 50k IU twice/wk
10k IU of vit A weekly
200mg zinc
1600 IU E
(A, D, E are all dry form, final form)
1000mg mag oxie
800 mg mag citrate
B12 weekly shot
2 mg (and I don't mean mcg) of folic
1000mg milk thistle
180g protein in supplement

then I take a bunch of misc stuff most ppl don't care about, like cranberry, 5-htp, B-5 (pantothenic acid), melatonin and so on.

Im was taking one multivitamin a day upped it to two, one vit c, and calcium, I do my b-12 shots every 4-5 weeks  around 70-80 g of protein from food I asked cause I've been feeling so tired, i had surgery 3 months ago and I would think i'd be back to feeling normal or atleast have more energy, waiting for my anemia results, my vit A & D were a little low and asked to get rechecked but this new doctor said she'd check my D but they dont check A there even though I told her it was low before, well just trying to get my energy back. 

Well, I'm wayyyyyyyyyy ou there in time, and have worked with literally thousands of ppl, so my view tends to be a little skewed toward "what really happens" vs what "my" doc said, since I don't always agree 100%.

I don't count protein from food, never have, so I don't count it in others. Your blood level of protein might be just fine, but you might not FEEL fine. It can take months to strip all the protein from your muscles/sytem before any drop appears in your blood. Even so, a small drop in levels may translate to feeling REALLY bad, so it's all subjective to you.

If your D was "a little low", that means it was WAY low and hopefully you are addressing it with dry form vit D3, 5,000 or more per day? Ditto with A, but it would be more like 10,000 per day. At least. We start our proximals on 10K of D and 25K of A, adjust as time and labs dictate.

And I'm guessing you're not taking iron? B12 is another one that might read ok, but you can feel bad with levels as high as 600 on paper. So, the idea is to keep your levels over 800 (newer studies) and so preclude either BEING low or FEELING low.

As I say in person, the lab range may be here < > (see my hands?), but MY range might be here < >, much tighter, since I go by the studies I read, the ppl I see and bottom line, how I FEEL.

A is one of the malabsorbed vites, so I hope they will check yours at least every 6 months. A = eyes, immune system and skin, to a degree. It's not like it's just "extra". It's important that it be in range.

I figured it may be easier for me to show you what I take pointing right to the link; Multi Vit & supp, these include everything but I add extra Omega 3, 6 and 9 as well as calcium and co q 10. ; http://procapslabs.com/PCL/Pages/Products/PCLProductDetail.a spx?Women\'s-Elite-Life-Rx-Multivitamin Essential Amino Plus (8 daily); http://procapslabs.com/PCL/Pages/Products/PCLProductDetail.a spx?Essential-Amino-Plus Green Foods; http://procapslabs.com/PCL/Pages/Products/PCLProductDetail.a spx?Green-Foods-Complex Calcium-Magnesium Intensive Care (4 daily) 1600 with multi vit pack; http://procapslabs.com/PCL/Pages/Products/PCLProductDetail.a spx?Calcium-Magnesium-Intensive-Care-with-Phosphorus Healthy Hair, Nails and Skin; http://procapslabs.com/PCL/Pages/Products/PCLProductDetail.a spx?Hair-Skin-%26-Nails-with-EGCG Co Q 10-100mg (2 daily); http://procapslabs.com/PCL/Pages/Products/PCLProductDetail.a spx?Complete-Coenzyme-Q-10--100mg B12; http://procapslabs.com/PCL/Pages/Products/PCLProductDetail.a spx?Vitamin-B-12-Benefits I am also on B12 injections-1000mcg 2 times week, script. Lovaza which is a script for Omega's, I use to get procaplabs Omega until last month, but I am getting the Lovaza 1000 mg pharmacuetical strength now. 4000 mg daily and there is over 1000 in my daily vit pack. Insurance covers this Lovaza script. Heavy doses I know but these all the same preop except the Lovaza and we added one more  B12 injection about 3 months ago., Iron is a problem for me so I get infusions as needed and my insurance cover this as well. iFlora-Complete Probiotics-important for immune system for me anyway. After intense testing I had -0, zip none so my dr put me on 2 daily. 15 billion cells each cap. Last but not least is "Whey isolate"- 60 to 80 grams daily especially necessary before and after any surgical procedures.

This subject always baffles me because I don't understand why everyone KNOWS that bariatric patients have special nutritional needs, yet hardly anyone takes Bariatric vitamins!  What is up with that????  It just floors me!

I have read that those who DO take bariatric vitamins take Bariatric Advantage, but you have to take SIX a day verus the TWO a day that I take from Bariatric Supplement System.  I started out taking gummy vites right after surgery six years ago, and then graduated to Centrum chewables (what a yucky taste!) and for the past four years I've been taking the bariatric ones.  The coolest thing is that I hardly ever get sick anymore and I feel great most of the time and my blood work comes out normal, even when I THINK I have something wrong! 

I really recommend taking bariatric vitamins because we aren't normal people anymore and we can't expect normal results with normal vitamins....just my humble opinion......;)