vitamins????

you know someone posted on the mainmessage board and its got me thinking..(OUCH ) ..thast why my head hurts..all kidding aside I am out almost 3 and a half years and for vitamins i only take a Centrum silver and a vitaminC to help prevent colds or when i get a cold it helps the suffering.. all my lab work has come back great no problems..my cholesteral has even dropped big time.. I try to get my vitamins from what i eat..i do eat vegetables, fruits besides my protien./..calcuim i eat alot of dairy products.. even when i first was out i only took a centrum vitamin thats it no other extra stuff..once in a while if i didnt get enough protien in i had a protien drink (in my first year) .. am i not the norm? i see so many people pop tons of vitamins and im getting paranoid..my docter told me that i only need 1 vitamin a day thats it because we cant absorb any more .. any feedback on this with anyone? JoAnn::

Immediately post-op, I did the double chewable vitamins routine. Nasty, but being the cheap sucker that I am, I went with them till they were gone. Also did the B-12 monthly injections for a year. Since then, I have diversified my diet and simplified my supplements. 1 multi a day and one subligual b-12. All labs are in the reference area. Since I stopped injecting B12, my labs are level. Before they were in the 1700 range, while now around 800 -850. My opinion is that we can survive with mimimal supplementation assuming that we have a diverse diet. Those *****ly upon shakes might consider doing more. Nowhere Man/PH/Jay

I too exist on a only a multi-vitamin (chewable gummy thing, it's like a piece of candy!) and B-12, just started with injections a few months ago. My iron levels, are crap and after 5 years of taking iron supplement the results have been only intense stomach pain in the middle of the night. I have always been on the anemic side, looking at iron infusion in the next few weeks. Other than the multi-vitamin, the B-12 injection and the prospect of an iron drip I am with you...normal levels, normal food, never lost my hair. As we have discussed so many times, we all come out of this thing with different needs, along with different results. No need for paranoia if your labs are cool...right? Karen

Joann--Here's the scoop...I take the following: 1. two Solgar VM-75 multi vitamin capsules daily. My surgeon recommends children's vitamins but I really like the quality of the Solgar capsules and they have added vitamins 2. calcium citrate 1500 mgs daily in three doses--twinlabs calcium citrate chewables--giant sweet tarts--my candy:wink: 3. B12 sublingual every other day My surgeon also suggests iron for all women who are still menustrating, but my iron has been really good and my solgar contain iron. I did, however, take iron prior to my plastics. Joann--here is my two cents--for the past couple years they have found that RNY patients experience deficencies in the B vitamins (especially B12) and calcium. Neither of those will show up in bloodwork and you will not know you have a problem until one is pretty far along. Your body will leach the calcium from your bones hence it won't show up in the blood tests. Have you had a dexa-scan recently? Calcium deficencies would show up there first. Please add some calcium citrate and B12-it is really important. At the ASBS conferences both of these have been discussed and lots of evidence showing the problems have been shown. I only know this because my surgeon upped their B12 recommendations after the conference in Boston 2 years ago.

I did leave out something. I do supplement calcium citrate. Regarding calcium, there is not a lab test that will tell you if one is experiencing bone density loss. The calcium in the blood stream is correct because it was 'borrowed' from your bones. Only a dexa-scan can get you close to an accurate state of affairs. Couple that with the normal post-menopauasal bone loss, and it is certainly is a matter that can not be ignored. Nowhere Man/PH/Jay

Jay--Are you post-menapausal? I'm not even post-menapausal and have bone loss and I do and have taken calcium daily since surgery. bummer!

Intact PTH tells you what's going on with calcium also. Darlene

I stand corrected. I read about it a bit. It is primarily used when serum calcium levels are already out of whack. Assuming a person was on the low side, would bone loss potentially be well advanced at that point? It could be extremely useful diagnostic tool if employed while a person's serum calcium was normal. Abnormalities in the PTH would then indicate that the person's so-called serum calcium levels are the expense of bone density and not from dietary intake. Do I understand this correctly? Nowhere Man/PH/Jay

I think if your labs are coming back ok - then you don't have to worry. I am only on 2 chewable vitamins and sublingual B-12 and a couple calcium per day. After 5 years my bloodwork comes back fine. I figure if my bloodwork shows I'm not lacking in anything, I must be absorbing all I need. Myrtle.

I was taking one of freaking everything for quite a while. Iron, Biotin, B12, Calcium Citrate, Centrum, Herbal anti-inflammatory = Zyflamend, something I read was good for me = Tonalin, plus prescrip nexium, kcl, and profen for sinuses. Too much, and recently my liver enzymes are slightly elevated, so my PCP said scrap it all except the citrical, multi vit, nexium, and kcl. Im stubborn I kept the biotin too (peace of mind for my hair, skin, and nails). Funny thing is my borderline low iron level went up after 2 mnths off the iron, my b12 of >800 is still >800...2 mtnhs later. Everyone is different, but definitley take the multi-vitamin, and the calcium citrate. I had a bone mineral density test done last month, 'cause I lost 1.5 inches in the last year, but it came back normal, my x-rays from chiro shows some compressing of my spine a bit, but since the BMD was normal the docs aren't worried about me being shorter or having Osteo....I see it down the line. You can not cure Osteo, you can not regain height, but you can strengthen your bones with exercise and supplements. If I was 5'8 and now I am 5'6 1/2 can I still use the 5'8 on the BMI calculator?! LOL I compromise and use 5'7. Michelle