vitamins????

I take 2 solgar daily vitamin/minerals; my calcium (plus the TONS of eat I eat daily - every day); Gentle Iron (since my iron labs took a header, but are coming back up nicely); a vit C with the iron for absorption; and an occassional b-12 but not religiously.

Funny...at my last appointment, my surgeon and dietician told me to increase to 2 daily multi viamins because some of my labs were low/borderline. Go figure! How do we really know? I also take 4 calcium citrate, B12, Biotin and Potassium every day. If I don't take the potassium, I get terrible leg cramps in the middle of the night. It may be overkill, but I feel good, the numbers are good and so it works for me. I kind of subscribe to Karen's theory - if it works for you, go for it. But then I kind of like Lynda's theory too - you may not know until it's too late (therefore the B12, calcium, etc.) I don't want to rattle when I walk, but I don't want to wait until I've got a problem and it's too late to help either.

I take 2 multis a day ( onesource from Walmart) 4 citracal plus, must have vit D with the calcium in order to use it, I had been taking less since I eat a lot of dairy, but my dexa scan showed I had some bone loss, and while it is still normal in my spine, I have osetopenia, a precurser to osteoporosis in my hip. so I take the calcium in addition to my diet and actonel. 1 - 325 mg iron tab a day. I can only tolerate the ferrous sulfate. the others are hell on my digestive tract. I was taking 2 before I stopped mentruating. I take it with 1000 mg vit C. that helps it absorb better. when I was taking 2 irons I took 1 in the am with 500 mg C and repeated that in the pm. 1 - 400 IU vit E 1 ml liquid B comples from GNC my B-12 was in the normal range but had dropped significantly so I decided to be proactive and start on the B comples. Most of the pills made me feel like I found the liquid to have an ok taste, and it is readily absorbed and does not need the intrinsic factor to be utilized. I do not take iron and calcium at the same time as they each interfere with the absorption of the other. I totally agree on getting a dexa scan, My calcium levels were perfectly normal while I lost 10% of my bone density!!!! I had my first scan 1 year post op and it was normal, recommended repeat 2 years later and had quite a loss. Of course the weight bearing exercise is also key to maintaining bone mass and I have been good about that as well.

To answer this question, I first have to ask what labs are you having done to check the status of how well you are doing? An example is, I test: Vitamin B1, B6, D, E, zinc RBC, A, ferritin, , B12 (plus MMA - methylmalonic acid and Homocysteine), Magnesium RBC and several other items to check the total status of my body. In the past year I have watched my TSH levels rise (I track my lab trends in excel) and am now dealing with hypothyroid. So, a couple items out for labwork right now are copper and selenium in addition to the thyroid tests. Your doctor is full of bull that we can't absorb any more though. I have successfully brought up a very low Vitamin A level, I have successfully brought up low ferritin level (iron), I have successfully brought up a low magnesium and Vitamin D level. All of my success is because I added in the supplements until my body responded. I recheck every 4 months. I have to take 40,000 IU dry A, 1600 IU dry D to keep my levels up. I have to take 300 mg iron carbonyl to keep my ferritin levels up. I have to take 2000 mcg methylcobalamin to keep my B12 levels up. These are all daily amounts. Sandy

The following is my stock vitamin post. However, I left off that to my current regimen, I have added Omega 3 Flax capsules. They are a natural form of the Omegas that we need instead of the fish source. [Thanks Tooter!] Also, I have added some Chromium Picolinate to kick the sweet cravings. My favorite liquid vitamin is Tropical Oasis Multivitamin/Mineral. You only need to drink a half ounce and it tastes like cranberry juice. It was easy on the newly operated tummy. You don't have to *order* it - you can go right to GNC and buy it, thereby saving all that shipping and handling. [BTW, Optisource are too huge and they are NOT that good a vitamin. I was surprised at the lack of nutrients in them, but surgeons get paid by the company to sell them. Also you have to chew 4 of those suckers a day]. I have tried GNC's chewable Solotron. They are lime flavored and have 23 vitamins and minerals. They don't taste bad and you take two per day. I have tried their Ultra Mega liquid and the problem with it is that you have to drink an entire ounce. You have no idea how huge an ounce can be til you have to choke down an ounce of that. The flavor was not too hot, either. I have purchased a jar of Centrum Chewables so I could report on them They have 22 vitamins and minerals. They taste like orange cream. They are not huge and you only have to take one a day [if you are normal. I would take one in the morning and one at night, given our malabsorption factor]. That's it for now! Good luck and God bless!

I am 4 years out from having open RNY and don't have a real vitamin issue. My surgeon told me and my brother both, to take Flintstone chewables and that is all we would need. My father died at 61 with the worst case of osteoporosis so I take calcium religously, whether I need it or not. I spent 6 hours in ER last week getting an IV of fluids for dehydration along with Potassium. Now if anyone knows how painful that is, then you know that I am taking my powdered potassium daily before I do anything else. Other than that, I am doing excellent with my levels. I do have an appt for a scan for bone density. But I would have had to watch this stuff whether I had the RNY or not. Carla