Good Morning. Why are vitamins so difficult?

Calcium is also my downfall, but I'm usually able to get in 1000mg.  I've switched my multi to the morning so I can take the last Calcium at bedtime.  I drink two protein shakes each day plus eat swiss cheese, beans, greek yogurt, shrimp, etc... all day long with a fruit, veggie, & starch thrown in wherever convenient. 

So, the list of vits for me during the last 3 months has been:

Morning-
             Centrum x 2
             B-12 1000 mcg
             Biotin (sublingual) 1000 mcg
             D3 caps  12,000 IU
             Ester C w/bioflavinoids  500 mg
             Iron 28 mg w/Folic Acid 400 mcg
             Potassium choride 10 meq  (feet cramping)
             L-Lysine 1000 mg (Lysine keeps my fever blisters at bay, 
                 but the Nut said Hydrochoride can be harmful because we have too much
                 hydrochloric acid already.  Is this true?)

Afternoon - Calcium and a 2nd Potassium
Evening - Calcium providing I remember

What do you think of my combo Gina?  My 3 month post-op is coming up next week and, I'd prefer not to be chastised by my NUT or Bariatric Doctor.  :-)

It's time for me to order new vits and I'm going to see if I can do a 3 month VitaLady supply.  It's a one stop shop isn't it??  (Fingers crossed)

I think it's pretty good until you see your labs then you'll know what to tweak. Get a copy of your labs for yourself and start tracking them on a spreadsheet to watch for trends. You're using dry forms of A, D, E & K, yes? I think your D will be pretty good and I hope they test for vitamin A. I had trouble with A starting at 3 months and D as a pre-op.

--gina

D is the only one of those 4 you asked about that I am supplementing right now, and yes, it's a little bitty capsule of dry.

My doc is great about having my copies ready.  I thought we weren't supposed to put too much stock in the 3 month labs...  either way, I'll be asking your opinion when I have them in hand. 

Thanks

3 month labs are a little iffy but you can see trends starting. My doc reacted pretty quickly when he saw the A going down from pre-op to 3 month labs, so I guess he was worried because A is usually a fat soluble vitamin and he knows we have trouble building those back up post-op.

Gina, when there's a difference between dry and tender (in oil) and whether or not a vitamin is absorbed, I'm confused why there are so many items called Tender on the vitalady list, and one even says it's a Tender Dry.    I would have thought Tender would be out of the question for us.   And if Tender is supposed to mean it's gentle rather than being a gelcap in oil, why use a misleading term like that?  I was starting to place an order and didn't get past Vitamin A.  LOL

http://www.livestrong.com/article/322278-vitamins-dry-vs-tender/

And I saw a reference for bundle ordering based on surgery, and then RNY wasn't there...

And the prices on the product list are different than on your .pdf file of recommendations...

And is somebody home to take my order anyway, since they are on tour??

and... and... and...  

Please   

Thx Gina

Tender is just Vitalady's label. All her products are dry and the best quality. BioTech Pharm makes most of her products and they put her label on them, she can reduce the prices that way. She and her husband are distal RNYrs and take her products themselves, so you can trust that they're the right stuff. She is very thrifty and smart, so she has shopped and tested every product on herself. Using her research and her and her hubby's labs, plus labs of hundreds, if not thousands, of WLS patients over the years, she makes sure these products work for WLS patients. Sorry, I sound like an advertisement. lol

My .pdf lists are from last year and I haven't updated them for this year. I need to do that but they didn't ask me to do it with Don's accident and all, I'm sure it just slipped their minds. Anyway, you can go by the .pdf for shopping but the website will have the up to date prices.

The bulk order is for the DS and distal RNY. Her folks worked very hard this past year to get that up and running on the site. Stay tuned, if it works, they'll put the RNY up there too. She has about 6 employees that work the orders, shipping and warehouse, so call and they'll talk you through the process.  

I had no idea tender was another term for oil-based. Boy! That is misleading, isn't it?

--g

Thanks for the clarifications and information Gina!  I appreciate ya!

... and yea... using "Tender" vits most definitely threw me off.  LOL

I follow the vitalady plan, and I put my vitamin regimin in two pill ocntainers, one with morning and evening sections for each day, and one with just one section for each day. 

I admit to regular failure.  I get in my morning vits probably 6 days out of 7.  I get my evening regimen probably 4 days out of 7.  I take the singles half the time. 

But I'm getting better every week.

I know you're organized and you'll figure out a way to get this down to a science.

--gina

DH and I were talking about this the other day and I was explaining to him that before I had WLS I researched very carefully and knew what the vitamin requirement was and I made sure I would be able to do this for the rest of my life.  It can be expensive and I feel everyone should be aware of this prior to surgery.  I don't think alot of people understand this.  I think some think WLS and they are fixed for life!!!

It is sad that people are not told the importance of vitamins and the results of not taking them - even death.

I get plenty of protein everyday because I love my protein drinks. 

I didn't want to have WLS and then get so sick I couldn't enjoy the weight loss!!

Linda