Question:
I need some advice about One a day Vitamins and Calcium.

Let me start off by saying, I know everyone is different. And every doctor is different. I know I should ask my doctor the following question, but I would just like some advice about my One A Day Vitamins, Iron, and Calcium. What I am wondering is: My doctor told me last week to start on my One A day's, Citrical, and Iron, even though I am still pre-op. Today I went to Wal-Mart to see what I could find. The multi vitamin I picked is Spring Valley Women's One Daily Multivitamin with Calcium, Iron, and Zinc. There is 450 mg of Calcium, and 18 mg of Iron. The directions say to take one pill once a day. So what I would like to know is, does this one vitamin have enough Iron and Calcium in it, or do I need to take extra Calcium and Iron. I did go ahead and buy a container of the Viactiv Calcium chews. They have 500 mg of Calcium in each chew. Is anyone else using these? Have these caused anyone to dump once they are post-op? It says there is 2 grams of sugar in each chew. Is this to much sugar? I would appriciate any advice anyone can give me. I plan on asking my doctor these same questions when I go in for my PAT's, but that won't be until late June. I would like to learn as much about my vitamins and any other supplements I may need to be taking. Thanks in advance everyone!    — Maria S (posted on April 30, 2003)

April 30, 2003
The chews are not good for post-ops. All the calcuim you mentioned is calcuim carbonate which is not readily absorbed by gastric bypass patients. It is a well known fact and has been researched to death, that we need calcuim citrate. Read your labels. What you have is probably all right for you now but after surgery, you will have to change. A good source of info on this is Michelle Curran who for years took calcuim carbonate and still has osteoporasis. Her web site is a wealth of info.www.vitalady.com
   — Delores S.

April 30, 2003
I have to echo what Delores said. The calcium in Viactiv is not the right kind, although I know there is still considerable debate on the issue. I'm not really sure about the iron. You also didn't say what kind of calcium is in the multiple vitamin. I take a pre-natal that my surgeon prescribed and then 3 500 milligram Citrical pills every day. So far my labs have been just fine. I'm also scheduled to do a bone density test (Dexascan) in 2 more weeks, so I can make sure I'm getting enough calcium. The blood test for calcium doesn't really tell you what you need to know since your body will leech calcium from your bones to keep your blood levels up. Unfortunately by the time you know that your bones aren't getting enough of the right kind of calcium, the damage has already been done.
   — garw

April 30, 2003
Rosalinda- dump the chews and get real calcium citrate. You'll need 1500mg a day of this in addition to a multivitamin. Like the previous poster said, we need calcium citrate- better absorbed, and for us who have malabsorption issues, we need all we can get. What about B12? Has your doctor checked your levels. Many of us need to supplement with that as well- but you should with injections or sublingual tablets- pill form of it doesn't cut it. Goodluck to you! :-)
   — Lezlie Y.

April 30, 2003
Everyone has already screamed about the calcium. Your doc said CITRICAL, which shows us he knows about citrate vs carbonate. There are other brands that match the formula, however. Personally, I think 2 multis are better. 1 for normies, 1 to malabsorb. I don't count either the iron or calcium in my multis. With RNY, you lose 8 elements, and those are what you'll need to supplement. Protein, iron, calcium. A, D, E, zinc & B12. Over & above the multis. The iron is taken WITH vit C, but not with other vites, minerals or meds, and not with caffeine or dairy--alone together for at least an hour.
   — vitalady