Question:
I took my vitamins two hours after dinner and woke up sick!

Hi, I took my multi, potassium, and calcium vitamins two hours after dinner last night and woke up at 1 AM with intense stomach pain and dry heaves. I am ok today, my stomach is tender and I am eating soft food. I am worried about taking today's vitamins though.    — natjemison (posted on July 7, 2003)

July 7, 2003
What type of viatmins are you taking? We were required to use only chewables until 9 weeks after surgery. Also, all vitamins are different. Some can be taken with others, some can not.
   — M B.

July 7, 2003
Nat: Just a word of advice. Per my nutritionist I am not to take the multi-vitamin and the calcium together. It seems that the two counteract each other. I take the calcium in the am, with milk and take the vitamin in the afternoon. Later I take the remaining calcium. This has worked pretty well for me. That way I am not taking the medicine on an empty stomach. I hope this helps.
   — Rhonda V.

July 7, 2003
I always eat at least a bite of something before swallowing any pills. I just have this vision of that big pill going straight down to my stoma and plugging it! LOL Also, I have noticed that if I lay down right after I take pills it seems to feel like they back up in my throat. Maybe if you take them a bit before you lay down it wouldn't be a problem. The previous poster is correct . . . You can't take calcium with iron and no more than 500 mg of calcium at a time. So you'd need to break them up anyway. But if I had to put money on it, I'd bet that it was your multivit that caused the problem. Iron can be very irritating to your stomach (ask anyone who's had to take it while pregnant!) and if you laid down after taking it, it may have upset the lining of your pouch. Try eating something first, waiting before you lay down, and splitting up your doses. Chances are you won't have any more problems!
   — ctyst

July 7, 2003
Probably was stuck. Take them one at a time and find out from a pharmacist which you can chew/crush/open etc. I always take my calcium seperate from the multi-vits for better absorbancy. Good Luck!
   — ZZ S.