Question:
When can you swallow pills?

Hi, everyone. I am 10 weeks post-op RNY and I ran out of my chewable Centrum the other day. I'm strapped for cash until I go back to work, so I have been taking my mom's multi-vitamin for the past few days. They are pretty large, smelly, and not easy to swallow. (I hate swallowing pills to begin with). Is it ok that I am taking "solid" pills at 10 weeks? Should I still be doing the chewables? Thanks.    — Kelly C. (posted on August 13, 2002)

August 13, 2002
A good vite will dissolve or at least get mooshy before it hits the stoma. It doesn't have to be expensive, only "right". I was swallowing by 4 weeks, but only took me that long because I was scared in my head.
   — vitalady

August 13, 2002
Surgeons all have slightly different approaches to after-care. We were started on Percocet tablets for pain the day after our lap RNY surgeries (four of us)...the size of an aspirin tablet....and were told to resume our previous medications....uncut and uncrushed....when we were discharged from the hospital on Day Two. Our surgeon does prescribe chewable vitamins with iron for the first 3 weeks, then we were told to change to any multivitamin with iron of our choice. We never had any problems at all. Good luck!
   — Diana T.

August 13, 2002
I started swallowing pills at about 4 weeks, and have had NO trouble what so ever and some of them are pretty large.
   — Lynda T.

August 13, 2002
I started swallowing my vitamins just a couple of days ago. (I am 9weeks out). I got to where I could not stand the aftertaste of the iron when I chewed them. My doctor does not recommend swallowing pills yet - I took it upon myself to try it. I was scared to death the first 30min or so after swallowing, but so far have not had a problem so it must be ok.
   — Pam W.

August 14, 2002
I started swollowing small pills at about 1 month post op, I am now three months and I can swallow most of them with no problems.
   — Linda A.

August 14, 2002
The question is not when can you swallow, but really how much are you absorbing...any large pills/vitamins are harder to absorb after WLS. any coated pills/or vitamins are also harder to absorb. liquid, chewables, Capsules, gelcaps and small non-coated vitamins are your best options.
   — SARose61

August 14, 2002
My dr has a test for pills. Take the pill and drop into 4 oz of room temp water. If it dissolves within 20 min or so it will dissolve in the pouch. Some of those coated pills sit for hours! Also time released aren't good. I take all pills and have been doing fine. Good luck
   — Becky K.

August 14, 2002
I am a registered nurse and have been researching nutritional supplementation for over 5 years. The following is my opinion regarding different forms of vitamins. Tablets- waste of money, very little to no absorption. Chewables- In my opinion still a waste of money, a little better absorption than tablets. Liquids- Even better absorption than chewables but many brands taste awful. Liquid "Isotonix"- This brand is the "Cadillac" of nutritional supplements. "Isotonix" brand provides both value and taste. There is no doubting whether it will be absorbed because it is already in a predigested form. The body does NOT have to break it down because the manufacturer has already done that!! Keep in mind that NOTHING can be absorbed UNLESS it's in an ISOTONIC state (extremely important to know). "Isotonix" brand vitamins are sold in powder form, and ingested in liquid form after adding water. They are already in an isotonic state. They have a pleasant taste, and you can expect around 90% absorption within 5 minutes!! I recently spoke with a man who pumps septic tanks for a living (one job I wouldn't want). He said he pumps loads of vitamins out of septic tanks everyday, some of them still have the brand names on the tablets yet!!! Gross but very true. I"ll keep taking my "Isotonix"! For more info check out the following website: pattischmoldt.unfranchise.com You are welcome to email me privately if you wish at: [email protected]
   — Patti S.