Question:
I take a vitamin in softgel form. How does that get digested, if at all?

WARNING - GROSS STUFF AHEAD! ---I finally found what I feel is a really good formula multi vitamin/mineral. They are from Puritan's Pride called Mega Vita Gel and they are in softgel form. They ARE kind of huge but you only need to take 2 a day and at 8 months post-op (rny), I don't have too much of a problem getting them down now. Does anyone else take these? Anyway, I was wondering if that outer shell gets broken down so the contents can get into my system. The shell feels kind of thick. I understand that there is very little acid remaining in the new pouch and isn't it the stomach acid that breaks down stuff like this? I tried to see if I could see a pill in my BM (sorry-gross) but I didn't see anything. The only thing weird that happened was that I went without my normally on schedual morning BM for a day. And it was darker and not as loose as usual. I guess it was just my body adjusting to the new pill. ONE MORE ? - If post-ops are supposed to chew everything to liquid before swallowing it, the what about vitamins and medicines which are swallowed whole? Wouldn't the ones that are hard to break down get stuck in the stoma? Or does the pill remain in the pouch until it is broken down completely? Sorry for the gross stuff. I feel really embarrased talking about that stuff.    — lalasmommy (posted on February 2, 2002)

February 2, 2002
I'm no doctor, but I do know that stomach acid is a very strong acid. It doesn't have a problem breaking down a pill just because it has a coating. Besides, a pills outer coating is made of material that is meant to be desolved. How about you try an experament. Put one of your pills in hot water. It is softer? If so, imagine how soft it get when it hits acid. If you are still concerned, ask a doctor. Good luck to you.
   — [Anonymous]

February 2, 2002
Put the vitamin in a glass of water and see how long it takes to dissolve. You do not have any stomach acid that is generated in your new pouch (one reason for chewing things to death). Your saliva helps to provide liquid but isn't as acidic as the acid your old stomach generates. You still get some stomach acid once the vitamin hits the common channel though. But if the vitamin takes longer than 10 minutes to begin to dissolve, I just assume that it is passing right through. By the way, the hard/dark BMs are caused by the iron in the vite. Good luck and God Bless!
   — Kimberly L.

February 3, 2002
I remember reading about how to tell if a calcium supplement was the right one to take and I think it would be similar. Anyway, it said to put the pill in a small glass of vinegar. If the pill disolved in 30 minutes or less, it would be OK. You might to try that. I think they use vinegar because it is more acidic than water, so more like it would disolve in your stomach.
   — garw

February 3, 2002
It wouldn't be the "shell" that might be the problem. Crack one open & see if it dissipates in water. Does it SAY water soluble? If it is oil inside, you're not getting much out of it. Vitamins & minerals are designed to dissolve quickly. My tablets dissove in water, but the caps don't. In fact, I watched one for 5 HOURS in water--looked like a huge piece of pasta! Scared me to death! BUT I put the cap in my mouth & it dissolved in less than 4 MINUTES in saliva. (ewww, good test, but I don't recommend it!) So, in theory, your salive & water should be enough to break down normal tablets & caps. Eventually, all pills should pass through a normal working stoma, because they are either dissolved or partially dissolved by the time they get that far.
   — vitalady