Question:
Can someone please tell me exactly what vitamins and minerals we need?

I have been taking my two chewable vitamins but would like to know what else I need, how much I need daily, when to take them, can I get the calcium citrate in liquid and with or without food. I purchased b-12 sublinqual and calcium citrate pills but the pills are so big that even splitting them I have a huge amount to take. This has probably been asked before but I would like to know exactly what I need and the amounts. Thanks for the support!    — Stephanie W. (posted on December 27, 2004)

December 27, 2004
Hi Stephanie, I take my Women's One a Day multivitamin, B-12 sublingual, and 500 mg of Calcium Citrate in the morning around 7:00. At noon I take 1500mcg of Biotin, and Ferocon (for iron, I'm premenstrual). Around 4:00 in the afternoon I take another 500 mg of Calcium Citrate and then again at bedtime around 10:00 I take another 500 mg of Calcium Citrate. I also take Actigall twice a day for my gall bladder. I don't take any of my vitamins in the liquid form because that has never been a problem for me. However, I'm sure that there are vitamins that you can get that comes in a liquid form. Hope this helps.
   — Belle

December 27, 2004
If you 'hate' the citrate pills, try UpCalD - its truely an unflavored powder you just add to your liquids - you can order off the internet or from Vitalady. You also need the B12 sublinqual - if you cant stand the taste of these (LOL I think ive bought every vitamin there is) Solary brand is the best - hardly no taste to zero taste. You also need Iron seperate from your vitamin - tho its good to get 'extra' in your vitamin.. One a day essentials w/iron - is a SMALL pill like a M&M )has to say essentials tho) Be sure to take the citrate and your iron - SEPERATE.. not at the same time. The iron - you need fummurate... or one of the special irons you can get from bariatric advantage or vitalady. The iron at baratric advantage is a chewable - tastes great.. but a bit pricey. If your distal and already having low iron problems, Vitalady has an Iron made 'just for' distal people or anemic patients and its a med capsille and goes down easy. I take one multi with iron in the AM, my one Iron pill and one B12 (2500) and in the PM.. Had to cut back one bhe B12 in the evening cause my labs actually went high on B12 for the first time, I was doing shots before. I do 1500 cal during the day.
   — star .

December 27, 2004
Hello Stephanie, I have always had a problem taking large pills since my rny-open in April of 1999, they seemed to get stuck, so my doctor had me try liquid centrum and it's wonderful, I take a liquid iron also, because I tend to become anemic from time to time, BUT KEEP in MIND, YOU MUST take the liquid iron in some juice and through a STRAW, because it will stain your teeth if you do not use a straw. Hope this is helpful, your doctor will have to write you a prescription for the liquid iron. I am 5years 9months post-op and I am doing great.
   — johnlette H.

December 27, 2004
Have you spoke to your surgeon to see what he requires that you take? Every surgeon has different requirements. I take 1000 mg of B12 sublingual and I get them from Vitamin Express and it is a Cherry Chewable tablet. The Calcium tablets are rather large, but I can manage them split in half (barely)!
   — [Deactivated Member]

December 27, 2004
I am 17 months post-op, and now I take the Centrum A-Z multivitiam everyday, the B-12 sublingual twice a week, and Calcium Citrate twice daily. I also take a 500 mg vitiam C, which has helped slow down catching colds. But at first I took a flintstone chewable multivitiam, and the Centrum Chewable orange vitiam and two tums with calciam until I was able to swallow the calcium citrate. I would ask your doctor what is best for you. I know that the tums has calcium carbonate, but it did not hurt for the first three months post-op, better than getting those large calcium citrate pills stuck, and if you cut them in half, it feels like broken glass. After three months I had no problems swallowing. Good luck finding what is best for you.
   — cindy

December 28, 2004
I take chewable multi-vitamins from BariatricAdvantage.com; Tropical Oasis Liquid Calcium/Magnesium from Tropicalnutrition.com and Coromega (essential fatty acid). I take a liquid sublingual B-12 that has other B vitamins in it - I get it from GNC. The Cal/Mag really takes pretty good as does the Coromega. The Coromega is a pudding type in individual packets. You can get the Coromega at Vitacost.com. It cheaper there than anywhere else. All of these were recommended by my surgeon.
   — jnetk

December 29, 2004
For those of you having trouble with huge calcium pills I may have a solution. I buy Twinlab calcium citrate wafers from www.vitacost.com. They are large, "fizzy" type things that you can suck on or chew. They taste citrus-y and have 250 mg. of iron each. I take 2 & try to get the rest of my calcium from food. Here's the website I use: http://www.vitacost.com/store/products/productdescription.cfm?SKUNumber=027434010085&searchby=PN&SearchText=calcium%20citrate
   — squeejlueej