Question:
Vitamins, can you take them both at once?

My doctor says 2 multi vitamins a day, one in the AM and the other in the PM. Can you just take them both in the morning and be done with it? Is there a reason behind spliting them up like that? Thanks for your input.    — Billie M. (posted on November 3, 2001)

November 2, 2001
I would assume its because of the malabsorbtion issue. If you took 2 at the same time, the second one would be completly useless. I would stick with what your Dr. said, he/she knows best.
   — [Anonymous]

November 3, 2001
I will have to disagree with the previous poster in saying that one would not absorb if taken at the same time. Why wouldn't it absorb? One does not cancel the other one out. If you took two bites of the same food, do both bites absorb? Absolutely. I do not have an answer to the question. However, I would assume that taking the vitamins at different times are probably so that you don't get too much of something at once. Why can't we take a weeks worth in one day? Probably same reason. Too much at one time. Ask your doc and see what his reasoning is behind his instructions. I will also be interested in the answers that you get. Good luck.
   — [Anonymous]

November 3, 2001
I read somewhere where we only absorb about 40% of what we take in. Since there are so many different surgeries, I would imagine it is different for everyone. However, we don't absorb 100% and we know that. With that said, if you take 2 at the same time, of course your body is not going to choose one pill over the other. But it will only absorb a certain amount at a time. It would be useless, since the rest will be discarded. I split my doses up for this reason. My surgeon has never told me to do it, but I would rather be safe than sorry. Yes, it is a pain. But it's just something we should do. Same as with my calcium. I split that into 3 doses a day. I want to make sure I get as much of what I put in my body as I can. (With the exeption of calories) Hope this helps ya!
   — K T.

November 3, 2001
Hi. I took 2 multi-vits a day at the same time prior to surgery and found that I began to get diarrhea a lot. I stopped and it stopped. Sounds like a good question for your doc. Good luck and God Bless!
   — Kimberly L.

February 17, 2003
There are several reasons. Two major facts to take your vitamins at separate times are; 1) a large dose of vitamins can irritate the intestinal mucosa (walls) causing cramping, diarrhea, and/or bleeding. 2) Many vitamins are water soluble (thiamine B1, Riboflavin B2, Niacin, Pyridoxine B6, Cyanocobalamin B12, Folic Acid, and Vitamin C along with a few others. As you drink water during the day you wash the extra away and store little if any. The large amounts of water we drink (washing away even more) along with our added nutritional needs during healing make this vitally important. This goes along with why B12 injections are best. Deeply injected into the muscle, thick B12 is slowly released over a period of time, unable to be quickly washed away. It steadily releases to give a constant energy boost. That wasn't the question but I am aware that as a water soluble vitamin, it's frightening to think it will be washed away. It also appears the sublinguals work well. Everyone is different and what works for some may not be well tolerated by others. Listen to your body and follow your lab work. LOL!!
   — Jaci G.