I receive many private messages from members inquiring about Bariatric Protein, Supplements & Vitamins. The most frequently asked questions are which bariatric protein, supplements & vitamins products and brands are best suited for Gastric Sleeve patients and where to purchase them - at the best price, online and offline. Please take a moment and share any and all you have on this topic with your fellow members.

I detest chewables and instructions from my doc allowed me to swallow pills as soon as I felt I could and he does not feel that special bariatric Vitamins are necessary so my advice might not be helpful if your doctor recommended something different, but here goes anyway... I was told I needed a Multivitamin with 200% of the RDA (or two 100% RDA multis) He mentioned Centrum but said just get a high quality one and make sure it was complete. 1200-1500 of Calcium citrate plus Vitamin D , 18-36 MG of Iron depending on blood work. sublingual b-12 and an optional b complex if I felt my multi didn't provide enough. I'm also a fairly frugal person, so keeping cost low is important to me in order for me to stay compliant with my vitamins. Anyway, here's what I got:

Iron- I purchased chelated iron from puritain's pride. http://www.puritan.com/iron-650/iron-bisgylcinate-18-mg-ferrochel-chelate-073943 This form of iron is highly absorpable and is gentle on the body. It says it does not interfere with calcium absorption, but I still take it separate from my calcium just in case.

Calcium- Again, from puritain's pride I ordered their calcium plus Vitamin D "miniatures" these are exactly like citrical petities and I did a side by side dissolve test and both the puritain's pride brand, and the Citrical brand dissolved in plain Water in about 6 minutes. WARNING.. these pills are NOT really that small.. they're just smaller in comparison to a regular giant calcium horse pill. I showed my doctor the size of pill and he suggested that with these, I should wait until I was 2 weeks out to start taking them (I was taking capsules the day after surgery). Because I have to take SO MUCH calcium, I opted for the buy two get three free option which when combined with a 10% off coupon I had, worked out to about six dollars for a month's worth of high quality calcium citrate http://www.puritan.com/calcium-supplements-001/calcium-citrate-vitamin-d3-miniatures-033195

B-12 Again, from puritain's pride, I chose the sublingual losenge with Biotin, b-6 and folic acid. http://www.puritan.com/sublingual-formulas-355/vitamin-b-12-2500-mcg-sublingual-with-folic-acid-vitamin-b-6-and-biotin-018641 but there are many choices that might suit your needs better. It's just really important that it's SUBLINGUAL for maximum absorption.

Protein: I did a three month high Protein vlcd prior to my surgery, so I went through a LOT of Protein powder already. I was told to use whey Protein ISOLATE. I like Jay Robb protein powder the best because it is sweetened with stevia and mixes like a dream. It's an expensive brand, but for me, it was worth it. I get it from vitacost.com when they are offering a sale or coupon. If I don't have coupon for vitacost, then amazon.com is cheaper than Vitacost's regular prices.. but vitacost is a better route if they're having a sale/promotional coupon. If you like Isopure, Puritain's Pride has Isopure for a very good price but limited flavors.

Multi-vitamin: OK, I made myself nuts comparing Multivitamins and although my doctor said that bariatric vitamins weren't necessary, I finally settled on Bariatric Advantage capsules I got them because they are complete, they use chelates where applicable, and they don't have iron which could interfere with my calcium routine. I also like that I can divide them out during the day. The best price I found on these was through Amazon.com with free supersaver shipping.

Acid Reducer- My doc recommended omeprazole 20mg. Walgreens.com had an excellent buy on their brand.. and it was on sale with a buy one get one 50% off to boot. Rite Aid and CVS also frequently have Omeprazole on sale.

Thanks for all the info. Does the Jay Robb protein only come in unflavored?