Vitamins

[mizehpanther 3]

So, I am terribly confused about my supplements. I am 12 days post op, so I can't have any of the chewy stuff yet.

The documentation my doc have me said to get the Bariatric Advantage stuff, but when I was being discharged, he said just take flintstones and tums because they are safe to swallow once you chew it up. Do you think he meant this as a temporary thing? When do I start taking a more serious multi Vitamin and calcium citrate instead? When does the B12 come in? Also, is it true that you can't take the multi and Calcium together because the calcium blocks the Iron absorption?

Would someone who has this all straight please share what they take and their schedule? Thanks!

[erica5754 52]

I'm post op day 12 and I am taking chewable Centrum and calcium citrate, sublingual B12 and Iron and Biotin tablets. My dr told me to stay away from the Flinstones because they had more than the recommended dose needed for adults.

[Corky6984 134]

I am not taking Bariatric Advantage of anything. At my post-op, the dietician said for me to add a B-Complex, which also takes care of the B-12 (has 1500mcg instead of just 1500mcg, so you get a little more), which is a twofer. I found this in liquid form at Wal-Mart and it doesn't taste too horrible. I started all supplements on day 7 and I will add my Calcium+Vitamin D at week 4. The chewable of anything is what you should be having. I broke the rule on the Iron, though. After 4 days of chewing the Iron, I couldn't do it anymore and found some gel iron pills (my doc has no issue with me taking gel caps), which have NO taste and I'm not dreading the iron! LoL! I have attached a pic of my supplements that I take. Hope this helps! I will be 2 weeks post-op tomorrow and have been okay with all of these.

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[JoiaRox 430]

I'm taking Opurity's Multivitamin and Calcium + D each day (have been since Day 3 or 4 post-op). They're chewable and optimized for the sleeve!

You are correct in that you have to take the Multi and Calcium at least one hour apart to maximize absorption. I usually take my Multi earlier in the day and the 4 Calcium later/throughout the day.

FYI - I tried Bariatric Advantage chewable Vitamins at first, but (a) didn't like that there were ELEVEN to eat in one day - 6 Multi and 5 Calcium and ( Around Day 10 post-op I began to get nauseous and, eventually, vomit as soon as I ate them. All's been good since I switched to Opurity!

[Corky6984 134]

I am not taking Bariatric Advantage of anything. At my post-op' date=' the dietician said for me to add a B-Complex, which also takes care of the B-12 (has 1500mcg instead of just 1500mcg, so you get a little more), which is a twofer. I found this in liquid form at Wal-Mart and it doesn't taste too horrible. I started all supplements on day 7 and I will add my Calcium+Vitamin D at week 4. The chewable of anything is what you should be having. I broke the rule on the Iron, though. After 4 days of chewing the Iron, I couldn't do it anymore and found some gel iron pills (my doc has no issue with me taking gel caps), which have NO taste and I'm not dreading the iron! LoL! I have attached a pic of my supplements that I take. Hope this helps! I will be 2 weeks post-op tomorrow and have been okay with all of these.

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Meant instead of 1000mcg!

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[Vixynne 695]

Flintstones Complete are one of the recommended Vitamins on my nutritionist's list. They contain the exact %-ages of each vitamin/mineral that she listed. Bypass patients are told to take 2 of them per day; sleevers only need 1 tablet daily. They're far less expensive than some of the bariatric-specific Vitamins, too!

My nutritionist said to wait 4 wks to start the Vitamin regime back up post-op. Yep, you're right--calcium citrate needs to be taken 2 hours apart from the Multivitamin (because the Iron in the multi will stop you from absorbing enough calcium). B12 sublingual can be taken anytime.

Editing to add: the calcium citrate I take is from Celebrate. It's $20/month, three tablets per day--spaced away from the multivitamin as well as spaced out from each other, because your body can only absorb around 500-600mg of Calcium at a time.

So--multivitamin and B12 first thing in the a.m.; 1st calcium 2 hours later; 2nd and 3rd calciums at two hour intervals after that. (Keeping in mind that your specific calcium/vitamin D/vitamin B12 doses may vary per your nutritionist/surgeon's orders.)

[mizehpanther 3]

The B12 liquid I found has a 20,000% dose (ridiculous?), but no folate, which is required for B12 absorption. Does this defeat the purpose? The multi Vitamin has some folate, but doesn't seem enough to handle a 20,000% mega dose. Thoughts?