I have my surgery (band) next month and the only thing the office has said about Vitamins is get a chewable Multivitamin. Maybe this is just their starting point for pre-surgery? Do you have any other recommendations? I see people taking B-12, Vitamin D, etc. and just wondering why, or if I need to get those before surgery to take after surgery? Also, what is the reason for the additional vitamins as related to WLS?

Thanks for the help!

The vitamins are to supplement what you would normally get from regular kinds and amount of food. After surgery since we eat so much less, your body can become vitamin deficient. Women especially need calcium to keep our bone strength and vit D to help with calcium absorption. B12 helps with energy. I also take biotin since it helps with hair loss. I was B12 and vit D deficient prior to surgery anyway. Follow your doctor's instructions for sure. You might not need more than a daily multivitamin. I bought some liquid vitamins right after surgery and they were the most awful things ever. I bought the gummy kind this last round. Not as bad. Regular pill vitamins are waaaaay to big to swallow. I made that mistake by buying them before survey and don't know how large they were! So now I have 2 full bottles of vitamins I can't take, lol.

@@Band Aid mom if you are having the Lapband the most you need to worry about for Vitamins is your daily multivitamin.

The reasons people choose to supplement are numerous. If you are a WLS patient with a different modality

there tends to be some malabsorptive component to those surgeries and they will lose some of the vital nutrients from foods they eat so for them it is vital to their health and well being that they supplement.

When you are a banded patient, none of your digestive system is re-routed and your stomach will function just as it always did, though they have found that there is a mild loss of calcium in some banded patients but that is easily compensated for with a supplement as well and most of our milks and juices today are calcium fortified. Check with your Dr. on the need for extra calcium.

There are also others who are deficient for one reason or another in a certain Vitamin and/or mineral. You can find these out through blood work. For example even prior to banding I am Vitamin D deficient. There are several co-morbidity's associated with vitamin deficiency such as diabetes, metabolic syndrome and heart disease.

The best thing to do is to check with your Dr. have blood work done before and after surgery to see what your levels are and if needed then worry about supplements. As a banded patient we are lucky enough to be able to obtain most of our nutrients from our food, but that doesn't mean that you will especially if there are other factors to consider.

Hope this helps!!

Thanks so much for your help!

I am having my I-band surgery next Saturday and I was told to get a chewable multivitamin, chewable Vit C, Vit D (but they tend to be tiny so if not chewable then the smallest available), and B12's that dissolve under my tongue. I was told no gummies b/c of the sugar content and liquids would potentially cost more. My nutritionist said this will help with any current Vitamin deficiencies and prevent any after surgery. My doctor's office does lab work every 6 months that includes a vitamin deficiency screening so this may be why our weight loss center recommends it, but it can't hurt to take them

I was recently banded (1/8/15).....my doc had me purchase vitamins made especially from those that have had bariactric surgery. Bariactiv is the brand name.....They are a mail order company so they ship right to your door.....They offer chewable vitamins, iron and calcium. Also they have a weekly B12 nasal spray. All of which my doc said were very important. Hope this helps

My Dr. recommended Solotron Chewable that you can get from GNC. I have wild berry and they are pretty tasty!

It’s better to prepare in advance. And your body will require conditioning against hormonal imbalance post surgery. There’s a pre-op diet and post-op diet. And here, supplements kick in. I tried Calcium Malate Chelate Bariatric Supplement Capsules this helps a lot.

Edited February 18, 20179 yr by karimagarcia099

..

Edited February 21, 20179 yr by karimagarcia099

I started using multi-vitamin patches. They are great and cheaper than liquid.

I started using multi-vitamin patches. They are great and cheaper than liquid.

I started using the patches to. They are fantastic

Since being banded, I take one chewable calcium supplement(caltrate), one 10,000 mcg of biotin and one chewable multiple vitamin(centrum). I tried stopping them last year and after 2 weeks, I felt so weak and miserable that I went back to them and will be on them forever since I cannot get enough protein in to get my necessary vitamins. My hair stopped falling out and my nails are growing like weeds.