Getting ready to shop before my surgery in a few weeks. Which brands/types of Vitamins do you take?

I know I need a Multivitamin and Iron pill but which brand should I buy? Also what can I take to prevent hair loss?

Should I start taking everything now before surgery?

Any other advice?

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Bariatric Advantage Chewy Bites (500mg size) 3-4 a day....taken a couple hours between Vitamins.

Chewable bariatric multivitamin, Iron chewable, B-12 chewable taken with my meals. (buy them from my surgeon's office....usually they stock Bariatric Advantage brand...some are relabeled for them).

2-3 cups of good coffee per day.

120 oz Water.....minimum. No kidding. I'm always sipping water.

60-100 grams Protein per day with the goal of staying under 60 grams of carbs.

Advil occasionally but only with meals.

Currently I'm taking two Flintstones Complete with Iron, and two 1000IU capsules of Vitamin D daily. That's it. It's been my regiment off and on since about two weeks pre-op. About two months post-op I switched to the Multivitamin patch (it caused skin irritation for me, but I gave the rest of the pack to my dad and it worked well for him) and then after that to Vitamin Code by Garden of Life for a few months. I switched back to Flintstones for the simplicity and reliability of them. They never cause any nausea or skin breakouts, I can buy them from a variety of stores, and I can take them on the go without Water. I eat ample Calcium so my doctor said there wasn't a need for me to take a supplement. I took collagen for a few months about six months out after reading posts on here from women who raved about it benefitting their hair, but didn't really notice much of a difference. I hadn't ever lost that much hair, though. It didn't cause any negative side effects for me, and was really inexpensive from Amazon.

Some people have taken Biotin to help prevent hair loss, but many have said it has limited if any effectiveness. A few years ago I took biotin with the hope it would help with regrowth after cutting my hair too short, and it caused a massive breakout. My dermatologist told me that women with PCOS and those prone to acne should not take biotin and be very careful with all B Vitamins because they can be problematic. I was so worried about hair loss, but as mentioned above, it's been very minimal. I've lost at a slower pace than usual (but still have met my goals), and I think that might be the reason.

I'm 70 years old, female, and have been maintaining at 5'5" and 135 pounds for nearly a year now. Here's a list of all the meds / supplements I take daily because they're appropriate for me. Please note that your needs may well be different than mine:

Midday (at least 4 hours after my thyroid pill):

* Centrum chewable multi vitamin/mineral

* Antacid (H2 blocker - Ranitadine 150 mg.)

* Probiotic (10 billion units)

* Biotin (5000 mcg. - for skin health)

* Fish oil (1000 mg. + 300 mg. Omega-3)

Evening:

* Caltrate chewable (600 mg. / D3)

* Antacid (H2 blocker - Ranitadine 150 mg.)

* Stool softener (hey, I'm old!)

Twice a week:

B-12 (1000 mcg. - if I take them daily I get a little face acne - ugh)

Sometimes at bedtime (not even half the time):

Melatonin (10 mg.) OR Ambien (5 mg.)

Any recent sleevers have any feedback?

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I was sleeved 8 months ago. I take two flintstones complete, one super b complex, two 500 mg bariatric advantage calcium chews, and biotin. I started a few months prior to surgery and I've had perfect labs.