I am one week post-op. I was told not to start my multivitamins & calcium yet. Can anyone tell me how far out of surgery before you start your multivitamin & calcium?

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I had RNY gastric bypass surgery over 4 years ago. I was not told to delay beginning my multivitamin/calcium regiment after post-op. So I began taking them almost immediately. So I suspect that you should probably begin taking these now. But you might call your surgeons office and verify this approach.

After RNY surgery, you are required to take many vitamins for the rest of your life. This is because you body no longer synthesizes vitamins from food. That part of your stomach has been cut away, so this daily requirement is extremely important. Vitamin chemistry is important for absorption. Calcium supplements should be calcium citrate. There are also different chemistries of B12. I use the sublingual B12 and was told to use methylcobalamin. You cannot use a time-release version of B12. If you are taking iron supplements, it must be ferrous sulfate for the best absorption. Gummy vitamins are not absorbed properly and should be avoided.

It is important to put a 2 hour separation between the vitamins that contain iron and those that contain calcium. So in my case I found that what works best for me is to take the iron supplements just before bedtime. I put my vitamins in a weekly pill container. I have one container for the morning and one for the night. And I use a very small glass bowl for my calcium supplements. I put my calciums in the bowl in the morning and take them throughout the day. If I am up and about I put my calciums in a ziplock bag and carry them with me.

The directions I received after surgery was:

Three Flintstone complete chewable multivitamins daily.

Additional 65 milligrams elemental iron daily for menstruating women.

1500 to 1800 milligrams calcium citrate daily [this can be tricky because the dosage rate is per 2 capsules - therefore this can mean around 5-8 capsules per day depending on the size (petite or regular)].

500 to 1000 micrograms sublingual B12 daily or 1000 microgram injection once monthly.

100 milligrams Thiamine (vitamin B1) daily for the first year and then weekly thereafter.

Your daily requirement might be different. Your surgeon's office should have given you guidelines.

In the morning I put my Citricals in a small finger bowl. Then I take a couple every couple hours. When I am up and about I put them in a zip lock bag and take them with me. For me this is not difficult. Sometimes I take two at once.

But right after surgery, I lost my ability to swallow large pills and I had to crush them. It was like eating chalk. The only way I could down these was by mixing them with crystal light and drinking them down. Because they formed a paste at the bottom of the glass. I had to remix these and chug them down several times. Luckily my inability to swallow lasted only a couple months and then I was back to normal.

Thank you James! This was very helpful for me also!

I am one week post-op. I was told not to start my multivitamins & calcium yet. Can anyone tell me how far out of surgery before you start your multivitamin & calcium?

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I also had to wait a week postop before taking my vitamins. After 1 week, i was able to begin taking my vitamins. I was also able to swallow suprisingly large capsules, prescribed by my surgeon. Since every surgeons instructions seem to be different, you probably want to call them and ask, as James suggested.

There was no time limit for me either, and I started taking them on day 3. I took chewables for about a week, and then had to switch over to regular vitamins as I just couldn't do it any more.

It seems that a week out should be long enough to wait. I would contact my surgeon asap. Maybe there is a misunderstanding.

My doctor has been very specific I can not start vitamins until after the 2 week check up. I did immediately start a probiotic, Prilosec, and potassium

I finally did call and ask. They told me I needed to wait until I was 2 weeks out for my vitamins and 1 month out till I start taking my calcium. I'm having trouble with my regular meds getting stuck in my throat so I had to pick up a liquid RX today. I sure hope I don't have a problems with food sticking in my throat when I start eating regular food again.

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On 10/17/2017 at 7:59 AM, James Marusek said:

Thank you so much James, that was so helpful. Doc never said anything about thiamine so I will ask him at my appointment tomorrow.