Jump to content
×
Are you looking for the BariatricPal Store? Go now!

Advise on supplement routine



Recommended Posts

Hello everyone!

If you care to share I would appreciate!

I am almost 3 weeks out, and it is time to order some supplements, as my surgeon told me I could start taking them after 4 weeks post surgery. Sadly, his list is basic and he advised me to talk to dieticians, which her respons was you need good Multivitamin, Calcium and B,D Vitamins. In my country there are no specifically VSG vitamins, so I will need to make my own kit and order from abroad.

What is your Vitamin routine?Dosage?

What are the brands, formulations to look for? Should I order Bariatric Advantage?

Anyone who lives in europe, could you please share where you order your supplements?

What is the best supplement for hair?

I know that:
calcium citrate is the best form.
B12 needs to be Methocobilyn

Thank you in advance!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi RuthD. The Vitamin daily requirement for sleeve surgery is very different than for RNY gastric bypass. So from the context of the post, it seems like you had sleeve surgery. Is that true?

So according to my surgeon, the following Vitamins are required for Sleeve patients:

Three Flintstone complete chewable multivitamins daily.

Additional 65 milligrams elemental Iron daily for menstruating women. [ferrous sulfate]

1200 to 1500 milligrams calcium citrate daily [I use Citrical - this can be tricky because the dosage rate is per 2 capsules.]

500 to 1000 micrograms sublingual B12 once per week. [methylcobalamin]

100 milligrams Thiamine (vitamin B1) once per week.

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.

My surgeon also told me to avoid "time release" vitamins and "gummy vitamins".

After around a few years, I transitioned off from Flintstone vitamins and started to use normal multivitamins. Flintstone chewable vitamins were fairly easy to use and were easy on my stomach. I use to buy them by the large bottles a few years ago, but they have changed primarily to gummy vitamins today. As a result the large economical bottles disappeared from the store shelves.

Now if you had RNY gastric bypass, then the requirements are different.

It might also be desirable to take a probiotic to reestablish the colonies of good gut bacteria after surgery.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I just bought a bariatric multi from this site and it is nice to take 1 capsule of the multi instead of the 3 capsules of the Bariatric Advantage brand. Cheaper too. I bought the bariatric advantage brand chewies Calcium. There are a lot of flavors and they are really a treat. They are too sweet/ candy like for my taste now and are higher in carbs than they should be imo. But I liked them before surgery. This site has a lot of options and information if you go into their online store. I alternate my leftover calcium chewies with Citrical. Those kind of suck because you have to take 2 pills 3 times a day and even though they say petite they are big. The chalky chewable type of most pills taste nasty to me so I steer away from them. Sometimes I use Vitamin b drops. Sometimes I drink a yakult (probiotic drink). I take melt in your mouth Biotin to try and keep my hair.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thank you both for the reply. I had RNY. The problem with the store here is that they only ship from USA which to the price of the product would add ankther 21% for duties and taxes 😢

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I’ve looked to Amazon in uk, there are either old packages, old formulations or fakes. Which is sad. Thanks for the advise anyway ☺️

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm in Ireland and I use https://www.fitforme.co.uk Vitamins. It's about 90 quid for a three month supply.

Sent from my SM-G930F using BariatricPal mobile app

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm in Ireland and I use https://www.fitforme.co.uk Vitamins. It's about 90 quid for a three month supply.

Sent from my SM-G930F using BariatricPal mobile app


Sorry, my bad, 90 quid for a six month supply but that's just for the multivitamin. I buy Iron separately from the chemist.

Sent from my SM-G930F using BariatricPal mobile app

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Sweettoothless said:

I just bought a bariatric multi from this site and it is nice to take 1 capsule of the multi instead of the 3 capsules of the Bariatric Advantage brand. Cheaper too.

Which brand was this?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I had RNY gastric bypass and these are the directions I received after surgery:

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.

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.

As an RNY gastric bypass patient, it is really important for you to take these Vitamins for the rest of your life. You body no longer manufactures these, so you must supplement. As a result cost is a major consideration. Generally I buy my vitamins in large quantities to keep the cost down. Also my surgeon's office required I have a full blood workup each year for the first five years. This is to detect any problem in Vitamin malabsorption.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

  • Trending Products

  • Trending Topics

  • Recent Status Updates

    • Prdgrdma

      So I guess after gastric bypass surgery, I cant eat flock chips because they are fried???  They sell them on here so I thought I could have them. So high in protein and no carbs.  They don't bother me at all.  Help. 
      · 1 reply
      1. NickelChip

        It's possible for a very high fat meal to cause dumping in some (30% or so) gastric bypass patients, although it's more likely to be triggered by high sugar, or by the high fat/high sugar combo (think ice cream, donuts). Dietitians will tell you to never do anything that isn't 100% healthy ever again. Realistically, you should aim for a good balance of protein, carbs, and fat each day. Should you eat fried foods every day? No. Is it possible they will make you sick? Maybe. Is it okay to eat some to see what happens and have them for a treat every now and again? Yes.

    • NovelTee

      I'm not at all hungry on this liquid pre-op diet, but I miss the sensation of chewing. It's been about two weeks––surgery is in two days––and I can't imagine how I'll feel a couple of weeks post-op. Tonight, I randomly stumbled upon a mukbang channel on YouTube, and it was strangely soothing... is it just me, or is this a thing? 
      · 1 reply
      1. NickelChip

        I actually watched cooking shows during my pre-op, like Great British Baking Show. It was a little bizarre, but didn't make me hungry. I think it was also soothing in a way.

    • Clueless_girl

      How do you figure out what your ideal weight should be? I've had a figure in my head for years, but after 3 mths of recovery I'm already almost there. So maybe my goal should be lower?
      · 2 replies
      1. NickelChip

        Well, there is actually a formula for "Ideal Body Weight" and you can use a calculator to figure it out for you. This one also does an adjusted weight for a person who starts out overweight or obese. https://www.mdcalc.com/calc/68/ideal-body-weight-adjusted-body-weight

        I would use that as a starting point, and then just see how you feel as you lose. How you look and feel is more important than a number.

      2. Clueless_girl

        I did find different calculators but I couldn't find any that accounted for body frame. But you're right, it is just a number. It was just disheartening to see that although I lost 60% of my excess weight, it's still not in the "normal/healthy" range..

    • Aunty Mamo

      Tomorrow marks two weeks since surgery day and while I'm feeling remarkably well and going about just about every normal activity, I did wind up with a surface abscess on on of my incision sights and was put on an antibiotic that made me so impacted that it took me more than two hours to eliminate yesterday and scared the hell out of me. Now there's Miralax in all my beverages that aren't Smooth Move tea. I cannot experience that again. I shouldn't have to take Ativan to go to the lady's. I really looking forward to my body getting with the program again. 
      I'm in day three of the "puree" stage of eating and despite the strange textures, all of the savory flavors seem decadent. 
      I timed this surgery so that I'd be recovering during my spring break. That was a good plan. Today is a state holiday and the final day of break. I feel really strong to return to school tomorrow. 
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • BeanitoDiego

      Now that I'm in maintenance mode, I'm getting a into a routine for my meals. Every day, I start out with 8-16 ounces of water, and then a proffee, which I have come to look forward to even the night before. My proffees are simply a black coffee with a protein powder added. There are three products that I cycle through: Premier Vanilla, Orgain Vanilla, and Dymatize Vanilla.
      For second breakfast on workdays, I will have a low-fat yogurt with two tablespoons of PBFit and two teaspoons of no sugar added dried cherries. I will have ingested 35-45 grams of protein at this point between the two breakfasts, with 250-285 calories, and about 20 carbs.
      For second breakfast on non-workdays, I will prepare two servings of plain, instant oatmeal with a tablespoon of an olive oil-based spread. This means I will have had 34 grams of protein, 365 calories, and 38 carbs. Non-workdays are when I am being very active with training sessions, so I allow myself more carbohydrate fuel.
      Snacks on any day are always mixed nuts, even when I am travelling. I will have 0.2 cups of a blend that I make myself. It consists of dry roasted peanuts, cashews, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, pistachios, and Brazil nuts. This is 5 grams of protein, 163 calories, and 7 carbs.
      Breakfast and snacks have been the easiest to nail down. Lunch and dinner have more variables, and I prepare enough for leftovers. I concentrate on protein first, and then add vegetables. Typically tempeh, tofu, or Field Roast products with roasted or sautéed vegetables. Today, I will be eating leftovers from last night. Two ounces of tempeh with four ounces of roasted vegetables that consist of red and yellow sweet peppers, sweet potatoes, small purple potatoes, zucchini, and carrots. I will add a tablespoon of olive oil-based spread, break up 3 walnuts to sprinkle of top, and garnish with two tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese. This particular meal will be 19 grams of protein, 377 calories, and 28 grams of carbs. Bear in mind that I do eat more carbs when I am not working, and I focus on ingesting healthy carbs instead of breads/crackers/chips/crisps.
      It's a helluva journey and I'm thankful to be on it!
       
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
  • Recent Topics

  • Hot Products

  • Sign Up For
    Our Newsletter

    Follow us for the latest news
    and special product offers!
  • Together, we have lost...
      lbs

    PatchAid Vitamin Patches

    ×