Any recommendations on good bariatric vitamins for a reasonable price? Or combination of vitamins? Also, any liquid ones you can take right after surgery? Thanks!

The BariatricPal Multivitamin One vitamins are the best-priced bariatric multivitamins I've seen. If you buy the ones with iron, you might not have to take a separate iron supplement. They have a yearly subscription for $99.99, which is $8.33/month. You can buy them in smaller quantities (which I recommend doing to start to make sure you like them), but the more you buy, the lower the cost per vitamin. They do have a chewable one that you can take right after surgery, but I didn't care for the taste (I took Barimelts for the first two months, but they are pricey).

You can take normal drugstore vitamins, but you have to take a double dose, and if you do that, the BariatricPal subscription is cheaper than most of the drugstore vitamins.

You will have to take a separate calcium citrate supplement (make sure it's calcium citrate, not calcium carbonate). I LOVE the BariatricPal Belgian chocolate caramel and French vanilla caramel soft chews -- they taste like candy and make me look forward to taking my calcium. They are the lowest-priced calcium citrate chews I've seen (and they go on sale often), but you can get calcium citrate tablets for a lower price (about 1/3 of the price of soft chews per dose). I buy Caltrate petites and take those 1x per day (2 pills per dose) and soft chews 2x per day.

You will also need vitamin B-12, which you can get as a sublingual tablet, injection, or nasal spray. I buy NatureMade brand sublingual tablets from Amazon. They are very inexpensive -- less than $10 for 50.

Thanks that’s really helpful! I was actually looking at the BariactricPal vitamins but some of the reviews said they were big and had a bad taste so I wasn’t sure. I already take B-12 sublingual liquid but I was going to talk to my doctor about switching to injections because they’re better absorbed. Did you have trouble with pills at first? Are the chewable vitamins necessary after surgery or personal preference? Thanks again!

42 minutes ago, Circus321 said:

I was actually looking at the BariactricPal Vitamins but some of the reviews said they were big and had a bad taste so I wasn’t sure.

I don’t think they’re any bigger than, say, Centrum or One-A-Day, and maybe smaller (though it’s been a while since I took those, so I’m not sure). I don’t love the taste of the capsule, but I just make sure to swallow it (with water) as soon as I put it in my mouth.

47 minutes ago, Circus321 said:

I already take B-12 sublingual liquid but I was going to talk to my doctor about switching to injections because they’re better absorbed.

YMMV, but my B12 levels on my latest bloodwork were off the charts, just from taking the sublingual tablets. I actually like taking them because they have a nice cherry flavor.

50 minutes ago, Circus321 said:

Did you have trouble with pills at first? Are the chewable vitamins necessary after surgery or personal preference?

My surgeon said to take chewables for the first 6 weeks. I used Barimelts multivitamin, calcium, and iron for the first two months (because they come in a 1-month supply) and then I switched to the BariatricPal Multivitamin One with iron and BariatricPal calcium chews. I got one bottle of BariatricPal multivitamin chewables just to try, and I didn’t like the taste, so then I switched to the capsules. By that time (3 months out), I had no problem swallowing pills, except it could be a little uncomfortable if I took too big of a gulp of water.

Thanks for the info. I’ll definitely get some chewable ones then for after my surgery and then switch to capsules. I have trouble absorbing b-12 regularly and have had to switch to injections during all my pregnancies because I don’t absorb enough from the tablets alone, that’s why I think I’ll have to switch but we’ll see. Thanks a lot, you’ve been very helpful and I truly appreciate it! ?

11 hours ago, BigSue said:

You will have to take a separate calcium citrate supplement (make sure it's Calcium citrate, not calcium carbonate). I LOVE the BariatricPal Belgian chocolate caramel and French vanilla caramel soft chews -- they taste like candy and make me look forward to taking my calcium. They are the lowest-priced calcium citrate chews I've seen (and they go on sale often), but you can get calcium citrate tablets for a lower price (about 1/3 of the price of soft chews per dose). I buy Caltrate petites and take those 1x per day (2 pills per dose) and soft chews 2x per day.

I just looked and Viactiv is Calcium Carbonate. Do you know why we need Calcium Citrate instead? (I love Viactiv caramel flavor!)

Thank you!!

1 hour ago, kellym1220 said:

I just looked and Viactiv is Calcium Carbonate. Do you know why we need Calcium Citrate instead? (I love Viactiv caramel flavor!)

Thank you!!

Calcium citrate is more easily absorbed because it doesn't require stomach acid to digest. It also has less risk of causing kidney stones. Unfortunately, most drugstore brands of calcium supplements are calcium carbonate, which is cheaper, and we bariatric patients have to buy the more expensive specialty ones.

Has anyone tried the multivitamin patches?