Hi, when did you start taking bariatric supplements, and which brand is the best?

Hi there, Bloodhound. I started taking my supplements (chewables) the day I got home from the hospital. Unfortunately, I don't have any good recommendations as I have struggled to find some that don't make me nauseous. So, for now I've been taking Flintstones Complete. My nut says these aren't ideal and the goal is to get me onto standard bariatric supplements. She's ok with them for now though, and says they are a "band-aid fix", until we can find some that my body tolerates. I also add in 45mg of Iron, calcium, and also Folic Acid vitamins (per doctor's orders) too. Hopefully, I will find some standard bariatric ones soon.

Thanks, River Moon.

I'm unsure of if these are good or not, but it seems like it could be suitable for someone experiencing nausea. They're dermal patches.

https://patchaid.com/collections/patchaid-vitamin-packs

24 minutes ago, Bloodhound said:

I'm unsure of if these are good or not, but it seems like it could be suitable for someone experiencing nausea. They're dermal Patches.

https://patchaid.com/collections/patchaid-vitamin-packs

Oh wow! Thank you so much! I didn't realize they had patches. I'll show these to my nut. It would be great if I could use these, and not worry about ingesting. Thanks again! I appreciate you finding those.

I wanted to use the patches but my nutritionist said there’s no research on them and strongly recommended not using them

Good to know. I imagine they use a transdermal vehicle- I'm not a scientist but it's been effective for me for nicotine and there are other medical uses. But nutritionally? No clue.

I'm probably going to try the collagen and biotin supplements for skin and hair. I don't think it will hurt.

7 hours ago, River Moon said:

Oh wow! Thank you so much! I didn't realize they had Patches. I'll show these to my nut. It would be great if I could use these, and not worry about ingesting. Thanks again! I appreciate you finding those.

those are kind of a mixed bag. They work for some people, but not for others. A lot of clinics won't approve them - but check with yours. I've thought of getting them for traveling so I won't have to lug around a million bottles, because even if they don't really work for me, it wouldn't be for a long enough time that it would make much difference. But if they DO work for you, then yes - it'd be a great option!

5 hours ago, Bloodhound said:

I'm probably going to try the collagen and Biotin supplements for skin and hair. I don't think it will hurt.

you're right in that those won't hurt, but like the patches, they seem to work for some, but not for others. Fortunately, most people don't lose enough hair that it's noticeable to others (although we definitely notice!)

I started taking mine during the pre op diet. I started with bariatric advantage chewable multivitamin but I just switched to bariatric pal with my NP’s go ahead. My clinic is super strict on vitamins and insists that I take bariatric formulations and strongly encouraged the bariatric advantage but I needed something cheaper so I did some research myself and found the bariatric pal. I am also taking a calcium citrate I found on Amazon by 21st Century Vitamins instead of the bariatric advantage chews but this is NOT with permission of my clinic. I just figured I am having labs again and would see what difference it made in three months time so I will see next month. In the beginning I took the bariatric advantage chews and they taste great and labs were perfect. They are just a bit pricey.

7 hours ago, River Moon said:

Oh wow! Thank you so much! I didn't realize they had Patches. I'll show these to my nut. It would be great if I could use these, and not worry about ingesting. Thanks again! I appreciate you finding those.

When I asked my NP about these she said she has asked several companies to send her the research with proof that they really do absorb through the skin and not one has yet to send it. So do your research. She said it mustn’t be simple that it absorbs through skin otherwise things like hand sanitizer and alcohol wipes we use on our hands (and she says she uses a ton of all day) would be absorbed into our bodies and that sorta made sense.

My surgeon's office told me to start the vitamins about a week after surgery. The first month a used a chewable one that was unpalatable. Since then, I've been using these from Amazon. They have 45 mg of iron, so I don't need additional iron supplements.

Vitamin B12 is often a problem for bariatric patients. These also have 41,000 times the FDA's required daily allowance of B12, which I hope will be enough that B12 shots aren't required. (They will do my blood work on the 5-month post-surgery visit.)

I also take a 500 mg calcium citrate tablet three times a day.

The link to the vitamins: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HZ3YQ5X/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Edit: The price is $30 for three months, which isn't too bad.

Edited September 5, 20215 yr by Dave In Houston

39 minutes ago, Dave In Houston said:

My surgeon's office told me to start the Vitamins about a week after surgery. The first month a used a chewable one that was unpalatable. Since then, I've been using these from Amazon. They have 45 mg of Iron, so I don't need additional iron supplements.

Vitamin B12 is often a problem for bariatric patients. These also have 41,000 times the FDA's required daily allowance of B12, which I hope will be enough that B12 shots aren't required. (They will do my blood work on the 5-month post-surgery visit.)

I also take a 500 mg calcium citrate tablet three times a day.

The link to the vitamins: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HZ3YQ5X/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Edit: The price is $30 for three months, which isn't too bad.

supposedly we don't have enough intrinsic factor in our pouches to properly absorb B12. We were told to use sublingual B12 tablets, since it DOES absorb through the mouth tissue. Injections also work. Although you said your tablets have 41,000 times the RDA of B12. Maybe the thinking behind that is even if only a fraction of that is absorbed, it'll be enough to cover the requirement (??). If so, that might work - and would explain why they packed so much B12 in those tablets.

3 minutes ago, catwoman7 said:

supposedly we don't have enough intrinsic factor in our pouches to properly absorb B12. We were told to use sublingual B12 tablets, since it DOES absorb through the mouth tissue. Injections also work. Although you said your tablets have 41,000 times the RDA of B12. Maybe the thinking behind that is even if only a fraction of that is absorbed, it'll be enough to cover the requirement (??). If so, that might work - and would explain why they packed so much B12 in those tablets.

My nutritionist told me that according to recent findings, some tiny percentage of the B12 is absorbed, and that is indeed why they put an absurd percentage of the RDA in the bariatric vitamin tabs. I'll find out whether it's enough for me when the blood work is done.

I think the injections are just once a month, so I would probably do that over the sublingual option. The injections are much less expensive. I did enoxaparin injections three times a day for two weeks after surgery, and they weren't too bad.

10 minutes ago, Dave In Houston said:

My nutritionist told me that according to recent findings, some tiny percentage of the B12 is absorbed, and that is indeed why they put an absurd percentage of the RDA in the bariatric Vitamin tabs. I'll find out whether it's enough for me when the blood work is done.

I think the injections are just once a month, so I would probably do that over the sublingual option. The injections are much less expensive. I did enoxaparin injections three times a day for two weeks after surgery, and they weren't too bad.

yes - injections are once a month. As for sublinguals, I do a megadose once every two weeks - it cuts down on the cost.