Hi Everyone

I am in desperate need of tips on how to take my vitamins.

I have tried 4 different brands that my surgery office prescribes (i live in Europe so may not have the same brands as other areas). They are all bariatric patient specific vitamins.
I have also tried different formats of the vitamins: powder/ gel capsule/ hard pill … neutral or flavoured.

And i just can’t take them. Every time i swallow a pill it feels stuck inside my throat and makes me cough and splutter and i feel it stuck for ages.

When i break open the capsules and pour the powder over something i gag so badly because of the taste that it makes me feel sick for hours.

The powder that you mix in a a drink is so disgusting that i heave when i try to force it down

I do take them with food during a meal but it puts me completely off my food once i struggle to get them down.

I don’t know what to do anymore - does anyone have any ideas or tips on what i can do or on any vitamin brands available in Europe that have the correct composition for vsg patients ? I need a high iron supplement due to genetic form of anemia.

???

I take the chewable Celebrate One with 45mg iron and have had no issues even though I used to gag on vitamin capsules pre-surgery. I doubt I will go back to pills. I find the Tropical Twist flavor to be nice. Here is their EU site: https://celebratevitamins.eu/

I went through similar for the first few months and couldn't keep them down. In the end my surgeon agreed that I could take 'normal' vitamins for a month, which I had been taking pre-op, and then to go on to a different format of the bariatric vitamins once my stomach was ready to accept them.

I had been taking the hard ones that were so big, dry and tasted disgusting and couldn't keep them down, even the smell of them turned my stomach. Now I can take the capsule format as there is no taste or smell.

I also tried a different brand of bariatric capsules but they were cherry tasting (hate) and couldn't keep them down and even putting into a smoothie turned the the taste of the smoothie vile.

For the calcium I have to just buy generic ones on Amazon as the special bariatric ones I can get here can only be sold as a package with the horrible cherry capsules.

I also had to take a daily dose of iron for a month or so when my levels got too low as I have pernicious anemia.

Picture attached of the daily vitamin one I take. I also took their special hair capsule one in addition for three months to help when I was losing so much hair.

Edited May 12, 20242 yr by FifiLux

On 05/12/2024 at 13:40, NickelChip said:

I take the chewable Celebrate One with 45mg Iron and have had no issues even though I used to gag on Vitamin capsules pre-surgery. I doubt I will go back to pills. I find the Tropical Twist flavor to be nice. Here is their EU site: https://celebratevitamins.eu/

Thank you! I just ordered a sample pack to try them out - fingers crossed

On 05/12/2024 at 16:42, FifiLux said:

I went through similar for the first few months and couldn't keep them down. In the end my surgeon agreed that I could take 'normal' Vitamins for a month, which I had been taking pre-op, and then to go on to a different format of the bariatric vitamins once my stomach was ready to accept them.

I had been taking the hard ones that were so big, dry and tasted disgusting and couldn't keep them down, even the smell of them turned my stomach. Now I can take the capsule format as there is no taste or smell.

I also tried a different brand of bariatric capsules but they were cherry tasting (hate) and couldn't keep them down and even putting into a smoothie turned the the taste of the smoothie vile.

For the Calcium I have to just buy generic ones on Amazon as the special bariatric ones I can get here can only be sold as a package with the horrible cherry capsules.

Picture attached of the daily Vitamin one I take. I also took their special hair capsule one in addition for three months to help when I was losing so much hair.

Exactly ! I think it’s the smell more than taste that’s activating my gag reflex even before i swallow them. I never had an issue with vitamins before surgery it’s so weird.

Does anyone know the composition that i should be looking for ? I don’t even know how to compare brands because i’m not sure what measurements of what vitamin or mineral i should be taking.

I use BariatricPal Multivitamin ONE “1 per Day!” flavorless capsules from https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/bariatricpal-multivitamin-one! BariatricPal has a special offer where it’ll cost you only $99 for an entire year's supply! Check it out at https://store.bariatricpal.com/99

With just ONE convenient & affordable BariatricPal Multivitamin ONE each day, you can get the bariatric vitamins and minerals you need to stay healthy! BariatricPal Multivitamin ONE was designed and developed by a team of the world’s leading Bariatric medical professionals.

Please take a calcium supplement separately to prevent interference with the absorption of iron. You can view a large selection of bariatric-friendly Calcium supplements at https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/calcium.

You can also find MANY other brands of bariatric multivitamins at https://store.bariatricpal.com/collections/multivitamins.

What all vitamins and supplements does everyone take? I want to make sure I’m taking everything I need as I’m a new post-op.

It sounds like: multivitamins with iron and calcium chews are the main ones. I have seen some people recommend L-glutamine and collagen, as well.

Any help would be appreciated!

22 hours ago, Chatterboxdea said:

What all Vitamins and supplements does everyone take? I want to make sure I’m taking everything I need as I’m a new post-op.

It sounds like: Multivitamins with Iron and calcium chews are the main ones. I have seen some people recommend L-glutamine and collagen, as well.

Any help would be appreciated!

It seems to be pretty standard to require a multi vitamin and the calcium citrate that you mentioned. Most programs require labs around 3 months and will add things like magnesium or B12 or ADEK supplements as needed. All of the bariatric vitamins are pretty close with the exception of the amount of iron and the ones for SADI/DS which are higher ADEK and higher iron. Of course they are not exact. My suggestion is to bring the bottle with you of whichever one you do settle on to your post op appointment and just make sure they are okay with it and to bring it with you to your follow up from your labs so they can see if your vitamin does contain whatever you may be low in.

OP I do not know of any EU brands but US Amazon has quite a few brands if you have Amazon.

What about a mouth spray? I take a D3K2 as a mouth spray in winter when my vitamin D levels drop (the regular blood tests identified the seasonal drop). It doesn’t real taste of anything and you simply squirt it under your tongue. I buy Bioceuticals but I don’t think they’re in the UK but there are other brands that make mouth sprays. Even if you can reduce how many capsules you have to swallow will help. And yes look fur capsules and not those huge, dry horse tablet ones.

Check with your team about what vitamins you need to take @Chatterboxdea. Different surgeries have different vitamin requirements & ask when you should begin them. Plus your blood tests will inform what you may be lacking in so you don’t take more than you need which can have side effects (and can be expensive). For example I had a sleeve. Didn’t need to start taking supplements until the surgery and only took a multivitamin and briefly a vitamin D. My surgeon advised I could stop the D at about month 3 or 4 and then the multi at about 8 months.