Did you take vitamins pre-ds? Why do people not want to take vitamins pre/post op

I think the vitamin part of the DS was the part that least concered me- not in the need to keep track and maintain vitamin levels but the actual taking a lot of vitamins part, that part doesnt worry me, but i already take A LOT of vitamins, by choice, i have for a while, i think vitamins are good for you and no one gets what htey need from food. 

BUT i know that vitamin non compliance seems to be a big issue and people in general just do not seem to want to take vitamins. WHY? 

Did you take your vitamins pre-ds? Did you feel a difference, i do.  I see results, i see clearer skin, nicer nails, longer hair, more energy.. i know vitamins make a legitimate difference in my life and I do not even have the DS yet.

Why are people against vitamins? Is it laziness or gag reflex issue???? Money, it cant be money as regular vitamins are often B1G1F in national pharmacies. I really just dont get it, WHY do you not want to take vitamins  during your life, at any point in your life? 

I did take vites pre op. I took them religiously for 2 years before surgery. When I started the journey of trying to get the DS. I took them because I knew the importance. No biggie!

I think the reasons for NOT taking them differ from person to person. Money, laziness, unorganized, etc. I do my best to tell people how important it is. If they don't listen, hey they're adults, what can you do?! I have to take care of me and others should be "grown up" enough to take care of them. If they DON"T how can I feel sorry for them. They did it to themselves. ESPECIALLY active members on OH. Vite info is always available here and if they don't take it and use it, well, it's just sad.

Don't mean to sound *****y but we're all adults here, man up and do what you're suppose to and if you don't I don't wanna hear you cry when you get sick. END RANT!!


Ruby

 I think it's all of the above.    Some people think that just because they feel good, they must not be deficient in anything, so they ignore the need to take them.    In my case, the times I've been noncompliant have been when I haven't been organized about taking them.   It is imperative that I sit down once a month and fill my vitamin packs.   If not, I get lazy.   I'm always good about taking my calcium, D and A, because I keep them everywhere.  IT's the zinc, copper, E, extra mag and multis I tend to forget about.   If I have them all in a pill container though, I'm very compliant.    

Some people refuse to believe they need them.  Against all evidence.  They will choose to believe an uneducated surgeon, NUT or pcp rather than listen to the thousands of years of experience here.

What scares me is the people who never heard of OH who are out there killing themselves by not supplementing or not supplementing appropriately. 

I blame surgeons and NUTs for not educating themselves and not educating their patients for those patients.  I blame the patients for those who have access to correct information and chose not to follow it.

I did not take vitamins pre-op.  I really just never thought about it.  I am VERY compliant post-op and I have no problem getting my vites in daily.  I take vites 7 times every 24 hours and it has become a part of my routine.  I am even able to stay compliant when I am NOT in my routine.

I fill my pill boxes every 3 weeks and order/buy what I need BEFORE it is time for the next 3 week refill.  It isn't rocket science.

~Becky

I did not take vitamins pre-op.  I sometimes wish I had!  It wasn't really common to do a really in-depth vitamin level blood draw pre-op when I had my DS.  Vitamin D was juuust starting to get a lot of publicity and wasn't drawn with the frequency that it is today.  So, I could have been deficient without knowing it.  Plus, I honestly did not care about my health as much then as I do now.

Non-compliance was a huge problem immediately post-op too.  Just going from no vitamins to a bunch is kinda difficult.  And when my tummy was so small, I didn't want to fill up on pills.  Plus I was depressed and felt like crap, and that's a whole 'nother can of worms right there.

I'm super compliant now!  I have 3 pill sorters and I keep them stocked.  If I am not stocked on sorted vitamins, I make myself wake up early to sort so that I don't go a single day without them.  I take those puppies on vacation with me, too.  It really grates on me if I have forgotten a vitamin dose and if I miss one, I make myself make it up the next day.

It annoys me when people are non-compliant with their vitamins post op.  I had surgery when I was 20 (I'm 24 now), a student, not exactly rolling in dough, and I still do it!  If I can, anyone can.  It takes a lot of commitment but that's what we signed up for.

 Aside from Prenatals I didn't take any vitamins until I was looking to get the DS. They took my base line blood work and found out I was "alarmingly low" in iron, and had low B12 and D. I attribute the Iron (which has come up gloriously post surgery) and the B12 to having just had a baby four months before I had surgery, she took it all the little monster. 

But I started taking vitamins pre-op to get my vitamins trending upwards before I had surgery and it was more difficult to bring them up. I must say I freaking LOVED B12 shots, the nurse warned me that I might, she said that they have patients who beg to have the perscription renewed because they make them feel awesome. They are really like pure energy in a syringe, it's kind of amazing. Lol. 

Since surgery I haven't had any problems taking my pills, I can take two multis two calcium and a handful of whatever else is in that dose for the day in one gulp. I learned the trick here, that you put the water in your mouth first drop the pills in tilt your head forward then back and swallow (the forwad causes the heavy pills to drop with the floaty pills and then back and swallow they all go down whole). I was able to take pills, not chopped up in big old groups like this from day three post surgery and I haven't had any problem since. 

I think every prospective DS'er should start a vitamin regimen, just to make sure they can form (and keep) the habit of doing so.

I planned a vite schedule, using pre op dosages of vitamins I would be taking post op. I filled my pill containers and took those vites 4 times a day. I did that to assure myself that I could do it and stick with it. It's my life if I don't. And I didn't have surgery to trade life threatening obesity for life threatening deficiencies.

I think everyone considering DS should honestly evaluate their commitment to taking the vites - it's so easy to get caught up in the excitement of shedding the chains of obesity that we tend to forget we're making a lifetime choice.

So, some general advice for pre ops - buy a monthly organizer. Take a multi in the morning, calcium mid morning and mid afternoon, and some vitamin D or something in the evening. Take a probiotic before bed. If you can do that consistently, then the DS is a great option for you. If you can't, maybe you should reevaluate your decision to seek surgery.

Good topic, SpQr. It's one we need to discuss on a regular basis, with the influx of new people on the board who may not even yet realize they need to research vitamins. Everyone has to start somewhere in their learning. It's a topic that we always need near the first page.

 I took mine pre-op and did very well. Post-op my stomach couldn't tolerate them for the first 7 weeks and then my stomach still couldn't tolerate the calcium citrate. I'm now 3 months out. I JUST started taking all my vites as of yesterday (without puking), but the calcium is still a no-go. So I'm taking Jarrow Bone Up... which is a different form of calcium. Thus far no vomiting. 

So for me, the "non-compliance" was strictly due to vomiting. 

I've been doing ok with most of my vites. Sometimes I forget my last dose before bed but am making efforts to change that. I do however have problems with some of the pills that are larger size (my multi and calcium primarily). Sometimes I have such a hard time swallowing these that I'm drinking and drinking waiting for them to go down and they're still in my mouth and I can feel my tummy getting full with fluid. I've tried cutting them in half but then the edges get kind of sharp and it scratches my throat when they go down. This leaves me sensitive to all eating and drinking for a few days afterwards cause my throat gets so raw.

I've been thinking about switching to gummies for the multi. Anyone know of any good ones? Not sure what else to try for the calcium.