Okay guys I think I need some help - I am not due to have my surgery until Oct 6th but all of you seem to know and have a schedule of vitamins and the amounts you need to take.  Will they tell me before or after my surgery what vitamins and amounts I am going to need before they send me home?  I don't have any - have been to concerned with the proteins that they say you have to take.  Some advice would be helpful here - thanks

Have you been to see the NUT yet?  Dr Mann does send you to one, he's in the same office as my doctor.  The nut is the one that told us what vitamins we need to take and how much.  I saw Jamie Lynn in Havelock, but they have one in their office in Greenville as well. 
I take bariatric advantage multi vitamins 2x daily, calcium citrate chews 4 daily and b6 on daily.  I don't take Iron since I don't menstrate, you will need it if you do.  They recommend Celebrate vitamins or bariatric advantage.  I like both, but BA has the chew calcium citrate.  make sure your taking CITRATE, not carbonate.  Congrats on your up coming surgery.

Kimberly

B6, not B12?

oops, yea it's b12.  I take the sublinqual bariatric adv

my b12 was HIGH on my last labs, so I don't take it daily, just every other day

I started taking my vitamins 6 months pre-surgery. I take Bariatric Advantage like Kimberly does and my first blood work has been good (so the surgeon's office says) .... I haven't actually seen them or been over them with them yet ... that will happen on Oct. 1st when I weigh in.  I take 2 chewable multi-vitamins daily, 4 calcium citrate (chewable) and I take 1 iron (chewable) since the multi-vitamins don't have any iron in them.  My doctor recommenda taking only when if you are post-menopausal, otherwise you would need 2.  I go in once a month and get a B-12 shot. Shots are the best absorbed when it comes to the B-12, and because I go into the surgeon's office monthly for my weigh-in, I just get my shots then. 

The American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgeons recommends the following, until your labs dictate otherwise:

2 adult multivites
1500-2000mg calcium citrate with D, in 500-650mg doses, 2 hours apart and away from iron and zinc
45-65mg elemental iron depending on menses
350-500mcg b-12 if taken orally -- shots are measured by your doc
1 b-complex, or b-100 per day (make sure to get one with B1, or thiamin -- not all do)

Avoid any gummy or children vitamins.  There are chewables that are available at Target / Walmart / CVS readily that are designed for children.  Calcium citrate can be dissolved in crystal light without changing the flavor of the drink, and MUCH cheaper than chewable versions that you have to order online.  Avoid ferrous sulfate for your iron if you like to go potty -- look for carbonyl or ferrous fumarate for your iron needs.  B-12 is best taken sublingually, and NatureMade makes a fairly non-stinky b-complex in their liquid softgel family.

Well, I would certainly hope they would tell you before your surgery so you can have them on hand for after.  Actually, it's probably a good idea to start taking them now so you can be in the best possible health going into surgery.

I like Celebrate vitamins, but Bariatric Advantage are good one, too.  Both those companies will send you free samples if you want to try them before you buy.  Just email them and ask.

Kelly

The Nutrionalist should tell you all the things you need to purchase post-op.  You will definitely need a pill crusher also.  If not, make sure to ask your surgeon.  You will want to purchase the items PRIOR to your surgery date.

If your surgeon is a qualified doctor, he will belong to the ASMB. This is the organization that makes the recommendations for ALL Centers of Excellence, for doctors, in regards to vitamin supplementation, after care etc, when doing your surgery. I would NOT have a doc operate on me, unless he was a member of the ASMB.
 Having said that- the vitamin supplementation that Andrea has provided you, comes directly from that organization. You CANNOT get better vitamin advise than this.
See Andrea's response above.

I use the Celebrate chewable multivitamins, iron + c, and calcium citrate. At Bariatriceating.com you can get them in a bundle and save some money. I get mine (all 3) for 3 mos at a time . Yhe multi is orange flavord and you take 2 a day, the Iron + C is grape flavored, 30 mg, once a day, and Calcium Citrate is strawberry Cream flavored and you chew 2 tablets 2 times a day. I get a monthly B-12 inj at my PCP's office.

Actually, we need 1500 - 2000 mg of calcium citrate a day, and I think the ones you are taking only have 250 mg each.  So you need to take six or eight a day, not just four.

Kelly

You asked for it but the best advice comes from Andrea.  I am a nurse and yes the MD's do tell you kind of what to take you have to read and read...but I tried trial and error.  Andrea does know the best advice ....she has researched everything and is wonderful.  Hugs Patty