Have a question for all the vitamin gurus...

First- thank you for your time!

I have been taking Bariatric Advantage chewables since my RNY 15 months ago.  My numbers have looked good and I feel the vitamins have worked well for me (plus, the orange ones are actually good, and many of the other vitamins I've tried have been nasty).

 However, I'm getting ready to try to conceive, and while the Bariatric Advantage chewables are good on folic acid, they actually have too much vitamin A.  Excessive vitamin A can cause birth defects and my doctor said not to take any that have more than 100% of the daily value of vitamin A (B.A. has 150%).  Sadly, BA even has a "prenatal kit" sold on the website, but it includes these regular chewables!  

 So I'm on the search for a new vitamin - something good for my RNY, but that won't give me too much vitamin A.  Thanks for any advice you can provide!

 Have you tried Vitalady's vitamin and supplement recommendations?  That way you can tailor the amount of Vitamin A to meet your needs.

Does your doctor understand that you malabsorb vitamins, so you won't actually absorb all the vitamin A in those multis?  If so, and he still thinks that's too much, my only suggestion would be to chose a multi that uses beta carotene for some or all of its vitamin A, since you won't absorb that.

Yes, and at 15 months, both still think 150% of daily value is too much, especially after evaluating my diet (apricots, lettuce, butternut squash, carrots, etc.)

 I don't want to give up my healthy diet just because my vitamin has too much A in it.  Does anyone know of a bariatric vitamin that has lower vitamin A or A as beta carotene?

 Thanks for your help!

 

What type of vitamin A is in your BA multi?  And you don't have to take a bariatric multi, any adult multi with 100% of the RDA of most stuff in it meets the ASMBS guidelines.

Hmm, I tried to find out but couldn't.  It just says:

 

Nutrient Amount %DV

Vitamin A 7,500 IU 150%

 

It's the Bariatric Advantage regular chewable

I can't find a list of ingredeints on their website.  I hate it when companies make it hard to find out what's in their vitamins.  But is there a list of ingredients on the bottle?  Does that list include beta carotene?  Have you called the customer service number and asked?

OK, you're a genius and I'm a moron!  Which is why I'm glad you're here!

 I went to the website and had emailed customer service 3 days ago (no reply yet) but for whatever reason, I didn't think to check the freakin' bottle!!!  (I'm actually off of it right now because I had to take methotrexate and cannot mix that with ANY folic acid, which it has). 

 

So the bottle clearly says Vitamin A (from beta carotene).  So is that safe to take while trying to conceive?

Thank you so much for your brain which is useful where mine is useless!

You will absorb very little beta carotene.

I'm not saying if it's safe to take or not when trying to conceive.  I don't feel qualified to answer that.  All I'm saying is you won't really get 7500 IU vitamin A if the vitamin A comes from beta carotene.

Thanks for your help and honesty.  I read that beta carotene is absorbed in the upper intestine.  Is that why I wouldn't absorb all of it?  I'm not clear on the difference between A and A as beta carotene.