Best multi vitamin?

My doctor has me on bariactric advantage supplements and I would love to have a multi vitamin that includes my calcium and iron so that I don't have to take as many pills. My doctor said that I can't do this until 6 weeks out on his website but I need to swallow pills I can't tolerate chewing them. Any ideas?

There is no multi that has all the calcium you need.  The ASMBS says we need 1500 mg a day - to put that in a multi would make a HUGE pill.  Plus we can only absorb about 500 mg at a time, so we have to take it three times a day.  Calcium needs to be taken separately from iron because it blocks the absorption of iron.

Now, a multi like Centrum has 18 mg iron in it, so taking that twice a day is enough for many people that don't menstruate.  If you menstruate, you'd need more iron.

The ASMBS says it's OK to swallow pills as soon as you can tolerate doing so.  Many people, including myself, were swallowing them the day of or day after surgery.

Iron and calcium can't be taken at the same time because they cancel out the absorption of each other.  

You can get chewable calcium supplements from Bariatric Advantage, Calcet and other brands but be sure it is calcium citrate if you've had RNY.

There are a lot of pills to take every day, but that's just the way it is. I usually take my vitamins and other meds a few minutes apart with a sip of water, and then calcium at bedtime to give it time to work. The chocolate calcium chews are my nighttime treats while watching TV. 

First of all - the bad news.  There is not one single end-all-be-all multi vitamin.  This is simply because some vitamins (iron and calcium, for example) that cannot be taken together because they will cancel each other out, rendering them useless, while other items absorb better when paired with another vitamin (iron and vit C).  If you are RNY or DS, you will likely need much more than the Bariatric Advantage brand gives in their multi's or ADEK versions.  Expect to start piecing together several vitamins to take daily.  Your labs will guide you on what you need more or less of.  

Now, the good news - you don't need "designer brands" like Bariatric Advantage.  A Centrum or generic equivalent will do just fine.  You may need a double-dose, but that's it.  From there, you start adding the others like extra B, iron, C, and the A, D, E and K.  I set reminder alarms to take another dose, but it becomes quite routine.

Finally, a warning to NOT turn to using Flintstones or gummy vitamins.  They are not as complete as a regular multi and many have become horribly deficient by depending on these.  

Calcium and iron can’t be taken at the same time. You can take both tablets like one in the night and one in the morning. The behind taking them separately is that when calcium and iron are taken together, the absorption of iron can be decreased by up to 62%