So much vitamin confusion

So, are we ever allowed to take swallowable vitamins? (as opposed to chewables?). I can't find chewable or liquid biotin anywhere. Having a had time finding calcium citrate that's chewable.

Lithia? I trust you so much on these?..

Many of us take regular vitamins rather than chewables, and many have done so since just a couple of weeks post-op with no problems.  The concern is that early out (when yout pouch and stoma are swollen) you will get a pill stuck.

Bariatric Advantage has chewable calcium citrate, you can get Upcal D calcium citrate powder to mix in liquids, or can get the Calcet Creamy Bites.

Lora

I take a micro lozenge of biotin that you can put under your tongue. It's made by KAL and I get it at a local vitamin store. I take Calcet Creamy Bites that are chewable. I order my calcium and multi from Celebrate.

I just bought a whole passel of vitamins so I feel for you!

I got the Biotin (a sublingual lozenge) at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Biotin-1000mcg-Sublingual-100-Lozenge/dp/B001E8KS1S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&ref=&tag=povo-20&qid=1307504228&sr=8-1

You can also find it in capsule form which I considered as well as you can just empty the capsule contents into a shake or yogurt. In the vitamin/heath stores it is usually under B-7 rather than biotin which can make finding it hard. (But almost everyone carries the capsules it seems, even the local grocery store. And they are not horse pills...so you could probably swallow them fine.)

The lozenges were cheaper than the capsules so I went with them. Plus I will be dumping enough of my supplements into my shakes and yogurt that a lozenge or two might be a welcome break.

Calcium is a much larger pill, but I know some people just take them after they have been out for a while. There are lots and lots of different calcium options - chewy candy-like supplements (gummy, fudge, and caramel types), crystals and powders that dissolve in liquids, shakes, lozenges, and capsules that you can empty.

They do make chewable calcium citrate (Amazon has a bunch and so does the vitamin/health stores locally...but they are not in the local grocery/discount stores here at least.) and they come in either pills or wafers. Caltrate makes one and so does Twin Labs, along with a bunch of other companies - but oddly Caltrate is usually the cheapest.

Personally I adore the chews, which was shocking because I have been choking down pills for years as the early versions of the calcium chews were extremely nasty. They are not the cheapest option - but nor are they the most expensive.