Vitamins

Hey there Cara. I am actually having less pain in my abdomen where the seroma was/is. That's a good thing! It's still a little puffy so I'm wondering if it's in the process of "filling up" again. I hope not! Thanks for askin'! Chele

Hi Chele, Since my surgery on 1/31/06 I have been taking the following vitamins as directed by my surgeon. The are made by bariatric advantage. * 1 chewable 29 mg iron in passion fruit flavor * 2 chewable multi-vitamins in tropical flavor * 2 chocolate flavored calcium citrate lozenges * 1 sublingual B-12 2x per week I have to admit, they are pretty tolerable when it comes to taste. Dana

I take: 2 Flinstones chewables in am 2 Caltrate cheable (1 in am, 1pm) 1 sublingual B12 sometime during the day BTW, a fellow WLS friend told me they have SF Viactiv calcium, which I assume are less than 20 calories/chew. I'm on a hunt for them this weekend. I couldn't choke down the liquid calcium citrate I was taking, so my doc said to switch to the calcium chewable, which isn't citrate, but at least it's calcium. I have some of the regular Viactiv in the pantry, but hate to waste 40 calories. Lisa S.

Lisa, I bought the SF Viactives at Walmart. They are 20 cals a piece. They're pretty good. I didn't realize the regular ones were 40 cals a piece! Chele

1. Twin lab B-12 2. Centrum orange chewable multi vitamin 3. 2 Tums SF chewable for calcium.. as soon as they run out, I'm gonna buy Calcium Citrate. 4. Iron.. Dont know the brand, its a prescription from my PCP. I take B-12 and Iron as soon as I get up. Calcium and multivitimin at lunch time Last Calcium before bed. Kay

I take a multi in the AM and PM with food, I just started the Twinlab Daily One Caps with Iron. My doctor put me on Calcium Caltrate, 1800mg a day. I take three suppliments. Caltrate 600 chewables ****il the bottle runs out then I am getting the regular tabs, a nice 500mg Calcium Caltrate from Windmill and then a candy kinda thing called Adora that has 500 mg and just 30calories/4g sugar. One every 2 days is a treat. I rotate between these three for variety. Post op my nails are hard and growing like crazy. A sublingual B12 every Sunday. They said to take it in the morning to prevent sleep issues. My iron was slightly low at my last blood check so I am choosing iron rich foods to avoid any suppliments. There's a nice selection of vitamins from puritin pride, order their catalog. To answer the caltrate versus citrate discussion, I called upon our friend google, and found these explainations which put more emphasis on citrate: ------------------- Calcium Citrate Absorption: Calcium is best absorbed in an acidic environment, hence calcium citrate is the best absorbed supplemental form of calcium. It does not require extra stomach acid for absorption, hence we may take it anytime in a day, even on an empty stomach. Calcium content: Calcium Citrate usually provides less elemental calcium per pill than Calcium Carbonate, therefore one may need to take a relatively more numbers of pills per day to meet the needs. Pill Size: Calcium Citrate is usually small in capsule form. If you suffer from acid stomach, it is best to avoid Calcium Citrate. Calcium Carbonate e.g. Tums or Caltrate Absorption: Calcium Carbonate is alkaline based, it requires extra stomach acid for better absorption, hence it is best taken right after meals or with a glass of acidic juice such as orange juice. Calcium Content: Calcium Carbonate is the most prevalent calcium supplements in the market . It provides more elemental calcium than Calcium Citrate hence you may not need take as many pills. Pill Size: Calcium Carbonate usually comes in a bigger tablet, some people may find it harder to swallow. http://www.healthcastle.com/calciumcarbonate-calciumcitrate.shtml ------------ And then healthlink says just the opposite: alcium Citrate vs. Calcium Carbonate Q: In an earlier column you advised taking Tums for calcium, as I've heard other MD's advise. Because I've read several reports on the greater value of calcium citrate, I take a calcium magnesium supplement with calcium citrate. Since it's clear we need magnesium with our calcium, and Tums has no magnesium and the lesser form of calcium, is Tums really the product of choice? It's cheap but that's it. Any comments? A: As I wrote in that column, calcium citrate is better absorbed than calcium carbonate but much more expensive. In the article you sent me from the November, 1999 issue of The Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, Howard J. Heller, MD and his colleagues compared the calcium absorption of Citracal (a calcium citrate formulation) and Os-Cal (a calcium carbonate one) after a single oral dose (500 mg calcium), taken with a meal. By measuring blood levels of calcium, they demonstrated that calcium citrate is 2.5 times more bioavailable (easier for your body to use) than calcium carbonate. Cost is certainly not the most important factor in choosing a calcium supplement, but if a person doesn't have side effects from calcium carbonate, why not take the cheaper one? For some people on a fixed income, an extra $20-30 a month makes a difference. You can buy calcium carbonate combined with Vitamin D and magnesium in pill form too. It doesn't have to be chewable Tums. http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/964794298.html So it seems you need to choose based on your propensity to eat it with or without foods and issues with stomach acid. They all agree that magnesium and vitamin D increase absorption so whatever product you choose these two should be included. And as we've read, calcium and iron negate each other so they should be taken 2 hours apart, 1 hour minimum. That's my google research for tonite... ~Tiffany