Ok.. Vitamins

your surgeon will check your levels every so often. by the time things show up low you could be in trouble. you should ask for copies of your labs and look for trends, and if something is going down when it shouldn't, add mor of it at that time.

you really really need to take your calcium. and B12. and more than 1 multivitamin.

you need to make an appt. with your surgeon or nutritionist. people that get low in the B's can wind up with nerve damage, memory loss. people low in calcium can wind up with broken bones.

this supplementation thing is a big deal. you have to do it every day. get in the habit. come on, you can do it!

I was the same as you...I told my dr. that I didn't need the antacid and gallstone pills.  He told me that they were preventative steps to avoid 1. ulcers and 2. gallstones later on.  Take them because this early out you're at risk for both.  You don't want to be dealing with an ulcer a month or two from now and you certainly don't want to be back in surgery with gallbladder problems.  It's only for a little while.  He said the first 3 months.
 

#1 Calcium Citrate 515mg (1 petite, 1 regular), 5,000 i.u. water miscible vite D, 1000mcg B-12 tablet (not sublingual)

#2 150mg carbonyl iron (6x 25mg tabs), 1000mg vite C (2x500mg)

#3 Calcium citrate 515mg, 5,000 i.u. vite D, super B-complex, multivite, folic acid 400mcg, magnesium oxide 400mg

#4 Calcium citrate 515mg, 5,000 i.u. vite D, multivite

#5 Carbonyl iron 150mg, vite C 1000mg, super B-complex

#6 Zinc 60mg (2x 30mg), copper 4mg (2x 2mg), water miscible vite A 25,000 i.u.

#7 Calcium citrate 515mg, 10,000 i.u. vite D, magnesium oxide 400mg



Some explanations on my list:

1) The American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgeons (one of the grand poobahs of the WLS industry) recommends 2 adult multivitamins per day.  If you get a bariatric formulation, you can follow their recommendations, but you may still need to supplement additional things.

2) The ASMBS also recommends 1500-2000mgs of calcium citrate *per day* in order to maintain bone health, especially during the rapid weight loss phase.  Normals only absorb 500-600mgs per dose, and we will absorb less given the surgery, thus the super high amount.  Please note, Tums, Optisource, and Caltrate are all carbonate, which is not bioavailable in RNY guts.  Period.

3)  Most RNY folks need iron.  I need a ton, but you may not.  I am anemic as hell, and I'm fighting to get my numbers up.  This is why I also take so much zinc, copper, and vite A.  If you don't take massive iron, you won't need copper, or high amounts of zinc.

4) I was vite D deficient, thus the super high doses of D.  You may not need this many, but this is better than the 50,000 iu I was taking a few months back.  All of us need supplemental D though.. for so many reasons -- cancer, bone health, fatigue, depression.. it does a body good.

5) All RNY'ers need to take a B-12 supplement of some sort -- whether shot, sublingual, or pill.  How much and how often is determined by your individual labs.

6) All RNY'ers should take a B-complex -- and make sure it has a good dose of B-1.  Most do not contain B-12, so take both.  This is vital for your neurological health.

 Talking vitamins every day is a small price to pay in order to be healthy.

I take the following daily and have my blood work done every 3 months and the only deficiency noted had been with vitamin A  which I have since added to my daily routine.  What did your surgeon and nut recommend that you take. 

Calcium Citrate Petites - 6
Multi Vitamin - 2
B-12
Zinc
Biotin - 2
Dry Vitamin A
B 50 Complex

Good Luck  on your journey.

2 Bariatric Advantage chewable mulit vitimans - daily
4 Bariatric Adavntage chewable calcium citrate - daily
1 Dry Vitamin D3 with the calcium each morning - daily
1 Biotin - daily
1 2500mcg B-12 Sublinguinal -  3x per week
1 Solgar Gentle Iron Capsule, 25mcg with a chewable Vitamin C - every other day

I'm two weeks out and my labs came back in the normal range.

This is what I'm currently taking and it may change:

1 Prevacid; sublingual (prevent ulcers)
2 Centrum chewables; spaced out by 2 hours
2 Calcimate Plus (which has Calcium citrate, Magnesium, Boron, Vitamin D, Copper, & Zinc);    
    spaced out by 2 hours
1 Vitamin D 1,000 I.U.'s soft gels (D3; Cholecalciferol); usaully take with a calcium citrate

Before surgery I had a Vitamin D deffeincy so I've been taking calcium/vit d supplements for over a year now.  I did switch to calcium citrate after reading several posts about malabsorption of the carbonate.  I haven't had any problems with constapation or low blood counts so I do not have to take colace or iron supplements.

I don't have as many as others on here but it helps to take out the supplements you need on a daily basis in a pill sorter or in a smaller container.  I also right down in my journal when I should take them so they are spaced out during the day and not swallowing a ton of pills at one time.

I take the following:

(2) - One-a-Day Women's vitamins
(6) - Citracal 250 mg calcium citrate
(2) - Nature Made 250 mg Magnesium.
(4) - Source Naturals Vitamin D3 - 2,000 iu
(1) - Spring Valley Biotin - 1,000 mcg
(1) - Source Naturals sublingual B12 - 2000 mcg
(1) - Nature's Way Alive Multivitamin (misread the label when I bought it so I take one a day until they're gone and then that is it)
(1) - Nature Made Zinc (don't have it here so don't know the mg)
(1) - Solgar B-Complex "50"
(1) - Solgar Vitamin C 500 mg
(4) - SF Fiber Choice
(2) - Twinlab Iron 18 mg

Jeepers when you list it out... it sure looks liike a lot! I have trouble remembering to take the iron and the zinc.

I started the D and Magnesium when my vitamin D levels were low (28), after six weeks they were much higher (59). I'm looking forward to my next labs, and seeing how they are doing after three more months of keeping to this regimen. If they have increased a similar amount I might decrease my vitamin D just a tad (3 pills instead of 4). Everything is based on my labs. I ask for printouts. I keep track. If they go the wrong direction, I try to fix things by adjusting my vitamins.

I take:

1 chewable centrum
1 biotin
1 zinc
1 vit D
2 carbonyl iron tabs
1 b-12
1 scoop UpCalD

all daily

I may need to up some of these it looks like, but my labs have been fine except for protien.

Good Luck!

what is the biotin for and wouldn't there be enough biotin in a multivitamin?

Dianne 

I am sure someone has already said this but I don't have time to look at all of the replies. Have your Primary doctor send your bloodwork results to your weight loss surgeon. They will let you know what you need. Your body is going to react differently than everyone else's (as you can probably tell by all the different advice you will get on what to take) so you need to adjust your vitamins specifically to your own bodies needs. Play it safe...consult your doctors.