Poll: do you take your multivitamin and calcium together?

purplecrayon
on 7/20/11 1:18 am - NJ

My husband had his surgery a year ago at a different place then me. His surgeon said that he CANNOT take them together because it wont absorb, however, my surgeon said I can take both at the same time. Im really bad about my vitamins, and it would make it easier to take both at the same time, but if its not absorbing, whats the point? Interesting too that I was told to also take B12 and B1 and he doesnt. What have you been told?

SW 235 CW 180--almost 3 months out

Pholaris
on 7/20/11 1:24 am

RNY on 07/29/10

I don't take them at the same time. The multivitamin already has calcium so I wait hours before taking calcium so that I can fully absorb my 500 mg.

B12 is really important, I was not taking a strong enough dose, and it is scary low righ now. Working really hard on bringing that up to a decent level.

cmauler1
on 7/20/11 1:24 am

RNY on 05/23/11

I was told not to take them together. And to take B12 as well.

~ Chrissy

Surgery May 23, 2011- WooHoo!!!!!!

MarilynT
on 7/20/11 1:25 am

RNY on 10/02/01

If your multivitamin has iron in it, you should not take your calcium with it; iron inhibits the absorption of calcium (or maybe it's the other way around....can't remember).

Also, there is some evidence that our bodies can only absorb a certain amount of calcium at a time (500-600mg); so, if your multi has calcium AND you take additional calcium, you may not absorb it all.

Having said that, I do take my multi and calcium together because my multi does not have iron. I simply cannot count on myself to remember to take things more than three times a day. I have tried it and I simply don't do it. Since my labs are good, I don't worry too much about it.

Marilyn (now in NM)
RNY 10/2/01
262(HW)/150-155(GW)/159(CW)
(updated March 2012)

Paul C.
on 7/20/11 1:25 am - Cumming, GA

RNY on 07/16/10

It depends on if your Multi has Iron in it. Example is BA Multi actually has Calcium Citrate so you can take the muti and calcium together, but you may be required to take a sperate Iron. If you use a standard off the shelf multi they typically have Iron in them. Iron will block absorbtion of the calcium so you need to wait at least 2 hours between taking iron and calcium.

Paul C.
First 5K 9/27/20 46:32 - 11 weeks post op (PR 28:55 8/15/11)
First 10K 7/04/2011 1:03 First 15K 9/18/2011 1:37
First Half Marathon 10/02/2011 2:27:44 (PR 2:24:35)
First Half Ironman 9/30/12 7:32:04

Jane N.
on 7/20/11 1:37 am - Round Rock, TX

RNY on 08/02/10

I take my multi and my calcium together. I take my iron separately and I take a B12 shot once a month.

D-J
on 7/20/11 1:53 am

RNY on 06/16/11

i was told by NUT not to take them together,,so i take my multi and b12 in morning,,calcium through out the day and second multi at night

Laura in Texas
on 7/20/11 1:55 am

RNY on 09/17/08 with

Yep. I concur with what others have posted. If you use senior multivitamins, they do not have iron in them so you can take your calcium with them. I take mine together at breakfast and dinner (and another calcium dose at lunch). I take iron right before I go to bed.

Laura

Laura in Texas

53 years old; 5'7" tall; HW: 339 (BMI=53); GW: 140 CW: 170 (BMI=27)

RNY: 09-17-08 Dr. Garth Davis

brachioplasty: 12-18-09 Dr. Wainwright; lbl/bl: 06-28-11 Dr. LoMonaco

"May your choices reflect your hopes and not your fears."

poet_kelly
on 7/20/11 2:27 am - OH

RNY on 11/04/08

Yes, I take my multi with calcium. I use ENS and it is a multi with 500 mg calcium.

You CAN take your multi with calcium. If there is iron in your multi, though, the calcium will keep you from absorbing that iron. You will absorb everything else.

Your husband should absolutely be taking B12. If he has not taken any in a year, he needs to get labs done ASAP so he can see how deficient he is. He will absolutely be deficient if he had RNY a year ago and has taken no B12 since then.

After this surgery, we absorb very, very little B12 from our multi or food we eat. We need a sublingual, shots, the patch or the nasal spray.

Kelly

Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.

gbsinsatx
on 7/20/11 2:55 am - San Antonio, TX

RNY on 03/22/10

At breakfast and dinner I take 1 Bariatric Advantage Mixed Berry Vita Band Chewable Vitamin that has 300mg calcium citrate and 9 mg iron. I also take 1/2 Bariatric Advantage Wild Cherry Calcium Citrate Chewable that has 250mg. At lunch and 1 snack I take 1 Bariatric Advantage Wild Cherry Calcium Citrate Chewable that has 500mg. (My last lab was: Iron-76, Ferritin-234. I am also post-menopausal).

Age at RNY: 55, Height: 5'4", Consultation Weight: 331 lbs-12/1/2009, RNY Surgery Weight: 281 lbs-3/22/2010, Goal Weight Reached: 141 lbs-6/23/2011, Lowest Weight: 126 lbs-12/11/2011,

Current Age: 61, Current Weight: 161 lbs-5/20/2016, Total Weight Loss Maintained: 170 lbs

Poll: do you take your multivitamin and calcium together?

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Poll: do you take your multivitamin and calcium together?