Vitamins/Protein

Hello everyone....I hope to get an approval for my surgery this week and needed to know what vitamins I would be taking after surgery to ensure I have them here after the surgery.  I guess I would like to know what kind of vitamins/protein you have/are taking, so I have an idea what I need to be taking?  Also, is there any over the counter chewable vitamins I can get that would be just as good?  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks in advance....

Here's what the ASMBS says you should start with:

A multi with 100% of the RDA of most nutrients.  Take two a day.  Stay away from kids' vitamins and gummy vitamins, because those will not have what you need.  Even though Flintstones says “complete" on the bottle, they really are not complete.  They recommend a multi with iron.  If you take a multi with no iron, you’ll need additional iron at a separate time.  They say to start your multi as soon as you get home from the hospital.

1500-2000 mg calcium citrate.  Make sure it's citrate, not carbonate.  That means no Caltrate and no Viactiv.  They say you can wait up to one month to start your calcium – not that you should wait, just that you can.

18-27 mg iron for menstruating women, unless your labs show you need more.  (If you’re using a multi with no iron, that would mean you’d need 54-63 50 mg iron.)  We absorb carbonyl iron better than ferrous sulfate.  Ferrous sulfate will also make you constipated.  They say to start your iron as soon as you get home from the hospital.

B12.  You can use a sublingual, 350-500 mcg per day, a patch once a week, nasal spray once a week, or shots once a month.  Unless your labs show you need more.  They say you can wait up to three months to start your B12 – not that you should wait, just that you can.

They say a B complex is optional.

Many people also need D3 so you should get your vitamin D level to find out if you do.  Don’t take the prescription vitamin D, because it’s D2 and in oil so we will absorb very little of it.

@ Kelly,
I presently take Vit. D3 gel caps 5,000 IU daily because I am Vit. D deficient.  Will I still be able to take this or should I change to a different one.  If I have to, I can puncture the gelcap and get the fluid out but wasn't sure if it would absorb or not.  Thanks for letting me know....

by gel cap, you mean the football shaped things with oily stuff inside?  Won't work for us because we malabsorb fats. We need dry D3, either a tablet or capsule with powder inside.

If you are vitamin D deficient, you'll most likely need a lot more than 5000 IU a day after surgery, too.

Vitalady is a great resource for vitamins and protein.  She is a long time post op and has the kinds we need.  She also has a schedule for RNY patients and what they should take and when.
www.vitalady.com

My surgeon had me start all vitamins after surgery.  I take bariatric choice vitamins, as they are geared to us.  I use caltrate 600 with D, and I use B12 sublingual from bariatric source.  Hope this helps and good luck and best wishes on your upcoming surgery also.

Dawn