VITAMIN questions a year after my surgery....NOT SO GOOD!
Hello,
I'm not going to lie. I haven't been the greatest at taking my vitamins. I have ADHD so it's very hard for me to stick to regular routines. I think having to get chewables and having to order them special made it that much harder for me to follow through. However I have recently gotten myself taking a couple multivitamins everyday, along with a couple sugar free chewable calcium caltrates. The sugar free tootsie roll ones at Sams. However I have no idea if I'm taking what I should be or not and wanted to see if I could get some advise now that I can actually swallow normal pills and don't need chewables anymore. Could I please get a basic list of what I should take each day. Please stick to vitamins that I can get at my local drug store and keep it simple and cheap. I want to try to stick to this and so it's important to start small. Thank you to anyone who is willing to help me!
I'm not going to lie. I haven't been the greatest at taking my vitamins. I have ADHD so it's very hard for me to stick to regular routines. I think having to get chewables and having to order them special made it that much harder for me to follow through. However I have recently gotten myself taking a couple multivitamins everyday, along with a couple sugar free chewable calcium caltrates. The sugar free tootsie roll ones at Sams. However I have no idea if I'm taking what I should be or not and wanted to see if I could get some advise now that I can actually swallow normal pills and don't need chewables anymore. Could I please get a basic list of what I should take each day. Please stick to vitamins that I can get at my local drug store and keep it simple and cheap. I want to try to stick to this and so it's important to start small. Thank you to anyone who is willing to help me!
Lisa Marie 
Sounds like the calcium you got is calcium carbonate. We can't absorb that. We need calcium citrate.
OK, here is the basic stuff you need.
A multivitamin. An adult vitamin, chewable or one you swallow, whichever you prefer. No gummies because they are missing lots of stuff. Look for Centrum or a generic brand that is equivalent to Centrum. Just compare the labels.
Calcium citrate. Can't be carbonate. You usually can't find chewable calcium citrate in stores, so if you don't want to order online, you will have to buy pills that you swallow. If you don't wanna swallow them, though, you can dissolve them in a couple ounces of liquid and drink it. Look for Citracal but make sure it's not the gummies, those are the wrong kind. Read the label and make sure it says citrate, not carbonate. Or you can get a generic one. You need 1500 mg calcium citrate a day and have to divide it into three doses of 500 mg each.
Iron. If you still get your period, you need about 60 mg iron a day. If you don't, you can just take about 36 mg. If there is iron in your multi, that counts. You can get Feosol iron at CVS. Make sure you pick out the carbonyl one, not the ferrous sulfate one.
B12. Get a sublingual. It will say to dissolve it under your tongue. Look for 500 mcg and take one a day.
OK, here is the basic stuff you need.
A multivitamin. An adult vitamin, chewable or one you swallow, whichever you prefer. No gummies because they are missing lots of stuff. Look for Centrum or a generic brand that is equivalent to Centrum. Just compare the labels.
Calcium citrate. Can't be carbonate. You usually can't find chewable calcium citrate in stores, so if you don't want to order online, you will have to buy pills that you swallow. If you don't wanna swallow them, though, you can dissolve them in a couple ounces of liquid and drink it. Look for Citracal but make sure it's not the gummies, those are the wrong kind. Read the label and make sure it says citrate, not carbonate. Or you can get a generic one. You need 1500 mg calcium citrate a day and have to divide it into three doses of 500 mg each.
Iron. If you still get your period, you need about 60 mg iron a day. If you don't, you can just take about 36 mg. If there is iron in your multi, that counts. You can get Feosol iron at CVS. Make sure you pick out the carbonyl one, not the ferrous sulfate one.
B12. Get a sublingual. It will say to dissolve it under your tongue. Look for 500 mcg and take one a day.
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.
Thank you for the info! I currently give myself a B12 shot once a month, so I'm good on that. But my doctor said that my B12 was REALLY high when he did my last check. I go to a regular doctor who doesn't know anything about gastic though and I had just given myself the shot that day, so I don't know if it's supposed to be that high or not. I just moved to a small town and need to find a gastric doctor out here soon! My checks also showed that my potasium and calcium were both low. I found a bottle of Citracal in my cupboard (citrate), so I'm working towards bringing those numbers up. I'm hoping just taking my multivitamin regularily now, will help my potasium get up to where it's supposed to me too. But I'm also trying to eat lots of bananas 
Thanks again!!!
Thanks again!!! Lisa Marie
How high was your B12?
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.
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