Stuff to know about vitamin A

I’m assuming we all know we need vitamin A.  Like other vitamins, we don’t absorb it real well after RNY, especially ‘cause it’s a fat soluble vitamin and we don’t absorb fats so well anymore.  We need vitamin A to make red blood cells, for our eyesight, and for a healthy immune system.  If you get pregnant, you also need it for the baby to grow and develop properly.

Vitamin A deficiency is a problem after RNY for a couple reasons.  One, we just don’t absorb it too well.  Two, many multivitamins contain something called beta carotene for their source of vitamin A.  Betacarotene isn’t exactly vitamin A, we have to convert it to vitamin A in our bodies.  Only adults don’t covert it well for some reason.  Kids convert it better.  Also, you need lots of stomach acid to absorb betacarotene but we don’t have much stomach acid.  We do much better with retinyl palmitate or retinyl acetate in a supplement. 

Many multis have a combo of beta carotene and one of the retinyls, so we might only absorb some of the vitamin A in our multi.  Flintstones is one multi that has beta carotene for vitamin A.  That’s just one of several reasons that Flintstones are not a good choice for us.

Symptoms of vitamin A deficiency include poor night vision, then other problems with eyesight, dry itchy eyes, dry cracked lips, very dry skin and getting sick easily.  Usually your level is pretty seriously low before you start having symptoms though.  That’s why we need to get our vitamin A level checked along with other labs on a regular basis.  Some docs don’t check vitamin A routinely for some reason, so you may need to ask yours to order that test when you get labs done.

You are such a wealth of information!

Thank you for sharing 

Very good info.   What do you take as far a your vitamin regimen ?  What do you take for A ?  I have my first labs drawn at my next appt.  I will definitely ask him to draw fro A as well.  

Can you give us an example of what you take for your vitamins?  On a daily basis and where you get them ?  Thanks Kelly....Your always a big help ~

MG.........

I do 25,000 IU vitamin A three times a week, based on my labs.  Not everyone needs extra A, although it seems a number of people do.

My current vitamin schedule goes like this:

Breakfast - multi (generic, equivalent to Centrum), 500 mg calcium citrate (generic), 50,000 IU D 3 three times a week (vitalady.com), 25,000 IU A three times a week (vitalady.com), and 50 mg zinc twice a week (vitalady.com)

midmorning - 500 mg calcium citrate (usually Upcal D, which I order from Colonial Medical)

lunch - 150 mg iron (Sundown Perfect Iron) with 1000 mg vitamin C (generic)

Dinner - multi, 500 mg calcium citrate

Bedtime - 150 mg iron with 1000 mg vitamin C (the reason for so much iron is that my recent labs showed my ferritin was super super low