Vitamin Question

I am just about 3 years post op and haven't been taking my vitamins for quite some time now( I know I know BAD) but I am getting myself back on track and was curious if being this far out can I take my multi and calcium in pill form? I luckliy never needed to take iron, and even not taking my vitamins for over a year the only one that ever got too low or out of normal range was my vitamin C. Thanks for any input! 

I take calcium in pill form....and I know that others take a lot of vitamins in pill form even after only a few months.    Even though your iron stayed normal did  your ferriatin (sp?) stay okay.  Its the stores I hear that can become a problem as they get low its hard to get them back up.  Your body will use that if your low.  I recently lowered all the iron I'm taking at my PA's orders.  Down to 3 times a week.

Ok good i bought pills to take. except for my vit C those lil buggers are like a treat for me!  yes my ferratin levels were also ok. my dr's  always said that stuff looked good. 

You write that your doctors say that your levels are good, but did you see the results yourself? Do not simply take their word for it. It is the trends that are important too. Are they going up or down over time? Many that take charge of this keep all of their lab results in a spreadsheet.

How many vials of blood did they take to check your levels? To test all of the vitamin and mineral levels takes about 15 vials. If they did a lot fewer than that, they didn't test nearly enough.

I have never met an RNY patient who didn't need iron supplements. The difference between a ferritin level at the bottom of the "normal" range and a level requiring an iron transfusion is extremely small. And once it drops that small amount, no amount of iron pills will help.

Vitamins are nothing to mess around with. I encourage everyone to get their actual results, and keep track over time. Ignore what the lab says is a normal range. If you are unsure of things, post them on here. There are some very helpful people on here with more experience and knowledge than you will find anywhere else, and they will be glad to help decipher it for you.

HI - you seem to know what you are talking about - thanks for the advice. Would you know specifically where I should post my levels from my recent blood results? I am going to see the doctor on Friday (but like you say - and I agree - I demanded my results from the lab and I am trying to "google" the results for myself so that I am well informed and can ask the right questions. Apparently they said that my iron (or Ferritin) levels were low so want to do an iron transfusion and also that my calcium and vit b 12 levels are low. I am also having a vit infusion as well.

Question - do you know how one can maintain or keep these levels up "on an ongoing basis"? I take ALL my vitamins etc religiously every day..... I stopped my iron tablets (the doctor told me to stop as my Ferritin levels were high about 18 months ago but now they are saying they are LOW (after 18 months of stopping) - although when I look at my current Ferritin levels they are "27" - reference being 13-150....so they ARE within the range???? Maybe they got this information from another test? (Not sure)

How do you keep track of your blood results? I am 4 years post op roux en y .... I have had "heart pulpitations" since the op (and I see they did test for something called ProBNP-B... which looks like a test specifically for the heart..... blood reference should be 125 and mine was 190....have you heard of anything like this before??Never ever had heart pulpitations before the op.... (reading online I have come across a few sites saying that lack of calcium and magnesium can cause heart pulpitations)???

Let me know if you can advise, thanks, Paula from South Africa :) 

While none of us (well I am sure some are) are not doctors if you post here you will get some knowledgable responses.  I always write down what questions the responses bring up so I can ask my doctor.  All in all it makes me more informed and personally responsible for my own health.  I am one of the ones that keeps a spreadsheet and looks for trends.  My PA writes in a bunch of extra tests that I requested including zinc and copper and magnesium as long as I promise that any questions about trends or numbers comes to her before I change my supplementation! 

Thanks for your reply! Best of everything!

I always get a copy of my test results to keep on hand for my records. they take between 10-15 vials. I havent had my labs done for a while, I am due. I've never been on an iron supplement. 

Sure, you can take them in pill form.

Oh, and if you havn't been taking vitamins for a long time, it's really unlikely your labs are all good.  Did your doc do a lot of labs?  Like take about 14 tubes of blood?