NOT TAKING VITAMINS OR CALCIUM!

I have a friend who is 6 months post-op. When we worked together I constantly reminded her to take her vitamins & calcium.  When I saw her yesterday she relayed to me that she only takes them when she remembers, which is not often.  What are the dangers of not taking the daily recommended dosage of our meds?

Wow, that's not good. There are SO many problems that can arise~even neurological, permanent damage! I don't understand why someone would go thru the risks of wls to get healthy and then take their health for granted afterwards. Taking vits is such a simple thing to do and a good trade compared to obesity IMO. I know one thing that REALLY helps me to stay on track with the vits is one of those plastic weekly containers, that way on Sunday I fill up each day for the whole week with the necessary vits and just make sure by the end of the day that slot is empty. Maybe you could buy her one to try~I got mine for $1.00 at WalMart.

dreamgirl .. how did the 5dpt go?

Segmented pill compartments is what I use. I load up a weeks worth of supplements into these compartments on the weekend. The compartments are divided into 4 total per day, one of early AM, one for noon, one for early evening and one for bedtime. I include my presciption meds in these compartments too. There are also small timers that sound alarms several times daily, made for diabetics or others who need meds several times daily. OR, there are also watches that have multiple timer settings per day. She needs to find some way to alert herself of when to take these supplements. My support group leader often relates the experience of one RNY client of my surgeon who did not take supplements. After a year, he ended up permanently in a nursing home, due to permanent neurological damage from not taking his daily vitamins. DAVE

as noted in many WLS hournals (finally):
osteoporosis (calcium)
crumbling or breaking teeth (calcium, D)
osteomalacia--adult rickets (vit D)
night blindness, skin disorders, lack of immune - vit A
brain and nerve damage (B12 and other B vites)
heart attack, death, or early on, such fatigue that a person cannot hold a job - iron
lack of muscle, enough to affect gait, movement - protein
loss of hair, red bruising, bleeding issues - vit E

shall I go on?

Hello,
I'm a "lurker", going to have WLS surgery soon, and wanted to get some "words of wisdom" from you graduates! Thank you so much, I've learned a lot already! My surgeon also said that vitamins were everyday, for life.  My heart sank. I thought to myself, "How am I going to remember to take them, I don't do that now?" Then I read a post somewhere where the person set her cell phone to beep 4x a day as a reminder! I ALWAYS have my cell phone on me, and now I will have no excuse!