Bariatric Vitamins

[kinipela24]

Does anyone have any suggestions for bariatric vitamins regarding brands and the form t take them in? There are a lot of options online. Do the vitamin patches work (I am skeptical) and which form will go down the easiest immediately after sugery (liquid, melts, chews, etc.)? There is also of course the taste factor. It is already a challenge for me to swallow pills pre op. My surgery is June 14th and I really need to have everything in place before I come home. Any feedback would be great!

[Christie13]

Most vitamins don't taste good in my opinion.

[Sandra3]

My advice would be don't stock up!
I had too since i live in Asia and had my vitamins shipped from overseas, but had lots to give away post-op. The liquid vitamins made me sick, same for protein shake etc.
What was ok pre-op was not post-op, and could change from month to month.
I tried so many brands, I have a full dresser with so many supplements I should start a written inventory lol!
Right now I take a few brands that made me sick during the first months, now it's ok so it's not completely wasted, but for ex for my iron supplement I did give away lot's of brands because I was really sick with it and knew it was too bad to change...the only one I can take at to be from vegan source...
I even took gummies for months (with other mineral supplements) because I couldn't handle any multi...so try and see...and good luck!

[Shirl]

Agreed. Most vitamins taste like vitamins WLS or not.

I asked my pharmacist about the Costco multivitamin gummies and they said they were better than nothing all lol! They did say that they are made with collagen gelatin which is a good. They do taste real good so be careful if you have a sweet tooth.

I personally use Bariatric Advantage chewable vitamins (which are chalky and super sweet so I forced feed them lol!) I also have soft gels that are much easier to swallow now, but I keep going back to chewables because I have read that when we chew we produce enzymes that helps breakdown food and vitamins before it goes down to our stomachs and enzymes are very important for easier and faster absorption, specially for our new sleeved stomachs.

I love the BA calcium citrate chews! I noticed today Costco is carrying their brand as well, but unfortunately it's not the citrate kind.

Since my labs have come back good, I now take CVS brand of VitD soft gels.

I don't take B12 or B6 or BComplex because they have come back consistently too high. I read B12 we jyst pee excess out, but in another forum I read that B6 in excess can cause problems.

I take iron about a werk before my menstrual period and during only, which is roughly 15 total.

I also take probiotics regularly.

[kinipela24]

Thanks for your input!

[RehabNurse]

My nutritional lab work is perfect whenever tested. I've never used the bariatric vitamins and never will. They're prohibitively expensive and you need to take up to 4 of them each day.

I take over-the-counter Centrum vitamins. You only need to take 1 a day, and a 90-day supply is about $10 at Walmart, Target, or Walgreens. I also take generic calcium citrate, vitamin D, and iron.

Centrum comes in a chewable form. Flintstones complete multivitamins are also acceptable for sleeved patients.

[D618]

Hi there,
It's a lot of trial and error. I was taking Flintstones chewables pre-surgery and did ok with them. But, I couldn't stomach them after surgery, they made me so sick! I bought a whole lot of different chewables to try, and here are my picks:
1. Centrum Flavor Bursts chewables; they come in tropical or mixed fruit varieties. I can only find them online and at Target.
2. GNC Multivitamin chews.
3. I tried a friend's Bariatric Fusion chewables and they were pretty good.
I also have discovered that I can't stomach my multi in the morning, as it causes me to be nauseous all day, so I take it just before bed.
Hope this helps a bit!

[sraebaer]

My nutritionist recommends ProCareHealth. Their multi-vitamin bariatric ones come in a chewable for early on, and then a capsule for when you can swallow later on. Just one a day. I order online, but they are also available at my local HyVee grocery store.

My nutritionist is adamant about not buying some regular over-the-counter vitamin, says they don't have what we need after bariatric surgery, especially the iron. I had switched after 3 years, and she told me to switch back!