Here's a great article from Mt. Sinai Hospital about Bariatrics and Vitamins:
Vitamins and Minerals
BUT, I'd like to point out the following from the article:
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ALL PATIENTS:
All Vitamins/minerals must be taken as the schedule states because if the vitamins are taken all at once, the patient will only absorb a small fraction of what is needed and the rest is lost.
(I too have a specific vitamin schedule from my NUT)
Chronically forgetting to take the vitamins, not taking the vitamins at all, or taking them all at once will lead to deficiencies and illness.
Do not take Calcium Carbonate forms of Calcium. You will only absorb 8% of this calcium and will absorb 48% of the Calcium Citrate form.
(I didn't know this, but I take Calcium Citrate as instructed by my NUT.)
The Calcium Carbonate forms can lead to chronic nausea and gas pain in certain patients, and may lead to kidney stones forming especially for those patients with a history of kidney stones.
Do not drink caffeinated beverages until you are able to drink 64 ounces of non-caffeinated fluids and then you may have 16 ounces of a caffeinated beverage.
Caffeine interferes with vitamin/mineral absorption. Do not drink caffeinated beverages with the vitamins (wait 1 hour after you drink "the cup of coffee" to take the vitamin, or drink "the coffee" and wait 1 hour to take the vitamin.
Too much caffeine can lead to anemia. Caffeine removes the iron from your body.
I gave up 95% caffeine a long time ago, opting for decaf. I haven't had a cup of coffee in over 2 months... but all these caffeine negatives are good to know, especially if you're allowed to take non-asperin Excedrin -- which I am, during my period only, as needed.
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STILL... when it comes to vitamin choice... I'm more inclined to take my NUT's recommendation. My DOC told me yesterday that she's the one with the expertise in that field and from the research he did, he trusts her recommendations... AND that he would never recommend a children's vitamin for an adult, even if WLS wasn't involved.
BUT in WLS, it's better to err on the side of caution than err on the side of not enough, because that not enough is too often irreversible, and that's not acceptable when it could be preventable.
