Flintstones vs. Bariatric Vitamins - Page 8 - ThinnerTimes

Corrine · 06-30-2008, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BabyNicole

I just printed the chart and noticed it said the bariatric requirement is two Centrum chewables a day? I was only told to take one.

Nicole - you need to talk with your doc/NUT about - there may be a good reason for recommending only one Centrum chewable.

Centrum chewables are what my hospital recommends and the dose is 2 a day. I have WLS friends who's doc/NUT recommended the same dose. But then I also have WLS friends who were told to take a couple of kiddies gummy bears a day too!

1 Centrum a day is the recommended amount for a person with a normal stomach arrangement. Factor in the malabsorption thing and it seems to make more sense to increase the dose for gastric bypass people.

In this report dated March 2008 http://download.journals.elsevierhea...8908001639.pdf - page 7:

"Multivitamin-mineral supplement: A high-potency vitamin containing 100% of the daily value for at least 2/3 of nutrients" ....... And the recommended dose for RYGB, BPDS/DS is 200% of daily value (which is 2 pills).

Pages 7 is the start of multivitamins and supplements but this really is a must read for everyone.

Deirdrea · 06-30-2008, 10:05 PM

I didn't read much beyond your post... Your NUT is correct in that you need to spread out your calcium citrate and regular vitamins if they have calcium in them. Your body (according to my NUT.) can only absorb 500mg of Calcium at one time.

I personally take Vista Wellness (which are a bariatric vit. and recommended by my NUT as well as Doc as one of two brands that we should take the other being Optisource) I end up taking 8 capsuls a day. I take 4 plus 1 calcium in the am. Take 2 more calcium around lunch time. Take the last 4 plus 1 calcium in the pm. This gives me my full days vitamins plus approx 2000 mg of Calcium daily.

kittens4 · 07-01-2008, 05:42 AM

My two cents.....and good advice Dr Dyann gave me early on, If you've had Bariatric Surgery, you need to take a Bariatric Vitamin. I take Bariatric Advantage...I get them online...automatically shipped to me every month. They are chewable, twice a day. I also take Calcium twice a day, chewable also. Oh, and now that I'm not absorbing iron, I'm taking iron suppliment also. Slow FE from Walmart....a small pill to swallow. The other thing I do is a B-12 dot under the tongue...I just bought some chewable iron from Bariatric Advantage. I just tried it, so we'll see how the labs go. I just had new ones done yesterday. Everyone has their own opinion on Vitamins and what works...but for me, I'll keep on taking the Bariatric ones. They seem to work great and I feel good!

Corrine · 07-01-2008, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kittens4

My two cents.....and good advice Dr Dyann gave me early on, If you've had Bariatric Surgery, you need to take a Bariatric Vitamin. I take Bariatric Advantage...I get them online...automatically shipped to me every month. They are chewable, twice a day. I also take Calcium twice a day, chewable also. Oh, and now that I'm not absorbing iron, I'm taking iron suppliment also. Slow FE from Walmart....a small pill to swallow. The other thing I do is a B-12 dot under the tongue...I just bought some chewable iron from Bariatric Advantage. I just tried it, so we'll see how the labs go. I just had new ones done yesterday. Everyone has their own opinion on Vitamins and what works...but for me, I'll keep on taking the Bariatric ones. They seem to work great and I feel good!

I think it's a given that early out, we're all required to take multivitamins in a chewable or liquid form but that doesn't necessarily mean that they have to be a "bariatric vitamin".

And that begs the question of exactly what constitutes a bariatric vitamin anyway. Certainly, in looking at the comparison chart that Marella has provided us with (and a big thumbs up for all the work she's done on it), there doesn't seem to be anything glaringly different between those and other quality multivitamins.

Bottom line is that we need to do our homework on exactly what we're getting for our money and run it by our doc/NUT.

Not all multivitamins are created equal and that includes bariatric supplements.

Marella · 07-01-2008, 10:23 AM

NEW and Improved

Vitamin Comparison Chart

Compares
US & Canada RDI based on 2,000 calorie diet vs.
Bariatric Advantage
Building Blocks Bariatric Chewable
Centrum Chewables
Centrum Silver
Flintstones Complete
Kirkland Multi-Vitamin Tablets
OptiSource Chewable Post Bariatric
Vista Wellness

Please pay particular attention to the amount of tablets to be taken per day... most are 2, one is 6, and it's uncertain whether Centrum Complete is 1 or 2 per day because Nicole was told 1/day.

I sure hope I got the totals right this time... as to what should be halved and what should be doubled.

BUT I do get this impression... that most of these are particularly equal - more or less. The question is absorption. Which absorb better than others, or is there no difference in absorption. I can't find that kind of information.

Frankly, I don't want to pay a higher price for a vitamin if I don't have to... I'm just concerned for my own personal health that I get the one that's the best for me FOR long-term health, especially during this short-term, extremely deficient WLS honeymoon period.

mistymee · 07-01-2008, 11:23 AM

Marella.. I just wanted to thank you for taking this project on and for making it available to all of us.. it's been a lot of work, and tracking down that info for all the vits took considerable time, I'm sure.

I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate it and I'm sure I'm not alone

Corrine · 07-01-2008, 11:29 AM

And I want to echo Misty - you've done an outstanding job Marella - I really appreciate all your hard work.

The chart should be made a sticky IMHO.

MiladyB · 07-01-2008, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Corrine

And I want to echo Misty - you've done an outstanding job Marella - I really appreciate all your hard work.

The chart should be made a sticky IMHO.

I totally agree with Corrine...so much so that I'm sending a pm off to John to stick that sucker!

Marella, thank you for all the hard work on this comparison chart. It's great and very helpful. I've sent a copy off to my surgeon's office too.

Oh, btw...maybe go back to your original post and take file that you had there and post the new comparison chart there. That way it will be on the first page of this thread and not get lost in the shuffle.

Robin W · 07-01-2008, 12:10 PM

Thank you so much! I've been taking 6 stupid capsules a day, thinking that buying a bottle of 540 pills would last forever then discovering how many needed to be taken a day. YIKES. I believe I'll be going to COSTCO today.

Deirdrea · 07-01-2008, 12:46 PM

I think one difference in the vitamins may be how the vitamins are transported in your body. I know that the vista wellness that are suggested by my surgical center have certain vitamins in them that are (I think) water soluable rather then fat soluable or something to that affect.

It's not that Centrum or even Flinstones aren't a decent vitamin but that the minerals and vitamins that are in them aren't as easily absorbed by our bodies because of the possibilities of mal absorbtion that we have.

I know that I"m not wording this as well as I could, but if I'm remembering correctly that was what my NUT had said about some of them. That while they may have all the vitamins we need in name, either the amounts weren't high enough to overcome our mal absorption or they were the wrong "type". Similar to calcium carbonate versus calcium citrate.