Has anyone used the vitamin patches?

[JessiPhoenix 9]

Has anyone tried the vitamin patches? I asked my nurse if I could get the Patches and use them instead of the chewable and she said my doctor wants me to get the chewable. Do you absorb the chewable better than the patch? I would think the patch would be OK since that's less medications in my stomach (I currently take 8 medications for other health conditions).

[liveaboard15 1,293]

you know i asked this in the nutritional class i was required to take and they told me no on the Patches saying its not the same as taking a chewable or pill. But i see good reviews on the patches and people saying they go get blood work done and shows the patches working. I wanna try them out too once i have my surgery.

[JessiPhoenix 9]

1 minute ago, liveaboard15 said:

you know i asked this in the nutritional class i was required to take and they told me no on the Patches saying its not the same as taking a chewable or pill. But i see good reviews on the Patches and people saying they go get blood work done and shows the patches working. I wanna try them out too once i have my surgery.

I do, too! Maybe after the first month or so post op I'll ask my doctor if I switch to the patches. Then do blood work and see if levels are good.

[elp93 26]

The Patches don’t work and the people with normal blood lab levels may just simply have normal lab values because sometimes it takes a while for your Vitamin levels to decrease. Almost vitamin deficiencies occur slowly over years. I do liquid d3 +k2, Biotin, b complex and silica, they are just drops you take under your tongue once a day. I also take bariatric vitamin CAPSULES and have had no adverse symptoms like nausea, plus they are affordable

[catwoman7 11,210]

some people say they've worked for them and others have said they haven't. I think the jury might still be out on these. And like the person above said, sometimes it can take months or even years for deficiencies to start showing up. I never tried them because I figured I'd be one of the people they didn't work for. Plus some people's surgeons and dietitians are telling them not to use them since it's not clear that they work. They haven't been around long enough for much long-term research.

I've considered getting some for when I'm traveling overseas, though, so I don't have to lug two or three weeks' worth of Vitamins with me, but for regular use, I stick to regular vitamins.

Edited February 17, 2022 by catwoman7

[Dfidelman 16]

So since I am pre-op I am going to ask a curiosity question. If we can't drink while eating how do we absorb our Vitamins? I suppose each surgery is different but I figured Patches would be super good just for that reason alone. Not trying to convince anyone otherwise just curious. I also liked the powders you can mix into things idea too.

[GradyCat 3,695]

I haven't tried the Patches, but one of my doctors, not my bariatric surgeon, but maybe my primary care doctor said she wasn't fond of them/they didn't work. I don't know. I take soft chews and they work just fine and I've had no absorption problems.

[catwoman7 11,210]

6 hours ago, Dfidelman said:

So since I am pre-op I am going to ask a curiosity question. If we can't drink while eating how do we absorb our Vitamins? I suppose each surgery is different but I figured Patches would be super good just for that reason alone. Not trying to convince anyone otherwise just curious. I also liked the powders you can mix into things idea too.

I usually don't take mine with food - and I just take them with a very small amount of Water (probably like two tablespoons of water), so it really doesn't count as "drinking" (so if I happen to take them 10 or 15 minutes after I eat, which I often do, it doesn't really matter). Or you could take them a few minutes *before* you eat if you prefer taking pills with a lot more water than that (and if you need to take them as close as possible to eating food if you're one who gets nausea from Vitamins - which I know some people do). Or another option is to get all your vitamins in chewable or liquid form.

[Splenda 257]

I used Patches right after the surgery when I didn't feel great about taking capsules. My blood work turned out fine at my 3 month checkup, but as others have said, Vitamin deficiencies can take a while to manifest.

I still keep some patches around for times when taking capsules is very inconvenient (like traveling overnight). I view them as "Not as good as capsules, but better than nothing."

[liveaboard15 1,293]

8 hours ago, Dfidelman said:

So since I am pre-op I am going to ask a curiosity question. If we can't drink while eating how do we absorb our Vitamins? I suppose each surgery is different but I figured Patches would be super good just for that reason alone. Not trying to convince anyone otherwise just curious. I also liked the powders you can mix into things idea too.

You can drink a little Water to take your Vitamins and medication.

[JessiPhoenix 9]

1 hour ago, Splenda said:

I used Patches right after the surgery when I didn't feel great about taking capsules. My blood work turned out fine at my 3 month checkup, but as others have said, Vitamin deficiencies can take a while to manifest.

I still keep some Patches around for times when taking capsules is very inconvenient (like traveling overnight). I view them as "Not as good as capsules, but better than nothing."

I like that! "Not as good as capsules, but better than nothing"

[Dfidelman 16]

2 hours ago, JessiPhoenix said:

I like that! "Not as good as capsules, but better than nothing"

This is my thought since I have a Vitamin D issue. I figured slap one of these on just for all the time to make sure and get a mood light. because I don't know if it is the Vitamins I'm taking but they don't seem to be strong enough.

Could they be used in combination? I just wonder if maybe internally pill wise I'm not absorbing it well so maybe right to the blood streams will offset the difference? I'm just spitting ideas lol cause man the fatigue. woof.

[Tomo 1,191]

Throughout my sleeve, I used PatchMD and blood tests were always good. I now use the PatchAid multi plus since PatchMD changed their amount on a couple of the Vitamins. Because I wasn't sure how the PatchAID worked, I was a little nervous but two weeks ago, I received my 6 month comprehensive blood test results (revision VSG to RNY), and everything was in range. The Iron, ferritin, Calcium, Vit D, A, E, Zinc, Magnesium... Etc. were all in center range. If any were low, I was planning to go to chewables but since everything checked out ok again, I'll probably still continue the Patches since they are convenient. Right now my average calories is 715 calories per day and I know it is hard to eat nutritionally sound on <800 calorie diet so I think the patches have helped.

[Dfidelman 16]

17 hours ago, Tomo said:

Throughout my sleeve, I used PatchMD and blood tests were always good. I now use the PatchAid multi plus since PatchMD changed their amount on a couple of the Vitamins. Because I wasn't sure how the PatchAid worked, I was a little nervous but two weeks ago, I received my 6 month comprehensive blood test results (revision VSG to RNY), and everything was in range. The Iron, ferritin, Calcium, Vit D, A, E, Zinc, Magnesium... Etc. were all in center range. If any were low, I was planning to go to chewables but since everything checked out ok again, I'll probably still continue the Patches since they are convenient. Right now my average calories is 715 calories per day and I know it is hard to eat nutritionally sound on <800 calorie diet so I think the Patches have helped.

Awesome! I think I am going to give them a go. I have always had a Vitamin D deficiency and after taking 600 UI/day it has only gone up 2pts. in 3 months. I'm gonna touch base with my doctor to see if it would be a good fit and find out if maybe I am not absorbing them internally as well as I could be. Thank you so much for the insight.