Post VSG Vitamins/Supplements

[simplysmile 10]

Hi all! I'm almost 2 months post op. I take a chewable bariatric Vitamin and Calcium combo daily, but just want to make sure there's nothing else that should be added. Thank you!

[liveaboard15 1,293]

So this question is best for your surgeon/nutritionist... Because we can all be a little different. I had gastric sleeve as well and i take bariatricpal capsules with 18mg of Iron once a day. bariatricpal chewable Calcium 500mg twice a day and i take 1 extra iron supplement a day as well because my last blood work showed slight low iron. Thats all i take. Since you are two months post op you should be having your 3 month check up here soon and hopefully they are having you do blood work to check to see how the Vitamins are working for you. with that information you can adjust if needed.

[ShoppGirl 5,061]

Yea all the teams plans of what they guess ypu will need varies and it is different from patient to patient. It’s best to just take what they recommend and adjust after your labs as necessary. That being said, all I take is a bariatric multi and Calcium as well and I am over a year and a half out from sleeve with excellent labs so far.

[Arabesque 7,492]

I agree with the others. Speak with your surgeon & dietician & see what your blood tests show is lacking. Of course this may change as you progress & are eating more & a wider variety of food.

I have not taken a Vitamin since 8 months post surgery because I get all I need from what I eat. (Though I do take Vit D in winter when my levels drop - too cold to go outside t get some sun 😉.)

Edited September 26, 2022 by Arabesque

[RickM 1,753]

Of course, check with your surgeons' team, but I would be inclined to add some calcium citrate to the mix, at least for a while. The Calcium included in Multivitamins is usually not a full dose (check the label) and is usually cheaper calcium carbonate which we don't absorb as well, I would want to aim for at least the standard calcium RDA (1200mg, IIRC) between supplements and food, and since our early diets tend to be fairly scant on everything other than Protein, I would err on the cautious side and go with something in the 1000-1200 mg range, which is two doses that need to be taken a few hours apart.

Calcium can also be tricky to measure on labs as the body seeks to keep serum levels steady, at the expense of bone mass if necessary, so measuring that status involves some inferences from other measurements rather than just calcium blood levels, so a bit of overkill is usually better than not enough (within reason.)

Personally, I target 2000mg per day as I have family and personal history of osteopenia/porosis, but only need one dose of about 600mg to do that on top of diet.

Things to consider, but question your doc and RD about it.

[kcuster83 1,504]

What they ^^^ said.

We only started with a multi Vitamin and Calcium and then it changed based on our blood work.

[Spinoza 1,467]

I've been wondering when to stop mine! I'm 10 months post surgery and still take a Multivitamin and Calcium, and B12 spray. I have a sleeve and am eating a good balanced diet now. I think I'll ask my dietician if I can stop them at my 1 year check my my blood test results remain good.

[SleeveToBypass2023 2,678]

I still take a multivitamin (I always have so I plan to continue), the D3 (I have to anyway for my MS, so again, I have no plans to stop), and Biotin (it's not hurting anything, so why not?). I stopped the Calcium a few weeks ago because I get what I need from what I eat (particularly the shakes I have for Breakfast because I make them with unsweetened vanilla almond milk and add chia seeds and flax seeds to them) and I normally have 2 colby jack cheese sticks for a snack. My most recent bloodwork came back good, so I was told I could stop the calcium and see how things go.

[Arabesque 7,492]

Best test for Calcium is a bone density test. I had one before my surgery (rock hard bones apparently) & am going to ask for a referral for another one soon. It’s been three years & I’m female & in my 50s so danger group. I consume way more calcium now than I did before surgery plus on HRT so I don’t expect any change. Heard recently that there are more men having bone density tests these days due to low calcium consumption & alcohol consumption (affects absorption of calcium & Vitamin D).