What Type Of Iron Should I Be Taking?
*I also take 3 Bariatric Advantage Wild Cherry Calcium Citrate Chewables a day (1/2 breakfast and dinner, 1 lunch and snack) for a total of 1500mg.
*My last lab was: Iron-76, Ferritin-234. I am also post-menopausal.
*I want to start taking my iron seperately after my current vitamin supply is gone.
*What type of iron should I be taking and how far apart from calcium and dairy products?
Age at RNY: 55, Height: 5'4", Consultation Weight: 331 lbs-12/1/2009, RNY Surgery Weight: 281 lbs-3/22/2010, Goal Weight Reached: 141 lbs-6/23/2011, Lowest Weight: 126 lbs-12/11/2011,
Current Age: 61, Current Weight: 161 lbs-5/20/2016, Total Weight Loss Maintained: 170 lbs 
On the vitamins:
With the BA Vita Band Chewables - you probably are aware of this, but we can ONLY absorb calcium citrate postop. Does the bottle say how much of the calcium is citrate and how much is carbonate? Because unless you know the values with absolute certainty, I don't think you can even honestly count the calcium in those. It could be 99% carbonate and 1% citrate, the other way around, or somewhere in between.
Also, still on the BA Vita Band Chewables - calcium inhibits the absorption of iron. So on top of not absorbing the full amount of the calcium in these vites, you don't have the assurance that you are absorbing the iron they contain either.
The BA Wild Cherry Calcium Citrate is fine and a good choice to use as a source for your daily calcium. I believe that the RDA for Calcium Citrate is 1500-2000mg post op, but you'd better verify this with Kelly or one of the experts, or check out the ASBMS website.
My understanding is that for most postops, the best iron to take is carbonyl iron as it is absorbed the most efficiently. I (and some other post ops that have had severe problems keeping our iron levels up) use the heme iron, which seems to work better for those who have problems getting to and maintaining the correct iron levels.
Calcium and iron should be taken 2 hours apart.
Hope this helps somewhat. I'm sure one of the vitamin experts will log on soon and give you some more/better feedback.=)
The RDA for "normal" people is a little bit lower.
Kelly
Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor. Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me. If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her. Check out my blog.
