Vitamins
Here's what the ASMBS says you should start with:
A multi with 100% of the RDA of most nutrients. Take two a day. Stay away from kids' vitamins and gummy vitamins, because those will not have what you need. Even though Flintstones says “complete” on the bottle, they really are not complete but are missing a number of important things. The ASMBS recommends a multi with iron. If you take a multi with no iron, you’ll need additional iron at a separate time. They say to start your multi as soon as you get home from the hospital.
1500-2000 mg calcium citrate. Make sure it's citrate, not carbonate. That means no Caltrate and no Viactiv. They say you can wait up to one month to start your calcium – not that you should wait, just that you can.
54-63 mg iron for menstruating women (18-27 mg PLUS 18 mg twice a day in your multi, if you use a multi with iron). 36 mg a day for people that do not menstruate. We absorb carbonyl iron better than ferrous sulfate. Ferrous sulfate will also make you constipated. They say to start your iron as soon as you get home from the hospital.
B12. You can use a sublingual, 350-500 mcg per day, nasal spray once a week, or shots once a month. Unless your labs show you need more. They say you can wait up to three months to start your B12 – not that you should wait, just that you can.
They say a B complex is optional.
Many people also need D3 so you should get your vitamin D level to find out if you do. Don’t bother with the prescription vitamin D, because it’s D2 and in oil so we will absorb very little of it. Everyone needs D3 and post ops need “dry” D3, not in oil.
The ASMBS says it's OK to swallow pills as soon as you can tolerate doing so. Many people are swallowing pills in the hospital right after surgery. Some docs recommend chewables or liquids in the beginning, though.
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.
I appreciate this information. I have surgery Tuesday and have asked my nutritionist about this. They gave me the info about multi vits and calcium, but were not clear on the iron. I have been taking ferrous sulfate for several years so I was concerned about not taking iron after surgery. The nut said to keep taking it 3 x wee****il labs were done after surgery. I will change that to the carbonyl now.
thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us newbies!
Some can, if you take too many.
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.
