How Long Do I Need to Take Vitamins After Weight Loss Surgery?
Your surgeon or dietitian may have asked you to take bariatric vitamins after weight loss surgery. How long do you need to take them for? The recommendation for taking bariatric vitamins may have been in your package with post-op recovery and diet instructions, but taking vitamins does not stop when your post-op recovery does.
This is why taking vitamins after weight loss surgery is a lifelong task, and how you can make it easier. The BariatricPal Store can help you get the right vitamins and make taking them easier.
Why Do You Need Bariatric Vitamins?
Certain vitamins and minerals are essential for your body to stay healthy. You can get nutrients from the foods that you eat, but there are some challenges after weight loss surgery.
- The amount of food you eat is lower, so the amount of nutrients you get from food is lower.
- Food preferences can change or intolerances can occur after weight loss surgery, so your diet after bariatric surgery may exclude certain food groups that are high in specific nutrients.
- Nutrient absorption decreases after procedures such as roux-en-Y gastric bypass, biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch (BPD-DS), and mini gastric bypass.
These challenges make it difficult or impossible to get all the nutrients you need just from your diet. That is why it is necessary to take vitamins for life after bariatric surgery.
The American Society for Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery (ASMBS) is the authoritative source for weight loss surgery guidelines. The ASMBS recommends vitamins for life.
A Regular Multi Won’t Do
Some bariatric surgery patients wonder if they can just take one or two “regular” multivitamins to meet their needs. This may not be sufficient. Bariatric vitamins have higher amounts of certain vitamins that are known to be problematic in this group. Vitamins D and biotin are examples of vitamins that should be taken in higher amounts than are in regular multivitamins.
The BariatricPal Store has a variety of options for Bariatric Multivitamins. They are formulated according to ASMBS guidelines and come in forms such as chews, capsules, and patches with or without iron.
Your healthcare provider or surgeon might also suggest taking specific vitamins or minerals separately from your multivitamin. For example, most nutritionists recommend taking calcium separately from your multivitamin. The BariatricPal Store has liquids, capsules, chewables, and patches of specific vitamins and vitamin blends.
Make It Easy
If you are going to take your vitamins for life, they need to be as easy to take as possible. The standard capsule or “pill” form is okay for many people, but chewable tablets, liquids, and patches may be better options for people who do not like to swallow capsules or who cannot swallow them while healing from surgery.
You need to take vitamins for life after weight loss surgery to be sure that you prevent deficiencies. The BariatricPal Store makes it easy with our Vitamin Guides for different types of weight loss surgery, our bariatric multivitamins and other supplements, and a range of forms and flavors to make sure your experience is a good one, every time.
