MFP, I'm taking too many pills at once... HELP!

fitcrystal1121

I agree that is a lot of vitamins to take unless the doc is telling you too but at the same time has anyone herd or constructive criticism on this website? the whole reason for these type of forums is to be able to get helpful advice. Lets not send someone into freaking depression with the curse words and rudeness.. I notice this is a trend on a lot of the forums there is no reason to not want to help her but at the same time people need to learn a few communication skills and not be so rude about things. Not everyone knows everything about fitness and health hince the reason they are asking. Sorry about the side note but geeze!!

rml_16

So I have a lot of vitamins I like to take daily bit I'm not sure what the best time of day/combinations are. I'm tired of taking most of them in the morning and ending up with a stomach ache. I'll run you down the list. Please help with how to break these up!

Any help is appreciated.

Cinnamon -- Just add some real cinnamon to something you eat during the day.
Caffeine -- WHY????
Fiber -- Eat some berries every day (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries)
B12 -- Are you a vegetarian? If not, this is likely not necessary.
Vitamin C -- The berries and a raw tomato in a salad will cover more of this than your body can process.
Calcium -- Do you eat dairy? If so, likely you don't need this, either.

If she has both Type II Diabetes *and* GI issues or other digestion issues, that might be a reason for a cinnamon supplement instead off eating cinnamon.

But I'm not a doctor.

Possibly. But the likelihood that a 23-year-old woman who appears to be a normal weight based on her profile photo makes it unlikely. But cinnamon isn't sugar, either, so I'm not sure why she would need a supplement for that, anyway.

martyqueen52

I agree that is a lot of vitamins to take unless the doc is telling you too but at the same time has anyone herd or constructive criticism on this website? the whole reason for these type of forums is to be able to get helpful advice. Lets not send someone into freaking depression with the curse words and rudeness.. I notice this is a trend on a lot of the forums there is no reason to not want to help her but at the same time people need to learn a few communication skills and not be so rude about things. Not everyone knows everything about fitness and health hince the reason they are asking. Sorry about the side note but geeze!!

If typed up words "depress" her she has a lot more issues than the amount of pills she's consuming.

Putting godly amounts of unknown crap into your body and expecting good results is idiocy. SHE DOESN'T"T EVEN KNOW WHAT THEY DO... or she wouldn't be trying to condense them down if she "really" needed them.

I have a heart murmur, do you think I'm going to ask you guys, over a heart specialist, if I can compete in a 15k marathon?

fitcrystal1121

Right ... to you it seems like a stupid question to ask but to her it''s not because she asked it.... So just give advice without be mean. or a smart A** is all I'm saying. i do agree with you because it is a lot to take just don't really agree with the way it comes across. A lot of people on this site scare people off with the way they answer their questions. So I guess I just have a different way of letting her know that YES this is bad for her body.

WendyTerry420

So I have a lot of vitamins I like to take daily bit I'm not sure what the best time of day/combinations are. I'm tired of taking most of them in the morning and ending up with a stomach ache. I'll run you down the list. Please help with how to break these up!

Any help is appreciated.

Cinnamon -- Just add some real cinnamon to something you eat during the day.
Caffeine -- WHY????
Fiber -- Eat some berries every day (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries)
B12 -- Are you a vegetarian? If not, this is likely not necessary.
Vitamin C -- The berries and a raw tomato in a salad will cover more of this than your body can process.
Calcium -- Do you eat dairy? If so, likely you don't need this, either.

If she has both Type II Diabetes *and* GI issues or other digestion issues, that might be a reason for a cinnamon supplement instead off eating cinnamon.

But I'm not a doctor.

Possibly. But the likelihood that a 23-year-old woman who appears to be a normal weight based on her profile photo makes it unlikely. But cinnamon isn't sugar, either, so I'm not sure why she would need a supplement for that, anyway.

True.

My husband takes 500mg. It helps regulate blood glucose and normal A1C levels. But he can only eat cinnamon in tiny doses or else he'll get heartburn.

rml_16

So I have a lot of vitamins I like to take daily bit I'm not sure what the best time of day/combinations are. I'm tired of taking most of them in the morning and ending up with a stomach ache. I'll run you down the list. Please help with how to break these up!

Any help is appreciated.

Cinnamon -- Just add some real cinnamon to something you eat during the day.
Caffeine -- WHY????
Fiber -- Eat some berries every day (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries)
B12 -- Are you a vegetarian? If not, this is likely not necessary.
Vitamin C -- The berries and a raw tomato in a salad will cover more of this than your body can process.
Calcium -- Do you eat dairy? If so, likely you don't need this, either.

If she has both Type II Diabetes *and* GI issues or other digestion issues, that might be a reason for a cinnamon supplement instead off eating cinnamon.

But I'm not a doctor.

Possibly. But the likelihood that a 23-year-old woman who appears to be a normal weight based on her profile photo makes it unlikely. But cinnamon isn't sugar, either, so I'm not sure why she would need a supplement for that, anyway.

True.

My husband takes 500mg. It helps regulate blood glucose and normal A1C levels. But he can only eat cinnamon in tiny doses or else he'll get heartburn.

I can see it causing heartburn.

I'm making a big assumption here, but my guess is the OP reads a lot of fitness magazines and is just taking the pills "they" told her to, especially looking at the list.

impyimpyaj

No one in the world needs to take all of those.

I take some supplements. Because I need them. If she has some serious need for one or two of them then by all means. But there is no way she needs all of those.

Especially the carnitine and glutamine. Those are common amino acids. No one in the world needs to supplement with common amino acids.

And no one needs 5-HTP either. It's another amino acid sold as an appetite suppressant.

And cinnamon? Who has a medical need for a cinnamon supplement?

OP is clearly not taking these for medical reasons. She's just taking a boatload of supplements.

5-HTP is actually one of the ones I take for depression. It might be sold as an appetite suppressant, but it also stimulates serotonin production. It's good stuff. You say "no one in the world needs to supplement with amino acids." Hm. I do. Ok, I guess I don't NEED to. But in order to function at a normal level, I really like to have them.

I'm with you on the cinnamon. I'm just saying that there's more to some of these things than you might realize.

*Edit* And yes, I eat real, healthy, whole foods. Just for the record. No, I don't always log them all.

jonnythan

No one in the world needs to take all of those.

I take some supplements. Because I need them. If she has some serious need for one or two of them then by all means. But there is no way she needs all of those.

Especially the carnitine and glutamine. Those are common amino acids. No one in the world needs to supplement with common amino acids.

And no one needs 5-HTP either. It's another amino acid sold as an appetite suppressant.

And cinnamon? Who has a medical need for a cinnamon supplement?

OP is clearly not taking these for medical reasons. She's just taking a boatload of supplements.

5-HTP is actually one of the ones I take for depression. It might be sold as an appetite suppressant, but it also stimulates serotonin production. It's good stuff. You say "no one in the world needs to supplement with amino acids." Hm. I do. Ok, I guess I don't NEED to. But in order to function at a normal level, I really like to have them.

I'm with you on the cinnamon. I'm just saying that there's more to some of these things than you might realize.

*Edit* And yes, I eat real, healthy, whole foods. Just for the record. No, I don't always log them all.

What specific amino acids do you need to supplement with and what are you eating that you're not getting them from food?

kait_fitzpatrick

Oh my goodness what a turn-out that was. Anyways, I appreciate all of your feedback and I will take into account everything you all said. Thanks to the people who genuinely tried to help/educate me about what I do and don't need. I'm not going to sit here and explain to you all why I take these supplements or prove to you that I have some sort of medical condition that requires them. I will say though that a few of them are related to treating my depression, and none of them have to do with gimmicks that I've fallen for while watching Dr. Oz. I've done my research on all of these vitamins/supplements and thought I had it all figured out. Finding out that I can eliminate some and reduce the amount of pills is definitely a good thing. I don't feel foolish for asking you all for this kind of advice so I'm sorry to the people who used their best attempts at making me feel like a big ole' dummy


And to the person who said how shocking it was that I didn't respond... Which do you think is more likely: Me being too afraid to respond to complete strangers posting on the internet or me being at work all day unable to respond?

vanguardfitness

cinnamon?

kait_fitzpatrick

cinnamon?

Yep. Supposedly aids in digestion & stabilizes blood sugar.

TavistockToad

And to the person who said how shocking it was that I didn't respond... Which do you think is more likely: Me being too afraid to respond to complete strangers posting on the internet or me being at work all day unable to respond?

Actually I just presumed it was a troll post... :drinker:

njitaliana

Unless you have a diagnosed vitamin deficiency, I'd just take a multiple and eat lots of food with natural fiber (vegetables, beans, brown rice, fruit) and with natural calcium/magnesium/vitamin D (dairy products).

BenjaminMFP88

So I have a lot of vitamins I like to take daily bit I'm not sure what the best time of day/combinations are. I'm tired of taking most of them in the morning and ending up with a stomach ache. I'll run you down the list. Please help with how to break these up!

Niacin
Sam-e
5HTP
Cinnamon
L-Cartinine
L-Glutamine
Caffeine
Fiber
B12
Fish OIl
Magnesium
CLA
Multivitamin
Vitamin C
Calcium


Any help is appreciated.

pick up a multi vitamine and fish oil and ignore the rest

kuntry_navy

i'm with the ones who say, you should definitely consolidate your vitamins. every doc I've ever talked to says you're body only takes in a certain amount..the rest is waste

jonnythan

It's sad that a healthy person thinks they need to take 20 pills a day to be healthy.

sloth3toes

And to the person who said how shocking it was that I didn't respond... Which do you think is more likely: Me being too afraid to respond to complete strangers posting on the internet or me being at work all day unable to respond?

Around here... could be either / or......

Greytfish

So I have a lot of vitamins I like to take daily bit I'm not sure what the best time of day/combinations are. I'm tired of taking most of them in the morning and ending up with a stomach ache. I'll run you down the list. Please help with how to break these up!

Any help is appreciated.

Cinnamon -- Just add some real cinnamon to something you eat during the day.
Caffeine -- WHY????
Fiber -- Eat some berries every day (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries)
B12 -- Are you a vegetarian? If not, this is likely not necessary.
Vitamin C -- The berries and a raw tomato in a salad will cover more of this than your body can process.
Calcium -- Do you eat dairy? If so, likely you don't need this, either.

If she has both Type II Diabetes *and* GI issues or other digestion issues, that might be a reason for a cinnamon supplement instead off eating cinnamon.

But I'm not a doctor.

Also, GIT irritation can be greatly helped by taking powdered glutamine.

I do like how so many people tell her what she needs or doesn't need, and how few actually asked her about her health, goals, or whether she has had discussions or advice from a doctor or health professional.

For the OP, you can get a B complex vitamin with C in a timed release forum. And yes, peanut gallery, if she's not vegan she probably gets enough baseline B vits to meet the RDA, but that wouldn't apply if OP has a high stress job, works where there's high exposure to the common cold (schools and hosptitals, etc.), or trains heavily. That combines the B12, Niacin, and C in one pill.

You should take to your doctor or a health professional about what to take when, and with what. Generally, there's no need to take all of your vitamins at once and it probably is lessening efficacy in addition to unsettling your tummy. Take your 5-HTP before bed. Take your B complex with C on an empty stomach in the morning with your Sam-e which needs B to work. Take the multi and fish oil with breakfast. Dont take the calcium with your multi if it has iron, because calcium impairs iron absoprtion and use. Take your CLA and carnitine before lunch and/or dinner.

It may look like a lot of supplements, but depending on the OPs health status and goals, it may or may not be and still may be preferable to multiple prescription medications.

MelissaPhippsFeagins

I would dump them all. I take calcium + vitamin D, but only because I have osteopenia. There is no solid medical evidence that any of that stuff really does anything for you. Just get plenty of healthy nutrients from your food.

This. But rather than osteopenia, I have an auto-immune disease that interferes with absorption of all nutrients so I take a daily multivitamin as well.