bariatric advantage....eww much?

BandForAlyAnne

does anybody else think the chewable vitabands and f***ing disgusting?! i got the mixed berry and it like chewing on sour powdered milk. plus some lye half way through. ugh. i wasted 25 bucks on that. have you guys found some of their stuff that isnt so gross?

mfisher16508

I have bariatric advantage, dont mind em but I cant do 2 at a time, I do one, drink some water (this is pre surgery) then do another, also I take mine at night, they make me feel like **** kinda like prenatals did.

jmurphyaz

I bought natures plus - really not bad, but they are vitamins. It was waaaaaay better than the BA crystals. A word of warning to anyone looking to buy BA products - they are OVERLOADED with artificial sweetener and very hard to handle. The calcium chews are yummy, but you have to take 6 a day which is expensive. The Calcium lozenges in cinnamon are good, they taste like fireballs, but are chalky and can be spicy. The 2 products they suggested through my doc were centrum chewables and flintstone chewables.

Hope that helps

BandForAlyAnne

yea. i aksed my doctor if there was another brand i could take and he was adament about bariatric advantage. ugh.

jmurphyaz

Compare the vitamins and take a different one that matches. It is ridiculous for them to be adamant about 1 brand which is also expensive. Do what works for you. Besides my doc is the director of Mayo clinic bariatric and he offers multiple suggestions. So there are other good brands out there. Good luck!

mfisher16508

I was told I could take centrum silver too. I realized tht vitaband and bariatric advantage are one in the same when I just took mine. lol. they dont really bother me though.

tmalina

I take the Celebrate brand ones. They are geared toward bariatric patients as well. I am taking the mandarin orange flavored multivitamin, and while it isn't the best, it's tolerable. I also take the berry flavored iron pills and I really don't mind them at all.

hhamilton1203

My Dr and his office came up with their own multi-vita capsule and protein powder and we can buy it from them. It’s cheaper than the bariatric advantage and I can use my FSA card to buy them. I had the lap band and as long as the pill you are taking is either a chewable or capsule you should be fine. The only thing I get from bariatric advantage is the chewable calcium.

sorchagriannon

Yeah, the berry multivits are hideous. I have to add water to my mouth just to get them down. Now the Mint Calcium from them are awesome, so I may try mint in the vits next time

gspea

I bought the mixed berry chewables too. OMG I would almost throw up every day. I made it 3 weeks on them befor buying the capsules. The heavy B12 in the vitamin ends up being what I tasted. That is such s bad taste.

tessanne10

I am now taking the Celebrate Multivitamins and Iron tablets. Their not too bad. I have them both in grape flavor. They remind me of the Flintstone vitamins in taste.

risskie

I am the "Gummie" Queen!!! All the vits I take are gummies and I love it as trying to swallow pills is not my forte! I use generic gummies for Calcium Carbonate and take extra D3 gummies. I also take Bcomplex, C, and multivits - the latter taken in a.m. and former in pm.
I love that they chew up so well and slide down without getting stuck and no water. The only thing I don't like is the price - ave $10/bottle (30 day supply) - but the ease in taste and swallow is all worth it to me.

tmalina

It is so strange how every doctor is different. My doctor strictly forbids gummy vitamins.

TraciLee36

We cn not take gummy vitamins but i did like those before surgery

mfisher16508

nu gummies here for us, either, but I really am not sure why....now I must research

pjmcinnis

I have found a liquid multi that is not too bad. Picked it up at a Nutrition store, not cheap, has a strong taste of vitamin and orange juice, but better than the chewables. I chase it with a little diluted apple juice, does the trick.

I have found this particular shop to be great, the woman who works there is very knowledgable, she also steered me towards a calcium supplement particularly good for those of us who now have malabsorbtive issues. She also gave me a couple of suggestions for constipation (which is exacerbated by iron supplements), which have also been helpful.

We don't have access to BA here in Canada, unless purchased over internet.

Pamela

Scribetoo

Optisource. I like them in Orange.

authormarieskye

I was taking the bariatric fusion chewables and the first 2 days they were fine. Now i can't stand them and would rather eat tar. I finally switched to bariatric advantage capsules, which had me taking 6 multivitamins a day. I find that a bit much. Once I ran out of that, i take the walmart brand multivitamin, 2 of those, 2 biotins and a vitamin d chewable. Now i'm not sure if these vitamins are good enough for me yet since i'm only 10 months out, but i'll find out in august when I do labs.

Gahummingbyrd

I take the BA multi- vitamins, liquid calcium & vit. D, chewable Biotin, B-12, and Papaya enzymes all from WalMart. I don't like the taste of any of it. All of it is so sweet. Kind of like those pez candies. It's all working for me though. My labs came back great. My regimen is working, so I just suck it up.

authormarieskye

I've hard about the papaya enzymes but no idea what they're actually for

minkakross

I also do the celebrate multi and iron, I use the calcet calcium because it's like a decadent treat, and I get B12 shots. I have lots of friends who start taking Flintstone's with iron, two a day, in place of the multi and iron, about a month out and have had no trouble with their iron or other vitamin levels.

kidskart

I do the gummies too. I had the sleeve, not band. The gummies are a life saver for me! Good luck!

BringingSherriBack

I had the sleeve too and I was told no gummy because they don't have enough nutrients in them. I do take the Centrum chewables (with iron). I take one in the morning and one at night. No extra iron needed. My nutritionist said these are some of the better ones out there. I was told I must do chewables for life. I also take sublingual B-12 and calcium citrate (I think these are Celebrate brand from my doctor's office as I couldn't find chewable calcium citrate anywhere).

VaingloriousVictoria

Flinstones...they rock! Pun intended. I do love the gummies, but that isn't an option right now since I am 5 days post-op. Good luck finding something you enjoy!

Napjeeper

Flintstones (get the regular ones, they actually have more iron in them than the "Iron" branded ones). 2 a day and I'm good. I've always personally felt like the bariatric specific vitamins were/are just marketing materials. Vitamins are vitamins and I've never had bad labs.

Laura8603

I used to use BA, too, but they are so expensive. Now I use mostly CVS brand and get them when they're buy one get one free. I save so much money this way and my labs are still good.

Laura8603

Personally I would never use gummys or Flinstones. Here are a couple of excellent blog posts by a fellow weight loss surgery vet:

http://wlsvitagarten.com/2011/01/10/adult-gummy-vitamins/

http://wlsvitagarten.com/2011/01/16/guest-post-whats-the-fuss-about-flintstones/