Does anyone else take an absurd amount of vitamins?

I've taken a multivitamin & mineral and glucosamine for the last 3 years. They are a supplement to my diet, but if it gives me that extra 1% benefit then the cost to effect ratio is worth it. So there's no need to take more than the stated dose. They are synthetic anyway and won't replace what proper nutrition can give. That help?

Most supplements are highly ineffective and outright useless. Which ones are they suggesting?


My wife has a good amount of supplements (magnesium taurate, potassium, one a day, vitamin d, electrolyte drinks, does IV infusions) but she also has Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome.

Nope, don't take any. I was taking fish oil for a while but my doctor told me to stop because it can affect cholesterol numbers and mine are optimal now. So nothing for me

I sleep a ton better stopping the multi vitamin I took. I still take a magnesium and calcium (peri meno).. But I too feel better not taking vitamin supplements...

kirstenb13 wrote: »

I only take prenatals currently because the usefulnes of folic acid is scientifically well established but other vitamins are probably mostly bs.
This is an article about a study that even found an increased risk of mortality with multivitamin use http://blogs.plos.org/publichealth/2014/08/21/multivitamin-supplements-increase-mortality-risk/

I just do my best to get them from food.

Don't we all have a 100% chance of mortality anyways?

I take a multivitamin, super-b, biotin, and melatonin. Have done so for many years. Once when I slacked off for a few months, I noticed limp hair, less energy, etc. - so I don't slack off anymore.

Look up dr. Bruce Ames on YouTube if you really want to know how vitamins and minerals effect the body

I take Raw One multi, fish oil, reservatrol, and glucosamine/msm. I also drink Shakeology after long workouts.
Quality of the vitamin matters! I never take a one a day multi, but a 4 a day serving that a spread throughout the day. Ultimately, if you feel better, then despite the naysayers something good is happening. I do not know if there is a right answer. Someone on this post wrote that they stopped talking fish oil because it would affect their cholesterol, whereas my nutrition class in college it is recommended to take fish oil if you do not eat enough fatty fish because it raises your HDL (which helps lower LDL.) It was also recommended by my Husdands Doc to help his high cholesterol. Two points of science at odds with each other.
Some people feel sick with vitamins, which could be because they are getting too much of something or because they are buying a low quality vitamin. I do wonder myself sometimes if I am getting too much, but as long as I feel better then that's the important part.

Multivitamins, probiotics, and fish oil make feel sick. Plus, multivitamins have so much stuff in them. I know I don't need all of it because I track what nutrients I am getting.

That being said, I do take a calcium supplement because of the dairy allergy, and it's the only way I get close to my daily recommended amounts.

Do you mean at one time?

Post Bariatric patients come with known malabsorption issues so I'll be on vitamins for life. I have to watch my Folic Acid, vitamin D, B12, iron, and calcium.

I take an eight hour patch so I don't have to use up valuable stomach real estate for the vitamins as well as extra iron, vitamin D, and B12. (Patch MD.com)

I take the B12 as a sub-lingual pill. I take iron at the end of the day with a chewable vitamin C to help with the absorption of both.

I never take calcium with iron as they can cancel each other out.

By the way only the iron deficient should take iron supplements. Too much iron can be a problem too. I got myself a LuckyIronFish.com which is a fun way to get extra iron in.

I live in Northern New England. Vitamin D deficiency is very common here because of the latitude & light. All 4 of us in my family - hubby, 2 teens & myself have been taking Vitamin D for years. Initially, we had bloodwork which showed it to be low, tried a dose suggested by our docs, had repeat testing, and then adjusted the dose. We have testing annually at our annual exam.

Everyone in our family also takes fish oil. Our teens have been on it since they were about 9 & 5. Our HDL levels are not good without it - again, bloodwork. It's super helpful for brain & eye health.

I had thyroid cancer & now take calcium, selenium & magnesium. The calcium is because they had to take a parathyroid (controls calcium) during my thyroid surgery. I cannot maintain healthy levels of calcium on my own, despite having decent calcium intake from food. Again, my level was set with bloodwork. I'm lucky in that I only need a little, so I only have to dose that once a day.

The selenium & magnesium I initiated myself because they are commonly low in people who have had thyroid cancer & are struggling as much as I was for years. My magnesium has been confirmed by bloodwork, and would not be normal without the supplement. When I stopped taking selenium, my thyroid bloodwork went markedly south & when I resumed, it improved. This is indicative of needing it, too.

I'm taking iron right now because of funky perimenopausal bleeding. My ferritin & iron levels are being monitored by bloodwork.

I also take glucosamine/chondroitin. Without it, my knee arthritis acts up.

I consider the above to be a ton of vitamins & supplements. But except for the glucosamine, the need for them has all been confirmed by bloodwork & are monitored by bloodwork. I'm sure you get my point. According to my truly awesome PCP, for most people, vitamins & supplements aren't necessary & generally just make expensive urine when your body expells most of it.

But chronic fatigue is real & truly stinky. I'm sorry you have to cope with that. As someone who felt more than half dead for 3 years because I had narrow minded endocrinologists, I suggest you have your new doctor re-run your thyroid numbers. Make sure they look at Free T4 and Free T3, not just TSH. And educate yourself- there is a wide range of "normal," and one person might feel horrible where one person feels fine.

I take D in the winter (recently stopped it as I'm now going to be out in the daylight more for some months). I take omega 3 (trying the algae kind) off and on, but am not that concerned about it because I eat lots of fatty fish. Tried taking a multi, but it upset my stomach, so I don't. Trying ZMA because I have sleep issues, but I keep forgetting to take it. I avoid taking iron since I've never been diagnosed with a deficiency, overdose is possible and dangerous (it can destroy your liver before you know anything is going on), and my mother has a condition that leads to iron build-up that I am therefore more likely to also have.

Multivitamin with omegas, Adcal D3 (combo D & calcium) due to D/calcium deficiency, glucosamine & chondroitin. Deficiency diagnosed & monitored by blood tests.

Nothing. I am recommended to take Fish Oil, Niacin, Vit. D and a baby aspirin. I tend to get stomach upset with them.