Vitamins you need after bariatric surgery
- Emily Drury
- October 5, 2023
- 11:12 am
Congratulations on taking the significant step towards a healthier you! While this procedure offers a powerful tool for weight loss, it’s essential to understand that it can affect your nutrient intake. To ensure you maintain good health throughout your journey, it’s crucial to pay attention to your vitamin and mineral needs post-surgery.
Multivitamin & Minerals
After bariatric surgery, your reduced portion sizes may lead to decreased intake of essential vitamins and minerals. To bridge this gap, we recommend taking a complete multivitamin and mineral supplement. Ensure that your supplement includes the following key nutrients:
- Copper
- Folic Acid (400-800µg)
- Iron
- Selenium
- Thiamine
- Zinc
Here are some suitable options for your supplement:
Chewable/Effervescent (suitable initially post-op or if you prefer not to take tablets):
- Centrum Fruity Chewables Multivitamin (twice daily, switch to tablet form from 4 weeks post-op)
- Forceval Effervescent (once daily)
- Superdrug A-Z Multivitamins & Minerals Chewable Tablets (twice daily, switch to tablet form from 4 weeks post-op)
Tablets (suitable from 4 weeks post-op if you’re tolerating a solid diet):
- Aldi Activ-Max A-Z Multivitamin & Mineral Tablets (once daily)
- Asda Wellbeing A-Z Multivitamins & Minerals (once daily)
- Boots Vegan A-Z Wellness Formula (once daily)
- Forceval (once daily)
- Lloyd’s Pharmacy A-Z Multivitamins & Minerals (once daily)
- Morrison’s A-Z Multivitamins & Minerals (once daily)
- Sainsbury’s A-Z Multivitamins & Minerals (once daily)
- Sanatogen A-Z Complete (once daily)
- Superdrug A-Z Multivitamins + Minerals (once daily)
- Tesco A-Z Multivitamins + Minerals (once daily)
Calcium and Vitamin D
Maintaining proper bone health is essential post-surgery. You’ll need to meet your calcium requirement, which is 1200-1500mg per day. Here are some options to achieve this through supplements:
-
Chewable (suitable initially post-op or if you don’t like taking tablets):
- Accrete D3 One A Day 1000mg/880unit (once daily)
- Adcal D3 (twice daily)
- Boots Chewable Calcium + Vitamin D (twice daily) and Boots Vitamin D (once daily)
- Calceos 500mg/400unit (twice daily)
- Calci-D 1000mg/1000unit (once daily)
- Calcichew D3 1000mg/800unit (once daily)
- Calcichew D3 Forte (twice daily)
- Colecalciferol 400unit / Calcium carbonate 1.25g (twice daily)
- Colecalciferol 400unit / Calcium carbonate 1.5g (twice daily)
- Evacal D3 1500mg/400unit (twice daily)
- Kalcipos-D3 500mg/800unit (once to twice daily)
- Natecal D3 600mg/400unit (twice daily)
- SunVit-D3 500mg/400unit (twice daily)
- SunVit-D3 600mg/400unit (twice daily)
- TheiCal-D3 1000mg/880unit (once daily)
-
Effervescent Granules (suitable initially post-op or if you don’t like taking tablets):
- Cacit D3 Effervescent Granule Sachets (twice daily)
- Colecalciferol 880unit / Calcium carbonate 2.5g (once daily)
-
Effervescent Tablet (suitable initially post-op or if you don’t like taking tablets):
- Adcal-D3 Dissolve 1500mg/400unit (twice daily)
- ColeKal-D3 Dissolve 400unit/1500mg (twice daily)
-
Tablets (suitable from 6 weeks post-op if you’re tolerating a solid diet):
- Accrete D3 (twice daily)
- Vitabiotics Ultra Calcium & Vitamin D (twice daily)
Iron
The iron requirements vary for males, females without a menstrual cycle, and females with a menstrual cycle. For males and females without a menstrual cycle, it’s recommended to take 45-60mg of iron per day. Here are some options for iron supplementation:
-
Liquid (suitable initially post-op or if you don’t like taking tablets):
- 140mg/5ml Ferrous Fumarate Oral Solution (e.g., Galfer Syrup) – 7.5ml daily
- Ironorm (125mg/ml Ferrous Sulphate Oral Drops) – 2ml daily
-
Tablets (suitable from 6 weeks post-op if you’re tolerating a solid diet):
- 200mg Ferrous Sulphate, 210mg Ferrous Fumarate, or 300mg Ferrous Gluconate – once daily
For females with a menstrual cycle who are taking Baricol preparations, it’s recommended to take an additional 50mg of iron, following the advice for men and non-menstruating women.
Vitamin B12
Finally, vitamin B12 is crucial for your overall health. It’s advised to have intramuscular injections of 1mg of vitamin B12 every 3 months following your procedure.
By incorporating these essential vitamins and minerals into your daily routine, you can ensure a smoother recovery and long-term health success after your gastric band surgery. Always consult with your healthcare provider or bariatric team for personalized guidance on your supplement regimen.