Supplements and Vitamins Post-Surgery
One of the most confusing topics in doing your research around gastric sleeve surgery is what supplements and vitamins to take after surgery. There is an overload of conflicting information. From our experience, here is a detailed breakdown of medication and supplements that we have found useful after surgery and why they are needed.
Prescribed Medication:
- Acid Reflux Tablets:
- Why: After gastric sleeve surgery, reduced stomach capacity and changed digestion processes make acid reflux more likely. Acid reflux tablets deal with this by reducing the production of stomach acid. This prevents any discomfort and hence avoids any possible damage to the esophagus.
- Iron Tablets:
- Why: This is because iron is an element essential for the production of hemoglobin, which carries oxygen in the blood. Iron deficiency can be easily caused by the reduced food intake during the postoperative period, coupled with alterations in digestion. Hence, supplementation is important to prevent anemia and maintain energy. Calcium & D3 Tablets:
- Calcium & D3 Tablets:
- Why: Calcium is an integral nutrient for bone health. Vitamin D3 aids in the absorption of calcium. The reduced size of the stomach can therefore reduce calcium intake from food. This can raise the risk of losing bone mass density. Supplementing will ensure that one has strong bones free from osteoporosis.
- High Strength Multivitamin:
- Why: A good multivitamin covers a wide array of nutritional elements that may miss in an individual’s diet due to the limited consumption of food during the days after surgery. It helps be healthy and prevents deficiencies that might affect recovery and well-being.
Additional Supplements:
- Biotin:
- Why: Biotin is good for hair and nail health. Some people, after surgery, have thinning of their hair or even some loss of hair due to the rapid weight loss and possible nutritional deficiencies. Biotin helps promote your hair growth and supports stronger nails.
- Collagen:
- Why: Collagen supplements support skin elasticity and can improve the appearance of your skin while you are losing weight at a fast rate. This can particularly assist in the prevention of sagging skin and in boosting good health and youth.
- Bariatric Multivitamin:
- Why: This is a bariatric-specific supplement, containing some higher doses of vitamins and minerals than regular over-the-counter multis. It also includes some nutrients not found in any other supplement to guarantee complete nutritional supplementation.
Our Supplement Routine:
To manage our supplements efficiently, we use pillboxes that divide doses throughout the day. Here is our typical daily schedule:
- 9am: 1 Acid Reflux tablet and 1 Calcium & D3 tablet.
- 12pm: 1 Iron tablet and 1 High Strength Multivitamin.
- 6pm: 1 Biotin gummy and 1 Collagen gummy.
- 11pm: 1 Calcium & D3 tablet and 1 Bariatric Multivitamin.
Then, every three months, we need a B12 injection. With this surgery, there can be malabsorption of Vitamin B12 from our food. So, to stay away from deficiency, injections are needed. Our GP said that this will be a lifelong regime to keep ourselves at optimum health.
By sharing our experience and supplement routine, hopefully we can help to bring some clarity and guidance to others who are trying to wade through the confusion about supplements after surgery. Please remember: this is our personal experience, not medical advice. For medical guidance, always consult your GP.
Our Supplements:
