If you’ve been considering weight loss surgery, you may be wondering: What are the best vitamins to take after bariatric surgery?
Vitamin supplements are one of the most important pieces of your post-op routine. Without them, you will most likely run into a number of health problems.
This article aims to provide a clear and simple guide to vitamin choice after bariatric surgery. However, always make sure to touch base with your dietician before taking any supplements.
Why do I need to take vitamins after bariatric surgery?
When your bariatric surgery is completed, you will eat much less due to the restrictive nature of the procedure. This reduces the amount of vitamins and minerals you intake, which are crucial to a healthy body. That’s why bariatric vitamins are widely regarded as a mandatory part of your post-op routine and beyond.
What happens if I don’t take my vitamins?
Below is a list of potential issues that can occur if a bariatric patient doesn’t take vitamins.
- Vitamin A: night blindness/eyesight issues and poor wound healing
- Vitamin B1: muscle weakness, swelling in legs and feet, nausea, vomiting, heart issues, and more
- Vitamin B12: fatigue, anemia, light-headedness, shortness of breath
- Iron: fatigue, anemia, hair loss, decreased immune function, craving/eating non-food substances
- Vitamin D: bone loss, cramping, liver problems
- Vitamin E: neurological issues, muscle weakness, anemia
- Vitamin K: easy bruising or increased bleeding
- Zinc: rashes, taste change, decreased immune function, infertility, hair loss, or hair texture changes
- Copper: Anemia, pale skin, cholesterol issues
- Calcium Citrate: bone loss, muscle weakness, leg cramping
What are the best vitamins to take after bariatric surgery?
Vitamins are hard on the digestive system in general. That’s why specific vitamins are recommended after weight loss surgery when the system is particularly sensitive.
It is imperative that your supplements are both easy to digest and free from sugars.
WeightWise carries a number of bariatric-specific vitamins that are specially formulated to meet your needs and post-surgery requirements. We recommend that you get your bariatric multivitamin and other supplements directly from a specialist, such as ourselves.
Importantly, there are a number of vitamins that we recommend avoiding. Check out this blog post for more information.
What kind of vitamins do I need to take?
As always, we recommend that you follow the advice of your surgeon and dietician. However, there are some specific vitamins that are widely recommended as the base. However, additional may need to be added.
- Bariatric multivitamin with iron
- Calcium citrate
- Vitamin B12 if it is not in the multivitamin
- Vitamin D if it is not in the multivitamin
- Probiotic
Bariatric Surgery in Oklahoma
If you are suffering from obesity-related medical conditions such as sleep apnea and struggle to lose weight on your own, you may want to consider bariatric surgery.
WeightWise’s expert surgeons perform a number of weight-loss surgeries, such as gastric sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypass surgery. For more information, read more about our program here.