Calcium is a very special supplement and there are some cautions everyone should follow.
First of all the body cannot absorb more than 500 mg of calcium at a time. But most bottles you find in the store are 1000 or 1500 or 600 mg and it makes life very complicated. I buy my calcium at Trader Joe's and each tablet has a split in the middle so I can break in half. I take three a day, a few hours apart.
Like iron, calcium is a mineral, not a vitamin. You can take it with vitamins all you want but you cannot take it with another mineral, such as iron. If you do, they will cancel each other out, or at least diminish their efficacy.
I don't use bariatric vitamins because in reading the labels, they are identical to children's vitamins like Flintstones. And they are overpriced. I take supplements four times a day along with a few other prescription medications that I have to take for the rest of my life.
I take my first I take my first dose at 10 a.m., then 2 p.m., then 5 p.m., then 9 p.m. or even later before bed. I had the good fortune to be asked to be in a University of Washington study of bariatric surgery (
Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (LABS) | NIDDK), and for the first seven years of my post-op life, I had to see them at least annually and have nutritional balance measured by blood draws. I actually made my decision on the supplements based on the results documented in the study.
Now my doctor does a metabolic panel every six months or up to a year. My numbers are identical to the numbers I had in the university study. But sometimes I do have deficiencies, so it is awesome to be able to have your blood drawn and see where you need to adjust if that's the case.
I don't feel troubled by the fact that I take my supplements 4 times a day. Each time I take them, I have a sense of self love and self-care that is not natural for me. Just the practice of taking care of my nutritional needs by taking supplements is enough to make me smile.
