Vitamin and mineral supplements after weight loss surgery. Information for patients Sheffield Dietetics

Transcription

1 Vitamin and mineral supplements after weight loss surgery Information for patients Sheffield Dietetics

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3 Why should I take multivitamin and minerals? After bariatric surgery, it becomes more difficult for you to take in all the vitamins and minerals that your body needs to stay healthy, partly due to having smaller portions. If you have had a gastric bypass, some of the vitamins and minerals you take in won't be absorbed. To make sure your body stays healthy, it is important that you take a lifelong daily complete A-Z vitamin and mineral supplement. Taking this daily will help prevent nutritional deficiencies such as iron, folate, vitamin D and calcium. Patients who do not take their multivitamins and minerals every day sometimes find that they need to take many extra tablets to correct their deficiencies. If you have had a gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy, you will also require vitamin B12 injections (1mg) once every three months lifelong. Your practice nurse or GP will give you your vitamin B12 injections but multivitamins and minerals should be bought from a chemist or supermarket. page 3 of 8

4 Which vitamin and mineral supplement should I take whilst on the liquid and pureed stage of the diet? There are a number of chewable vitamin and mineral supplements that are available to buy from supermarkets, chemists or on the internet. We recommend that you take two chewable vitamins a day. Some suggestions are listed below - Asda/Tesco Children's Chewable Multivitamins and Minerals Centrum Fruity Chewables Nature's Plus Source of Life Adult's Chewable Multivitamin and Mineral Solgar Kangavites Chewable Multivitamin and Mineral Chewable Superdrug A-Z Multivitamins and Minerals Chewable Wellkid Multi-Vitamin Smart Chewable These chewable supplements are not complete for all vitamins and minerals, therefore, when you are able to tolerate stage 3 (soft, mushy, crispy) textured foods we would recommend you should switch to a complete A-Z multivitamin and mineral twice a day as below. page 4 of 8

5 Which complete vitamin and mineral supplement should I take lifelong? Once you can tolerate foods from stage 3 (soft, mushy, crispy foods), choose a complete A-Z vitamin and mineral supplement in a tablet form. These tablets contain more vitamin and minerals than some of the chewable vitamin and mineral supplements. It is recommended to take two supplements per day lifelong to help prevent any nutritional deficiencies. We would recommend to choose from the following list and take two tablets each day: Asda A-Z Multivitamin and Mineral Lloyd's Pharmacy A-Z Multivitamin and Mineral Morrison's A-Z Multivitamin and Mineral Sainsbury's A-Z Multivitamin and Mineral Sanatogen A-Z Multivitamin and Mineral Tesco A-Z Multivitamin and Mineral Wilkinson's A-Z Multivitamin and Mineral Holland and Barrett ABC Plus (one tablet a day) How do I know if I have a nutritional deficiency? You may or may not show signs and symptoms of a nutritional deficiency. We recommend that your vitamin and mineral blood levels should be checked every 12 months, lifelong after weight loss surgery. These bloods will be checked either by members of the weight loss surgery team or your GP. You may need more nutritional supplements and dietary advice if any blood levels are found to be low. You will be advised about this. page 5 of 8

6 How to take your vitamin and minerals Remember to take two A-Z multivitamin and mineral tablets a day (unless you are taking Holland and Barrett ABC Plus or Forceval, take one a day of these). If you are taking additional iron and calcium supplements you should take these 2 hours apart from each other to get the maximum benefit. Iron supplements should be taken with something containing vitamin C, such as an orange or orange juice, so they work better. Avoid taking iron supplements at the same time as something with a lot of calcium in, such as milk. If you are on warfarin, the vitamin K in these tablets could affect your INR. Please speak to your practice nurse about any changes to your diet or supplements. If you take thyroxine, leave 4 hours between this and your multivitamin and minerals. Remember that if you have had a gastric bypass or sleeve gastrectomy you will need vitamin B12 injections every 3 months lifelong. page 6 of 8

7 Contact details Specialist Dietitian for Weight Loss Surgery: Clinical Nurse Specialist for Weight Loss Surgery: page 7 of 8

8 Produced with support from Sheffield Hospitals Charity Working together we can help local patients feel even better To donate visit Registered Charity No Alternative formats can be available on request. Please Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 2018 Re-use of all or any part of this document is governed by copyright and the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005 SI 2005 No Information on re-use can be obtained from the Information Governance Department, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals. PD5240-PIL1716 v6 Issue Date: June Review Date: June 2021