Products I Like: Barimelts

     So as you may or may not know; when you go through bariatric surgery one of the end results is that your body doesn't absorb as much when whatever you take in travels from your stomach to its final destination.  This becomes a double edged sword because where as your body absorbs less of the fat from what you eat it also absorbs less of the nutrients from what you eat.  This leads to you having to take multivitamins.  And Im sorry, a Flintstones chewable isn't going to cut it.  You have to find a multivitamin especially designed for bariatric needs.  This means the have a higher concentration of all your needed nutrients.

     I tried at least two different bariatric multi-vitamins and couldn't find one I liked.  Most are like giant chewable horse tablets, and they can be rather chalky.  I even had a few times when putting the monster tablets on my tongue made me feel like I wanted to throw up.  Apparently for those that have gastric bypass (a process where your stomach is cut down much smaller than mine was in the SIPS procedure) it can also lead to you feeling like you just ate a meal as the chalky goodness fills up your little pouch sized stomach.  Now remembering to take a pill/supplement on a regular basis is hard enough for me.  Adding in the fun of it not tasting good and occasionally making me feel ill does not help at all.  So I started searching for a better alternative.

     Paul had picked up a gummy multivitamin for him to take and I started searching for a bariatric version of gummy vitamins as I thought they might be easier to take.  Unfortunately I did not have any luck.  I started looking for alternatives and stumbled across:

     Barimelts are a dissolvable multivitamin making them much easier to take.  I thought and thought about ordering a bottle of the vitamins but before I did I wanted to check in with the nutritionist at my surgeons office.  I sent him the link the the website I had stumbled across along with the nutritional information of the Barimelts.

     I learned after emailing my nutritionist (who has been very patient, supportive, and helpful in my new life) that my requirements for Vitamins A, D, and K were elevated to the point that a standard bariatric Multivitamin would not typically meet my needs (hence no Flintstones Chewables).  I required 10,000 iu vitamin A, 3000 IU vitamin D, & 300 mcg Vitamin K.  I would need to take 4 of these a day to reach these levels. That would be fine for vitamin A and D but would exceed my needs for vitamin K. by about 300 mcg daily.  I was a little discouraged, not knowing if too much vitamin K was such a bad thing, so I held out on ordering till I met up with my surgeon for my follow up appointment.  When I talked to my DR during my follow up he told me the vitamins would be just fine for me to take so I ordered a bottle that evening.  They arrived soon after and I loved them.  They have a great berry flavor and just like they state, dissolve rather quickly, making them easier to take.

     BariMelts.com offers quite a few options for your bariatric needs.  Outside of the basic multivitamin they have a Iron+Vitamin C option as well as D3, Calcium, B12, and Biotin.  I just placed a refill order and added a bottle of the biotin to try as it is a great supplement for promoting nail and hair growth, which is a good thing because the malabsorption of nutrients due to weight loss surgery can also lead to hair thinning.

    So I would definitely recommend you check out BariMelts.com for your bariatric supplement needs if you are planning on having or have already had weight loss surgery.