Alternatives to Forceval?

[meecestopieces]

Hi Everyone,
Merry Christmas to one and all.
I'm 24 days out from my revision to DS from RNY and from day 3 have as instructed by my surgeon been taking 2 Forceval solubles in water twice a day (amongst other vits) . I find the Forceval vile! Akin to licking a rusty pipe and I gag. Its quite effervescent too which irritates my stomach.
Can anyone suggest an alternative?
Thank you in advance
Regards
Les

 

[southernlady]

Hi Everyone,
Merry Christmas to one and all.
I'm 24 days out from my revision to DS from RNY and from day 3 have as instructed by my surgeon been taking 2 Forceval solubles in water twice a day (amongst other vits) . I find the Forceval vile! Akin to licking a rusty pipe and I gag. Its quite effervescent too which irritates my stomach.
Can anyone suggest an alternative?
Thank you in advance
Regards
Les

Les, what in the hell is Forceval??? Never heard of it.

 

[meecestopieces]

My apologies it's a soluble multi-vitamin, maybe peculiar to the UK only?. The team dietician stated that one tablet is the equivalent to one chewable Centrum multi-vitamin so one alternative is 4x Centrums but they are quite expensive and would be about $9 a week.

 

[Clematis]

A soluble vitamin -- gag. There has to be another reasonably priced multi-vitamin in UK you could swallow whole. I could swallow a multi about 2.5 weeks out. (I didn't take any before that. Chewables are awful.)

 

[Clematis]

And I only take 2 multi a day, plus additional of specific vitamins

 

[meecestopieces]

Thank you for the reply.
I'm still having trouble with hard tablets. I can feel quite an amount of discomfort and sharpness as they reach my stomach at present. The Calcium and D3 combo I have been instructed are also soluble and almost as awful to take. Would there be a problem if I simply bit the tablets to make them smaller to digest or would they lose their potency?

 

[DSRIGGS]

Hi Everyone,
Merry Christmas to one and all.
I'm 24 days out from my revision to DS from RNY and from day 3 have as instructed by my surgeon been taking 2 Forceval solubles in water twice a day (amongst other vits) . I find the Forceval vile! Akin to licking a rusty pipe and I gag. Its quite effervescent too which irritates my stomach.
Can anyone suggest an alternative?
Thank you in advance
Regards
Les

LOL I am glad I ready down the thread before replying because I was going to ask the same thing.

 

[DSRIGGS]

Thank you for the reply.
I'm still having trouble with hard tablets. I can feel quite an amount of discomfort and sharpness as they reach my stomach at present. The Calcium and D3 combo I have been instructed are also soluble and almost as awful to take. Would there be a problem if I simply bit the tablets to make them smaller to digest or would they lose their potency?

First off, you should be able to take Men's Centrum 50 +....I take 2 a day. Not sure how they are sold in the UK but I buy the generic brand here.

Second, you can get a pill crusher and mix a little in with a spoon of yogurt or something like that.

 

[Clematis]

Sorry the pills are uncomfortable for you, Les.

I crush 4 giant calcium pills and mix them with a tub of flavored greek yogurt. (I have a medical grade pill crusher but a hammer would work as well.) Calcium is chalky but has no offensive taste. I refused to take anything else that I couldn;t swallow whole as most do taste bad. I just kept my fingers crossed that I had enough vitamins stored up in my body pre-surgery to tide me over for a while. The multivitamin is smaller than the calcium and I can swallow that whole.

 

[DSRIGGS]

Sorry the pills are uncomfortable for you, Les.

I crush 4 giant calcium pills and mix them with a tub of flavored greek yogurt. (I have a medical grade pill crusher but a hammer would work as well.) Calcium is chalky but has no offensive taste. I refused to take anything else that I couldn;t swallow whole as most do taste bad. I just kept my fingers crossed that I had enough vitamins stored up in my body pre-surgery to tide me over for a while. The multivitamin is smaller than the calcium and I can swallow that whole.

Calcium are horse pills, that is for sure. I take them three at a time and sometimes they stick a little.. I dislike taking the calcium citrate but I know I have to take them so I do.

 

[meecestopieces]

One pill crusher ordered!
Thanks chaps.

 

[DSRIGGS]

One pill crusher ordered!
Thanks chaps.

you bet!

 

[DianaCox]

First of all, don't bother taking vitamins for the first few weeks if they are upsetting your stomach. You don't need them - you have reserves (I didn't take any for three months, not that I recommend that). Second, try buying prenatal vitamins - that's what I've been taking for 12 years (and I'm 62, so it's pretty amusing buying them). They are coated, slide down well and don't repeat on me.

 

[kirstabelle]

You can get centrum on prescription. I take 2 per day.
You don't need forceval.
What calcium have they got you on? cacit D3?
They are likely to have about 400iu of vitamin D which is not even worth counting.

 

[meecestopieces]

You can get centrum on prescription. I take 2 per day.
You don't need forceval.
What calcium have they got you on? cacit D3?
They are likely to have about 400iu of vitamin D which is not even worth counting.

Thank you for the reply.
You're spot on. Cacit D3 with 400iu of vitamin D. I also take 2x5000 chewable D3 vits daily.
Much prefer Centrum to Forceval, I'll see if my GP will prescribe some. My nutritionist directed me to take either 2 Forceval or 4 Centrum vits per day.
Interesting to note that many veterans believe it too early to be forcing down so many vitamins. Confusing.
The prenatal vits sound sound interesting...I doubt my GP would oblige but one never knows!
Thanks again
Regards
Les