Should I Take my Folic Acid, Iron, Vitamin C and B Complex Pills While Also Taking the VitaMedica Recovery Package?

I am scheduled for surgery on March 18th and have been taking the recommended folic acid, iron, vitamin c and b complex pills for over a month now and today my VitaMedica recovery pills came in the mail and the instructions say NOT to take any additional vitamin, mineral or herbal supplements while taking VitaMedica... is this accurate? should i only be taking vitamedica two weeks prior to surgery?

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7 Doctor Answers | Asked by theynotready06 in North Carolina

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Vitamins and surgery

The surgeon's instructions indicate not to take any other vitamins in order to keep things simple. I also tell my patients not to take any over the counter medicine or vitamins because you never know what they may be combined with. Certain herbal meds, for instance, can increase bleeding risks. By keeping the instructions simple, there is less chance something like this will occur.

Taking Own Vitamins & VitaMedica

If your Plastic Surgeon put you on VitaMedica, that is all you need. Do not take your own. The VitaMedica vitamins are designed to give you what you need to heal and not contain anything that would interfere with healing or anesthesia or cause problems with blood clotting.

Vitamins Prior To Tummy Tuck

Preparing your body for surgery prior to a tummy tuck is a great idea. Taking a multivitamin supplement is a great idea. I would be very careful to review what supplements you are taking in detail with your surgeon pre-op to make sure that it doesn't contain any blood thinning agents or anything that would inhibit wound healing.

Medication

There is little to no medical indications to take any of these medical supplements or additional vitamins that are constantly used

Vitamins and supplements before surgery

It is very important to work directly with your own surgeon for advice on what to take before and after surgery. While it may seem that vitamins can only help, there are many supplements that can have side effects which increase the risk of complications such as bleeding, and the evidence that they help healing is not very well proven.

Vitamedica Prior to Tummy Tuck

If your doctor approved the use of Vitamedica prior to surgery, then this may be a reasonable thing to do. I would make sure that if you are going to take this prior to surgery, please tell your surgeon if this was not recommended specifically by the surgeon. Kenneth Hughes, MD Los Angeles, CA