Notavirus

[kickaha]

Why is it that multi-vitamins make me incredibly sick to my stomach? Even if I take one during or after a meal, I still feel horribly nauseated 15 minutes later. The Trader Joe's Once Daily makes me the *least* upset to the stomach of all the ones I've found (One-A-Day will literally put me straight to borderline vomiting for a good 20-30 minutes), but even then it's a slight nausea and burning sensation. Even the smell of most brands makes my throat crawl, which is bad when they also make me... er... burp. Doesn't help.

Can anyone recommend one that *doesn't* do this?

I can't seem to narrow down what it is that's causing the upset, but I think it's a B-complex component. Which is, of course, something I could probably use more of.

Now if you'll excuse me... *urp*

Comments

[lirrin.livejournal.com]

I have the same problem with almost all vitamins. I literally revisit some of them after taking them, whether with or without meals, with adequate water, whatever.

The ones I'm taking now are HELLA expensive (I have a supply laid in from a neighbor who is a distributor) but...no nausea at all. Empty or full stomach, doesn't matter. I can take them and forget about it. They're Usana. (http://www.usana.com) Yeah yeah yeah, like Amway with vitamins. I take them because they don't make me sick to my stomach and because I actually do notice more energy if I take them regularly...which might be the case if I took *any* vitamin regularly, but I can't, because they make me sick...*heh*

Oh, er, Costco brand prenatals didn't make me sick either. But I don't know if you want to take prenatals. ;-) After I run out of the Usana ones, I'll probably be switching back to prenatals...my doc says that's what she takes.

[georgmi.livejournal.com]

Have you considered changing the form factor? There have got to be mix-with-water powders, or pre-mixed solutions out there. If your difficulty arises from the physical process of dissolving the pills, or from the binding ingredients, this might be helpful. (It might also send you into immediate nausea as all that stuff does whatever it does in your stomach as soon as it gets there, instead of once it finally dissolves...)

I've never been to one, but there's a local vitamin chain store ("Super Supplements") you might try next time you're in town; if you like what they have, they also do mail-order business off their web site ( http://www.supersup.com ), though the site isn't set up for easy searching of products by form factor.

[kalachandra.livejournal.com]

My prenatals made me very queasy (and once morning sickness set in, it became intolerable). I discovered that if I take them right before bed with a big chug of water, I can usually get to sleep before the nausea starts. If it takes you awhile to drift off, that might not be such a good idea for you, though. :)

[badger.livejournal.com]

Childrens' tend to be buffered more, and less upsetting. Or look for a powdered or liquid format, as georgmi already suggested.

[emschwar.livejournal.com]

Try kids chewables. That's what they recommend to pregnant women who can't stomach the prenatal vitamins. They also make gummy ones!

[franktheavenger.livejournal.com]

Acid refulx?

I dunno, I use Flinstones chewables anyway. They've got everything I need and fun fruit flavors! :D

[kimokeane.livejournal.com]

Lots of people report this side-effect of multivitamins - I used to have a little of it, but it seems to have improved over time. Also, I take them on a full stomach - for me that helps.

Sadly, I never found out how to avoid this effect.

[ssandv.livejournal.com]

Centrum makes a chewable, if that helps. Might be a better match than flinstones.

Ideally, of course, if time and money are no object, consult a real nutritionist or something, and figure out what you actually need to be taking instead of a one size fits all multi.

[greenteablues.livejournal.com]

I have this problem, too, but it's because of the concentration of potassium in some of them. I also can't eat a lot of high-potassium food without bad stomach cramping - unless I'm working out hard enough to sweat out the extra.

One-A-Day's are out for me, too, but Geritol has always been OK.

[kickaha.livejournal.com]

geritol?

Alright, now I really feel old. :}

[jinasphinx.livejournal.com]

No clue why they upset your tummy, but I just read in that bastion of consumerism, _In Style_ magazine, that Trader Joe's sells gummi bear vitamins. :)