Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Vitamins/"Vitameatavegamin" WHATEVER- I Gotta Work On This~

I could always go this route!
image courtesy of Timeless-TV.com

Vitamins- I need to take more and I need to take them consistently.

I’ll admit it, I'm not so good when it comes to taking vitamins. I take pills every day to keep my “Diabetes Heart” & kidneys in check, not to mention two baby aspirins for reasons that are “1 in a million,” and then some.

I do pop three tropical fruit flavored Tums Smoothies as a calcium supplement every day - and I really like how they taste. But beyond my required pill RX’s, I never seem to keep the vitamin regimen going.

I start out all gung ho with the selenium, B Complex, vitamin E, folic acid, and a multi vitamin. And then after a week or two, I start to forget, and then I give up…for the most part.

In the summer I drink my daily vitamin dose in the form of breakfast soy smoothies that I drink almost every day. The vanilla soy powder is loaded with vitamins and minerals. But again- I'm not consistent. I drink these smoothies May through September, and then the cold weather sets in and the soy smoothies lose their appeal.

Recently, a friend gave me some Krill Oil pills, which according to various websites, are supposed to help with joint and muscle pain (which I have) and contains omega-3 fats eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA), vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E and something called canthaxanthin. All are considered mucho antioxidants! And apparently, krill oil pills absorbs into the skin much quicker than your typical omega 3 fish oils.

I was very excited to jump on the Krill Train Express, until I read that if you’re on an aspirin regiment, (which I am,) you need to check with your Dr. first, which I will..

Still, I was bummed out that aspirin (which I can’t stop) might potentially cancel out krill - a supplement I was actually excited to start

Anyway, do you take vitamins and if so, which ones and why?

And how in the name of the islet of langerhands do you keep taking them on a daily basis with out getting bored & giving up?

12 comments:

Elizabeth Joy said...

Oh man, do I take vitamins. I take a multi, Calcium+D, grape seed extract, vitamin E and fish oil, along with a baby aspirin. I've even started periodically taking Acai extract (even though I hate the hype), which seems to make me more alert.

I have a pill case (actually 3 pill cases) which I fill up every 3 weeks with all my meds, then just down them every night so I don't forget. (I order using subscribe-and-save through Amazon, because it's cheaper and I don't even have to remember each month to buy them.)

It's hard because the effects are long-term and not really assured. The bp pills you can see the effects of, but who knows if the fish oil, etc. are going to do anything? Nothing's been proven, so what if we're just wasting our money?

But, I guess I'm desperate to try anything that might help mitigate some of the ravages d has done to my body over the years. Even if it's a long shot it's still better than no shot, right?

Cara said...

I had a pill box...but when I quit taking my cholesterol meds, filling that little pill box up got way less appealing. I took vitamin c, vitamin d, cranberry, fish oil, and a mulit-vitamin. Currently I don't take anything. *hangs head in shame*

Chris said...

I'm right with Elizabeth on this one. The only way for me to stay "compliant" with my vitamins/supplements is to put my "should-takes" in a pill case (one of those snappy-lid ones with a different compartment for every day of the week- make sure it's big enough to fit everything) with my "must-takes", so that when the time comes to take the pills I have to take, I just take everything. Right now that includes fish oil, folic acid, vitamin d, a probiotic, and a vitamin b/c complex. It may be overkill, since I eat a lot of veggies, but I take them with food and lots of water, so I think the upside well outweighs the downside. But yeah, until I started using the pill case (filling it has become a weekend ritual) I was hopeless with sticking with a vitamin plan.

Crystal said...

I had trouble taking them consistently too. But with a pill case, as Elizabeth mentioned, made it a Lot easier. I refill it every Saturday.

I do Vit D, B complex and a multivitamin. That last one is Huge though and I am currently on a double dose of antibiotics which are big too, so they all don't fit. Lame excuse, huh? Yeah.

I say, try to pill case, take what you need/try what you want and go from there.

wv: thers
Thers, I commented on a post. Ha! :-)

Carol said...

Two words. Gummy Vitamins. Yes, they make them for adults. I still forget sometimes, but I keep the jar on the breakfast table, and probably hit it 4 or 5 days a week. Much better luck than I've had with swallowing pills. They may not be the best vitamins, but they are better than noting. And at 3 grams of carbs per "serving", they are hardly bolus worthy. I also have some Gummy calcium. It's made for kids, but I'm a kid at heart, so why not?

Casey said...

I set them up on the counter next to where I make my smoothies. they are in the way, but i see them and take them on most mornings. I only take folic acid and a MVI.

Jamie Naessens said...

I know I should, and in a fit of conscientiousness, sometimes I even buy them. But the back of my bathroom cupboard is a testament as to how well I take them - all expired. One has to actually take them to receive benefit from them... don't they?

The Piquant Storyteller said...

I started taking over the counter prenatal vitamins when I was 18. My reasoning was it would make my hair and nails healthier and grow faster, which it did but nothing compared to the prescription strength pills when I was pregnant.

Now that my family is complete I do gummy vitamins for adults. I can't swallow any more horse pills without gagging first or having them dissolve in my mouth.

I set the reminder on my insulin pump. That's how I remember to take pills and eat my gummy vites!

Find something that works for you or you will never remember.

Unknown said...

You know, I only take a single multivitamin. I've got other pills I take for other stuff, but for vitamins and stuff? Just that multi. I have no idea if it is doing anything beneficial.

meanderings said...

Pill box - I've been taking synthroid since I was 18 and the ONLY way I could remember to take it - or if I had already taken it - was to use one of those annoying pill boxes. And yup, I take vitamins and other drugs too, now.
It works.

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Vic said...

Wow I didn't know aspirin could cancel out krill! I've also just recently taken krill oil supplements and so far, I feel really good. I took fish oil before and the reason why I switched to krill is because of the weird aftertaste and the really bad fish burps :|