Vitamins VS Alcohol
 

I just got back from the store from picking up a few needed thing. For the last few days, I have been telling myself I should start taking some Vitamins. Well today at the store I decided to take a look over them.

I walk up to this wall of a zillion different kinds of Vitamins. Not really knowing what I'm looking for, and I'm a bit confused on what to get. On the other hand, I do notice the price of these little buggers. Almost every bottle is like $15 bucks! I say to myself "15 bucks! To heck with that!".

So I go about the store with my other shopping. Then all of a sudden, I have a small epiphany, and start to laugh at myself a bit.

"Why am I growling about spending 15 bucks for a bottle of 100 (3 1/3 months supply), when I used to spend 10+ dollars a day for alcohol".

Lets see here...
3 1/3 month supply of stuff that helps me = $15 bucks
3 1/3 month supply of alcohol that hurt me = $1000+ bucks

HAHAHAHAHA Yeah... So as you can see I snapped to my senses real quick :)

So anyways, I ended up snagging the Men's Health One A Day ones, and glad I did.

Time I get healthy people! Who's with me! It's pill poppin' time, but the healthy ones! :P

I hope you are all having a great day! Stay strong people! Sober life is the way to be!

-Ryan

I've been taking a One-A-Day for as long as I can remember. Maybe this helped me through the hangovers, etc on the occasions that I had them. Every morning, I'd eat something and take a multivitamin.

Good luck!

lol - i can totally relate!!!

Being young in sobriety I frequently suffer from the thought of spending money on something USEFUL when in the past it was no biggie to spend it on booze and cigarettes!!

I'm still in the process of changing my thinking in that I don't have to sacrifice money for useful or needed things for booze/cigs I'm no longer buying! That was a great post!

I use a Walmart brand of Daily Multi vitamins ..they are around $5 .work great...:yup:

Good to know you are heading into a healthier lifestyle...:yup:

I take vit B..

The store brand where like 10 bucks there. I just opt'd-in to get the brand name ones since I had never really bought them before. But I guess there all the same right? I dont know... lol :)

They are not all the same. There are several factors at play. Of primary importance is how bio-available the vitamins actually are and whether or not they are chelated. It may be important to you that the capsules and contents contain no animal products. For pressed pills, the binding ingredients may be a concern. You typically get what you pay for.

how true. I used to spend the 'funny money' on booze all the time (20 bucks here, 20 bucks there...) it used to add up. Now that I had stopped drinking I thought I would see some extra cash in hand.......nope......not sure where it is going (gas tank) but at least I know it is going towards something besides killing myself.

Ryan...next time ...read the back of the bottle and compare...:)
That's how I picked the one I use.

I suggest you take yours with a glass of water..and some food.
I do mine with a cup of Yogurt or Special K cereal.
I don't know...but I think they go best with breakfast..:)

i really like liquid multi-vitamins (typically they contain a lot more vitamin complexes and are supposedly better absorbed by your body).
usually they are pricey at $30 a bottle on average... but like you said, it lasts you for months and does something positive for your body, vs spending the same on a few hours of poison.

p.s. the only downside is that most liquid multi vitamins taste pretty bad, but then again vodka/whiskey/tequila/whatever doesn't taste all that great either.

I think you buying those vitamins at that price was a proof to yourself that you are worth it. By all means go for it. I spent $20 for women's ultra mega plus. Damn things gave me constipation and a strange urge for junk food (pre sobriety). I now take Walmart Silver vitamins and minerals. I am not old but its cram packed with B's and is more gentle on my stomach. Your body excretes the vitamins that you do not need. Hospitals give just regular old muli-vitamins. Of coarse you are paying $10.00 a pill for them. LOL

You can mix the liquid vitamins in with a breakfast smoothie. Also it's a good idea to take vitamins with food, partly becuase you'll absorb more of them in some cases and also because they make me sick on an empty stomach.

Funny, I know, I've been experiencing similar things too. I've been buying tons of stuff for my new house but my credit card bills haven't been much higher than they were 3 and a half months ago (pre-sobriety)...

I agree with Carol, and I take my vitamins with food.

I also buy a no-name brand which seem just fine to me. I think it's great that you are continuing to take care of your physical health. Good for you!

I just take the Kirkland brand of multi-vitamin (from Costco) - I take one every other day which seems to be a good balance. One a day for me seems to be too much iron which leads to not clever side effects!

I definitely recommend with food and take mine with breakfast too.

One thing to consider before taking any vitamin with medications is does it interfere with the medication. For example taking calcium with a thyroid medication can affect the absorption of the thyroid medication. Please consult your doctor regarding potential interactions when taking vitamins or herbal products.

Thanks all for the replies!

I don't know if some of you know this, but lately I've been having these horrid anxiety episodes at random. If you walked up to me in person, you wouldn't be able to tell. But in my mind I've been freaking out. That's also another reason I picked these vitamins up.

And I must say after taking one today, I feel fantastic! Don't know if it actually physically helped the anxiety, or it is more of a placebo effect in my mind. Whatever it is, I felt great after taking one! No Anxiety all day! Woohoo!

Also, nandm mentioned to be careful taking them with other meds. Well I don't take anything at all. Other than the new vitamin, the only thing that I intake is Green Tea and Food :)

Thanks again all!

-Ryan

Don't know if it makes you feel any better but I am having the same type of anxiety, I haven't recorded frequency (I know I should now I have written that) but it must be 3-4 a week or maybe a little more.

In explicable and sitting quiet and drinking a herbal tea seems to take it away but worrying nontheless.

Let me know how the vitamins work for you, I may be more frequent in taking them if there is a chance it helps

Thanks
Andrew

I sure will bud. I just think this anxiety is due to numbing my mind for so many damn years of drinking. And now my minds flooded with all this "normal" emotions and thinking. So this overwhems my mind. I've also been listening to a lady by the name of Claire Weekes. I found her audio book Hope and Help for your Nerves on a website. It really calms me down when listening to it because she tells it like it is! Its all fear of fear. Its a great listen. I listen to it daily.

Heres the link. And ill also PM it to you.

Relax

Just scroll down a bit and you will see the 4 mp3 audio files by Claire Weekes.

Take care!

-Ryan

I'm 19 weeks in and I still get an anxiety attack once in a while, nothing like I use too, not near as intense nor do they last as long. The good thing is mine keep getting less and less, I'm hoping over time they will disappear completely. Just another reason for me to never drink again!

Get ready to have some bright yellow and stinky pee-pee with the Multivitamins! LOL. I just wanted to give you the heads up since it may freak you out when it happens. Since you've been doing such an amazing job of being healthy, sober, and hydrated, I don't want you to get the heebie-jeebies! :biglaugh: It freaked me out the first few times I started popping a multi-V!

HAHAHAHA thanks for the heads up! :)

-Ryan

Carol I agree.
Compare the name brands with the store brand labels and they are basically the same.
So much cheaper too.
I too take mine with food and I usually have very bright yellow urine afterwards, since the body excretes what it doesn't need.
I'm a RN and we always administer generic multivitamins in the hospital. Just my 2 cents.

Just a heads up for those that say that the body excretes what it doesn't need with vitamins, which would imply that care is not needed. There are two types of vitamins fat soluble and water soluble. Your body can excrete the water soluble overages but not the fat soluble overages. Also the minerals and metals are not water soluble by and large.

The takeaway from my post is that if you take one multi vitamin fine, but if you take a multivitamin and several other vitamins and minerals and herbals you can get in trouble without realizing it.

I take one multi a day also, Centrum, and one nexium and that is all.

"Vitamins are classified as either water-soluble or fat-soluble. In humans there are 13 vitamins: 4 fat-soluble (A, D, E, and K) and 9 water-soluble (8 B vitamins and vitamin C). Water-soluble vitamins dissolve easily in water and, in general, are readily excreted from the body, to the degree that urinary output is a strong predictor of vitamin consumption.[13] Because they are not readily stored, consistent daily intake is important.[14] Many types of water-soluble vitamins are synthesized by bacteria.[15] Fat-soluble vitamins are absorbed through the intestinal tract with the help of lipids (fats). Because they are more likely to accumulate in the body, they are more likely to lead to hypervitaminosis than are water-soluble vitamins. Fat-soluble vitamin regulation is of particular significance in cystic fibrosis.[16]"

That quote from here:
Vitamin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Well I can recommend a men's multivitamin + some fish oil capsules with breakfast; and a vitamin B and E with more fish oil capsules for lunch. I've been doing this routine for a while now and haven't caught the flu whilst being around sick people or anything since I started so I'd say my immune system is better. My heart and central nervous system is probably also better ... I can't really notice but I do feel better in general. I'm also better at thinking but that could be more to do with cutting out drinking. But fish oil is supposed to be very good for the mind.

I take a daily multi-vitamin and a B1 (thiamin) with breakfast. Works for me:)

The main ones that alcohol will leech are B-Vitamins (especially thiamine), A, C, E, and Calcium.

Bone deterioration and calcium loss is very common in chronic alcoholics. All else failing, they can tell if someone was boozing even after death by looking at the calcium content in the bones.

While actively drinking and smoking, I would take a multivitamin, plus separate B-100 complex, A,C,E, and a Calcium/D vitamin combo. Vitamin D is necessary for proper calcium absorption. I'm sure it prevented some damage, but not all.

The book "Under the Influence" by James Milam, and quite possibly Katherine Ketcham's "Beyond the Influence" go into some detail about which vitamins/minerals drinkers are deficient in. Worth reading.

Itchy's warning above about hypervitaminosis is correct, though. Not everyone's body can handle the cocktail that I was taking, particularly with liver damage.

A Multivitamin + B-100 complex are probably safe, though. The B vitamins, as Itchy mentioned, are water soluble. Most people can also handle an added calcium supplement if they don't get enough from their diet.

Best bet is probably to run the "Under the Influence" appendix on vitamins through your doctor, though.

i take most of my vitamins/supplements in a capsule form that dissolves much better for me. and no tummy upset. I also take the omega 369s and 100mg. of Co-Q10

I also take my calcium/magnesium/zinc & biotin at night before bed and 5-HTP for anxiety...it helps me to wind down and sleep better (most nights). i also take SAM-e 800mg. a day..i do better with 1200 but it is very expensive even with coupons.

my ob-gyno recommended additional vitamin D-3, so i take 2500mg...most days.

I buy the procaps brand on line.