HOW IMPORTANT...

[smoothdave]

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO TAKE ADEKS? ( I THINK THATS WHAT THEY ARE CALLED) I HAVE NOT BEEN TAKIN THEM LATLY OR FOR A FEW MONTHS BECASUE THEY TASTE AWFUL. BUT I GOT A LETTER FOR THE HOSPITAL SAYING THEY HAVE NOTICED THRU BLOOD TESTS I HAVE NOT BEEN TAKING THEM AND THEY INSIST I START TAKING THEM AGAIN. JUST CURIOUS WITH WHAT EFFECT IT MAY HAVE IF I CONTINUE NOT TAKING THEM?

 

[anonymous]

We (most of us) don´t get enough vitamins and minerals from normal food, so we have to take some extra. With the blood test they do check vitamin and mineral levels, so yours will have been too low...

Uli,43,Germany

 

[JazzysMom]

It does make a difference. The vitamin A&D help with our bones & prevention or slowing of osteoperosis. Vitamin E helps with the healing of the lungs & Vitamin K helps with clotting which is important since some CFers have hemoptysis. The problem is that these are fat soluable which is why its difficult for us to obsorb them & need supplements. Chances of you getting/obsorbing a sufficient amount thru regular diet even with shakes is unlikely.

 

[coltsfan715]

They probably noticed because you probably have a vitamin deficiency in A, D, E and K. Since we have absorption problems our bodies don't absorb all the vitamins we need from our food, so we need to take the supplements. They are antioxidants and help to prevent some damage to the lung tissue along with I am sure many other things.

I have had a problem taking them also, but have never had someone call me and tell me there is a problem. I believe it is because I am getting what I need from the things I eat and other things I take. If you have a problem taking the Adek see if you can find another vitamin supplement. The best thing to look for is something with as few oxidants (Iron and such) as possible they work against the vitamins found in the ADEKs. My doc told me he just wanted me taking something he didn't care if it was ADEK or not, ADEK just so happens to be made specifically for CF patients to take.

Lindsey

 

[Jane]

You need to get SOURCE CF vitamins (also known as ABDEK). They are gel caps like a Vitamin E capsule. You don't have to chew them!

At first our docs were hesitant, but they ran the tests and said ok. CF Services pharmacy, around $18.

 

[NoExcuses]

To answer your original question - it's very important to take your vitamins.

Your body may not be able to repair damaged lung tissue. You may be more prone to infections or viruses. You may be expending more energy trying to breath than you should have to.

The list goes on and on....

 

[miesl]

Another voice in the "Take your vitamins, it's important for your health" crowd.

I'm also going to second Jane's recommendation for the SourceCF softgel. It's made for CF patients with the bonus of being a softgel. Jeremy likes them a lot (he complained about the gross taste of the adeks too - I thought they smelled good).

 

[Diane]

wierd me.... I LOVED the taste of ADEKS. Only problem was my insurance refused to pay for them . They would only pay for generic centrum. Centrum only has 25 mcg. of vit K ans i wanted more so i went and started checking out the labels of other vitamins and found one "Nature Made" for women, it has 100 mcg, the most i've ever seen in a store bought vitamin, so i started taking that twice a day. I also take others ( E, C, K, B -complex, Glutathione, L-Lysine, Calcium, Magnesium ) as well.

 

[coltsfan715]

Diane,
you are not alone I to like the taste of adeks - it was the after taste I didn't care much for (not real sure why but it didn't sit right with my taste buds). I wanted to ask this though. Where do you live? I don't know if you have talked to your doc about Scandipharm and the ScandiShakes, but they also send Adeks to people. You register and all you have to do is send your receipts for the Scandipharm enzymes (UltraseMT--) and they will send you adeks for free. At least that is how the dietician at my office made it sound. Maybe you could talk to your doc and see if they know anything about it or have the paper work for it. (I asked where you live because I wasn't sure if maybe it was just a US thing or not).

Lindsey

 

[ladybug]

YAY to SourceCF multivit!!!! Plus, I had posted on here before that if you're taking colystin and order the X-Gen brand, you get 30 free pills per colistyn order. Its the helping hands program from the X-Gen people. You can find out more about thier program on CF Services Pharmacy's website.

Scroll to the bottom to find the program.

<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://https://www.cfservicespharmacy.com/PatientAssistance/Other_Pat_Asst_Programs/">https://www.cfservicespharmacy...her_Pat_Asst_Programs/</a>

 

[ladybug]

sorry, let me try that link again... just cut and paste into your browser cause for some reason its not doing the hyperlink.

https://www.cfservicespharmacy.com/PatientAssistance/Other_Pat_Asst_Programs/

 

[perl]

also, you don't have to chew the adeks. i swallow mine & still get the benefits.

you should definitely take supplements, whether it's adeks or something else. those SourceCF capsules sound great. but you can also check at the hippie market for more easily absorbed forms of supplements. this might be more accessible.

 

[65rosessamurai]

I take so many supplements, I (we, the wife, too) use Petri dishes to fill them for a week, and then refill them when they are empty!
As for the vitamins that are fat soluble, aren't there "Water soluble" type vitamins available? I had come across vitamin E tablets that were water soluble, once. (just my two yen)