Hello everyone...

I was wondering what the reason is for taking Actigall, it is just nasty and I can't seem to find anything good to take it with. Also I know that Dr. Wynn wants us to take Tums daily for calcium, but on the main message board I noticed people saying that they are not good for us and that we should be taking calcium CITRATE and not CARBONATE. What do you all suggest? Also what are some awesome things that you seemed to like during your pureed stage? Thanks for any input. Don't forgert to help me with that Actigall stuff. Michele

Michele, The Actigall is taken for 6 months to prevent Gall stones. Good luck trying to find something to put it in. I have to admit I only got it down 2 or 3 times for the 1st month. Tried applesauce, fresh pineapple crushed, and various smoothies. After that I took the capsules whole. I know they want you to open them, but it was horrible. This is the only thing I did not do to follow the Dr;'s plan. I took the Tums for the 1st month. After that I got chewable calcium with D. My blood work has come back fine each time. Citrate is supposed to break down faster and be absorbed better, but I couldn't find one in chewable form. Get creative with your foods. I had a corned beef special the 2nd week. I put a slice of corned beef, thousand Island dressing and a spoonful of cole slaw in my chopper and had Corned beef spread. It was yummy. I had lots of soups. Tuna salad. I ate flaxseed cereal for breakfast. I couldn't do eggs in any form, made me I had a piece of filet with mayo & horseradish chopped into a spread. Looked weird but tasted okay. Anything I could chop I did. Just find a liquid to thin it out with. I ate yogurt and cottage cheese, peanut butter and jelly on crackers. If I could have gotten a hoagie into my chopper I would have. But I didn't. LOL. Try to use your imagnation. Mashed potatoes with cheese melted on top. I was determinrd not to eat just chicken broth for 30 days. Good luck. Keep us posted on how you are doing? Elissa

Hi Michele, The reason you take the Actigall is to help prevent you from having a galbladder attack and possibly needing surgery. Stones can form during the very rapid phase of weightloss. Definitely worth the nasty taste to avoid another trip to the OR! I found alot of success mixing mine with Spicy V-8 juice...open the capsule, dump it in and shake the heck out of it. Spicy V-8 was a real help to me in the beginning and I had no problems with it. The calcium controversy rages on. I have asked my doctor, pharmacist etc their opinions on this, and they all seem to agree that the greater absorption of the citrate is really rather small. When asked about this at the November PMRI meeting Dr. Wynn stated that there is enough gastric juices farther down the GI tract and that absorption can occur later on during digestion. Tums as a VERY NEW post-op can be a good thing because they are easy on the pouch, overall I think it's more important that you take anything on a regular basis rather than risk problems later on because of not finding one that you like. I have used Tums and Viactive since the beginning and have done very well with them, lots of variety in taste and not overly expensive...now, having said all that, I have recently started using a cheewable citrate that I got at www.bariatricadvantage.com. They are cinnamon and I REALLY love the taste. if you are concerned and want to err on the side of caution by using a citrate product exclusively, I highly recommend them. Just in general...PLEASE take anything you read on the any message board with a great big grain of salt. ( and yes, that includes any opinions I may give ) These are mostly just opinions expressed by non professionals and always taking it as gospel can get you in trouble. Your own surgeons protocol is the one to follow and any questions should be directed that way when it comes to potentially serious complications regarding your care. I found that if I made sure I had variety during the puree stage I was really happy. One of my staples then and now is shrimp. I absolutely love it. Pureed with some mayo and old bay...or with some low sugar ketchup ( Heinz has a really good one called One Carb ) and a little horseradish and you have shrimp ****tail. Refried beans with some salsa and melted cheese was good, bean with bacon soup, beef stew ( either homemade or the Dinty Moore canned ) Chili. I experimented alot and found it made those 4 weeks really fly and pretty pleasant to follow. Give your culinary imagination a workout, you might surprise yourself! Linda

Hi Michele, I am post-op 3 weeks and I am also taking Actigall. I find mixing the Actigall with applesauce, splenda and cinnamon quite satisfing. You really can't taste the Actigall (well, at least I can't). I hope this helps. Good Luck, Franca

Thank you guys I knew I could count on you.. Michele