DS maintenance cost

Don't go advertising those protein samples!!!!  They are spoken for!!!  Love ya!

I have been buying some things here and there for some time, but just put an order in with VitaLady last night for about $100.00.  These should last more than a month though.  This has been a good topic for me.  But making me hungry for Filet Mignon!  T

Not everything I take is necessary for every DS'er, but I recently put together a spreadsheet of everything I take, along with costs. Here's a link. It shows that I'm spending about $190 a month on sups and protein drinks. I only drink the protein drinks at this point because they are convenient. I could easily get all my protein from food, if I wanted to go to the trouble. LOL

I just calculated this a couple of weeks ago, and I pay just under $40 a month for vitamins.  I don't do protein shakes frequently - once or twice a month, unless I had salad for dinner and feel like I didn't get adequate protein.  I don't buy everything from Vitalady, and I don't take everything that she's got on her recommendation sheet.  Not everyone needs all of that.  You'll have to judge by your labs.

I take more vitamins, but I don't take any prescription drugs for obesity-related illnesses, either, so it all evens out.

Thanks for all of the feed back.  I know my labs is covered by my insurance so that will not be a problem.  I am not sure how much protein is in items I have to learn that.  I know that I am not a lover of tuna, or bone fish.  I love protein shakes and was drinking 50 grams a day during the time I was working out a lot.  Do anyone know what the routine vitamins is. If I know what the common one is I could start buying them and be able to be prepared.  I am trying to make sure I am read and educated. 

I take Calcium Citrate, a multivitamin, Dry vitamin A, Dry vitamin D3, vitamin K, Zinc (only because I personally run low - you may not need this) and Copper (because the zinc was interacting with it and driving it down - I wouldn't expect you to need this).  I don't need B12, so I don't take it.  I also seem to not need iron, but that is NOT typical, and you should expect to need iron unless your labs show otherwise.

I get Costo brand Calcium citrate and multivitamins.  I buy my vitamin A, zinc, & copper at the Vitamin Shoppe, as they have good prices and are convenient.  I get my D3 and K from Vitalady, as she has it in the appropriate dosage sizes (50K of D3 is impossible to find in a regular store, and you'd go broke trying to take that many pills daily to equal it).  I also have an FSA - a Health Care Savings Account - that takes money out of my check pre-taxes and allows me to use it for things like vitamins and protein.  All I had to do was have my nutritionist write a letter of medical necessity.  It's really convenient and saves me a bundle.   I can also use it for copays and prescriptions for my whole family, as well as first aid items like band-aids and gas x.  If you can get one, I highly recommend it! 

I spend about $40ish every month on supplements.  Well worth it, too.  You can spend more but I'm a bit of a bargain hunter.  I also got a warehouse club membership for the vitamins that don't go on sale regularly. 

I don't like protein drinks, but when I drank them regularly, I probably spent about $60 a month on them.  I am sure I ate $60 fewer of carb-heavy grocery items, so it came out even.

Vitalady has a great list for starter DSers.  You don't have to do exactly what she says, but I've followed her plan pretty closely and my labs are pretty darn good.  Most of my friends have similar experiences. 

At one local surgeon's seminar he said most WLS (excluding lap bands) can expect to pay about $125 a month on vitamins and supplements.  That may be a good average.

 What they said...except I wanted to add that it works out to way less than the large bag of Reese's Snack Size PB Cups I used to go through...daily.