Vitamin/Labs Questions

So I am, at the very least, 7 months away from surgery (and that is if all the gods and goddesses are favoring me and the stars align just right and the vernal equinox is shining or Corizan 7... or something to that effect) so I just had a couple questions about the vitamins and such.

1.) I am already looking to get samples of protein powders to try out ( I know I may not like the ones I like now after surgery but I at least I will have something to go on for now) but I was thinking... what if I start getting "in practice" now by getting used to taking so many vitamins by actually taking them? Will it be a bad thing to go overboard with the vitamins so far out from surgery? Can I do any kind of damage to myself if i am mega-dosing on the vitamins?

2.) Would it be a good idea to have all the labs run now and then again before the surgery to kind of get a base line to go by post-op? Like if I am looking for deficiencies now and what I am "naturally" somewhat low in I would know what I would need to go heavy on to get levels up to where they would need to be? Would it be okay to be a little on the high end before surgery so that after surgery I am still up there and and dont have to panic so much about my levels falling drastically?

I don't know if my questions make sense but I am doing everything I can for the next few months to get ready for this and could really use all the help i can get lol.

1.  No!!  Please do not megadose before surgery!  If you want to get into practice, do so thoughtfully and carefully in appropriate amounts for a normal person.  I would stay away from anything over the DRI/RDA levels (except maybe for vit D, which has a DRI that is probably too low).  Yes, you can do damage.  You can develop vitamin toxicity.  A good practice pill would be calcium.

2.  Pre-op labs are a good idea.  Just be careful with the insurance coding or you could get saddled with a huge bill.  You don't want to be over reference ranges, but getting yourself to good, solid, normal levels isn't a bad idea.  Especially with vitamin D.

Again, DO NOT megadose.  To do so as a normal person is potentially VERY harmful to your health.

Vitalady has a preop vitamin plan that I'm following.  Check it out.

I think trying the protein and a few vitamins is a great idea. You could also try low carbing. My normie DH is pretty much on a Vitalady's Band/VSG vitamin plan, drinking a large protein coffee in the AMs and low carbing. He's done well and his high blood pressure, cholesterol and sugar labs are coming in great now. He still has to medicate but the meds are actually working now. He initially lost about 15-20 pounds and has maintained that for 1 1/2 years now. Here's a link to Vitalady's VSG plan if you'd like to try it. www.gblcreations.com/Resources/Gina/ProgramAGB&VSG2-2010.pdf  As the folks have said, you don't want to mega dose at this point. Here's VL's pre-op ideas as well: www.gblcreations.com/Resources/Gina/VitaladysPre-op_ideas_11-2009.doc

Good luck!

--gina

 

Cool beans! Thanks ladies! I can afford to give things a try right now as I think my Flex spending plan covers vites and supplements (double checking on that this morning actually)
And whew! Glad I asked first. I do not want to develop more issues than i already have.

OH!  One thing I might recommend while you still can is a good omega 3/fish oil supplement.

Post op we aren't so great at absorbing the oil so they are pretty useless after surgery.

Now that I'm pretty far post op, I take coromega along with digestive enzymes to help absorb whatever omega 3s I can.  Coromega is a really good form that is better absorbed and actually tastes yummy.

Just take supplements that are appropriate for you NOW. That establishes a habit.

Labs are a great idea if you can get them covered by insurance. Vitamin D deficiency, in particular, is very common, so if you can check that and get it up in advance (by taking dry D3 as cholecalciferol; don't bother with the RX stuff), that would be excellent.