question pre-op

I'm relatively new here - DS planned for Jan 14th.  I have a couple of questions ... for supplements/vitamins -- have you had better absorption using liquid vitamins versus the standard pill form?  I know these can be recommended early on due to swelling, etc right after surgery -- but wondering if there is any benefit to staying on them long term.

Also, I have been talking with my surgeon about how long my common channel should be.  I know that some prefer shorter, some longer.  He said it is usually 100cm-150cm as the standard.  He prefers the 150cm length, and explained the pros and cons to me of both lengths.  He said that if I felt strongly, after researching the issue, about having 100cm channel, we could talk about it.  I was just hoping to hear from others out there about your experiences.  Any comments?  Ideas?

Melanie C.

Here is a reply from a former post:

They just don't make liquid vitamins for our needs (except maybe for a general multi), and as mentioned some may be oil based, and they taste like crap (you don't have to taste a pill, just swallow it).

Children's vitamins are full of sugar and don't have the right amounts for us (even when you take double or triple).  Sure, maybe it's better than nothing directly post-surgery, but as soon as you can take pills you should.

Adult chewables for things like calcium are alright, but again you have to watch out for sugar and sugar alchohols, and frankly, you'd get sick of tasting them all day long after a while.

I and others find the BEST vitamins are the ones in a capsule (filled with powder). Easy to swallow, and quickly dissolves in your stomach for best absorbtion. Just about all of Vitalady's vitamins come in capsule form.

If they are oil based, they wouldn't absorb, bc as I'm sure you've researched, the DS doesn't allow you to absorb oil/fat. I'm looking into revision to the DS. Read my blog, I'm no stranger to OH. lol.

Mine was 100cc and I wish I had asked for a longer one.  I have many issues with food restrictions and gas I may not have had with a longer channel.

Mine is 150cm and I have reached goal.  Happy happy happy.

BTW my CC is 75cm and I'm fairly happy with it - there have been times when I wished it was 50cm, but I think that'd be a lot of work vitamin-wise.

Mine is 75 and I wi**** was 50.

Here's the scoop on the vites.  The DS does not change your ability to swallow pills.  Nothing is done surgically to your throat, esophagus, or the way it connects to your stomach.  Decreased size of the stomach may inhibit your ability to just toss back a small handful of pills but that will change as time passes.  At first it will take a while to get them all down.  But it's doable.

My understanding is, following Hess, it is not just a number, but a number based on measurements of the intestines and the size of the sleeve.