Barix/Dr. Vaughn or Dr. Boe patients

Hi Everyone, I was just wondering if any of you that have Dr. Vaughn or Dr. Boe are taking supplements other than your multi vitamins? More so the ones that are not at the 3 month mark yet. Did they tell you to take anything before you went for your 3 month post op? A friend of mine who is 8 months out was shocked when I told her I am not taking any B12 yet other than whats in my multi vitamin. She stressed how important it was so I was a little worried that maybe they forgot to tell me to get some? I figured I'd ask you guys first to see if they just slipped and forgot to tell me and then I'll just start on them or if this is the norm and we don't start any of that until after our 3 month check up when they do all the blood work then I'll just wait or maybe call them to see what they think about me starting some sublingual B12 now. Thanks in advance for any help! Hope you are all doing well on your journies! ~hugs~ Konni

after I have the surgery and get back home, from what I understand (I have the pre-op educational class on the 22nd, so I'll know more then.) I"ll have to start taking one a day every day. So yeah, I'd definately ask your surgeon about it. Its a very important pill to be taking. You can either take the sublingual daily(or whatever your surgeon tells you) or the injection 1xmonth.

Thanks for the response Lora. When I talked to my friend last night and she seemed so shocked that I wasn't on any B12 yet I really got a lil worried. I'm glad I asked because it seems this is yet another one of those things that each doctor does a little different! Good luck with your surgery...I look forward to welcoming you to the losing side ~hugs~ Konni

Konni, I am not a patient of your doctors' or center but I am also only taking my multi-vitamin with no additional supplements and my bloodwork has come back pretty darn good.. I think it depends on which multi-vitamin you're taking. I take Optisource.. it's designed specifically for WLS patients and has all the nutrients we need contained in the 4 daily chewables.. Unless you show signs of needing additional supplements (meaning you aren't absorbing enough from what you eat and your multi-vitamin), then you shouldn't need additional supplements. If you start to show signs of a deficiency, your doctor will add another supplement to make sure you get what you need. Don't fret.. just follow your doctor's advice.. don't worry so much about what someone else is doing.. we're all a little different, after all. Stef

Where do you get the optisource? online or in the stores??

walgreens.com They taste like orange. I like them better than the others I've tried. Stef

Thanks Stef!! Looks like I'm not the only one who isn't on anything else yet so I'm not as worried. I thought they just forgot to tell me something lol. My friend made it seem like that was the norm and I SHOULD be on the B12 already. I've been following my doc's instructions to the letter so I'll leave this in his hands too and assume its NOT a MUST that EVERYONE be on B12 right after surgery. Three more weeks I get my blood work done for my 3 month post op so we'll see. ~hugs~ Konni

My doctor told me to take a multi-vitiamin with iron, a chewabel calcium, and I take a sublingual B12 one time a week (Sat for me). Im two weeks out and I just started taking my vitamins Friday. All seems to be working well for me.

Thanks for the response Elizabeth!! So far my doc hasn't said anything about adding any more than my multi vitamin so I'll stick with what he thinks is best. I'm glad I posted about it though because I see this IS another thing some doctors do different than others. Congrats on your surgery and best of luck to you on your journey! ~hugs~ Konni

Konni, Dr. Vaughn only told me to make sure and take the multivitamin, but I told him I was also taking the sublingual B-12 and he said that was fine. I have peripheral neuropathy which can be aggravated by low levels of B-12. He's checking my blood work next week, so even if I hadn't been taking it, he'd know if I needed it. It's possible you need it, but you may not. If you feel you need it, go ahead and take it. Otherwise, wait to see what your blood work shows. Also, remember that you're only a couple of months out. Don't compare yourself to someone who is 8 months out, or allow them to make you worry needlessly. You're being monitored, so they'll know right away if you need it. Terry