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Wow, what an amazing place to get information! Not only that but the support that can be gained from this place is phenomenal! My surgery is scheduled for May 2nd and I couldn't be any more excited. I know that afterwards it will be very hard, but I am still so excited. I have a 19 month old son, so my only real worry that I can think of is not being able to take care of him. I'll have plenty of help, but I love taking care of him, so that's what will be hardest for me. I also have a question. After my surgery I am supposed to have chewable vitamins with Iron. So would something like Flinstones vitamins work for this then? Also, a month afterwards, I am going to have to start taking a multi vitamin, and B12 and Calcium. Is this just something I can buy at any large store or does it need to be bariatric approved vitamins? Oh, and as far as the B12, where and what do you guys use for this? I'm trying to get all of this figured out before my surgery so it will be easier for me afterwards. If you have any tips at all for me please feel free to leave me a message!

Congrads on your day..Flinstones is what I took and you can get all the others at Wal-mart ....I do B-12 shot but you can get a B-12 pill at wal-mart also..Good Luck.. Shelly

I was required to take 2 Flinstones w/ Iron each day for the first 2 months after surgery. Then, we were told to switch to an adult vitamin with more minerals and B vitamins in it - they recommended bariatric or pre-natal vitamins. We were also instructed to take chewable Pepcid each day for the first 2 months (while the actual pouch/intestine staple lines are still healing). Be careful to get the correct form of B-12. After a RNY, the part of the stomach lining and upper intestine where it can be absorbed is bypassed. You MUST take it as sublingual or injectable for the rest of your life (and it doesn't matter if your multi-vitamin contains it since it cannot be absorbed in the digestive tract anymore). I use a sublingual liquid that I buy at Wal-Mart. There are other supplements that we added at 3 months out, but I would wait for instructions from your surgeon to get any of those. Before surgery, I would have Flinstones with Iron and chewable Pepcid in the house. You probably want to buy some liquid Tylenol too - there is an adult strength liquid available at Wal-mart. Good luck! Cindy (-75) 274/199/140

Cindy, I noticed you are in Columbia. That's actually where I'm having my procedure done. Dr. Scott is who I've been speaking with. I live about 20 min's from Columbia. Also a question for everyone... what did you do for exercise after your procedure? I have a serious back condition so walking isn't much of an option for me. I recently bought a recumbent bike which allows me to lean back and still get exercise, but I'm not sure I'll be able to do it as often as I need to. Any suggestions? Thanks everyone for the support! It means so very much! -Kimberly

My Doc started me on Centrum chewable, which I found at Walgreens and Schnucks, and have been taking those ever since. I got sublingual B-12 pills at GNC.