XP: Newbies: post-op supplementation costs
(Tweaked last on 8/26)
I put this post together awhile back about costs of supplements post-op. Yes, there are costs up-front.. psych evals, program fees, etc.. If you are having issues covering these basic costs, you really need to be aware that supplementation after any WLS is not cheap.
Keep in mind, I am almost 4 yrs post-op, listened to my surgeon's recommendations to take only 2 flintstones vitamins for almost 2 years, have had two kiddos, and now must play catchup with my labs. Not everyone needs all of this... those that keep close track on their own labs and not trust someone else to do their work for them (stupid stupid stupid) will be better off. I'm paying the price for my stupidity with how much I do have to take. So let that be a lesson.
(Following prices do not account for sales, BOGO offers, coupons, etc.)
Each day I take the following:
4 regular calcium citrate tablets 315mg per tab -- bottle of house brand at Target ran me $5.50, lasts one month
4 citrical petites 200mg per tab -- bottle at Target ran me $8.74 for 50 days, so 30 days runs $5.24, call it $5.25
1 1000mcg b-12 tablet -- bottle at Sam's runs me about $5, will last 3 months. Call it $2/month
2 multivitamins -- bottle runs me $11, and I get one month
2 vitamin c -- bottle runs me $11 and I get one month
12 25mg carbonyl iron tablets -- bottle runs me $5 from Target and I get 1.5 months (so $3.50 per month)
2 b-complex -- bottle runs me $11, I get 1 month
10 5k vitamin d -- bottle runs me $15, lasts 25 days, so 30 days is $18
1 zinc tablet -- bottle runs me $5, I get 3 months worth (call it $2)
So a monthly total for my supplements? $69.25 plus applicable taxes, fees, and shipping.
My protein drinks.. one that I drink costs me 45 cents.. another I drink is 90 cents. I drink one of each per day, on average. So that's another $40.50.
I have to pay a copay for my labs. My D is low, my ferritin is low, and my iron is low.. so that's 4 draws per year until they go up. That's $25 a draw, on average. Let's call it 30 for ease of math, k? So another $10 per month.
So not even counting my low-carb lifestyle (milk, cheese, eggs, fresh fruits and veggies, etc.. are all *much* more expensive than crap), my $45 a month gym membership, or any of the other "frills" (nut visits, doctor visits, gas to get to appointments, etc.), I'm spending over a hundred *each month* just on maintenance.
No matter which surgery option you chose, you will be on supplements for life or will suffer the consequences. Keep this in mind before you sign on that line to have surgery, k?
I put this post together awhile back about costs of supplements post-op. Yes, there are costs up-front.. psych evals, program fees, etc.. If you are having issues covering these basic costs, you really need to be aware that supplementation after any WLS is not cheap.
Keep in mind, I am almost 4 yrs post-op, listened to my surgeon's recommendations to take only 2 flintstones vitamins for almost 2 years, have had two kiddos, and now must play catchup with my labs. Not everyone needs all of this... those that keep close track on their own labs and not trust someone else to do their work for them (stupid stupid stupid) will be better off. I'm paying the price for my stupidity with how much I do have to take. So let that be a lesson.
(Following prices do not account for sales, BOGO offers, coupons, etc.)
Each day I take the following:
4 regular calcium citrate tablets 315mg per tab -- bottle of house brand at Target ran me $5.50, lasts one month
4 citrical petites 200mg per tab -- bottle at Target ran me $8.74 for 50 days, so 30 days runs $5.24, call it $5.25
1 1000mcg b-12 tablet -- bottle at Sam's runs me about $5, will last 3 months. Call it $2/month
2 multivitamins -- bottle runs me $11, and I get one month
2 vitamin c -- bottle runs me $11 and I get one month
12 25mg carbonyl iron tablets -- bottle runs me $5 from Target and I get 1.5 months (so $3.50 per month)
2 b-complex -- bottle runs me $11, I get 1 month
10 5k vitamin d -- bottle runs me $15, lasts 25 days, so 30 days is $18
1 zinc tablet -- bottle runs me $5, I get 3 months worth (call it $2)
So a monthly total for my supplements? $69.25 plus applicable taxes, fees, and shipping.
My protein drinks.. one that I drink costs me 45 cents.. another I drink is 90 cents. I drink one of each per day, on average. So that's another $40.50.
I have to pay a copay for my labs. My D is low, my ferritin is low, and my iron is low.. so that's 4 draws per year until they go up. That's $25 a draw, on average. Let's call it 30 for ease of math, k? So another $10 per month.
So not even counting my low-carb lifestyle (milk, cheese, eggs, fresh fruits and veggies, etc.. are all *much* more expensive than crap), my $45 a month gym membership, or any of the other "frills" (nut visits, doctor visits, gas to get to appointments, etc.), I'm spending over a hundred *each month* just on maintenance.
No matter which surgery option you chose, you will be on supplements for life or will suffer the consequences. Keep this in mind before you sign on that line to have surgery, k?
Andrea,
I can't tell you how much I appreciate your knowledgable and informative posts, such as this one. If you don't mind, I would really appreciate it if you would allow me to bend your ear (and your brain) with what I've tried to come up with in regards to my supplements post-op. If you have the time to look through, I'd appreciate it!
I really, really want to go with Source Naturals based on vitamin brand ratings and since they are a brand I can purchase through the company that I get all of our non-toxic organic personal care products from. I get free shipping also.
My one problem with going with Source Naturals is, their calcium crystals are NOT citrate (they are ascorbate) and their children's chewable doesn't even come close to the nutrient values in the multi-vitamin tablets I would like to use...unless I chew a LOT of the chewables!
I have been wondering, how soon after RNY can I start taking multi-vitamin and calcium TABLETS? Do you know if it is possible to crush and take them in a liquid or would that just taste as horrible as I am thinking it would?
Once I can take the tablets, this is the supplement schedule I have written out:
8am Mira-Lax, 1 tablet Multi-Vitamin/Mineral, 1 Sub-Lingual B-12
1pm 2 tablets Calcium
6pm Mira-Lax, 1 tablet Multi-Vitamin/Mineral
8:30pm 3 tablets Calcium
This would give me, daily, among many other things (including B-Complex):
Calcium 1600 mg
Vitamin B-12 2000 mcg sublingual
Vitamin C 500 mg
Iron 24.5 mg
Vitamin D 800 IU
Zinc 30 mg
I would order a 3 months supply at a time for $62.25 total...so that's $20.75/month for my vitamin supplements.
I'm hoping to try some of the protein powders that this company I order from carries. Have you tried any of these?
1. Met-RX 100% Natural Whey (Chocolate) $0.27/serving
2. Source Naturals True Whey Protein Powder $0.30/serving
3. ISS Research Complete Whey Powder (Chocolate, Banana Creme, Strawberry, Vanilla, Cookies & Cream) $0.49/serving
4. Met-RX 100% Ultramyosyn Whey (Chocolate, Vanilla) $0.59/serving
5. Specialized Protein for Fitness OR Lean Mass (Chocolate, Vanilla) $0.59 OR $0.67/serving
6. BSN Lean Dessert Protein Shake (Chocolate-Coconut, Chocolate Fudge, Banana Nut, Banana Cream, Whipped Vanilla) $0.84/serving
Again, thanks a million for any advice and/or guidance you can extend to me. I am looking forward to talking with the nutritionist eventually, but this has been something weighing heavy on my mind in the meantime!
I can't tell you how much I appreciate your knowledgable and informative posts, such as this one. If you don't mind, I would really appreciate it if you would allow me to bend your ear (and your brain) with what I've tried to come up with in regards to my supplements post-op. If you have the time to look through, I'd appreciate it!
I really, really want to go with Source Naturals based on vitamin brand ratings and since they are a brand I can purchase through the company that I get all of our non-toxic organic personal care products from. I get free shipping also.
My one problem with going with Source Naturals is, their calcium crystals are NOT citrate (they are ascorbate) and their children's chewable doesn't even come close to the nutrient values in the multi-vitamin tablets I would like to use...unless I chew a LOT of the chewables!
I have been wondering, how soon after RNY can I start taking multi-vitamin and calcium TABLETS? Do you know if it is possible to crush and take them in a liquid or would that just taste as horrible as I am thinking it would?
Once I can take the tablets, this is the supplement schedule I have written out:
8am Mira-Lax, 1 tablet Multi-Vitamin/Mineral, 1 Sub-Lingual B-12
1pm 2 tablets Calcium
6pm Mira-Lax, 1 tablet Multi-Vitamin/Mineral
8:30pm 3 tablets Calcium
This would give me, daily, among many other things (including B-Complex):
Calcium 1600 mg
Vitamin B-12 2000 mcg sublingual
Vitamin C 500 mg
Iron 24.5 mg
Vitamin D 800 IU
Zinc 30 mg
I would order a 3 months supply at a time for $62.25 total...so that's $20.75/month for my vitamin supplements.
I'm hoping to try some of the protein powders that this company I order from carries. Have you tried any of these?
1. Met-RX 100% Natural Whey (Chocolate) $0.27/serving
2. Source Naturals True Whey Protein Powder $0.30/serving
3. ISS Research Complete Whey Powder (Chocolate, Banana Creme, Strawberry, Vanilla, Cookies & Cream) $0.49/serving
4. Met-RX 100% Ultramyosyn Whey (Chocolate, Vanilla) $0.59/serving
5. Specialized Protein for Fitness OR Lean Mass (Chocolate, Vanilla) $0.59 OR $0.67/serving
6. BSN Lean Dessert Protein Shake (Chocolate-Coconut, Chocolate Fudge, Banana Nut, Banana Cream, Whipped Vanilla) $0.84/serving
Again, thanks a million for any advice and/or guidance you can extend to me. I am looking forward to talking with the nutritionist eventually, but this has been something weighing heavy on my mind in the meantime!
Looking at your vitamins, I have to say I have more than one reservation about them.
I'm no chemist, but I think the calcium ascorbate, while it adds an acidic element to the molecule which is helpful for us, is not going to be enough. I think you are going to need massive doses to get 1500-2000mg of *elemental* calcium.. based on that label, I don't think that label is in elemental calcium. I don't know the specific weight of the molecule.. I will check with a chemist friend and ask her what she knows of it and get back to you on that.
The other calcium, calcium citrate and calcium malate also bothers me because, again, I don't know how much elemental calcium there is in there. *Maybe* each tablet has 400mg.. it's possible, but I can't be certain. Additionally, it's paired with iron, which seems absolutely silly to me. Calcium and iron bind to the exact same receptor sites. Calcium is a larger molecule, so it will bind and block the iron, and thus the iron is wasted. I've seen iron and calcium mixed together in multis, but never in a calcium formulation. Very very very odd.
I am puzzled by some of the add-ins in both the children's and adult vitamins.. but nothing looks harmful. The adult, I'd take 2 of. The children's I'd take 4 of.
Here's the deal with pills post-op.. some docs send their patients home on pills. Some ask for 6-8 weeks on chewables, some think chewables for life. I'd be perfectly happy with people doing kids vites for 8 weeks and then transition to adult vites. The body *does* have a store of most of the minerals (why alot of docs don't do blood work so early out) so while you won't get full benefit, some supplementation will help.
Before surgery, though, I would be taking the adult vites in order to get your system super-full before surgery.. make sure those stores are nice and happy before you go through medically-forced starvation.
As for the protein, the only one I remember using is the Lean Dessert.. of which I drink a shake everyday. I particularly enjoy the banana cream, the banana nut, and the vanilla.
I'm no chemist, but I think the calcium ascorbate, while it adds an acidic element to the molecule which is helpful for us, is not going to be enough. I think you are going to need massive doses to get 1500-2000mg of *elemental* calcium.. based on that label, I don't think that label is in elemental calcium. I don't know the specific weight of the molecule.. I will check with a chemist friend and ask her what she knows of it and get back to you on that.
The other calcium, calcium citrate and calcium malate also bothers me because, again, I don't know how much elemental calcium there is in there. *Maybe* each tablet has 400mg.. it's possible, but I can't be certain. Additionally, it's paired with iron, which seems absolutely silly to me. Calcium and iron bind to the exact same receptor sites. Calcium is a larger molecule, so it will bind and block the iron, and thus the iron is wasted. I've seen iron and calcium mixed together in multis, but never in a calcium formulation. Very very very odd.
I am puzzled by some of the add-ins in both the children's and adult vitamins.. but nothing looks harmful. The adult, I'd take 2 of. The children's I'd take 4 of.
Here's the deal with pills post-op.. some docs send their patients home on pills. Some ask for 6-8 weeks on chewables, some think chewables for life. I'd be perfectly happy with people doing kids vites for 8 weeks and then transition to adult vites. The body *does* have a store of most of the minerals (why alot of docs don't do blood work so early out) so while you won't get full benefit, some supplementation will help.
Before surgery, though, I would be taking the adult vites in order to get your system super-full before surgery.. make sure those stores are nice and happy before you go through medically-forced starvation.
As for the protein, the only one I remember using is the Lean Dessert.. of which I drink a shake everyday. I particularly enjoy the banana cream, the banana nut, and the vanilla.
Andrea, Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I followed every word and you've given me a lot more to think about. I guess it's back to the drawing board for me.
Currently, I am taking Centrum Silver...1 a day every morning. Hubby said he was buying them the other day and noticed that Centrum also had a chewable. Guess I need to check those out.
Thanks again!
I followed every word and you've given me a lot more to think about. I guess it's back to the drawing board for me.
Currently, I am taking Centrum Silver...1 a day every morning. Hubby said he was buying them the other day and noticed that Centrum also had a chewable. Guess I need to check those out.
Thanks again!
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