Supplements

Hello Everyone!

I had a question about supplements.  I was just wondering where people have found the most reasonably  priced  chewable vitamins, Protein powder, Sublingual B12 and calcium supplements.  Now that my surgery is less than two weeks away, I want to stock up for the post op period.

Also if you have any suggestions on anything I should have around the house for the immediate post op period.

Thanks so much

Jim

Jim, I buy most of my stuff either at CVS or thru a friend who works at WalMart (she uses her discount). I am not much of a shopper so if I need something I just like to grab it & get out so since I am always near CVS that's where I shop.  I buy Nature's Bounty sublingual B-12 500 mcg (100 microlozenges) for like $4 or $5 (CVS). Chris told me to use Flintstone's Chewables so if you catch a sale you're good otherwise I grab them at WalMart. The calcium supplements are tough. I was told Citrical Chewy Bites & there is something going on with them - I believe the company was bought out & they aren't going to be making them soon. I bought a bunch of them on drugstore.com - I have no idea what I am going to do when they aren't available anymore!! What were you told to get for calcium? Now protein powder is another story. I was able to purchase Beneprotein from Dr Clarke's office at my first post-op follow up - it's what the NUT told me to use post-op. I cannot stand the taste of any other powders out there (I am not fond of this one either but I tolerated for as long as I needed to). You might want to check out bariatriceating.com or vitalady.com to buy samples of the various brands out there. Keep in mind that post-op your taste changes & what you like now you may not after!!! As far as anything else - I kept plenty of tylenol, sf popsicles, sf jello, chicken broth & crsytal light. After you're off clear liquids I moved from popsicles & jello to fudgsicles & pudding!! I think in the beginning I ate a lot of cream of wheat, mashed potatoes, homemade sf applesauce & softly scrambled eggs - these things tolerated the mixed in protein powder fairly well... and I added shredded cheese to the potatoes & eggs all the time!!  Good luck!! Cece  

Hi Jim. CVS and Walmart are pretty well priced.  I don't know what your surgeon told you, but as WLS patients we should be taking Calcium Citrate instead of Calcium Carbonate because of absorbtion reasons. I had a hard time with pills for quite a while but can now swallow almost anything. The pill crusher was my good friend for the first few months. S/F icepops were a life saver and still are. The protein shakes are so hard to suggest because of our own varying tastebuds. I happen to like Amplify from GNC and still enjoy the taste. (I never hear anyone on the board drink this...hmmm??) If you ask for a little sample, they will give it to you. Don't forget to take your Chapstick to the hospital. Thank goodness someone suggested that to me.

Chapstick will come in VERY handy, Jim.

My doctor has us take 2 flinstones chewables  twice a day and 4 viactive (calcium chews) or Tums for the first month after surgery.  after that he moves us to an "adult" vitamin and calcium citrate, pills, liquid, whatever we tolerate/like best.  We aren't put on B12 unless our labs call for it, but I know every doctor is different. right after surgery a lot of people find warm non-caffinated liquids very soothing---herbal teas, and of couse, good old chicken broth! .  I also lived on sugar free tropical flavor popsicles.  I still have one or two of those every night.   take care,   

I did Flinstones complete chewables for less than 1 months (YUCK!) remember a childs vitmay have less than required RDA of minerals/vits than adults need so may need 2 a day!...Then I went to walmart brand (Equate) centrum like vits 300 tabs for $9.....I have always used Walmart springvalley brand B12 complex liquid cherry flavor 60 doses for $6. Remember we need Calcium CITRATE (not carbonate so TUMS/Viactiv are out!!!) to be absorbed we need citrate form as it does not require an acidic environment for absorbtion, we have little/no stomach acid in new pouch!..also carbonate form can add to kidney stones, ask Bridgit how nasty they can be at less than 1 month oout she just got out of hospital! I posted the chewable/liquid and powdered forms yesterday..here they are again. But the best and cheapest that I use still is upcal D 227 doses $11!!!! I also use citrical tabs for 1/2 my dose from Walmart 180 tabs $9..2 tabs = 1 500mg dose....

I use UpcalD from it is $11 can of 227 servings tasteless and mix in anything! so at 3 servings a day lasts 75 days! for $11! http://www.colonialmedical.com/product.php?productid=20018&cat=0&page=1

Some like Bariatric Advantage chewables www.bariatricadvantage.com more pricey, chocolate, mint, lemon and cherry...~$30 for bottle 180 (2 tabs=400mg)so if you take 1,500mg day need 4 servings a day or 8 tabs...you get 22.5 days for $30

Vitalady www.vitalady.com has a liquid (even More expensive) tropical oasis liquid calcium citrate 2 servings =~500mg so need 6 servings a day at 32 servings/bottle for $17!!! that would last 5.3days!

Some can do pills days out, others need a month or so...

Protein is a whole different story! Individual tastes vary. Some like Body Fortress whey protein at Walmart for $18 or so (yuck!) Others try tasteless whey like anywhey by optimum nutrition I think GNC carries? Online may be best bet, samples at www.vitalady.com or www.bariatriceating.com My personal fav I still use now is PVL whey gourmet! www.netrition.com is local in ALbany and has S&H for $4.95 for any order or u can pick it up free...they have fair prices....My 2# of PVL at www.a1nutrition.com is $22 each...



Hospital items:
a chapstick or lip balm for those dry lips
a couple of packages of hot plantation mint tea (my favorite) and some other herbal/decaffeinated teas
a couple of hard sugar free candies for the dry mouth and the metal mouth from ketosis (with a warning not to over do the candy)
a bottle of my favorite propel grape water/crystal lite bottled
a bottle of body lotion for the dry skin
pack of m own likeable falvor of sugar free jello *avoids the nasty lime u may get in hospital!

Postop you should be fine if you have suppliments, some sf beverages, broth, etc as most have you on liquids for 1-2 wk postop..depends on surgeon and bariatric program. Someone can always run to the store for cottage cheese, yogurt (Dannon light and fit is low in sugar!!) ricotta cheese, laughing cow cheese, tuna etc...

The psychological prep is the more challenging thing.. don't forget that piece!!!so here is a piece I have posted before on this!!.
______________________________
Maybe not what I wish I knew but what I wish I could of accepted and let go of! (All the thinking I did to avoid feeling! as well as judgments and regrets! Whatever you think of after is hindsight and is 20/20 as they say but I think now, HOW IS THAT HELPFUL other than to further shame myself and keep me down. I instead attempt to reflect with the goal to learn and grow so notice w/o judgment, letting go of need to do things perfect has helped me a lot with this)

The little things I so worried about (such as what to bring, if I needed a fan, if I could bring extra pillows or having the perfect plan postop etc really were attempts to soothe my anxiety and fear of the unknown (death especially!), now I see that but the lesson just keeps coming up until I master it, the lesson is acceptance, letting go, making a decision and being ok with the outcome regardless if it turns out as I hoped because my plan is not always what is best for me!

Making an educated and informed decision is important, for myself though letting go of the need to be perfect, rigid thinking (all/nothing), needing to control everything and in doing all the thinking avoiding the feeling and life, being consumed with WLS in general so much I 'lost my life/identity' to a LABEL (I was a WLS person) when in fact I am much more than that. That despite the OPERATION the need for myself to do personal growth (therapy, 12 step work, develop supportive network, learn to take care of me FIRST) around my personality/character traits of codependency and how they are so intertwined into my obesity no tool can fix those (although I wi**** could of, that would of been magic as many of us hope WLS will be!). That in acceptance of myself at any moment, healthy boundaries, taking care of myself I could succeed or at least learn to reframe success as something more than a number on a scale or if I ate enough that day in protein or didn't eat too many carbs or drank enough fluid or got exactly enough exercise in etc.

Surgery was the easy part looking back although going through it I thought it was the hard part (ha how skewed that was!) living the lifestyle after in a consistent, self responsible manner is the most CHALLENGING thing I have ever chosen to do, I did not realize preop the immense effort it takes each moment to be healthy! It is so worth that energy though the freedom it brings!

I wish I had accepted vs. known intellectually that Happiness and Success will NEVER EVER come from an external source (person, object, number on the scale). It can and will ONLY come from internal self-discovery and love. Listening to my BODY is key, my natural physical hunger, my body knows and will not let me down

Sometimes we consume our lives with food, thinking about what we can and can not have, when we can eat or should eat, how much, how often, how it should be cooked, when to buy it, how much, etc that we occupy so much time and do not even realize that we have no time left to feel (the point) in an addiction, it takes over us so we can forget us and what we are scared/fearful of feeling/being. I think the WLS lifestyle can be a sort of addiction and escape for a while ****il life overwhelms the beauty of the honeymoon!) and for myself exercise became an obsessive addiction as well.

I wish I had known that WLS is one of the million steps on my life's journey *it is not the destination*!

I wish I had worked more on finding inner peace with my decision to have WLS with living preop best I could by taking some time to meditate, journal, pray, use positive affirmations like those found at http://www.dailyinspiringquotes.com or http://www.nawls.com/public/department27.cfm or here http://www.unityonline.org/pray_prayersaffirmations.htm etc on my decision.

Writing all the reasons why this was my choice, what my expectations and goals were (*considering those beyond wt loss itself), what I was so fearful of. All my core fears (Death, Failure, Making wrong decision, not being accepted and loved/abandoned, not perfect enough etc)

I recommend those preop consider trying to fill their minds with as much optimism and positive thinking as possible! Basically, become more conscious of what you are thinking and feeling, and start preparing yourself to think of food and your life in a different way. This is a courageous step for you to take, and it's not just about weight changing -- it's about life changing. This is why so many of us are challenged by the enormity of the decision.

In closing I would not be who I am or where I am without my past, I am choosing to be grateful today for all my struggles/challenges, as they were only lessons and opportunities that presented themselves and that I have been able to embrace and learn and grow from. Without them I would not be where or who I am today a STRONG WARRIOR! I needed those things such as my exercise addiction to be able to see that balance is possible, that feeling is okay, that I am perfect the way I am, that I am loveable, that I can make decisions and live with the outcome!
Be well! And thanks for the topic!

Hi Jim... Good luck in a couple weeks... Been there and know how you're feeling. Let's see...  Pre-op.. I'm gonna say it, you'll need MOM and 2 enemas... Sorry.. Yack, but we all had to do it. Dr. Clarke wants you squeeky clean.. LOL  Postop.. You'll get your first can of Beneprotein at your first post op visit. No protein supplements before that. My B-12 and chewable multivitimins I pick up right at Rite-aid when I get my other prescriptions. I had a really hard time with the calcium because of needing the calcium ' citrate'.. I can't find any drug store in the area that carries the citrate in a chewable. So I ended up ordering them online from bariatriceating.com. They come in 400 MG so I still need to take 1 regular calcium tablet a day to get my 1000 mg. This too is where I get my protein. I love the nectar sweets.  Good luck and keep us posted

Jim, My surgeon strongly recommends OPTISOURCE....it is not cheap ($25 a month) but, 4 chewable tablets a day and you are set.  It is specially made for post-bariatric patients.  I get them at Walgreens.  My labs have been good.  You might want to ask your doctor about them.  GOOD LUCK! Rosemary

Hi Jim -- I just had my surgery Tuesday (3/25).  You will want all the things listed above.  I'm with  Rosemary -- our doc says Optisource.  It gives you EVERYTHING in one chewable.  Of course, I was afraid that I would not be able to take any kind of pill or chew a tablet.  But don't sweat it, you are able to do it.  The other thing I wish I had that I never thought about was one of those long-handled things to help the elderly or handicapped to reach things off high shelves or pick things up from the floor.   I CANNOT believe how many things I have dropped since it is so uncomfortable to bend!!  Oh yeah, that reminds me -- a long-handled plastic spoon might come in handy for when you have to wipe behind (if you know what I mean), just wrap some baby wipes around it.  Gets the job done without hurting too much.  Seriously, it sounds ridiculous now, but you'll thank me!!   Best of luck to you -- Maria  

Jim,  Below is some really good things to stock up on...... What I take now: Multi (liquid) = Buried Treasure V100 Calcium = Twinlab Chewable Citrate Wafers B12 = Sublingual Twinlab or Bariatric Advantage Iron = Bariatric Advantage I search the internet to see who has the stuff cheaper, I like using Vitacost.com and Drugstore.com I have noticed that The Vitamin Shoppe had the calcium citrate for $7.20 per bottle so I stocked up. Also I would recommend having the Stalone pudding but now I think it is called Istone or something like that, it offers 20 grams of protein and it is also good for you after the surgery. Archiev One protein coffee is good as well but the coffee might **** off the pouch at the start.  One work of advice for the hospital stay, BRING YOUR OWN pillow. I loved that I had mine and tell everyone to do that as well.  Best of luck to you ~Hugs~