2 Questions

I am set to have my surgery on the 20th of December with Dr.Baker. I was wondering what do you all drink (and/or take) for protein and what brand of calcium citrate do you all take?? Would help out a bunch if I knew where to strat.Thanks a lot.

Protien drinks are definitely a matter of taste. What I thought was good before surgery, I didn't like afterwards, so it is kinda hard to judge. I am currently drinking the protien from GNC. They have chocolate and vanilla and they are pretty good. As for calcium, I take Citracal with Magnesium and Vitamin D added. I have other issues with calcium and magnesium that these are the only ones that work for me. Good luck with your surgery. Keep us posted on your progress. Susann

hi there- protein drinks-- i drink the NECTAR brand and the flavor is capacino. i drink it with milk and it is tasty to me... Caltrate 600 Plus Chewables is what i take. i buy them at wal mart. I take 2 a day and to me they are fine. I know you are excited about your upcoming surgery!

DIDN'T KNOW CALTRATE HAD A CHEWABLE ... THANKS MS HEATHER ... I'LL TRY IT ... I'VE BEEN USING GNC CALCUIM 600 BUT IT IS A COMBINATION OF CARBONATE & CITRATE SO I TAKE 3 A DAY TO MAKE UP FOR THAT. DAWN & NICK

I ordered the protein sampler pack from bariatriceating.com. It had 20 different packs and now I know what I like and especially what I don't like. I also use the chewable calcium citrate. Much easier to get down. I've gotten a good deal at the Vitamin Shoppe. Good luck with your surgery Mary

1st OFF, CONTRATULATIONS ON YOUR SURGERY DATE, MS CHASTITY. WHAT AN ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS PRESENT FOR YOU. I WENT TO AN MUSC SUPPORT GROUP MEETING IN WHICH DR BAKER ANSWERED QUESTIONS & SHE WAS GREAT ... SHE EXPLAINED ON THE PATIENT'S LEVEL OF UNDERSTANDING INSTEAD OF IN "MEDI-SPEAK". SHE WAS PATIENT & DETAILED IN HER ANSWERS. I TAKE GNC's CHEWABLE CALCUIM 600 W/ D & BORON. IT IS CHERRY FLAVORED & THE ONLY ONE I'VE FOUND THAT I CAN TOLERATE TASTE-WISE. BECAUSE IT IS A COMBINATION OF CALCIUM CARBONATE & CITRATE, I TAKE 3 A DAY, MORNING, NOON & NIGHT. (FOR BONES & TEETH) ... I ALSO TAKE 2,500 mcg OF "SUBLINGUAL" (MELTS UNDER THE TONGUE) B-12 TWICE A DAY - REXALL BRAND FROM WAL-MART & SUPER B COMPLEX ONCE A DAY IN THE EVENING. (FOR HEALTHY CELL BUILDING, THE NERVOUS SYSTEM & ENERGY) ... I TAKE 1,500 mcg OF BIOTIN 3 Xs A DAY FOR MY HAIR, WHICH IS THIN ALREADY EVEN PRIOR TO SURGERY ... I STARTED OUT ON FLINTSTONES COMPLETE CHEWABLE VITAMIN 3 Xs A DAY ... ONCE THE BOTTLE IS FINISHED, I'LL PROBABLY GO TO CENTRUM CHEWABLE ... AS FOR PROTEIN, MY FAVORITES ARE STALLONE PUDDING - CHOCOLATE FLAVORED W/ 20 GRAMS OF PROTEIN IN ONLY 6.4 OZ OF PUDDING ... IT ALSO COMES IN VANILLA (GOOD), BANANA (GOOD) & LEMON (MILD) ... PROTICA PROFECT W/ AN AMAZING 25 GRAMS OF PROTEIN IN ONLY 2.7 OZ OF FLUID ... THIS HAS A VERY SWEET, SYRUPY FLAVOR/TEXTURE WHICH SOME PEOPLE DON'T LIKE, BUT FOR THAT MUCH PROTEIN, I CAN SWALLOW IT IN 2 - 3 SIPS, IT IS A FANTASTIC SOURCE OF PROTEIN ... YOU CAN ORDER THIS ONLINE & THERE IS USUALLY A 15% DISCOUNT CODE ON THE HOME PAGE. NONE OF THE FLAVORS ARE FANTASTIC ... BUT THE CITRUS BERRY IS ABOUT THE BEST. WWW.PROTICA. COM ... ISOPURE HAS A WHOPPING 40 GRAMS OF PROTEIN IN 20 OZ OF FLUID. IT HAS A "DRY" (CITRUS) TASTE LIKE A DRY WINE. THE BEST IS PINEAPPLE-ORANGE-BANANA, BUT THEIR OTHER FLAVORS ARE GOOD AS WELL. YOU CAN GET THIS AT GNC OR THE VITAMIN SHOPPE OR ONLINE AT ... WWW.BARIATRICEATING.COM IF YOU GO TO GNC, IF THE EXPIRATION DATE IS WITHIN 3 MONTHS, THEY DISCOUNT THE PRICE TO 25 CENTS A BOTTLE INSTEAD OF THE REGULAR $3.75 PER BOTTLE (PROTEIN IS NOT CHEAP). I NOTICED THAT BARIATRICEATING.COM ALSO HAS A DISCOUNT ON ITEMS CLOSE TO EXPIRATION DATES. DON'T EVEN TRY IN THE BEGINNING TO GET YOUR FULL AMOUNT OF FLUIDS OR PROTEIN ... IT IS PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE. SIP WHAT YOU CAN COMFORTABLY. THEN, ONE DAY REALLY SOON, YOU'LL NOTICE THAT YOU CAN DRINK 2 OR 3 TIMES MORE - THAT'S BECAUSE THE SWELLING HAS GONE DOWN. IN THE BEGINNING, TRY TO GET MOST OF YOUR PROTEIN FROM FLUID SOURCES SO YOU ARE GETTING YOUR PROTEIN & FLUIDS GOALS TOGETHER. AS YOUR POUCH ALLOWS YOU, YOU CAN THEN TAKE IN MORE & USE A VARIETY OF SOURCES FOR YOU PROTEIN & FLUIDS. HOT/WARM FLUIDS SEEM TO BE EASIER ON THE POUCH THAN COLD ... HERB TEAS & FLAVORED TEAS LIKE CRYSTAL LITE ARE WONDERFUL HOT/WARM OR EVEN, ROOM TEMP. GOD BLESS YOU DAWN & NICK

Lady D, Is the Biotin a liquid or a pill? I found it at GNC but it is a pill and taste terrible when crushed. Let me know. Thanks, Carla

I GOT THE BIOTIN AT WAL*MART (CHEAPER THAN GNC) &, YES, IT'S IN PILL FORM. HERE'S THE SKINNY ON CRUSHING YOUR PILLS OR SUPPLEMENTS AFTER SURGERY ... THEY ALL USUALLY TASTE NASTY. I HAD ONE THAT AS SOON AS IT TOUCHED MY TONGUE, I STARTED WRETCHING. SO, I CALLED & GOT DR MORGAN BECAUSE I HAD TRIED IT "HIDE" IT IN EVERYTHING IMAGINABLE & COULD STILL TASTE THE NASTY TASTE. YOU ARE ALLOWED TO SWALLOW ANY PILL IF IT IS NOT OVER THE SIZE OF AN M&M. JUST SWALLOW ONE AT A TIME & TAKE A FEW MINUTES BETWEEN PILLS UNTIL THE SWELLING IN YOUR POUCH GOES DOWN. YOU'LL BE ABLE TO TELL WHEN THIS IS BECAUSE YOU'LL BE ABLE TO ACTUALLY "DRINK" INSTEAD OF HAVING TO "SIP" FLUIDS ... OH, MAYBE A WEEK OR 2 ... NO MORE THAN THAT. ANY PILL OR SUPPLEMENT LARGER THAN AN M&M CAN BE BROKEN OR CUT INTO PIECES THE SIZE OF M&Ms OR SMALLER, & TAKEN IN THE SAME FASHION. I STILL CUT LARGE PILLS UP INTO PIECES BUT SOME LADIES HAVE SAID THAT THEY ARE ABLE TO TAKE ANY SIZED PILL AFTER A MONTH OR SO. THIS SAVED ME ... I NEVER CRUSHED ANOTHER PILL AFTER TALKING TO DR MORGAN ABOUT IT. GOD BLESS YOU DAWN & NICK

OH YEAH, MS CHASTITY ... TRY HOOD CARB COUNTDOWN MILK DRINK ... IN REGULAR, FAT FREE & CHOCOLATE ... LESS CARBS & IT TASTES ALMOST LIKE "REAL" MILK OR "REAL" SKIN MILK BUT WITH A LOT LESS CARBS ... THE FAT FREE IS JUST LIKE SKIM. SOMEONE TOLD ME IT ALSO COMES IN "EGG NOG" FLAVOR. YOU CAN GET IT AT WAL*MART OR JUST ABOUT ANY GROCERY STORE. NICK & DAWN

Hi Chastity, I am having my surgery with Dr. Baker on the 20th also. Hopefully I will see you there! Theresa