A lot of numbers get tossed around for protein, supplements, that sort of thing, and a lot of it boils down to "that's what most people seem to hear." I stumbled across some reference material while looking up another question and found some firm numbers for us-- official medical recommendations.

From a 2009 medical article, patients need:

• 64oz or more of fluids, avoid sugary drinks and alcohol. SF noncarbonated beverages and decaf coffee/tea are fine.
  
  
• At least 60 - 80g protein, ideally 1.5g/kg of body weight
  
  
• Take 1000 - 1200mg calcium citrate (NOT carbonate) plus vitamin D, taken midmorning and midafternoon
  
  
• If iron deficient, patients should take 325mg of iron sulfate plus vitamin C.
  
  
• Wait at least 2 hours between iron and calcium.
  
  
• For vitamin B12 issues, take sublingual oral crystalline B12 (500 micrograms daily or 2500micrograms weekly)
  
  
• Chewables are recommended twice a day for 6 months post-op, such as Centrum. Prenatals are good too. After this point, regular adult vitamin tablets are fine.

Other helpful takeaways:

• "Temporary hair loss is caused by rapid weight loss and/or lack of protein or vitamins/minerals in the diet. To prevent this, patients should consume the amount of protein recommended and take vitamins/minerals as directed."
  
  
• "Constipation occurs because the intake of food and fiber is reduced following surgery. Prevention tips include drinking plenty of water, exercising daily, taking a fiber supplement such as Benefiber, and eating sugar-free applesauce, oatmeal, or prunes daily."

I'm not a medical professional, but it's good to get a confirmation of the usual protocol from people who ARE! :)

Julie,

Is there a way to post a .pdf here

Somwhere, I got the ASBM recommendations for vitamins and trace minerals.  It may help people decide how much more D3, iron, and etc to add BEYOND their multivitamin

Easiest way is to put it on Google Drive. You can turn sharing on, and it'll give you a link that you can post.

Ok. I have to get home to the chromebook then and then use googledrive?

I have never done this before....

I can PM my email address and post it for you if that would be easier :)

yes please!

Love that this topic is brought up.  I'm scheduled for surgery Monday, so I've been beebopping around buying drugs, vitamins, protein, and clear liquids.

Any vitamins/brands that you recommend?  (My Target's vitamin selection is woefully inadequate, so if you have any suggestions on where to find those brands, I'm all ears/eyes. ) 

initially I used centrum orange chewables or the vitamints (but those don't have iron)

Sometimes i would use the flintstone ones but that meant 2 tablets , 3 times a day.

I've always taken the generic version of Centrum, I pick it up at Walgreens. They usually have "buy one get one free" sales, so I'll stock up. B12, I just take the store brand as well. 

Citracal is a good one for calcium, it's the right kind and you can get it with D.

Some people have trouble with different types of iron, myself included. I take iron carbonyl which is a little easier on the stomach.

That said, I recently switched to the patch vitamins. I haven't had any blood work done since starting, but I know others here have used it with great success.

Excellent.  Thank you!

Feosol was what my program recommends, so the link was super helpful.  I didn't see it at Target or CVS