i am learning!

Terri..

Its funny that we have the names the same with the same spelling and found each other on here.. I have met another woman with the same name on here too, and we had the same surgeon and same hospital for surgery and both had RNY.. small world huh.. and both our parents named us after Teresa Brewer.. that is an age thing.. we are both the same age too.. both born in 1959..

You asked about  vitamins..
 
(Make sure you take Calcium Citrate not calcium carbonate.. we can not absorb the carbonate form.. also spread out your calcium during the day because we can only absorb 500mg at a time)..  I take Bariatric Advantage chocolate chews for my calcium.. they are not bad.. kinda like a tootsie roll with just a little bit of a gritty texture at the end of chewing, but the taste is great..they are 250 mg so you chew two at a time..I also take the lemon chews from Celebrate Vitamins. they taste like lemon pie...they are 500 mg so you chew 1 at a time..  I take B12 sublingual from Sam's Club but most B12 sublinguals are ok.. mine have 2500mcg in them and I take them 2x a week.. they are cherry flavored and very tolerable..You have to take sublingual r take the B12 shots...  I take my multivitamin from Walgreens.. it is called Optisource..it is orange flavored and taste great.. it is specially made for bariatric patients so it has in it exactly what all we need.. .. I have tried others but they taste bad to me.. and if they taste bad you wont take them.. You need 200% of daily requirements of multi and to get that you take 4 a day of Optisource. others like Centrum chewable you only have to take 2 a day.. .I also take a B1..It is bought at Walgreens too.. It is by Nature Made and the pills are very small.. I was able to swallow than after my first week..   I do not take a separate Iron because I do not get a period anymore and only need about 18mg and it is in the multi vitamin..

As far as taking nsaids.. try taking glucosamine and chondroiten and msm for the arthritis..(please ask your surgeon first)  it takes about 6 weeks to get into your system but it does help and will cut down on the need for nsaids that can cause ulcers.. it also comes in liquid form until you can take pills again..

I will not talk bad about other choices for surgery..any you choose is great.. it is a personal choice to change your life forever..        but I will tell you after all the research I did (5 years worth) I really like the RNY..  for ME I felt I had too much to loose for the lap band and I would not like a foreign object in my body like that.. as the VSG I dont feel it has not been out long enough to know the long term effects and benefits.. I would hate to put all the money and effort into the surgery and not loose enough or regain it all back..plus it doesn't not have any effects like dumping from sugar or throwing up if you eat too much. I feel I need that to deter me from the wrong foods or the wrong amounts especially down the line.. I might have opted for the DS but it has more malabsorption and that scared me a little with as many people that have problems with vitamin deficiencies.. but I think the more bypassed might have been a good choice to get off more weight.. but my insurance did not cover it..

ok I have gone on too long now.. I have to run.. if you have any other questions let me know and I will try to answer them the bast I can.. you can either respond to this post or send me a Private message and we can communicate that way..

So my schedule is as follows..

Breakfast                     500mg calcium citrate,  B1.. B12..
Lunch                           2 multi vitamins( you would take your iron here if you need more)
Afternoon snack...      2 multi vitamins ( you would skip this if you take another multi that 
                                       only requires you to take 2 a day to get 200%)
Dinner                          500 mg calcium citrate
Bedtime                       500 mg calcium

So I take 1500mg Calcium Citrate daily.. ( you can only absorb 500mg at a time so spread it out). 100mg of B1 daily ....200% daily vitamin with 18mg iron daily...... 5000mcg B12 weekly

Remember to take your calcium and iron at least 2 hours apart.. the calcium will block the iron ...

This is what my surgeon told me to take.. but I may go to a B complex instead of just a B1 as I get to where I can swallow the pills for it..

I will probably always use chewable calcium because it is absorbed better.. and will always use the B12 sublinguals .. I really like the chewable multi's and have no problem continuing to take them.. B1 is never a good choice for chew-ables  it is the most bitter vitamin you will find..

Well I hope this helped you ... but remember all surgeons have their own recommendations.. but basically this is it unless you have a deficiency in other vitamin areas.. 

I hope you start reading your book too.. but remember to take all with a grain of salt.. and do like you are doing and look at the bigger picture.. when you start to see lots of people that are not newbies (and know better) all doing the same thing it is safe to assume that that is the correct thing to do.. that is why I have about 6 different WLS books too.. lol....

Huggs "Teresa" .... from Teresa....

 Welcome to the board.  I am new myself to the boards, but not to the site.  :)  I have been a lurker for 8 years!  God I didn't even realize it.... that's a long time.

If your dad's family isn't supportive, then don't tell them.  There was recently a post on this.  You just have to do with what you think will help you succeed.  It's not always about other people's feelings, sometimes you have to do what is right for you.  :)

Welcome Diana,

My only regret about getting WLS is that I didn't do it sooner. This was the best decision that I ever made and I hope that it will be for you too!

Plus I'm jealous, my BFF just finished getting his MBA at U of T and he's still up in Toronto....I wanna be up there too!!!!

Thanks, everyone. It's really uplifting to have so much support and understanding... I don't kow why I was worried about it, I should've expected it... But regardless I'm happy I'm welcomed. It's very encouraging knowing that I can do this and still have supporters outside of my close network.

And - If I wasn't in Toronto, I'd wanna be here too!! It's not even that cold... But I know that'll be changing soon..

 Hello there!!!

Welcome to this forum - and welcome from another Canadian!  I'm live in Brampton but work in downtown Toronto.  You're taking a great step for yourself.  It's a journey that's incredibly rewarding and you deserve it!

I checked out your profile quickly and noted your BMI.  You may want to look into all types of surgery before making a decision.  I say this because you may qualify to get the DS (Duodenal Switch) paid for by OHIP.  The DS isn't performed in Ontario but with a BMI of 60 or more (you're is 58.7 according to your profile so if you lose a bit of height or gain a bit of weight you'll be there).  The statistics for long term outcomes for the DS are superior to the RNY (and any of the other surgeries) and many feel the post op lifestyle is more livable and closer to what a normal person would eat.  When I speak of long term outcomes I speak of weight loss, keeping it off AND resolution of any comorbidities.

Regardless of whichever surgery you choose, come and introduce yourself on the Ontario board - it's an active board where lots of people have all types of surgery.  If you're interested in learning more about the DS (and again I would recommend learning about the pro's and con's of ALL surgery types before making a decision that will effect the rest of your life), visit the Duodenal Switch forum here on OH and also visit www.dsfacts.com.  Dsfacts is owned by an Ontario DS'er actually!

Feel free to PM me if you want to chat!  I'd love to be able to help.  Regardless, welcome and congrats on your WLS journey!

Hi Diana,  I had a similar issue, in fact, after I told my dad I was considering WLS he was so discouraging that I didn't pursue it any further.  He said that I was young and I just need to get on the exercise bike that he had bought for me a couple years prior for a birthday.

Well this time I was smart.  I took my younger sister to the surgical consultation with me so she would have information to support me when the time came to talk to my dad.   This time I really didn't care if he supported me or not because I had my mind made up.  I came to understand that WLS was my best chance of having a happy life.  Every time he threw an obstacle in my direction I threw a fact back that I learned from the consult...and I had my sister to back me up.  When it was all said and done he still was comfortable with it, but he supported me.

Now everytime he comes to my house he says, "Where is Sura?" because I have lost so much weight in just 12 weeks.  LOL

I am super glad that I came to my own decision and stuck with it.  I have never felt better.

Hello Diana! My name is Jessica and I a 17, I had my DS surgery about 6 almost 7 months ago. Have you researched about the DS as well? 


I went from 535 to my now weight of 435. So 100 pounds down.

-Jessy