Vitamins and protein drinks?

I am having surgery with Dr. Aguirre in 25 days (yeah! ) and need advice on what vitamins to buy in advance. Do you suggest getting liquid vitamins or will I be able to take the pill form? Besides a multivitamin, what are the others that I will need to take each day? Also, do I start with the protein drinks within a few days after surgery? Thanks for your help!

Hi Rachel! I took Flintstones Complete (but the Wal-mart brand) for the first three weeks - they're chewable. I bought some liquid from the vitamin store, but they tasted awful. After that I started taking my adult vitamin pills without crushing them. No problem. I also take a calcium, a B complex, ginko biloba (to help my brain function), Vitamin E gelcap, and a chewable Vitamin C each day. According to the instructions Dr. A will give you after surgery, you should take a Vitamin C daily, a B complex every other day, and a daily multi-vitamin beginning 2 weeks after surgery. I really didn't start on protein drinks until about my third or fourth week either - I tried earlier, but my little tummy said "I don't think so," so I didn't pu**** I bought samples from the Texas Weight Loss supply online ($1.00 each) there are several different sites that sell samples) and when I found one I thought I could use every day I ordered a big container. Still not using it every day, but probably 4 times a week. Good luck on your surgery. Hope things go as well for you as they did for me! Charlotte

Charlotte gave you some great advice already, so I'll just tell you what I do and you can compare notes. I take the generic Flintstone complete also, but I only take one a day. I looked on the label and it looks like only 1 is needed for an adult. I got the sublingual B complex liquid at Walmart and was doing it every day until everyone else said it was to be every other day. That part wasn't specified on my written instructions from Dr. A. I use the generic Viactive calcium chews. Was doing only 1 a day then read the label and realized I'm supposed to take 2 a day. It's a nice easy way to get it in, and it's not bad tasting either. Then I take a chewable C each day as well. Now I have a HARD time remembering my vitamins, so I really need to set some reminders or something for that. Maybe once I start taking my Adderall again I won't have a problem with that. But then, I have a hard time remembering to take THAT when I'm not working! As for the protein drinks, I would recommend the Protidiet drinks. The only place I've found them online is here: http://store.yahoo.com/cntr4weightloss/tropfruitfla.html. My friend's physical therapist gets them and sells them for only $6.50 a box as opposed to $10.00 + shipping here. Anyway - it's gelatin based and is very refreshing. I loved it for right after surgery because it immediately brought my energy level up and it wasn't too heavy for my tummy. I got nauseous trying to drink my normal protein shakes, so these were wonderful. You mix the liquid packs in 5 oz of water and they have 15 grams of protein per pack. The best part is there are no funky aftertastes with this stuff. It really is the best form of liquid protein I've found so far. I do love the Carb Countdown low-carb milk and choc milk which is 12 grams of protein per cup, but unless you stop in San Diego (Bamby will stop wherever you like if you are going with him) I wouldn't count on getting it in Mexico. Hope that helps! Dina