Bobbis

I open the capsule and poured the beads into a small cup, then chased them with Water. Once my Dr. approved, I started swallowing the whole capsules but it was 6-9 month out.

I had the same issue post op. Pressure was too high and my sleep doctor turned it down twice and after a year of weight loss, I was able to get off of it completely! Most likely the pressure is causing you to open your mouth and it creates a dry mouth and throat.

It is hard at first because much of your old life is changing and it affects you, your friends and family, co-workers, etc. Lets face it, most of our "old" life was about food and many of our activities had something to do with food, going out and eating and drinking. All that has changed with your surgery. It is hard in the beginning, but it does get easier as you adjust to your new stomach and so do the people around you. You will learn to make it work for you. As you continue to drop weight and you are able to do more, have more energy, and feel better, you will realize it was the best decision you made - for you! It's permanent, so when you are feeling bad or sick it's easy to get the "what have I done" feeling. Hang in there, it gets easier.

Christine99, I too have ending up with disgusting lumpy "Hot Chocolate"!! I use 6 oz. of hot water PLUS 2 ICE CUBES..stir until the ice is melted.. Mix the protein power in the "cooled" water, and once mixed, top off with another 6 ounces of hot water. It keeps the protein powder from coagulating. You have to mix it well in warm water/coffee first then top it off with hot water. I put vanilla powder in black decaf coffee and chocolate power in sugar free hot chocolate this way and it works.

Try Unjury Chicken Soup flavored protein powder, it helped me when I was so sick of sweet protein drinks.

I had surgery over a year ago, as i lost weight, I found myself getting a very dry mouth and went to my sleep doctor. They adjusted the pressure down 3 times and after 12 months, I was taken off the CPAP all together. I also used the nasal pillow, if you do not need the pressure anymore, it will force you to open you mouth and be a mouth breather again and hence the dry mouth. Since you are recently sleeved, if you are congested, it could be causing it but hopefully you too will no longer need your machine as you continue to loose weight! So nice to travel without packing a CPAP!

9 lbs., it was all fluids and went away quickly.

I'm also am taking the Bariatric Advantage 500mg calcium chews... caramel. Also like the orange flavor and they are getting ready to introduce strawberry. They have other flavors in 250mg, but I didn't want to take to have 6 a day so I stick to the 500 mg flavors.

Surgery 8/26/14 Pre-Surgery Weight - 300 Surgery Weight 279 Current Weight 173 Down 127 lbs!! Best decision I ever made. No more C-pap, no more BP meds, only vitamins and protein and a personal trainer.

It is up to your doctor. Mine let me try the capsules when I started on solid foods. They are soft capsules and I had no problem swallowing them. I also take the Bariatric Advantage chews for calcium.

I switched to the Bariatric Advantage capsules as soon as I was allowed to swallow them. They are much easier to take than the chalky chewables!

I lost hair from 3-9 months post surgery. I was taking Biotin and switched to Viviscal at the recommendation of my doctor. It seemed to help more that the biotin did. My hair loss also slowed down when I was out of the rapid weight loss phase. Viviscal has a hair growth supplement for women (pink box) and Men (gray box). They are usually sold in the hair care aisle vs. the vitamin aisle. It worked better for me if the biotin is not helping you - you take 2 supplements daily. It is also sold on Amazon if your local drug store doesn't carry it. Where I live, Walgreen's carries it.

I found Unjury to be the best if you are looking for a powder. I started out with Bariatric Advantage but didn't like the flavor. Unjury also has unflavored and a chicken soup flavor if you sometimes just do not want something sweet. It is only available on line. I also like Quest for protein bars.

I am 9 months out from surgery and have been losing hair since about 3 months out. I was taking (2) 5000 mcg Biotin's daily for 5 months and I didn't feel like is was helping. About a month ago I switched to Viviscal (at the suggestion of my physician). It appears my hair loss has slowed down which I am attributing to the switch, but it could also be the fact that I am not in the rapid weight loss phase anymore. I also started using Pureology Strength Cure shampoo and conditioner and applying Matrix Biolage Advanced Keratindose which contains protein daily. I will try anything to stop loosing my hair!

I'm in Elgin and was sleeved 8/26/14 by Dr. Guske, Kane Center Surgical Care.