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I've never crushed my pills. Just use a pill cutter(?) to make them smaller. Even in the hospital after RNY the nurse cut the pills, not crush. I do notice if I don't cut them small enough or take enough Water, I feel a little burning after taking them.

The dieticians that work with my surgeon said they'd tested them in house-sent to independent lab and they're not what they claim to be. I don't know if there's more than one brand out there? I really, really, really want them to work!

I got on the scale for the first time in two weeks and was overjoyed to learn I've lost a little over 30 lbs since surgery a month ago. [insert happy dance]. One more lb until I'm under the 200 mark.

Hi Everyone, Those of you who color your hair, did you continue to do this when you started losing hair? Did it make you lose more hair? I'm 90% grey and color my hair every 4 weeks. Using a semi-permenent/less harsh color won't begin to cover the grey's. I'm wondering if putting chemicals on your head will make the hair loss worse. Do you notice more loss after coloring? Pam

Stunning!!!! Congratulations on your marriage and weight loss!

I want to give you a hug, and congratulate you on everything you've overcome. When I gained weight I became invisible to people. I remember making a sales call with a colleague. I was asking my customer questions and when he responded he was looking at my colleague. It happened in other situations as well. I was ashamed of how I looked. But, I was also BULLSHIT at the ignorant lumuxes who treated me so differently after gaining weight. On the other hand, I recall having lost alot of weight when I was younger. I was thin and liked the attention I got. I would look at obese people with disdain and think, why don't they just lose weight? Especially when I'd see them filling their faces with "bad" foods. I also used to look at gastric bypass as the easy way out. I was an ignorant lumux. People do treat you differently when you're heavy. It makes some people uncomfortable because you're outwardly different.

I would give yourself as much time as you're able. I took off two weeks/medical and another eight days vacation. My surgery was 12/2/15 so with the holidays it ended up being the entire month of December. I'm in sales and work out of my home when I'm not travelling. Even so, I was really tried and it was nice to be able to nap when needed.

I was also told carbonated drinks are off limits. They'll fill you up and expand your pouch. (at least this is what I was told). I love diet ginger ale too!

@Pedro-getting enough Protein in a day is a struggle. I get full so quickly (miracle) even if I focus on protein only I still don't get the full amount. Close though! And yes, definately following the program!

You've lost 140 pounds already!!!!!! You've put in alot of hard work my dear! The surgery itself adds weight. I was weighed in my hospital bed day 2 post surgery and weighed 10 lbs more. If you're following the diet for each stage, you'll lose more. I'm a month post op and have "only" lost 30 lbs from my presurgery weight.

Vitamin's and some pills make me nauseous. I have to eat before and after I take them. It helps and doesn't have to be alot of food. Bites of toast before and yogurt to chase it down.

My surgeon's recommendation is to hold off on this until a year. I think it depends on how you're tolerating foods in general.

My husband has the most foul smelling poop after scent. It's just horrible and he hasn't had WLS. I've found sprays and drops just mask the smell. It's still there. The best thing I've found is to light a match and blow it out. The sulfur blocks the offensive smell.

I agree with Bariatric melts. The only "issue" I have with them is you need to take a lot. They come in 200 and 500 mg. The lemon and chocolate 200 are DELICIOUS. Taste like starburst and tootsie roll. If you just get them in 200 mg you need 7/day to get 1400 mg calcium. I have the 500 mg in orange. They are good, just not as tasty as the 200-a little chalky. They still have the starburst tang going on and are easy to eat. I have a difficult time with any chewable Vitamin. Even flintstones complete get me a little gaggy/nauseous. You'll like the Bariatric melts. I do a 500 mg/200 mg twice a day.

Hi Samcl1 I was unsure about it myself. I'm 56 years old, weighed 235 lbs (35 bmi) and hated the way I felt and looked. I was able to lose weight but would "fall off the wagon" and gain most (if not all) of it back. I had severe fatty liver, couldn't walk up a flight of stairs without panting like a dog, could no longer do yoga and was getting to the point of not being able to do my job. (Outside sales). I also am very attuned to how differently people treat you when you're overweight. From a business standpoint, it was hindering me. I didn't want to live the rest of my life with the physical limitations my excess weight was causing. I had my surgery 12/2/15 and have no regrets. If you do decide to go ahead with it, I suggest going to a weight loss surgeon at a major hospital. You'll get alot of support: nutritionist, psychologist, insurance and support afterwards. If you do what your surgeon and nutritionist recommend, you'll be fine. Good luck to you!!

@@zsnaani If you have recipes or know where to find them, for high Protein Snacks please share????! I've only tried Quest bbq chips in desperation for crunch. Pretty darn good! Sour cream and onion, pretty darn bad.

I've been a vegetarian (no eggs or fish) for the past 30 years. Plenty of ways to get protein: tofu (I bake or saute it till it's crisp and using a dipping sauce of soy, ginger and rice wine), lentils (soup or curried), vegetarian chili (crumble tofu), chick pea salad, pea soup, veggie burgers, etc. There's Protein bread, protein Snacks (100 calories/pack and 19 grams of protein), high protein Cereal,( soy or milk based-- lf cottage cheese, lf cheese, nf yogurt, etc) Protein is protein. The difference with some plant based Proteins is they can also be starches. In the case of Beans, a serving would count as one protein and one starch.

http://www.nashuanutrition.com/store/protein-powders/protein-powder-samples-1-serving.html This link takes you to the sample page. Click on the down arrow and look all the way down the list. They offer samples of pretty much every Protein powder. When I first looked at the choices I neglected to move down the list and missed trying a bunch.

I take 200 mg of zoloft at night and haven't noticed any difference. I was also on 40 mg of adderall XR but had to change it to "regular" (non XR). I noticed a big difference. I was instructed to take 20 mg in the morning and another 20 at lunch. The morning dose had no effect on me at all. I was a little more focused after the second. My doctor had me try 40 mg in the morning and another 20 in the afternoon if needed. This seems to do the trick. Keep in mind, I'm not a veteran. Surgery was 12/2/15.

Thank you for your feedback! @Djmohr-my thoughts were the same, "you're going to shed whether you color or not". Good to hear a couple of you confirm this. @@jjmama, totally agree about ugly roots and how they make you feel. I've been taking extra B vitamins and biotin since pre-surgery in an attempt to keep hair loss to a minimum. Who knows if it will work, but it can't hurt.

Lol Check with your doctor. Your system is going to be wonky for a while. See what happens next time. Bile is what adds "color" to your stools. Bile is made in your liver and gets stored in your gallbladder. If your liver is not producing enough bile, or if the flow of the bile is blocked and not draining from your liver, your stools will be pale or clay-colored. If that was the first time you've gone by yourself, you're not in pain, or don't have any other symptoms, I wouldn't worry about it. Bile production and the behaviour of the bile ducts fluctuate for months following gallbladder removal as your body tries to adapt to not having anyplace to store the bile. Still, check with your doctor.

Bariatric Advantage is, by far, the best tasting. chocolate tastes like a tootsie roll and lemon like starburst. They are expensive but I've got 3 packages that should take me through to the time I can take a horsepill. They come in two different strengths: 250 & 500 mg. I have chocolate and lemon at 250 mg and orange at 500 mg. At 500 mg they're a little chalky but still not as bad as others I've tried. http://www.amazon.com/Bariatric-Advantage-Calcium-Citrate-Chocolate/dp/B003JWD3JQ/ref=pd_sim_121_12?ie=UTF8&dpID=51Eilzm60QL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR124%2C160_&refRID=1HE6DECADQ14YC9YZSMD

I just wanted to say how sorry I am you have to go through such pain. It sounds awful. I hope the new medication works. Hugs

I take two Flintstones complete in the purple bottle. They're tiny and the "best" tasting imo. There's been multiple posts about taking Flintstones. I have discussed this with my nutritionist who said they have everything you need EXCEPT selenium. However, the amount of selenium you need in your diet is small. Selenium is found in many foods as well. I've spoken to other people who take these and their blood levels are perfectly fine. It's a struggle to have to take numerous Vitamins that taste horrible. There's one in capsule form by Procare-Bariatric Complete I'll start taking when I graduate to capsules. Dosage is one/day. They also have a chewable once/daily Vitamin but it's been out of stock since I started researching vitamins. I also take sublingual B12, Biotin and vitamin D3. B12 & biotin for hair and D3 because I'm deficit. They all taste pretty darn good, except the B12. For calcium I'm taking Bariatric Advantage Chewy bites. They come in 250 and 500 mgs and taste like starburst (orange and lemon) and tootsie rolls/chocolate. http://www.nashuanutrition.com/store/vitamins-and-minerals/bariatric-advantage-calcium-citrate-chewy-bites-lemon-60-bag.html?gclid=CIKqtYOA58kCFQokHwodKwgIYA

Just tried the Barbeque chips and can't believe there only 120 calories, no sugar and 20something grams of Protein. I read the reviews on these and the negative ones were from people expecting them to taste like potato chips. They don't. But the crunch and barbeque flavor is yum. I'm still in the pureed food phase but chew these until they're pureed. Just can't "stomach" protein shakes.