I was banded las Wednesday Dec. 29th. I know I have to be taking vitamins but are there any supplements that can help us feel better throughout this journey?

I know some people are taking fiber chewables, papaya enzymes etc..

Hi Carvey! I was banded on October 19th and so far I only take 2 Flinstones Chewables with Iron every day. I am going to get some of the papaya enzyme tablets to keep with me though. I had my first stuck episode Jan 1st (totally my fault) and it was not a pretty site. I heard the papaya enzyme is supposed to be good for that. I've lost a total of 62 lbs (including my 2 week pre-op diet) and I feel great!

only thing i have taken since surgery dec 21st is 2 childrens chewables. 4 regular tums or 2 ultra tums. i do supplement with protein supplement. All is good. i dont get sick and have great energy. Good luck on your journey!

My doctor said 1200-1500mcg chewable calcium citrate (daily), 1 chewable multivitamin daily, and 1200mcg of b-12 sublingual (once a week)

I take a liquid multi Vitamin

Liquid Calcium

Liquid Iron

Vitamin B sublingual

Proline - Protein supplement

and just started taking liquid potassium because I was getting leg cramps

Here is a link to my Blog. I have all of the ones that I take on there with links to where I bought them. Just click on the name below the image

Lap-banded Poptart: Liquid supplements

My protein shakes from GNC are loaded with vitamins. I dont take supplements and my vitamin levels are fine. My b-12 was low once and I took shots for two months. Couldnt sleep after that. But I feel great without suppliments. I think if your eating right the only thing suppliments are doing is making you have very expensive pee. Really only sleeve patients and by pass patients should take vitamins for life.

I take a liquid multi Vitamin

Liquid Calcium

Liquid Iron

Vitamin B sublingual

Proline - Protein supplement

and just started taking liquid potassium because I was getting leg cramps

Where do you get your liquid calcium and liquid multi from? I've been looking and cant find them.

where can I find liquid vitamins, iron, and calcium?

We ( lap band patients) shouldn't need b12 supplements unless you actually have a deficiency because we don't get the malabsorption that bypass patients get. A multivitamin should be fine though

Where do you get your liquid calcium and liquid multi from? I've been looking and cant find them.

Here's a link to my blog. I posted all of the ones I am taking and links to where I bought them. Just click on the name below the image.

Hope that helps

Liquid supplements

where can I find liquid Vitamins, Iron, and Calcium?

Here's a link to my blog. I have all the ones I'm taking on there with links to where I got them. Just click the name below the image

supplements.html" rel="">The Lap-banded Poptart: Liquid Supplements

We ( lap band patients) shouldn't need b12 supplements unless you actually have a deficiency because we don't get the malabsorption that bypass patients get. A Multivitamin should be fine though

I take the Vitamin B for energy and because there has been a link between vitamin B and weight loss.

The Best Vitamins For Weight Reduction

The most important vitamins and minerals for weight loss are: Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Choline (part of B-complex), Inositol (part of B-complex), and Vitamin C.

what are the papaya enzymes for????

As a Certified Herbalist by trade I actually rarely recommend that people take anything every day, with two exceptions. Those being CoEnzyme Q10 & either Flax Seed Oil or Fish oils. I don't generally even recommend Vitamin supplements daily. If you are getting enough nutrition from your food you shouldn't need to supplement heavily.

With that being said, we banders may not be getting enough of the general nutrients found in four foods due to the sheer volume decrease. I would recommend a high quality liquid vitamin supplement from like Nature's Sunshine Vitawave or Life's Fortune Liquid Vitamin for general multi-vitamin purposes.

If you have listened to your body and/or your doc and you feel you need extra Fiber, calcium, amino acids or other supplemental nutrients like powdered greens or digestive enzymes I would suggest an all encompasing website such as vitacost.com. Nature's Sunshine is one of my favorite product companies but you do need to purchase a membership. It's $40 for a year but they give you a $40 credit on your first purchase and 10% back in cash. If you don't want to hassle with that Vitacost is a good site with cheap shipping and a multitude of brands you would find in your local health food/herb shop. They also carry health/beauty products, organic foods, & Protein supplements. I work in an herb/natural health shop & I shop at Vitacost because their prices are excellent.

Most everything you need in natural supplements can be found in liquid, chewable, powdered or tea form if you just google or search for them.

To answer your question regarding supplements that make you feel better during this journey....Well, if I had a client come to me and ask me that we'd really have to sit down and discuss what their problem areas were, what your expectations regarding "feel better" were & where you were willing to start. I never like to overload my clients with products just to sell product. I actually want people on the least amount of product that makes them feel the best. I actually hate it when I see folks on 20 different supplements at the same time. Not because it's bad for them, but because it might just be overkill and a waste of their money.

So without knowing your history, if you were my client I'd say....Try to get the most nutrients out of your food first. Then make sure you are getting plenty of fiber. Soluable fiber can be tricky for us because we often have problems with psyllium based products. So I'd recommend Flax seed oils or a good powdered 'greens drink.' like Ultimate Green Zone from Nature's Sunshine or Green Drink from Barlean's. Barlean's also makes a great tasting Flax Seed oil in flavors so tasty even my 8 year old will take it by the spoonfull. Keeping the digestive system running at peak efficiency will help keep you from getting that terrible sickly feeling that can come with a backed up toxic colon. Also, a good liquid multi-vitamin supplement with B Vitamins and amino acids may also help with general 'feeling better', but check first because you might be getting plenty of those in the Protein Drink you supplement with....see what I mean about possible overkill? And of course, keep the Water coming. You don't have to drown in it, but sometimes banders forget their water.

So, in general, fiber, water, good food, & a liquid vitamin (maybe even just every other day) if you feel you aren't getting enough nutrients from your food. And if you were really into taking care of you heart and were willing/able to do it, I'd suggest a little coq10 each day. There are liquds and disolvables online. I personally like the ones that dissolve. They taste like orange.

And of course, plenty of exercise, exposure to fresh air and a little sunshine.

If you were my client, that's probably what I would recommend without knowing a full history. But before you do anything I suggest talking to your doctor. Some advocate supplements, some don't. You will have to be the judge. We have many folks who come into our shop who were sent by their doctors with specific lists for everything from Red Yeast Rice for lowering cholesterol to Kava Kava to help them sleep. They were told to try natural before the doc would prescribe medication, that always amazing me knowing how prescription happy docs can get. I know one cardiologist who recommends pomegranate juice to his clients for heart health and I know others who don't believe in natural supplements at all.

Here's my experience with my family doctor & supplements you might be interested in:

During my pre-op bloodwork it was discovered I had hypothyroidism. Something that seemed to come and go with me over the years. In the Army they said I was fine. I hadn't seen a medical doctor in over 10 years prior to my pre-op, because despite being overweight I was active, rarely ever sick & took a lot of herbal/natural supplements.

I had to find a local doc to treat my thyroid because, eventhough I wanted to treat it naturally, I didn't want anything slowing down my weight loss...So I chose to take the medication. Anyway, at this time she wanted to put me on cholesterol medication. I was 265 pounds and I told her I had just had my surgery that week. She insisted on writing me a prescription for Nystatin. I took the prescription but never filled it. Each 8 weeks I kept coming back to have my thyroid checked and my cholesterol, tryglycerides, weight, & liver functions were slowly (and sometimes quite rapidly) getting into the normal range. Apparently my family doc thought I was taking the Nystatin and didn't see the numbers dropping as rapidly as she would have liked so she wanted to put me on Crestor. Again, I took the prescription but never filled it. I simply kept on losing weight and when I would remember I would take some flax seed oil and some CoQ10 but admittedly I only managed to get those in a few times a week.

At the year mark I went in for a thyroid check up and all of my bloodwork was well within the normal range. Once again, she asked me if I needed refills on my meds. I said, "I have a confession to make. I never took your meds. I took a little flax seed, some CoQ10, ate some dark chcoclate here and there and lost 75 pounds and apparenlty that was enough because I'm well within the normal ranges for all my bloodwork." All she said was..."Flax seed oil isn't effective. Your thyroid looks good. See you in 6 months." I was so deflated. I wanted to do the "I TOLD YOU SO!" dance all around her office and I didn't get a chance, especially because I had asked her for the natural Armour Thyroid and she wouldn't prescribe it because it was natural and she said she didn't believe it was effective.

Anyway, that's my natural health story. Hope you find the supplements you are looking for.

Everything I take was recommended by my doctor with the exception of the Potassium which I only take when I get leg cramps and the Papaya Enzymes which I have taken for years to aid in digestion.

After reading Dr. Perricone's book I became interested in supplements Vitamin, mineral and herbal. I'd be taking a lot more if I wasn't afraid to swallow them. I'll have to get the ok

from my doctor before I do.

For now I take what he recommended and I juice a lot of vegetables to get other nutrients.