Ok, my surgery is May 10th. I have never been one to take Vitamins. Even when I was pregnant, I could not stomach the prenatals. I have tried to take a multi-Vitamin before and they make me sick.

So...

Pre Op, should I take a children's vitamin to get my body in better shape?

Post Op, what would be a good option on vitamins? Chewable? What all should I take? A multi-vitamin plus Iron, Calcium, etc?

Any input here would be great! Trying to take some wonderful advice of getting my foods and vitamins prior to surgery so that it will take minimal effort in that area.

Thanks!!!:wink1:

Here's a Vitamin comparison chart that can help you decide which vitamin is best for you.

Children's Vitamins aren't really the best for us, but if that's all you can stomach, it's better than nothing.

You'll need Windows Excel to access this spreadsheet, but you do not have to sign in or sign up for anything to access.

VitsComparison.xlsx - Windows Live

It's recommended that we take a good quality multi-vitamin, calcium citrate, and a lot of us take a sublingual b12 daily. I get my sublingual b12 at Wal-Mart, and it dissolves under my tongue. It has zero medicine vitamin taste.

On this chart, I take the last chewable that is listed. It's GNC Solotron Chewable with bioavailable Iron. I've never had any issues with my labs post-op. I'm switching over to the Twinlab multi that is listed on the chart once this last bottle runs out that I have from GNC.

There's a lot of different options out there for Calcium citrate. I am horrible with taking my calcium, but I have the Twinlab Calcium citrate that I take a few times a week.

I order all of my vitamins, supplements, and my husband's Protein mix from vitacost.com as they have the best prices, and shipping. Plus, they give a 100% guarantee on their products.

I also take an Omega 3 with DHA and EPA but that is a personal preference not a recommendation from my nut or surgeon.

My nut hates children vitamins for bariatric patients. Even though we have no malabsorption, the small quantities of food we are ingesting for the first few months do not allow us to ingest enough of the micronutrients from food sources. She thinks as adults, we should take adult vitamins. But, check with your nut/surgeon to determine what is best for you.

Thanks Tiff, always so helpful!!! I am mainly concerned about three things: 1) Not getting enough of what I need and 2) not being able to swallow a pill and 3) what Vitamin I do take making me nausiated.

I probably need to start trying to find the right Vitamins now but not sure how that will help me once I do the surgery.

Also, I am having surgery on May 10th and will return to work on May 17th. I will not have a lot of time to shop post op and I am a single Mom of three kiddos so I need to get things lined up for myself as best I can now.

Thanks so much, I feel so much better between this website and youtube, such a comforting place to go when I have questions, doubts, fears!

PS Why doesn't my profile picture post when I make a post? Not sure what I am doing wrong there?

PS Why doesn't my profile picture post when I make a post? Not sure what I am doing wrong there?

Go to USER CP, and hit EDIT AVATAR then upload a picture.

Your pic shows up when I pull your public profile, but for forum posts and blog posts, you'll need to upload an avatar picture.

Hope that helps.

The Twinlab multi is supposedly a fairly small pill. I can take huge horse pills without issue, and my surgeon told me to not worry about Vitamins until I was on mushies. During the first couple of weeks post-op, his main concern is staying hydrated.

I think Dr. Aceves rule for pills is that you can take them immediately post-op as long as they are no larger than a regular M&M candy. My surgeon had the same guideline.

The chewable I have kind of tastes like the fruity Tums without all the chalkiness. I've taken them since before my band surgery so right around 2 years.

The only reason I'm switching to the Twinlab is because our GNC on base quit carrying my Vitamin, and the Twinlab offers a bit more in some of the micronutrients than the GNC. Plus, the cost of the Twinlab is even less than the GNC when ordered from vitacost.

You're gonna do fabulous, and one thing that I really liked was the chicken, and veggie bouillion cubes instead of the broth. I could adjust the flavor by adding more Water than the pre-mixed broth.

Thanks so much for all of the advice, really appreciate it!

I do have a question on sodium, broth is typically high in sodium, is that not a concern being on these liquid diets?

I used the reduced sodium bouillion cubes. That way I could dilute or make it stronger for my tastes. The daily recommended value for sodium intake is 1400-2500mg and I didn't have high blood pressure so I didn't worry about sodium intake as it's very necessary for normal kidney function.

Great, thanks, sending the kids out to a movie with Dad while I go grocery shopping today! This helps! I do not have high blood pressure so not a worry there, just want to make sure I do not miss anything on the nutrition side...

Oh another question, alcohol, is it completely off limits? I am not a heavy drinker but enjoy a glass of wine or a few beers on the weekend...

Oh another question, alcohol, is it completely off limits? I am not a heavy drinker but enjoy a glass of wine or a few beers on the weekend...

I was cleared for alcohol at around 3.5 months. I drink wine on a fairly regular basis. The first time you drink, I would recommend drinking at home, and go slow.

For me, I can drink a glass of wine, feel a little bit of a buzz, and then it kind of fades. I've had 2 "girl night out" and I drank a bunch of rum/cokes, and various shots. I maintained a good buzz, and then got really drunk. I did drink a lot, I mean I can't even tell you how many I drank.

The one rule during the losing phase that my surgeon stressed was that alcohol is wasted, empty calories so don't go overboard. I've sipped on a margarita, but it didn't taste good, and it didn't really settle all that great. I also drank some Tuaca and sprite one night, and that was pretty awesome. Now, with that all said, I'm much further out obviously, and I drink soda occasionally as my surgeon does not believe that soda causes any type of stretching like is found in band and RNY pouches.

Sorry for the ramble. Some surgeons tell patients no alcohol until they hit goal others are more lax.

Thanks Tiff, just reading back through all of the advice you have given over the last several weeks and taking some notes!

Oh wow, won't be long now! I am starting to get scared but it will all be over soon!

Tiff, I note that you are taking fish oil supplement EPA/DHA that's great! I currently am taking 2 a day and was wondering if I could continue after surgery. I get sleeved Monday morning. The gel caps are quite large, about the size of an adult vitamin. I use a very high quality fish oil from Metagenics. Are your pills big too? I think they would dissolve ok, but what has been your experience?

This information helped me already. I came home and thought should I crush the Multivitamin? The nurse I called said shouldn't be a problem, so I tried it. BZZZZZZZZZZZZ! BAAARFFFF! Ok BAAAAD idea. It was like eating poison. The dry heaves stopped pretty quick, TG, but still I was waiting for my gullet to open up. I have been very carefull today...maybe too carefull. I need to press my drinks tonight. I did get in some Protein but not even half of the 60grams.

I am going to take the kids liquid Vitamins until I start with the mushies. By then I am sure I can get some Twinlab mulitis.

Thanks agian!

Go to USER CP, and hit EDIT AVATAR then upload a picture.

Your pic shows up when I pull your public profile, but for forum posts and blog posts, you'll need to upload an avatar picture.

Hope that helps.

The Twinlab multi is supposedly a fairly small pill. I can take huge horse pills without issue, and my surgeon told me to not worry about vitamins until I was on mushies. During the first couple of weeks post-op, his main concern is staying hydrated.

I think Dr. Aceves rule for pills is that you can take them immediately post-op as long as they are no larger than a regular M&M candy. My surgeon had the same guideline.

The chewable I have kind of tastes like the fruity Tums without all the chalkiness. I've taken them since before my band surgery so right around 2 years.

The only reason I'm switching to the Twinlab is because our GNC on base quit carrying my Vitamin, and the Twinlab offers a bit more in some of the micronutrients than the GNC. Plus, the cost of the Twinlab is even less than the GNC when ordered from vitacost.

You're gonna do fabulous, and one thing that I really liked was the chicken, and veggie bouillion cubes instead of the broth. I could adjust the flavor by adding more Water than the pre-mixed broth.

Side note....Phatman I was watching your posts preop, I am so excited to see that you got sleeved! How are you feeling?