So obviously our grocery bills are going to be less since we aren't eating as much after surgery, but do you think it balances out after you've bought your Vitamins and Protein drinks?

I am just starting out and I'm kind of blown away by how much everything cost: chewable Multivitamins, Calcium, Iron, sublingual b12. That's over $100 right there! Not including and protein mixes (some that start in the $40s. )

Just my rant. :-) thanks for listening.

I was thinking about this last week. I think initially we invest in all our supplements, shakes etc. but they last a little while. I've found that I am spending less on food overall and the added expense of the supplements doens't really fill that void. I get to spend the extra money on new clothes! Now THERE is where I'm spending much more than I usually did. I do a lot of comparision shopping online for vitamin deals,coupons etc. I found that WalMart stocked my fav. protein shake (Pure Protein) so that helped too. I stock up when they are on sale and it helps.

I think I'm coming out ahead in the long run. I'm cheap and stick with the Sam's Club/Walmart brand Vitamins. I probably spend about $1 per day on supplements.

If I drink a shake, that's about $1.50 - nowhere near what I was spending per meal.

It was normal for me to eat 2 lbs of meat in the evenings and that's at least $6 bucks, when I can catch meat on sale.

I was spending about $100 per week on food. Now it's around $45 or $50, including Protein drinks and vitamins.

2 lbs of ground turkey and 2 cans of refried Beans is enough for at least 2 days of meals - roughly $6.

I figure the money I save on food will pay for my surgery in 3 - 4 years.

My multi is around $10. 00 a month. I take bariatric advantage capsules but I take a smaller dose than bypass patients so the $40.00 bottle lasts me four months. I bought my calcium citrate with d3 online during a buy one get two free special.. works out to around $5.00/month for calcium. B12 sublingual 2500 mcg is 300 tablets for $15.00. I was instructed to take 3 per week so that works out to 62 cents per month for B12. For Iron I buy the more expensive ferrochel chelated iron which is $6.29 for 120 capsules. I take three per week since my blood work is good, so that works out to be about 63 cents per month. So all totaled my Vitamins work out to $16.25 a month Now for supplements, Isopure protein powder was $45.00 bogo 50% off at GNC . So that's $67.50 for 88 scoops (each scoop with 25 grams) I am four months out and use one scoop per day so that's 3 months of protein, actually a bit more because I don't need it every single day. So that's 22.50 per month for the protein powder and each scoop is basically a meal since it provides 33% of my daily protein requirement so for each protein "meal" I'm paying less than a buck.

It seems expensive in the beginning but I don't do shakes anymore and I only take a multivitamin. Plus, I rarely go out to eat which was roughly $300-$400 a month before surgery!

yes, the less eating out part is a HUGE savings! and we really didn't eat out that much to begin with... but amazing how quickly the savings from that can add up.

My insurance covers over the counter items, as long as the dr. writes a scrip. Also, some of the vitamins will be discontinued as you are eating a wider variety of foods, so it is not forever.

That'll be good, my surgeon sales Bariatric Advantage and Celebrate in his office and I was shocked at the prices. They are on par with online prices before sales.

I am a firm believer in taking Vitamins so ill stay on them forever I guess lol.

How long did it take for you all to go back to regular vitamins vs chewables??

That'll be good, my surgeon sales Bariatric Advantage and celebrate in his office and I was shocked at the prices. They are on par with online prices before sales.

I am a firm believer in taking Vitamins so ill stay on them forever I guess lol.

How long did it take for you all to go back to regular vitamins vs chewables??

I started the Bariatric advantage capsule multi vitamins right away.. I started tablet form calcium (the generic version of citrical petities) at two weeks out.