I'm 2 weeks out from surgery this coming Monday so I'll be starting the pre-op diet which is 3 protein shakes and a frozen (under300calories) meal. This is for the first week only. Needing help on the protein shakes. What kind is best and what stores are they found in. I live in a small town but am close enough to drive to the mall and get things. Also, how many ounces are the shakes? And.... Lol all the vitamins we gotta take after surgery is so confusing! What's the best all in one or next best multivitamin chewable to take? Thanks for all inputs...

My doctor recommended Flintstones chewables, 2 a day. He stressed to get the name brand, and NOT the imitation because they taste a lot worse, according to other patients.

My doc is all about bariatric advantage. I didn't get the vitamins yet and went with a horrid chewable at gnc. I did, however, try the caramel calcium chew, and it was delicious. So far as the shakes go, i got some vanilla body fortress super advanced whey isolate at walmart because it was cheap. Make sure you get the one that is way low sugar. It tastes decent on its own the first time, but wears on you quickly. I discovered that mixing it with root beer extract or cocoa powder or pineapple and coconut extract helped tremendously. Mix it with 6 oz water and a couple oz ice cubes and blend. None of them qualify as good, but just powrr through. Good luck!

Ahhh, shakes and vitamins! One of the many topics that will vary from surgeon to surgeon. I'll toss my 2 cents in, for what it's worth . I personally use Premier Protein shakes that I can pick up at costco for much less than in a grocery store. The chocolate actually tastes like chocolate, and the Vanilla (to me) is a dead ringer for a frosted sugar cookie or yellow cake!

As far as the Vitamins go, liquid or chewable is the way to go at least for the foreseeable future. In fact, my surgeon's office recommends that you remain on liquid/chewable vitamins permanently, as your new stomach simply can't break down the pill form ones adequately enough. A typical day looks like this:

Breakfast: Chewable multivitamin (100%)

Mid-Morning: 500 mg Calcium (must be calcium citrate- best absorption/not the best to find in chewable form for me)

Lunch: 500 mg Calcium

Mid-Afternoon: 500 mg Calcium

Dinner: sublingual B12 & Protonix (for 6 months after surgery) & a Biotin capsule (because I'm terrified of anything happening to my hair)

Evening: Chewable multivitamin (100%)

I don't have to take an Iron supplement, but if I did, it would be tossed in there too, at least 2 hours away from taking any calcium. I looked into Bariatric Advantage, but I can find comparable vitamins at drugstores/WalMart- I look for the BOGO sales and I'm set for much less money. What's helped me too is using the GNC Whey Isolate unflavored Protein Powder when I cook- no matter how good a shake is, it does wear on you after a while. There are tons of good recipes out there!

Good luck to you!

Thanks SuzeMuze! That's helped!

I agree with the above statement premiere protein shakes are the greatest I drink one a day as well as my vitamins I too use baractric advantage chewable and iron pills .

Thanks Suze for the vitamin break down. I will def. follow that route.

@@SuzeMuze Thanks for sharing this schedule. My mind has been swirling lately with how to schedule vitamins and the no drinking with meals and 30 min before or after meals thing. Granted, I'm just starting the 6 month physician supervised diet so surgery is far away (feels like) and I've got time to get it all sorted out. I have my first meeting with the surgeon in 2 weeks; I still have much to learn. Thanks again, your info is very helpful!

My pleasure! As I find myself saying often, though... that schedule is what my surgeon gave me. Your Vitamin needs/pills (s)he'll have you take might be different in composition or timing. Good luck