First, the good news. Since my surgery on 1/13, I'm down 25.2 lbs. My high was 297 the day after Thanksgiving, 2014 so I'm now down 45.4 lbs in 2.5 months.

Now, the bad news. I've been dealing with constipation and a lack of appetite. I also cannot eat very much even when I don't feel full going into a meal. I know I was told to expect to eat much smaller portions, but wow. When the constipation kicks in, however, I'm having to force food into my system to get the needed Protein. I've been taking stool softeners and laxatives when I've gone 3 days without a bowel movement and it cleans things out quite nicely. Is this something that goes away soon? I have a feeling that it may tie into my first question below:

1. Iron supplements. Are any of you taking iron supplements (above and beyond the iron you get in your multivitamins)? I signed up for a mail-order of Nascobal (B-12) that I squirt into my nose once a week. That prescription comes with Multivitamins, iron supplements, and Calcium citrate. I knew I needed the multivitamins (was taking the CVS brand of Flintstones chewables) and the calcium citrate, but just started taking the iron along with them as they all came together in the order (pay for Nascobal, get the other stuff free). I've since switched back to the Flintstones and my Calcium Citrate +D3 petites because the dissolvables of each that came with the Nascobal made me want to vomit (literally, not to be overdramatic or vulgar). I continued taking the iron, however. Going through my paperwork today, I noticed that I'm supposed to take two multivitamins each day (check) and 1200-1500mg of Calcium Citrate each day (check), but it doesn't say anything about iron supplements.

2. Protein shakes. Prior to surgery, we went to costco and bought the Premier Protein shakes. They sat on the dining room table we never use for 3 weeks before I tried one. I was convinced they would be horrid. To my surprise, they were actually pretty good. I drank those up until my surgery. After surgery, I started using the powder (to save money) - Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Rich chocolate. I was surprised to find that it, too, was very tasty. For the past week or so, however, I'm disgusted by it. I have to force it down which is, needless to say, unpleasant. I've read about the unflavored Proteins we can add to Water, yogurt, etc. Anyone have experience with those? Are they truly unflavored or do they leave an aftertaste/change the taste of whatever you put it in?

3. I'm allowed hummus. I LOVE hummus. Problem is, I can't eat crackers, chips, pita, etc at this phase (and likely won't eat much even when I'm allowed), but I'm also not allowed bell peppers or cucumbers. The latter surprises me because I'm allowed squash and zucchini. Why not cucumber? The cool crispness of cucumber slices dipped in hummus is very appealing to me. Did they simply not include cucumber on the list or is there a reason it would be omitted. I specifically asked about bell peppers (because I love them in omelets, dipping hummus, etc) but never asked about cucumbers. To say I'm following the sheet they gave me to a "T" is an understatement. I'm anxious to lose the weight and don't want any complications, so I'm following things as closely as I can (with the one exception of not checking to see if the iron in question 1 was necessary).

4. At what point will drier proteins taste ok? I've tried cheeseburger patties with low-fat cheese, no sugar added ketchup, and yellow mustard a couple of times. They tasted horrible and I was only able to get between 1/4 and 1/3 of a burger down before I simply had to push it away both from the taste and the fact that I was full. I'm assuming chicken has been easier because it's not as dense and dry as the hamburger, but maybe I'm wrong. Anyone deal with the same thing only to find a month, two months, 6 months down the road burgers tasted great again? Losing burgers from my diet will be a blow. I know I can't order two quarter-pound burgers anymore, but being able to split a nice burger with someone would be like heaven to me (assuming they don't continue to taste bad).

As always, TIA for any help.

Just taking two multivitamins with Iron

Unflavored powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury works really great for me and I use it in anything that I can

I use cucumbers with hummus

Try some recipes from the blog world according to Eggface. She really makes Protein taste great!

Hope this helps

Would love to know what you are taking exactly for the constipation. I'm also almost 4 weeks out and dealing with horrible constipation this past week

Sounds like you are doing great. Lost more weight than me. Vitamins sound good. You can eat more and more as time goes. Also if you try the burgers again every couple weeks. Your tastes are all over the place now. Personally I'm really liking the premier protein chocolate. @@mhuntoon

Excellent progress!

Dealing with constipation - happened to me too as soon as I started on Protein shakes. Started a good multistrain probiotic post-op and it took care of the problem. Takes a couple weeks to kick in fully but I take no laxatives and have no issues any more.

1. Iron supplements. Are any of you taking iron supplements (above and beyond the iron you get in your multivitamins)? Yes. I take a sloFe once per day around noon to avoid the morning and night multivit. Iron\calcium at the same time counteract each other.

2. Protein shakes. I tried unflavored but didn't like it. I toss a scoop of vanilla whey in my coffee for a morning latte and do a powercrunch protein cookie in the afternoon sometimes.

3. I'm allowed hummus. I LOVE hummus. Problem is, I can't eat crackers, chips, pita, etc at this phase (and likely won't eat much even when I'm allowed), but I'm also not allowed bell peppers or cucumbers. The latter surprises me because I'm allowed squash and zucchini. Why not cucumber? I was allowed no raw veggies for the first several months. Crackers were okay once I started purees. I stuck to rice crackers as they're less pasty. Probably deemed hard to digest. I never had an issue with cukes.

4. At what point will drier Proteins taste ok? Maybe 4-5 months till all food went down well. I stuck to lunch meat, chili, fish and casseroles (anything with moist meat) until then.

I put unflavored protein in my carnation instant breakfast shake in the morning and if I am in need of more protein at the end of the day, I might add some to jello or hummus. I never notice it in the foods that are a little bit thicker, but I did notice it in the soups I tried to add it to. For me, it didn't change the flavor of foods that had good flavor to begin with but I could tell a difference with blander foods and texture. I like the unflavored though as I too got sick of my chocolate protein mix after 3 weeks.

I was also curious about cucumber and hummus so I'm glad you asked. I can't really eat it plain either so it will be good to hear more about other people's experiences with it.

Sounds like you're doing great, good job!

I was never a fan of Protein powder, so I'm no help there. The cucumber is off-limits initially because much as you might chew it up those seeds are not completely squished and the fibrous composition of the veggie might be problematic. I was eating cucumber at a month out though and nothing happened to me. It's probably just for precautionary purposes, but I like hummus so much I can eat it off a spoon, lol.

I'm 16 months out and dry Proteins make me barf. They don't taste bad, but something about dry chicken or steak, especially if I eat literally more than one or two bites, makes me sick.

Good luck with your sleeve!

@@bikrchk - what is the name of the probiotic that you use?

Thx!!!

I put unflavored protein powder and a dose of Miralax in my Powerade zero every gym day. I get so thirsty working out that the flavor change doesn't matter at that point. Unflavored does not mean no flavor though. It means no flavor has been added to the protein powder mix. It does have a distinct flavor and will add its flavor to whatever you mix it with. I suggest experimenting and see what works for you taste wise.

Nashua Nutrition has the widest variety of single serving size protein varieties I have found. They are $1.99 or so each and gave me a great opportunity to try many different brands and many different flavors of each brand. Good luck finding what works for you.

I'm almost one month out, too, and have been eating hummus with all of the allowed 'fork mashable' veggies: roasted cauliflower and onions, steamed brocoli, steamed green Beans, etc. I just put a dollop of hummus on the plate and dip veggies in it with my fork. You may want to try that!

Congrats on your weight loss so far!

Would love to know what you are taking exactly for the constipation. I'm also almost 4 weeks out and dealing with horrible constipation this past week

I take a stool softener twice a day, drink over 96 oz of fluid, and take 2 tbs of Milk of Magnesa twice daily. If I don't do one of these things, I'm horribly constipated.

@@bikrchk - what is the name of the probiotic that you use?

Thx!!!

http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/p/ultimate-10-probiotic-13-billion-100-capsules/vs-2164#.VOH56fnF-ys