Hi,

Its been two months since I've done my sleeve surgery. I have been taking my Protein drinks and the Vitamins on a regular basis, until lately I have come to a point where I no longer like to take my Protein Drink and forgetting to take my vitamins daily.

I have heard from the dietician that by not taking the meds, chances are that you can loose your hair, loose tooth and other weird side complications can arise.

I also don't feel short of energy, though I am not taking my meds regularly and neither I am able to take in 64ounces of Water. I can barely take 40 ounces of water. Will this by any chance affect the weight loss journey, coz at this point (2months post op), I am only loosing 2lbs per week. Would I loose more, if I did take in more water?

Has anybody gone through this? and if you don't mind, please share your experiences.

Have you tried the Vitamin patch?

No. There's a patch??

I'm pretty shocked none of your doctors told you about this option when you weren't able to keep your Vitamins down!

My doctor says it doesn't have the appropriate levels for a bariatric patient. However, she only does bands, RNY, and band/sleeve-to-RNY revisions, so perhaps that advice was specific to RNY. I dont have any problems with tolerating taste or texture in my vitamins. At this point in my journey, I'm able to tolerate small capsules. The only vitamins I have to take that have any taste are my chewable calcium and chocolate chewable Iron.

That may be true, but the person I was responding to couldn't keep down vitamins AT ALL. Surely, in the search for a solution, her doctors could have recommended a patch so that she could at least get SOME vitamins in.

I ordered the patch vitamins! Thanks!!! Yup. Doctor never mentioned it.

Ah ... self care. That's what the vast majority of obese people don't know how to do.

Here's some hard truth coming at you here re the obese and their ability to care well for themselves. Everyone else and everything else seems more important to the obese than taking GOOD care of themselves. Pre-WLS most of us:

* Didn't take our Vitamins

* Didn't even take all our Rx meds on time or as much as we should have

* Didn't exercise

* Certainly didn't eat nutritiously or the right amount

* Didn't brush our teeth every day, much less twice a day

* Minimized the most basic daily grooming chores

If you were an obese person who did care for yourself pre-op in all these (and other ways), then you're the exception.

I was not an exception. I look back now on how pitiful my own self-care was pre-WLS, and I see so clearly that I gave my pets better care than I gave myself.

Yes, being a responsible self-carer is a new experience for many WLS patients. But it is a necessary change for long-term success.

That means you PUT YOURSELF FIRST. That means before the pets. Before the kids. Before the spouse. Before the boss. Before the clients. Before the house, the car, the yard, the laundry.

You have to become Number One. It takes so little time, but it requires a huge change in thinking.

Mostly, it requires that you learn to respect yourself.[/quote

Well said!

Self pay patients may not get as much of that type of instruction. I even read one post where the person didn't want to be bothered to read the manual provided by the doctor

I'm self pay and my surgeons office was no joke. I had to lose weight, take nutrition classes, have full clearances, psych evaluation, I had to pass several tests that would prove I was invested ... I still meet with my whole team and do bloodwork every 3 months. I think it's both the patients and the surgeons office to work together to make it a success ????

Anytime I make a big life changing decision, I do major research ... Hours and hours lol

Edited November 9, 201510 yr by shellyd67

i take my vitamins and get my liquids, but my program instructs us not to use protein shakes or powders...

Someone in a Bariatric group on Facebook died last week. It is aweful. They think it was food poisoning but she didn't take vitamins regularly.

Edited November 10, 201510 yr by melps

I am such a rule follower that I wouldn't dare NOT do what the NUT and DOC say ...

Too scared of the consequences ....

As it is ... when it's past time for my Protein shake ... I get sluggish ... and I like them anyway ... so it's not difficult for me to drink them ... and KNOW that it's for all the right reasons

I've said before in some of my replies ... it's a whole new learning curve ... We are learning new ways of living ....

LIVING !

That is why we all had the surgery ... to LIVE !

So let's grow up ... and DO IT !

i take my vitamins and get my liquids, but my program instructs us not to use protein shakes or powders...

Can you elaborate on why? Just curious.

i take my vitamins and get my liquids, but my program instructs us not to use protein shakes or powders...

If no protein shakes or powders, how do you get in your protein? Are you still on liquids?

they said that they don't want us to drink our calories, Protein supplements can add a lot. We are instructed to get protein through our food, but not to worry about it during liquid phase as most issues that arise for people stem from dehydration. My program trends at about 10-15% above the national average for weight loss and they monitor us pretty well following surgery, so i feel like they must know what they're doing.

My doctor's office also advises us to get Protein from real food instead of shakes. If we have to, we can consume one shake a day. They don't want us to drink our calories and food will make us feel full longer.

This doesn't apply right after surgery. Just once you get past the first 3 months of so.

My surgeon was very different. He wanted us to get protein in as soon as possible. The volume you can consume in the first few weeks post-surgery will not allow you to have too many calories and protein is crucial for healing.

they said that they don't want us to drink our calories, Protein supplements can add a lot. We are instructed to get protein through our food, but not to worry about it during liquid phase as most issues that arise for people stem from dehydration. My program trends at about 10-15% above the national average for weight loss and they monitor us pretty well following surgery, so i feel like they must know what they're doing.

Uh ... I gotta say ... this is marketing hype from your surgeon's office. There is no national database of people who've had WLS and their post-op results.

In fact, there's a big problem with people who have WLS and subsequently fade from the scene, never making all their post-WLS appointments. My own surgeon says half of his WLS patients never see him again past six months post-op. (He can't go to their houses and track them down.)

Second, if our medical information (even our post-op weights) were being collected, in the Era of HIPAA we'd all know it -- because we'd have to sign a release permitting them to share this information with someone other than our medical providers / insurance providers. I didn't sign a release like that. Anybody else sign a release like that?

Yes, there are some longitudinal studies done about WLS patients -- but they're typically done at a single hospital or hospital system, usually one that's affiliated with a med school / university teaching hospital. They get people to agree early on to be part of the studies. But the big problem with all those studies is ... you got it ... dropouts and a subsequent inability to follow people long-term.

Just sayin'.

It's not marketing hype... I'm a kaiser patient HMO. There isn't any reason for them to market to their existing clients and they collect a very small copy for the operation, as well as provide us with lots of free appointments pre and post op. They've done extensive research on this, as well. Again, as we are HMO, we CANT disappear completely, even if we dropped from the bariatric program. HIPAA only requires that identifiable information not be shared, pre and post weights, depending on how they are shared could Be shared in a deidentified manner.

Well... I am nearly 4 years post op and to make my Protein goals I generally have a Premier Protein daily. I use it in my coffee...sip on it during the day etc.

I am half my former size and believe that a low carb high quality Protein Drink helps me maintain. Protein Bars...another very high carb story. ..