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Hi everyone and happy new year!! Hopefully it will be my last one as this big heavy guy...

This subject just dawned on me for the first time.

My surgery is Feb 10th, and I just realized I have NO idea what to expect in terms of cost for the Vitamins I'll be taking the "rest of my life," and what type of Vitamins. I just haven't heard this discussed yet.

So, obviously it's part of the whole deal so what are we talking money wise?? I'd love to hear what people's experience is here, and also if insurances help at all (I'm guessing no...).,

Thank you all antemano, I just LOVE this site because people here are really helpful, the best, Pedrito

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Hello. I use Bariatric Advantage Vitamins. One bottle of Multi Vitamins is $37 for a month supply, and one bag of calcium chews is $15 for a month supply.

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For me the cost of the extra Vitamins are offset by the negative cost of the prescription medicine that I took before surgery and now no longer need. I also shop for lower prices on Vitamins such as "buy one get one free sales" at local drugstores or using generic brands. For me the cost of Protein supplements (Protein shakes, Protein bars) were significant. But as my meal volume increased, I concentrated on consuming high protein meals and as I reach 1 cup per meal, I have completely taken myself off supplements because I was able to meet my protein requirements on meals alone.

It may be difficult to take vitamins at the beginning because of the inability to swallow. As a result I had to crush my Calcium tablets and that tasted very bad. But after a couple months my ability to swallow returned and things went down much easier. Some people chose vitamins based on taste. This is especially true on calcium supplements. But that approach can costs more. I just endure with the inconvenience.

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Thanks for the above comments, plus a friend who is five years out and looks great said that the cost of Protein powders and Vitamins is way offset by the save in medications as mentioned above but also by how I'll save in food, that did it! That calmed me down and I believe her. Starting to get a bit nervous/excited for surgery on Feb 10th@@

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Patchmd.com .. A life saver for me. $20 a month. I started with 3 different Vitamins that were chewable, the taste made me gag. My nutritionist told me about the patch, change it once a day on the back of my shoulder. Yay

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Hi, Im preparing to have surgery and am at the stage I need to get my Vitamins to be prepared I saw some things online about that patch. Does it really work and do you just take separate Calcium? That sure would be alot easier.

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I asked if I had to take anything else, she said no. My next blood work will tell if anything extra is needed. The Calcium comes in a patch too.

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Wow, this sounds great if it's doctor approved.

20 bucks a month is very cheap

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My doctor and nutritionist put me onto optisource chewable Vitamins & Mineral Supplement. It is made by Nestles Health Science division. 4 chewable tablets daily contains all the Calcium, Iron, B12, thiamine, and folate recommended by my weight loss team. The cost of this is $27 from Amazon with 5-15% saving if you do Subscribe and Save through your Prime membership.

http://www.amazon.com/Optisource-Chewable-Vitamin-Mineral-Supplement/dp/B00CJB9K4K

http://www.nestlenutritionstore.com/products/Post-Bariatric-Surgery-Nutrition/OPTISOURCE-Chewable-Vitamin-Mineral-Supplement.html#.Vogo1NKrTcs

Edited by jj7481

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Thanks so much, I haven't bought anything yet, no Protein Shakes powders or Vitamins but I guess I should soon. My surgery is Feb 10th, in 36 days... oooh just saying that gave me my very first touch of nervousness. Part of it is that I'm a big baby (and a recovering addict) and am concerned about pain and its management. well I've already got people in place who will dole out any pain meds that must come home

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I use BariActiv. I have a prescription for B12 nose spray I use weekly and the Vitamins come with it. I pay $25 a month and insurance pays the rest. The vitamins are chewable.

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I plan to use opurity Vitamins, partly because their website shares a cart with powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury, where I get my Protein. They have 2 bariatric formulas:

A once-daily chewable, which I plan to use for at least the first 3 months after surgery...

http://www.opurity.com/opurity/opurityr-bypass-sleeve-optimized-chewable

...and a 4x/daily capsule, which I'll be using pre-op to build my Vitamin stores (when I run out of old Vitamins in a few days anyway), and after surgery once I'm given the green light to swallow them.

http://www.opurity.com/opurity/opurityr-complete-capsules-for-gastric-sleeve-gastric-bypass-and-gastric-band

The capsules have much higher D, B12, and Iron, which is why I plan to switch back to them as soon as I am able. Either formula is $39.95 for a 3 month supply ($13.32/mth). After that all I should need is a Calcium supplement, which I also plan to get in chewable form from Opurity for $13.95/mth. One stop shopping means I'm more likely to keep everything in stock! As for the Protein, I find its cost to be negligible, and I don't exactly buy the cheapest I can find. With all of the meals and Snacks they are replacing, if anything my food bill has gone down, not up (accounting for the cost of the protein too, of course).

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ive been looking and i saw a months supply of the twinlab Vitamins for about 40 bucks on Amazon. i plan on using the new Centrum vitamints and as far as i can tell they are about 14 bucks for a months supply they are chewable. the Calcium pearls from citrical which are like 12 bucks for a whole month and i havent priced out the b-12 i will need also i am buying some chewable Biotin which is like 10 bucks for two months

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I take liquid vitamins ....one thing I can say...good Vitamins don't run cheap.

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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