I am thinking about ordering several small protein drinks to begin trying them, so I can be prepared by knowing what I like. Do you all think this is a good idea? How did you find your protein drinks for post-op?

That’s what I did. I ordered sample packs of a bunch of different protein powders, not only to figure out what I like, but also to have some variety when I was drinking so many protein shakes.

I loved the chocolate Premier Protein preop, but shortly after surgery, I found them to be way too sweet. My taste buds had changed so much - they tasted like chocolate syrup and were just too sickingly sweet. However, a few months later, I was able to tolerate them............ UNTIL I developed an intolerance to whey. A followup scope exam showed early signs of eosinophilic esophagitis, which is an allergic reaction. Since whey was the only real change as far as a new food for me, it was the obvious culprit. My doc also told me that whey can cause problems in some people. I also started to notice a general lactose intolerance. After switching to plant based protein powder and drinks, and staying away from all dairy, my esophagus was completely normal on the next exam.

5 hours ago, jen91877 said:

I am thinking about ordering several small Protein Drinks to begin trying them, so I can be prepared by knowing what I like. Do you all think this is a good idea?

Testing your way though different protein powders or drinks is definitely not a bad idea. Many online shops offer sample packs, e. g. one brand might offer a variety of their flavors in a pack of 6 or 8 samples.

Don't restrict yourself to whey protein though. Try a few plant based proteins as well, just in case.

I would highly recommend it. Otherwise you're likely to end up with a couple of $40 two-lb tubs of some kind of protein powder that you hate. Definitely get some samples first to test drive!

Where can you get these samples ?

Once you start shopping for protein powder online, you'll start seeing ads for other protein powders. You should look at the ingredients and nutrition info to make sure they meet your requirements. Here are the ones I purchased (I think I found all of these through ads on Facebook):

IdealFit (IdealLean) (You can also buy individual sample size packets if you don't want this many)

1up Nutrition (I bought the "summer body starter kit," which allowed me to choose my own samples, but that no longer seems to be available; it might have been a special offer that you can only get to by clicking an ad)

Northbound Nutrition Waves of Whey

Strength (Unfortunately, the samples are 5 packs of the same flavor, so you'd have to buy 10 packs just to get both flavors)

KetoShop (There are two different sample packs; I got the zero carb just because the flavors were more appealing to me)

P.S. None of these are referral links and I do not benefit in any way from them.

Thanks so much for all the helpful advice !!

5 hours ago, jforch said:

Where can you get these samples ?

Well, I have found some to purchase on Bariatric pal. Amazon has some too. I have been researching through company websites, and just googling everything about the products that I think I might like. I have to avoid things like caffeine, and I don’t want everything to be super sugary. I spend a lot of time reading reviews and adding prices up on different websites to try to get the best prices. Next step I am going to e-mail the companies that I can not find samples for to ask about purchasing samples from them if possible. Who knows maybe soon there will be sample packs of everything available. They don’t know there’s a market for them if people don’t ask. ?

4 hours ago, BigSue said:

Once you start shopping for Protein Powder online, you'll start seeing ads for other Protein powders. You should look at the ingredients and nutrition info to make sure they meet your requirements. Here are the ones I purchased (I think I found all of these through ads on Facebook):

IdealFit (IdealLean) (You can also buy individual sample size packets if you don't want this many)

1up Nutrition (I bought the "summer body starter kit," which allowed me to choose my own samples, but that no longer seems to be available; it might have been a special offer that you can only get to by clicking an ad)

Northbound Nutrition Waves of Whey

Strength (Unfortunately, the samples are 5 packs of the same flavor, so you'd have to buy 10 packs just to get both flavors)

KetoShop (There are two different sample packs; I got the zero carb just because the flavors were more appealing to me)

P.S. None of these are referral links and I do not benefit in any way from them.

This is very helpful information. Thank you so much. ❤️

18 hours ago, AZhiker said:

I loved the chocolate Premier Protein preop, but shortly after surgery, I found them to be way too sweet. My taste buds had changed so much - they tasted like chocolate Syrup and were just too sickingly sweet. However, a few months later, I was able to tolerate them............ UNTIL I developed an intolerance to whey. A followup scope exam showed early signs of eosinophilic esophagitis, which is an allergic reaction. Since whey was the only real change as far as a new food for me, it was the obvious culprit. My doc also told me that whey can cause problems in some people. I also started to notice a general lactose intolerance. After switching to plant based Protein Powder and drinks, and staying away from all dairy, my esophagus was completely normal on the next exam.

Very interesting thank you for sharing!

I am thinking about ordering several small Protein Drinks to begin trying them, so I can be prepared by knowing what I like. Do you all think this is a good idea? How did you find your Protein drinks for post-op?

Some of them are ok, mist of them are junk. Be watchful. A lot of them have a lot of sugar in them. Also a lot of them are heavily dairy based. This is a lot of extra fat and calories.

Eddy Blaine Brown II

I am thinking about ordering several small Protein Drinks to begin trying them, so I can be prepared by knowing what I like. Do you all think this is a good idea? How did you find your Protein drinks for post-op?

You're smart for doing this. I bought a big tub of Premier protein and the shakes before surgery. I didn't love them but they were OK, but after surgery they are so sweet and have this really weird almost meaty aftertaste. I can't drink them at all. For me, I prefer plant based protein and I don't like artificial sweeteners.