Ok ladies,

As surgery is comeing closer to being a reality, I have been starting to think about the diet afterwards and need some info. Afterwards I am most worried about the protein and iron. Is there a set diet that they have you on to get started or do you have to figure out what you can and cant eat afterwards? I have been looking at vitiamins and supplements and have been wondering if liquid vitiamins are better? Is it true that you have to crush up pills to take them? I have meds that I take everyday already and wondered if I will have to change the way I take them? I take 3 capsules once a day, will I have to change to 1 capsule 3 times a day? What is a good play to check for ordering small samples of proteins to try? I know that Nanj will have some good stuff there. Want to start getting prepared so any help would be great!!!

so many questions! and most of them you'll need to ask your doc about! every surgeon is a little different - and every person is a little different. there's a sticky at the top of the forum - shopping list for WLS. check it out! there are LOTS of good tips and ideas on coping after surgery.

I personally would not recommend taking liquid vitamins. They taste terrible. It will be up to your doc though. I had to be on them for the first 3 weeks. My meds...I was able to take all my meds in their original form from day one. Again, that will be up to your doc. I take a ton of meds.

Oh and the protein thing. I got lucky because my doc recommended NSA Carnation instant breakfast so I did not have to buy special, expensive protein shakes. Just in case, here is the recipe I used

1 package NSA Carnation instant breakfast
1/4 cup powdered milk
8oz skim milk
Mix well and enjoy. This provides 20 grams protein per shake.
Breakdown of grams
NSA Carnation 4 grams protein
1/4 cup milk powder 8 grams protein
80z skim milk 8 grams protein
I hope this helps some, but honestly, all of these questions need to be addressed with your doc. Good luck on your big day

let me start by saying...I am not a doctor!

Now, I understood that it is easier to get up your vitiman and iron levels up before surgery and maintain them then it is to try and get your levels up after surgery.

I have been taking the slow-release iron (watch for constipation!), calcium and zinc...all of them good to have up before surgery to help with healing. And a good dose of Vitamin C to help the immune system. C is water soliable and leaves the body quickly but the others can be stored longer.

Protein shakes should have a protein isolate. There are several brands that have it. I use EAS premium from costco and I just ordered the sample pack of Nectar. It has 21 favors! I can't wait to try them all, I have heard some really good things about them here on this board!

I too, take other meds and my doctor told me that I could open the capsules or crush the tablets (if they don't have a coating) and put them in yogurt for the first few weeks.

AND

I agree that you should ALWAYS do EXACTLY as your doctor says and yet to have these kinds of questions ready when you talk to him/her is just plain smart!

Angela

about the pills - i found that the limiting thing was their SIZE. if they were the same size as a nickel, PROBLEMS. if they were smaller than that, as long as i took them one at a time, with plenty of water, and waited a few minutes between them, everything was fine.

please check with your doc about the iron before surgery - too much can be a problem. if your iron is OK going in, or on the high side, taking an iron supplement may not be the best thing to do.

and a comment about protein - and i'm putting on my biochemist hat here -

watch out for claims! proteins are ALL made up of amino acids. so a product that says it has x amount of protein AND y amount of amino acids is talking nonsense. what IS important, though, is that they have ESSENTIAL amino acids.

you see, there's a whole pile of amino acids that our bodies can make - these are called the NONESSENTIAL amino acids.

but there are a few that our bodies DON'T make, and we have to EAT them in some form - these are the ESSENTIAL amino acids. so, read the labels - the protein supplement that you use should have some of these nonessential AA's. does this help?