Down to the nitty gritty....

[MN-Joe]

I'm on the docket for Oct. 7th, and I've started to try and put a few things down in detail. Maybe the information is already listed on one of the forums in a simple to view format, if so I missed it. The questions I have are related to the Vitamins, supplements and foods after surgery.

I understand that Dr. R recommends the WalMart One Source Multi - I'm assuming because it meets the requirements and is low cost. Any others that folks use? Why?

How about the Whey Protein, Creatine, and Glutamine?
Are there some that are preferred by anyone? Why?

With regards to the Citrucel Fiber - Is the powder required or will the tablets work?

Has anyone tried various brands of the soup broth - any favorites? I looked the other night at WalMart and was surprised to find 6 or 7 different brands, several bullion cube brands plus a few soup stock selections. Any issues with spice during phase1, or 2?

During Phase 1 - can you have flavored yogurt? Most of these have very small bits of fruit - is this allowed druing phase 1? Are there any brands without the bits of fruit commonly available?

Sorry for all the questions, but I figure there are many combined years of experience represented here which is too good too pass up.

[Rose Wolfe]

these are the things I did, you can take it or leave it just want to report the way it was for me...

there is a lot to take in the first 3-4 months but I tapered off of some things as time went by, everything was well with me. (prilosec, pepto, actigal ect)

At 1 1/2 yrs out I take one source, omega3, a big B w/ everything, creatine (in pill from much easier than mixing in a protein shake), magnesium ( having charlie horses in my calf muscle every morning trying different supplements to end them), and one vial of New Whey protein (fruit punch flavor with 42 grms of protein) mixed w/ lite OJ,crushed ice and water to thin down and make a large drink for the morning hours.

I tried a lot of protein powders but they made me feel sick for about 1/2 an hour like a sugar dump (bloated and sick in the stomach) I could not force them down after a while, but the New Whey is the best for me so far..($28 for 12 vials-vitamin world has a very similar product which is $3 cheaper and has more protein in them, looks like the same co makes them)

the creatine, glutamine and whey protein do not need to be taken right away you can wait as long as you feel for those 1 -2 -3 months/or until you are ready to add them. I do notice more energy when I take the creatine, I have at times not taken it for as much as a month.

I also did not eat much yogurt but took the refrigerated probiotic pills from the pharmacy at publix in FL that are chewable during the first 2 weeks after surgery and had no thrush. I did eat maybe 1 or 2 containers of yogurt but it was not pleasant..If you like yogurt go for it?? took more pro biotic pills when I got home for about 2 months. I like the greek vanilla yogurt or lite vanilla by dannon now and will eat a bit or 2 now and then during a week.

I would not recommend getting any chewable vitamins, I made the mistake of getting a big chewable calcium citrate and hated them till the bottle was empty, it took too long to choke them down. But I do like most things in pill form rather than powders to mix in drink. It is just easier and faster and you will more likely stick with it as you may have a tendency after a year to not have the "want to" anymore...it is some work to get 3 sets down in one day..I very often only get 2 and some days 1..but I always try to get at least 1 set. my labs are good so far.

after using citrucel for two months and still having very loose bowels I changed over to the chewable chocolate and caramel chews..they recommend 4 per day but that was too many. Only needed 2 and that slowed things down considerably. I used about 5 containers($8 ea) of those and then didn't need them anymore b/c things got back to very normal unless I ate junk (greasy, sugary junk food).

I ate the mini chicken and stars from campbells- it did seem greasy to me at the time, also like the split pea very yummy after not eating for the first week just gatorade and crackers...
we where on a vacation during this time and my hubby always eats cookies or something with his coffee in the morning and one morning sometime in the end of the 2nd week, I felt so hungry I ate a cookie like a drug addict. I just nibbled it down and told myself I was only going to eat one but then ended up eating two...I got cocky and thought I was fine so later that day we where laying by the pool and I ordered a non alcohol pinacolada, after I drank that I was so sick I threw up and evacuated my bowels...it was very scary and I was afraid to eat for about 24 hours after that...LOL...it was ok though b/c I had to fly the next day and didn't need to use the bathroom at all on the plane...

I don't really think the vitamins are expensive at all compared to the amount of food I used to eat and the wasted money spent on diet programs and gym memberships...I would like to find some liquid vitamins to maybe add to my protein drink in the morning, It seems like they would be easier to get down faster.

[Lila in Oregon]

Hi Joe,

I’m no expert on yogurt, but am more picky about it than most and sometimes even make it from scratch at home, so decided to add my two cents worth here.

Stoneyfield and Mountain High are both good brands that contain a large variety of the beneficial probiotic bacteria and are available plain without added fruit or sugars. Daily consumption of that type of yogurt also drastically reduces and significantly deodorizes the gas response in my gut. I did hear Dr. R say to someone at my pre-op clinic that small bits of fruit are OK. I have found that if it has too much fruit or sweetener, those sugars can sometimes counteract the desired positive effects. I highly recommend reading the ingredient label and more importantly watch out for the added sweeteners. Compare the sugar grams of plain unsweetened against the sugar grams of sweetened as well as what is used to sweeten. Stay away from high fructose corn syrup and Dr. R also advises against artificial sweeteners. The added sweeteners (even brown rice syrup and cane syrup) have caused me to have sugar dumping and that is the last thing you need to be dealing with, especially right after surgery.

My favorite brand, that is actually made near my home and is sold nation wide, is called Nancy’s Yogurt made by Springfield Creamery. It is more typically found in health food stores and stores like Whole Foods and Wild Oats (which are in Henderson/LV), although our NW chain grocery stores do carry it. They make a honey yogurt that is to die for. Just enough honey to take the edge off the tang of the yogurt, but not too sweet to cause dumping. It also does not have any added thickeners, just naturally thickened from authentic incubation. I love to cut up a little fresh fruit and add to it. It’s also great added to a smoothie.

Good luck next week and I will be thinking of everyone. There is going to be quite a group from this forum and I will be watching Tuesday’s clinic on Ustream, cheering you all on.

[Sheba Raviv]

How do you follow Ustream? What is that? Joe, How did your surgery go? I had mine on oct. 1, home now and feeling pretty good. Went to work the next day i got home and over did it. Taking today off. Hope to hear from you soon. Lila, how long do we have to drink the gatorade??? I love yogurt, thank goodness!!!!

[MN-Joe]

Things have gone pretty good, my system seems to tolerate unsweetend apple juice really well and so I'm alternating between that and the G2. Even unsweetend it is far tastier than the G2 stuff. I like the Dannon DanActive Probiatic diary drink. For getting in extra tasty salt I add a whole salt packet to a small can of V8 juice. To my taste it makes it tastes better and I get the sodium. Hope everyone is doing well, it has been a week filled with lots of lessons and learning experiences.....

[terry sweers]

hello...just wondering if you, being also from minnesotta, know of any docs trained in the mini (sleeve) bypass in minesotta? would like any info thanks terry

[MN-Joe]

Not that I'm aware of. The closest would be in Missouri, but in reality the cheapest to get to is Las Vegas. I'm now 5 days out and I'm enjoying the 80s here vs. the 20s and 30s there, but we head back home tomorrow evening. If you have any questions let me know.