I ordered PatchMD vitamin patches to use after surgery. My surgery is June 1 and I'm terrified after reading all of this feedback! As for protein, my nutritionist said it is based on height. As a 5'6 female, my goal is about 89 grams a day. It is easy to get on the pre-op diet because I'm doing 2 protein shakes a day, as well as adding a tablespoon of unflavored protein powder (31g) to 16 of Crystal Light.