Yes_I_Can!

I couldn't stand the texture of gummy vitamins after surgery, and hated the big capsules that most likely weren't being completely absorbed into my body. I was introduced to a product called Zeal about 3 months post op, and fell in love. It is a whole foods powdered supplement that has over 100 super foods, vitamins, mineral antioxidants, phytonutrients, etc. It has replaced ALL of my pills except I still take extra calcium and iron, because I am post menopausal. I mix one scoop with a little water or juice, drink and within minutes I feel like it is just absorbing into my body. I know it sounds crazy, but I can feel a huge difference that I never got with tablet or gummy vitamins. I've got all day energy now, and my blood labs have come back perfect the last three times. It is a bit pricey at $60 a month, but I was spending more than that on all my vitamins and coffees I used to buy to keep me going. Worth every penny! I have to order it here because you can't buy it at the store. www.zurvita.com/jjwhitman. I've mentioned this in a couple of other posts, too, not because I sell it, but because it has made such a difference in my health that I want people to know there are other options for gastric bypass patients out there. Good luck to you!

I doubt a couple of sips will hurt you, as long as you leave it at that.

Longview, Texas - gastric bypass Dec. 2014

I replaced my coffee post surgery with Zeal. It is my complete vitamin supplement replacement, it also has naturally occurring caffeine (as much as one cup on coffee) that literally gives you energy all day. I highly recommend if you are like me and have trouble taking all the vitamins you need each day to stay healthy. You cannot buy it at the store, but here is where I order it from www.zurvita.com/jjwhitman. Works for me, and I do not miss the coffee at all!

I went through at phase briefly. I'm 1.5 years post op, and feel like I've probably settled down now and am pretty close to normal. I eat almost anything now, but some things I still don't like anymore, like chicken or eggs (used to love so it's weird). When I was going through the the I hate to eat phase, I did a lot of soups, green smoothies, protein shakes, and drank Zeal (whole foods powder total nutrition powder supplement you mix with water or juice...replaced all my tablet and gummy vitamins I hated) everyday. The protein and Zeal kept me healthy and I think helped my body to heal and get past that phase. Good luck! By the way, I do highly recommend e Zeal. You cannot buy it at the store, but I order it here. Worth every penny. www.zurvita.com/jjwhitman

I know getting all the fluids in you need each day can be challenging. I am 1.5 years post op, and I've started keeping a bottle of water on my nightstand because I've found that post surgery I wake up thirsty at night all the time. It's strange, but makes me think I need more liquids than I used to. When I wake up, I fill up a 28 oz. mixer bottle full of cold water and put on one scoop oz Zeal (amazing whole foods complete vitamin supplement that completely absorbs into the body fast) and drink that before anything else. Then I eat a little something for breakfast, wait about 30 min. and fill up my 28 oz bottle again with water or Crystal light and drink all before lunch. After lunch I repeat the process, etc. I drink about 4-5 bottles a day, and that seems to be enough unless I am exercising more. The longer post you are the more you can drink. Another weird thing for me, after surgery and to this day, I do not like chicken or eggs. I used to live off of them pre-op, but now can't stand the textures or smell. Isn't that weird? Good luck! Oh, by the way If you need a good supplement, I highly recommend the Zeal everyday. I've had three full blood panels done now at 6, 12, and 18 months post op, and envy thing comes out perfect! I do take an extra calcium and iron supplement because I am post menopausal, but that is all. No more hand full of pills and I feel great. Here is where I order it www.zurvita.com/jjwhitman. You cannot buy it at the store, but it is worth every penny.

My surgery went perfectly without I'll side effects. What I wish I had known prior was what supplements would work for me afterwards. I bought a buck of stuff, but ended up not wanting to swallow pig pills, or not liking gummy vitamin texture, or flavors, etc. I bought more and more trying to find things I could stomach and still the nutrition I needed. I finally was introduced to Zeal, which is a whole foods powdered supplement that you mix with a little water or juice, and drink once a day. It has over 100 vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytonutrients, and more and gave me energy and made me feel amazing. I've had full panel blood work done three times now, and each one came out perfect, so I know I'm getting everything my body needs. That's what I wish I had known about before surgery. If you have stuff that works for you, great! If not, you might want to give this stuff a try. You can't buy it in store, but here is where I order it: www.zurvita.com/jjwhitman Worth every penny.

Hi Everyone, I had my gastric bypass surgery in December 2014. My surgeon was Dr. Jason Suits in Longview, Texas, and he is amazing! I've been overweight for over 20 years. I am 5'8" and at my highest weight of 294, I was done. I was tired, sick, and had been on blood pressure medication since I was 25. I was pre-diabetic, had borderline high cholesterol, and the beginnings on heart disease. I was on the fast track to an early death. My surgery went smoothly, and I was in the hospital for 3 days until I could drink enough Protein shake to make everyone happy. I experienced very little discomfort, and asked for only Tylenol and Ibuprofin while still in the hospital. After arriving home, I was lucky enough to be able to take 3 weeks off of work to recover and pay attention to drinking enough and healing. I was lucky in that I never threw up or have had bad side effects. I do have the dumping syndrome when I eat too much sugar (for me it's anything over 12 grams), eat high fat, or drink while I'm eating. 1 1/2 years out I still have this happen to me, and it's a great tool to keep me in check. My other struggle initially was finding Vitamins and supplements that worked for me. I literally spent hundreds of dollars experimenting with different things, and as all GB patients know, you have to take a lot of different things to get our nutrition in. A friend told who was post weight loss told me about a product she takes called Zeal, and highly recommended I try it. Zeal is a whole foods, total wellness supplement, and for me replaces my Multivitamin, and is loaded with everything I need. I still take a small Iron and Calcium tablet seperately, but that is all. I've not gotten so much as a cold since my surgery, have energy and focus all day, and all the nutrition that I cannot get from food alone.My blood work is done every 6 months, and so I've just had my third round done. My surgeon was so impressed that he asked me what I was taking, and then told me to keep doing what I was doing, because everything looked perfect. The awesome thing about Zeal is that it is completely absorbed on a cellular level and you can almost feel the vitamins going into your bloodstream. I feel amazing. If you are interested in this, please don't hesitate. Give it a try. I mix scoop into a 28 oz mixer bottle each morning, fill it up with cold Water, and drink that first thing each morning. It helps me get my daily water goal started, too. Here is the website I get it from: www.zurvita.com/jjwhitman To date, I've lost 120 lbs. and am down to 174 lbs. I've not really exercised as I should, but am starting to work on that. I am planning to lost 24 more lbs. I am post menopausal, and so this is a realistic and healthy weight for me according to my doctor. I look and feel like an entirely different person. It is definitely one of the best things I've ever done for myself! My advice for anyone who is considering it but is afraid, would be that you can't live your life in fear of the "what ifs." Do your homework, get the best surgeon you can, be committed to do the work, and go for it! I am living my dreams. I am going scuba diving and taking a dancing class this year. I'm finally living my life to the fullest!

Don't worry! Although the liquid diet pre and post op is hard, it's not impossible. Trust me. I'm a food addict, and it was tough, but you will make it. Just load up on sugar free jello cups, sugar free Popsicles, soups (miso soup was a nice treat), and drink lots of water...I flavored mine with lemon or crystal light to change it up. I have to tell you...every surgeon will tell you something different. Mine had me start sound liquid three weeks out by giving up one meal for liquid, then at two weeks 2 meals replaced with liquid, and then third week was all 3 liquid, but it didn't have to be clear until 3 days prior. My liver was shrunken up perfectly according to the doctor. The harder part for me was post op, but only because I had to go through final sugar withdrawals. So don't worry. This is much harder in your head than reality will be.

I know that if you don't eat a lot of carbs then your body will use your fat stores for carbs. I would like to lose as much weight as possible, and am wondering if people are eating fruits and grains as a part of their weight loss journey (and are losing weight) or are they waiting to eat those things until after the goal weight has been achieved? I am 4weeks out and have been moved to the stage where I can have foods with texture again. I'd love to have a tiny sandwich on a toasted thin wheat bread, or maybe half of a tortilla roll up on a whole wheat tortilla, berries, etc...but I don't want to have slower weight loss as a result. Thoughts and food suggestions? Thank you in advance.

I'm only beginning this journey, myself, and am by no means an expert, but common sense tells me that you know your body better than anyone else, and if the portion size of what you are eating feels right to you, and you are able to maintain your weight, I don't see a problem with it. If there is one thing I have learned from reading the posts on here, it is that everyone is different. You are pretty close to one year out, and I was told that at one year I would be eating about a 1cup sized portion at mealtime.

My surgeon told me it could be caused by the iron tablets I have to chew, and to give it a couple more days, sure enough, it passed. I'm not saying this is always the case, but sometimes it's not as serious.

Thank you, everyone! The nausea has passed, and I feel better after the positive comments.

My doctor only requires me to have 60 grams of protein a day, and I usually get that in by drinking premier protein shakes. They are not thick like some of the powder ones, and have 30 grams of proteins each, with only 1gram of sugar. My favorite is the chocolate, and they are the only ones that have worked for me. Everyone is different, though. As far as not being hungry and not wanting to eat, I just have to think about how much better I will feel if I get in a few drinks of shakes...that I might feel like getting dressed and going out and doing something. It motivates me. Good luck to you!

Laurarogersclark, I'm also working on 3 weeks, and haven't lost much weight. I blame it on not being about to go to the bathroom.

It was about two weeks before I felt like driving and running errands, but I had a total hysterectomy one month before my gastric bypass, and I think that has made a difference in my recovery time.

I couldn't find PB2 in my town, but ordered in from Amazon (I got free shipping).

This is a crappy topic, but here goes: I am almost 5 days post-op from R&Y, and have graduated from liquid poop to dark, tarry, foul smelling, stools. Seriously, I told my husband he should probably leave the house for a few days. I know this can be one of the signs of Intnal bleeding, but couldn't it also just be leftover blood that was inside me from the surgery? Everything else is going great. I was kept in hospital for three days, and came home late yesterday afternoon. I am eating and drinking ok, and have little pain except when getting up and down. No energy yet, but that will return in a week, or two. Anyone have any crappy problems like this that took care of itself?

Thank you, all, for the responses. I will call mr dr. I'm not one that likes to call and make a fuss over nothing, so I was hoping this was just something I could roll with. Hopefully, it will be.

Mine is DreamGirlToBe73 ( I know, I Know...it's cheesy) and I would love to connect.

My Dr.'s office recommended the Vitafusion brand gummy vitamins. I bought the multi, b complex, and calcium and they all taste good to me. For iron I bought the Celebrate Iron plus Vitamin C that is chewable. The berry flavor is good, in my opinion.

How are you feeling now, post-op? I have my surgery tomorrow at 7:30, too. I feel ya on the liquid diet! This clear diet is rough. Good luck to you!

Hi everyone! I am actually having my gastric bypass the surgery this coming Tuesday, on December 16. I'm very excited for it, but a little nervous because four weeks ago I had a complete abdominal hysterectomy with an 8 inch vertical incision. I am starting to feel pretty good, and I am getting some of my energy and mobility back. I was not expecting to have to have a hysterectomy, and was actually scheduled to have the bariatric surgery on December 1 before they found out I had to have emergency hysterectomy. My gynecologist and my bariatric surgeon both seem to think that I will be fine to continue with the bariatric surgery on December 16, four weeks and five days after my last surgery. I guess I'm a little concerned that my recovery time from gastric bypass might be a little longer than expected because I'm still recovering from his other surgery. I was planning to go back to work after three weeks, and work at an office job full-time. Has anyone else had any experience with having two surgeries so close together? thank you!