catwoman7

I use Upcal D (a powder you can mix into food), Calcet chews, and Bariatric Advantage chews. I also occasionally drop a couple of calcium citrate tablets into a fruity Protein shake (they don't dissolve as well in the milky shakes)

I take a 5000 mcg sublingual tablet once a week. high B12 levels seem to be pretty common and as far as I know, aren't harmful. Mine has been in about the same range yours has ever since surgery, and no one at the surgeon's office has ever said anything. There are a couple of vets on another bariatric surgery forum that I'm on who've said they feel crummy if their levels fall below 1000. So who knows? But I'm sure your surgeon's office would have said something if they were worried. I actually see numbers like that posted pretty often (because people are worried when they first see that) - so I think it's pretty common.

I haven't had that issue, but you're not the first person I've heard who's experienced it.

all I can say is, I gained a *ton* of weight on it (like around 45 lbs) when I was on it about 20 years ago. I asked them if I was going to keep gaining, or if it would level off. She said "it depends". That's the minute I decided to go off it.

not food dreams, but I still smoke in my dreams even though I quit smoking over 20 years ago. I think some things are just part of your identity...

After battling my weight for 40+ years, I am extremely compliant and am bound and determined to make this "work" if it kills me. Not sure I would have had this conviction if I'd have had it done when I was young.

both are good surgeries. It's really a personal decision - there are pros and cons with either. Just do your research and also see if your surgeon recommends one over the other.

I have my husband take pictures every month on my surgery date. I can't tell the difference from one month to the next, but if I compare pictures now to pictures four months ago - or eight months ago - or a year ago - I can see a huge difference.

yes - some surgeons are now recommending that VSG patients avoid NSAIDs as well.

I had almost no pain

You're referring to the DS (sleeve was originally the first part of the DS). Although there are people who do sleeve-to-bypass revisions, too.

I have a 16 oz and a 20 oz. I almost never use the 16 oz. I use the 20 oz almost every day!

I was the same starting weight as you and did the bypass (I had GERD, and I also liked the fact there was more long term data on the bypass). I'm very happy with my decision. I've lost 185 lbs so far!

I tend to meet friends for coffee more now rather than lunch or dinner - but I still go to lunch or dinner with people occasionally. I just eat an appetizer or about 1/3 of an entree rather than a whole meal.

I had regular gastric bypass as well, so it may be different with the mini - but I think I was probably three months out before I could handle much in the way of meat (other than small pieces in soup or ground meat or soft meats like tuna)

dietitian vs nutritionist - you have to be registered to be a dietitian. I don't think the term "nutritionist" is regulated. Dietitians are nutritionists, but not all nutritionists are dietitians. Or at least that's how I always understood it.

I mix it into protein shakes as well.

we had surgery the same month (I was June 3), and I average around 1000 calories. 800 would be a really low day for me.

definitely not to old for this - there are lots of us on this forum who had WLS when we were over 50

my surgeon's office considered it a fluid

I've noticed they're now recommending that sleeve patients steer clear of NSAIDs, too, so it may not matter... I was really freaked out about this before I had bypass because I used to get terrible headaches and sometimes took ibuprofen several times a week. I also have a bad hip joint and took Aleve for it. The PA at my surgeon's office told me that *occasional* use of an NSAID would probably be OK if things got really bad (which I figured was maybe once a month or so - but he didn't specify). However, oddly, my headaches pretty much disappeared after surgery. I still get rare, minor ones - but Tylenol can...and does...take care of those. I got a cortisone injection in my hip the day before surgery so I wouldn't be bothered by hip pain, but as I lost weight, that started to hurt a lot less, too. Suffice it to say, I haven't taken any NSAIDs at all since my surgery a year ago. I was shocked - I thought I could never live without them!

I've never had problems with it at all

I had GERD, so I went with bypass. GERD is completely gone. I've had no "side effects" other than two strictures early out (which are an easy fix). I don't dump, either.

I have and I read up on this awhile ago. Evidently it's not all that uncommon. Some think it has to do with your body having to adjust to the massive loss of weight - it has to carry itself completely differently. Plus you lose in some areas faster than others - which could also be throwing things out of whack.

Multi - Centrum Silver or the generic equivalent B12 - Superior Source D - Superior Source B Complex - Integrative Therapeutics Calcium - a mix of Upcal D, Bariatric Advantage chews, and Walgreens calcium citrate tablets Iron - Vitanica Iron Extra