Leading normal life while taking lots of supplements.

[MTaylorEE 3]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to the forum and have recently embarked on my journey through bariatric surgery. I've been obese most of my life and am now 503 pounds, miserable, and ready for a change.

My surgeon has recommended the DS to me. I've been doing a lot of research and the procedure seems to be quite popular and effective for long-term weight loss. While I have no problem committing myself to being religiously devoted to taking in plenty of Vitamins, minerals and Protein everyday, I am concerned that I will not be able to live a normal life as a result. I'm afraid that I will be obsessing over taking supplements to the point of having anxiety (which I already have) and not enjoying day-to-day living as much as I would if I had another procedure.

Am I worrying over nothing? Making a mountain out of a molehill as they say? lol

No matter what, I am having bariatric surgery and am strongly leaning toward DS but I would appreciate any additional help you all may be able to provide.

How has your life been affected by having to take so many supplements?

Do you feel like your schedule revolves around taking your supplements?

Thanks so much!!

[JerseyJules 862]

You will need to work at keeping a routine of eating properly after the surgery,and supplements and Vitamins will be part of that. Its not as drastic as it sounds, trust me. A few pills in the morning a few in the afternoon and youll be fine. But you need to want to do it and make the change and embrace being healthy and happy again..

Check out some of my Youtube videos they explain it better.

[James Marusek 5,244]

Welcome to the forum.

I had RNY gastric bypass surgery over 4 years ago. Both RNY and DS requires taking a lot of Vitamins and supplements daily. A DS patient is required to take a little more than RNY, but for the most part, both take quite a few. So these are my observations:

At the beginning the process of taking vitamins was somewhat overwhelming. it took several months before I had developed a system that worked for me. After that it wasn't too bad.

It is important to put a 2 hour separation between the vitamins that contain Iron and those that contain Calcium. So in my case I found that what works best for me is to take the iron supplements just before bedtime. I put my vitamins in a weekly pill container. I have one container for the morning and one for the night. And I use a very small glass bowl for my calcium supplements. I put my calciums in the bowl in the morning and take them throughout the day a couple at a time. If I am up and about I put my calciums in a ziplock bag and carry them with me.

I did not find the cost of these vitamins or supplements were excessive. The surgery drove many of my health conditions into remission. So the cost of the vitamins and supplements were offset by the cost of the prescription drugs that I was no longer taking.

Immediately after surgery, I discovered that I lost my ability to swallow large tablets. So I had to crush or split many of these vitamins. This was a major pain. But then about the 2 month mark, I was able to swallow again, and all was right in the world.

[MTaylorEE 3]

Great advice, thanks guys!!

This makes me feel better about the situation. I'm definitely dedicated to doing whatever it takes to succeed. I just wasn't sure whether my entire day was going to revolve around supplements.

I'll definitely take both of your advice.

[Berry78 4,261]

It's worthwhile to also consider getting a sleeve first, and after 12-18 months, think about adding the DS component.

We have several heavier patients on the board that have had fantastic results with just the sleeve. You would still need a few Vitamins with the sleeve, but much less.

A big question to ask yourself is whether you think you can stick with a "diet" forever. ALL of these surgeries (including the DS) require mindful eating forever.

I had the opportunity to speak with a 10 year DS veteran, and she lost about 200lbs. She was still 100lbs from goal, but the scale just stopped. She was eating on-plan (meat and veggies), but wasn't counting calories. When she finally started counting, she realized she was eating 2500 calories a day!

She started cutting back to 1500, then 1300. She finally reached goal.

My point is that no matter which procedure you get, you'll still have to pay attention. And if you pay attention, it won't matter much which procedure you get.

@Dashofpixiedust8 might be able to help here.

Don't get me wrong, the DS will be extremely effective for you. But the vitamins are not optional, and if you are concerned about them now, what happens in 2 or 15 years when you get bored of the whole thing?

[Dashofpixiedust8 1,469]

It's worthwhile to also consider getting a sleeve first, and after 12-18 months, think about adding the DS component.
We have several heavier patients on the board that have had fantastic results with just the sleeve. You would still need a few Vitamins with the sleeve, but much less.
[mention=293999]Dashofpixiedust8[/mention] might be able to help here.
Don't get me wrong, the DS will be extremely effective for you. But the vitamins are not optional, and if you are concerned about them now, what happens in 2 or 15 years when you get bored of the whole thing?

Hey! So I totally agree about getting the sleeve first then revising it to DS if you feel you need it.
I started out at 540 pounds at my first Bariatric appointment. I had Surgery at the end of May in 2016 at 480 pounds. Now almost 18 months later I am 240. I've been 240ish since about September but I've been crazy busy and haven't been staying as strict on my plan so that's really why.
The sleeve helped me get there. My goal is to just get out of plus size clothes, I don't have a number goal. I went from a size 38-40 to 16/18. My life is a million times better.
As to your question about the vitamins, I have taken meds for most of my life so it didn't add much more. Once you develop a routine it's easy!

[Postop 409]

Welcome. A couple of questions: are you having a full DS or a single anastomosis? Who is doing it?

With your BMI a DS is generally the most effective. I'm glad you're looking into it.

After 12 1/2 of living with the DS, I can tell you I don't obsess over my vitamins/minerals/probiotic. And I've never missed a day over that time period. What happens is that it becomes part of you. For instance, in 2008, when I had to have my gb removed they wouldn't allow me to take my supplements for several days prior to and after surgery. I felt so odd. It was as if part of me was missing. At each meal I'd pine for them. It's just what happens.

I do take at least 40 a day so it can be a lot. Some take fewer, some more. It's very individual and eventually blased on your blood work. Keep all you blood work. Pre-op and post-op. It's exceedingly helpful (as the years go by) if you're having an issue to see what your baseline normal was preop and, of course, to watch all trends post-op.

I also recommend a Dexa bone scan pre-op so you have a baseline. Even for men.

At this point I have a ticker in the back of my head that mentally counts the Protein grams each day. Same with the supplements. I know what to take and when. Granted, when they're tweaked (say after I have bloods done and results show a change is needed), it takes a few days to get into that new groove but it happens pretty quickly. I also have a sheet with what I take. I carry it so I can give a copy to doctor. It's much easier than having to enter it on a form.

I also sent you a PM.

Edited November 16, 2017 by Postop

[Mattymatt 491]

On 11/15/2017 at 9:09 PM, James Marusek said:

Welcome to the forum.

I had RNY gastric bypass surgery over 4 years ago. Both RNY and DS requires taking a lot of Vitamins and supplements daily. A DS patient is required to take a little more than RNY, but for the most part, both take quite a few. So these are my observations:

At the beginning the process of taking Vitamins was somewhat overwhelming. it took several months before I had developed a system that worked for me. After that it wasn't too bad.

It is important to put a 2 hour separation between the vitamins that contain Iron and those that contain Calcium. So in my case I found that what works best for me is to take the Iron supplements just before bedtime. I put my vitamins in a weekly pill container. I have one container for the morning and one for the night. And I use a very small glass bowl for my Calcium supplements. I put my calciums in the bowl in the morning and take them throughout the day a couple at a time. If I am up and about I put my calciums in a ziplock bag and carry them with me.

I did not find the cost of these vitamins or supplements were excessive. The surgery drove many of my health conditions into remission. So the cost of the vitamins and supplements were offset by the cost of the prescription drugs that I was no longer taking.

Immediately after surgery, I discovered that I lost my ability to swallow large tablets. So I had to crush or split many of these vitamins. This was a major pain. But then about the 2 month mark, I was able to swallow again, and all was right in the world.

@James Marusek My surgeon said to use chewable vitamins. I wonder if they work as well. He just said not the Gummy variety. Flint stones chewables....

[Postop 409]

Good thought, but chewables are not recommended for DS patients (except maybe for the first couple of weeks).

[Strivingforbetter 247]

I'm a DS patient and I take two 500 mg of chewable Calcium, two chewable Multivitamins of ADEK (Bariatric Advantage), and one sublingual B12 (3000 mcg). That's it per my doctor's orders. Not too bad at all.

[Postop 409]

52 minutes ago, Strivingforbetter said:

I'm a DS patient and I take two 500 mg of chewable Calcium, two chewable Multivitamins of ADEK (Bariatric Advantage), and one sublingual B12 (3000 mcg). That's it per my doctor's orders. Not too bad at all.

That’s interesting. Now you’re about 6 mos. out, right? Does your surgeon recommend that as the years go by or just for the first year or so?

[Strivingforbetter 247]

11 hours ago, Postop said:

That’s interesting. Now you’re about 6 mos. out, right? Does your surgeon recommend that as the years go by or just for the first year or so?

It will stay this way unless my blood levels show I'm deficient in something. I'm 22 weeks post-op, so about 5 1/2 months out. So far, I'm feeling great. I was surprised that I didn't have to take more and mentioned the great quantities other patients are required to take. He's performed the DS on over 500 patients, so I'm trusting him. I'm having my blood draw this weekend, so we will see.

[GwennyPenny 108]

I had the RNY bypass (Aug 10 2017) so it may be different. I take BN Multi chewable and BN Cal + D chewable twice per day. Both are bariatric Vitamins and I have Vit B injections which at the moment are monthly but that will change. When it says chewable it makes it sound like they are soft and chewy but they aren't. They are hard and you crunch them up. I thought there would be more but these two seem to have everything in them that is needed. I was taking Q10 but had to stop for the surgery and had 3 more surgeries so I just stayed off them. Just this week I added myself a hair nails and skin tonic and Biotin because I noticed a bit more hair than usual coming out but it's stopped so might have been a false alarm lol

Sent from my CPH1607 using BariatricPal mobile app

[Postop 409]

3 hours ago, Strivingforbetter said:

It will stay this way unless my blood levels show I'm deficient in something. I'm 22 weeks post-op, so about 5 1/2 months out. So far, I'm feeling great. I was surprised that I didn't have to take more and mentioned the great quantities other patients are required to take. He's performed the DS on over 500 patients, so I'm trusting him. I'm having my blood draw this weekend, so we will see.

As long as the two of you are watching your bloods carefully, that's all you can ask.

[Strivingforbetter 247]

5 hours ago, Postop said:

As long as the two of you are watching your bloods carefully, that's all you can ask.

Agreed. I want to stay healthy through this experience, so my levels are a big priority for me. I have noticed I haven't had any Hair loss like most wls patients. In fact, my hair seems extra healthy since the first of last month. This could be due to my loss being slower than others. I've averaged 10 pounds a month, a little over half way to goal. I see you weigh around 140. That would be perfect for me, too.