SURGERY ON TUESDAY, 10/13/15!!

Hi All,

Can anyone recommend the best brand and formulation for a Vitamin B12 supplement? Should I choose liquid or sublingual, and what brand, strength, and dosage would you recommend? I'm unsure if I should go with daily vs weekly.

Also, can you recommend the best protein powder to use especially in the 1st few days post-op? Is there one that mixes better or is tolerated better than others?

I am less than 5 days away from my surgery day and I plan to shop this weekend for supplies. Any help and other suggestions you can provide is most greatly appreciated. I'm SUPER excited to begin this journey, and I really want to do it right. Thanks in advance.

I got sleeved on Monday, October 5, 2015 and here are my personal recommendations for the first few days. I'm still very sore, but getting better every day. The anti-nausea meds and painkillers have been a godsend. Walking around as much as possible, even when I don't want to has also helped a lot. Apologies for the stunted writing, I'm still on pain meds and my pupils are dilated so it's hard to read the computer screen.

Plain water has been harder to drink than flavored water. I do not like powdered drinks very much, so instead of Crystal Light I bought a bag of frozen mixed berries, watermelon, and fresh mint and infused a couple of pitchers of water before surgery. When I came home, my partner strained the contents of the pitcher into three separate 22 ounce water bottles. that he leaves in the fridge so that it is easy to track my fluid intake while he's at work. My surgeon cleared me to incorporate protein drinks into my diet from day 2, and I've been able to finish two of them per day on a super-slow sip schedule. I like the Premier Protein drinks best- they're 11 ounces and 160 calories with 30 grams of protein each.

I also put all of the meds into one large tupperware container so that they are always all together and made a chart of every pill and vitamin along with the next dosage time so that I can just cross off when I've taken what. Taking 8 pills takes me about 35 minutes, and I take them with the protein drink because that has been easiest on my sleeve. I have exactly zero interest in food.

When I was at the hospital I was most thankful for bringing my own pillow, a light robe for corridor walking, face wipes, moisturizer, eye mask, and lip balm. I also downloaded a couple of light audiobooks onto my iPhone to listen to with earbuds for a distraction. The light from any screens was way too much for me. I can still barely follow a television show.

I hope your first few days go smoothly!

Hello! Congrats on your upcoming surgery. I also was sleeved on Monday the 5th. I have been using the premier protein shakes (chocolate) from Costco. They are easier to get down since they are premixed. Water is hard for me. Especially in the evening. I have found that it makes things easier if I set my alarm on my phone to buzz every 10 minutes. So I can sip. Putting some crystal light in my water has helped. I also have been having horrible hiccups. I figured out that I need to drink smaller sips and it needs to be room temperature. All things that are individual. But on day 4 post op I'm feeing much better. Still some nausea but pain meds only at night now. Tylenol has been ok during the day.

Wishing you much success!

Laura