Pre-op question

 Just got back from my pre-op physical.  Had blood work, EKG and physical exam.  Chest x-ray I will get on Monday.  Yikes!!  I'm getting nervous and I have more than a month to go...August 25!

I am wondering if I should order my vitamins before I leave for surgery or do I just get them when I get home?   I guess my surgeon will tell me everything to take?  It seems like its so important to get them in and if I am traveling to Canada and I won't be home for a week and then once I get home I have to order them...won't I need them sooner than that?  

Also is Proferrin the most common iron that DS'er's take?  Maybe I am jumping the gun.  Maybe I should talk to my surgeon or the nurse about this??  

You can order your vites if you want, but you'll likely be on chewables for the first few weeks. I just bought some Flintstones chewables and ate like 8 a day.  Once you are given the go ahead to eat regular foods you can start taking your vits per your physicians approval.

As for Proferrin, I take it. It is much easier on the stomach and doesn't bind me up like ferrous sulfate.

I ordered my vitamins about a month before surgery. It took about a week and a half to get them. One reason I did that is because I didnt know how long it would take to get them. I also didn't want to have to worry about ordering them after surgery.

I had everything at home and ready by the end of August. Surgery was September 15th. I took Chewable Multis for 3 weeks then slowly added other vites. I say I was on the full schedule by 7 to 8 weeks post op. I still have chewables left, they got old quick. I order A,D,E and K and Iron from Vitalady, usually here within a week. The rest I get from Sam's or WalMart.  Works out great for me. Try not to let it overwhelm you. It truly does becomes second nature. Not a big deal at all. Very awesome trade off if you ask me! Good luck and it'll be here before you know it.

BTW, I got enough for 3 months and adjusted according to my labs.


Ruby

I have to disagree with Maddie.  I don't think Flinstones are the way to go at all. 

Here's the vitamins you will work up to (REGARDLESS of what your surgeon says this is what you will need to be taking until you get your 3 month labs):

www.gblcreations.com/Resources/Gina/ProgramDRNY_ERNY_BPDDS3- 2010.pdf  After your three month labs you will tweak this as necessary and you will continue getting labs and tweaking for life.

I don't see why you would need chewable vitamins and I think most people don't use them. 

I take Carbonyl iron because it works for me.  Proferrin is also commonly used.

Most of us find that our surgeon's are great at doing surgery and not so great at knowing what we need to do for vites/supplements and follow VitaLady's plan.

~Becky

 Thanks everyone!  I learn so much from all of you vets.   It is still a bit overwhelming thinking about this routine after surgery but I guess I will get use to it.   I'm nervous!  Thanks again!

IMHO --

Order from Vitalady (it's just easy that way).  Also, I'd recommend getting the proferin.  I found that all those iron pills on the Vitalady plan were just too much for me to swallow with all the other ones. 

I tried to get ready prior to surgery.  What I'd recommend now in hindsight is:

- order a few of the protein packets from Vitalady -- you can try different ones and see what works for you. 
- do NOT use ho****er to make your protein drinks.  Use cold water.  Ho****er "cooks" the protein.  Who  knew?  I didn't in the beginning and had a very chunky protein drink that was gross!

- the blender bottle referenced in various posts here is really cool.  I don't know WHY this works, but it does.  And it's fairly inexpensive.  It's the only way I make my protein shakes.

- you have to measure your water intake in the beginning -- I had one cup I did this with that I got from the hospital.  After a while it got gross.  If your hospital doesn't have one, I found that bottled water worked better for me b/c I at least knew when finished a bottle I had 16.9 oz of water.  If you can find a cup that has markings, that'll make life easier for you.  I tracked all my fluids (and so did my caretakers) so this is what helped keep us all on the same page.

- buy bigger underwear.  I know, that sounds crazy.  But really, I bought one size bigger (just 2 pkgs) and the extra room was REALLY nice to have as I recuperated.  [FYI - I was a lap converted in the OR to open - so this may not apply to everyone]

- if you do get an open incision, order a hospital bed for when you are home.  I couldn't sleep anywhere (not my bed with 1,000 pillows, or the recliners) -- the hospital bed worked for me and my local pharmacy delivered it -- the cost was about $300 for three weeks, without insurance coverage.  It was worth every penny. 

- get yourself a pill organizer for your vitamins.  I ordered one from amazon.  It always opened in my briefcase/purse.  A fellow DS'er recommended going to Joann Etc (a fabric store) and getting "bead" holder -- these holders have a "lock" mechanism so you need 2 hands to open them.  It's been a great way to store the pills.  And on sale I think I paid $2 for each 7-pill container compartment.  I used to do AM, Mid-Day, PM, Eve in one "sleeve" -- now I do one sleeve for AM, one for Mid-Day, one for PM and one for Eve -- I don't know why it makes a difference but I found that making this change makes me a LOT better about having the vites and taking them at those times. 

- TAKE PICTURES.  I took pictures of myself the week before (full body profile, full body head-on shot).  None that I'd probably ever show anyone, but to get the idea of what my body looked like.  I take pictures once a month in the same place, the same way.  I haven't done a comparison yet, but know that one day I'll want to.  I also had my wife take pictures of me when I was just home from the hospital -- not the profile shots, but what my incisions looked like, how bruised my stomach was with all the staples, etc.  I look at that picture every now and again and recall just what I went through -- it's a good reminder for those of us that are more visual.  You think you won't forget about how you felt, but you will.

- Take your measurements.  Some will tell you that you loose inches at times when the scale is not moving. 

- If you can, write yourself a letter about how you feel TODAY -- in your body.  What hurts, what doesn't feel "right"; the concerns you have about maintaining the weight you are at (if you weren't to have surgery).  While you may not look at it for a while, it's absolutely amazing how you can forget the pain of surgery, or the pain of feeling like you're going to burst out of your own skin. 

I'll stop the list now -- but hope that some of this at least helps.  :)  I always feel better thinking I can DO something to prepare.  Best of luck!

-

 Thank you!
You have given me great information.  
Tomorrow I'm going out to buy bigger underwear!  Who would of thought!  
I keep adding things to my list and printing important info from this forum.
Thank so much everyone!
August 25!  Yikes!