Pre-op done, and a diet "concern"

 Alright, we went for our pre-op appointment Tuesday. We also had our first dietary teaching class. 

First off, he said my common channel will be 125 and my husbands will be 75-100. I know someone asked about that, so I asked. 

Now, my post-op diet concern. So many artificial foods were recommended. I understand immediately post op, but long term? We don't do artificial sweeteners, and there are lots in things they recommend. I thought I was good to go with stevia, but the PA told me it is a "real" sugar and will cause gas/diarrhea. We also try to do organic/fresh on everything. The protein shakes have artifical sweeteners in them too. The other stuff, soups and bars, have tons of preservatives. Did anyone else get concerned with this, or is it just me? 

Stevia is fine from all I've heard and read, not sure where he's coming from on that and I think he's wrong. The protein shakes I drink are sweetened with Splenda and I don't have trouble with it but you could get unflavored and sweeten with stevia/Truvia or use the unflavored in savory dishes, or opt not to use protein powders at all. Not a thing wrong with going as natural as possible and avoiding the overly processed cardboard diet food. Probably a lot better for you jus****ch for too much sugar and make sure you get around 100 grams of protein a day.

--gina

 Did they encourage you to purchase their products?  When I was there for a consult I noticed few folks buying the products.  I didn't realize what they were doing until you mentioned it in your post. 

 No, they did not encourage. They let us know they were available, but that was all. We bought some Matrix, but that was all (so far). :)

 Thanks.  My pre-op nutrition class in next week with surgery on Wednesday 11/16 so I wanted to be prepared if I had to buy more stuff!  Good to know I can stick to what I want to buy as long as it as on the suggested list.  I have purchased a few sample protein shakes from Vitalady to try before buying larger quantities to get in my proteins.  I am concerned with artificial sweeteners as I do have headaches and try to minimize the amount of artificial sweeteners in my diet.

Best of luck to you and your husband on Monday.

 You do have to buy more vitamins, but they are only $30 for 3 months worth. 

We were so concerned about post-op vitamin costs, but I figured it up today and it is only $30/month. No biggie at all. I am going to order a sample pack of the nectars from the Syntrax and hope to get a sample pack from Matrix too. I will worry later about finding better options. 

Are you sure you're getting sufficient vitamins on $30/month? I'm planning my vitamins for post-op and am looking at closer to $100/month for just myself. Are you going by Vitalady's plan or your surgeon's? Because what your surgeon is recommending is almost certainly insufficient.

 I piece together everything I ge****ching for BOGO sales, and I'm averaging around $30/month.  I take 14 vitamins a day.  If you're not trying for some magical multi, it IS possible.

 My post op vitamins are recomended by my physician, I have no idea what this plan you speak of is. I will be taking the bariatric multi-vitamins, calcium, vit D and vitamin A. 

What you are describing is what VSG or a RNY post-op needs, you need much, much more than that as a DS post-op. Most of the DS surgeons are completely clueless about post-op vitamin/nutrition needs. Check this out, this is what most of the DSers on this board follow:

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/ds/4103619/VitaLadys-Jan-2010-DS-Plan-amp-Shopping-List-OH-Formatting/