Hi All I am looking for info for vitamins. Does anyone know if there is brand out there made special for bariatric patients? I want to stalk up.  It is so confusing on what vitamin to take and how much. I know my doc will give me that info but I want to get as much info as I can on my own as well. 

Hey Kessy...

Great news...congrats!

The start of your new life and at 28...wow wish I had it done when I was still alot younger. Anyway hopefully soon my date will be posted up as well (but I'll be 48 this year)!

Good luck to you and make sure you keep us posted. For the cigarettes...think of it that if you were pregnent you would need to stop for the health of your baby...now it's for you so I think that it's an important time to stop. I have a friend who had surgery and did not stop smoking completely (she was a light smoker anyways) but she decided not to stop and she had alot of complications with the healing process. Problems persisted well into a few years after surgery. So think very carefully about the smoking...ultimately the decision will be up to you.

Take care and have a great weekend!
Ada

Hi Kessey,

As Derek said, smoking presents potential danger with any kind of surgery. My understanding is that the two main issues with it are the decreased lung function - which makes general anesthesia more risky - and the fact that smoking hinders cicatrization.

I was a heavy smoker myself - 25-30 cigs/day for 7 years - until I decided I wanted WLS and decided that I wanted to stop smoking before that happened. I had tried everything to quit before - patches, nicotine gum, fake plastic cigs that give you a shot of nicotine when you suck on them, you name it and I'd tried it, all to no avail.

So, my last resort was medication, Champix to be exact. And to my great surprise, it worked! I've been smoke-free for exactly 9 months to the day! The way Champix works is that once you've accumulated enough of it in your body, it totally cuts off any physical craving you might have for cigarettes. It's supposed to take 6-8 days before that happens (you keep smoking while taking it, until you no longer feel like smoking at all); in my case, I had to take it for 4 weeks before the cravings disappeared. But when they did, it was total and absolute, to the point that when I tried to take a drag I found it absolutely revolting! And I haven't smoked since - although, I admit sometimes the "head craving" still manifests itself (and yes, I've been known to follow strange smokers on the street just so that I could inhale a bit of their second-hand smoke!).

Now, while all this seems miraculous - and in a way it is - as with everything else, it has its downsides: the list of potential side-effects is quite long and you have to take it for 14 weeks, which is a bit of a committment. But honestly, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I'd never imagined that living smoke-free could be so nice!

Good luck and congratulations on getting your surgery date!

Monica

Congrats Kessy. I am so happy for you.  Good Luck.  Doris QC.

 Hi everyone well thanks for taking the time to read my posts. I finally was approved after 4 years of waiting. I cried and was so emotional and I still am emotional. Does anyone have any information that would be helpful? Such as Protein suggestions and vitamin supplements. I know in the states they have suppliments meaning vitamins made for bariatric patients. I can't keep ordering from the states and then have to go there to pick it up. Also I seen on the US forum that some had posted about Iron Pills. Is that something you need to take? My sugeon did not mention Iron pills to me. I am very excited but more scared and have that feeling of just scrapping the idea. Only cause I am scared and worried about health issues afterwards. Right now I only have tyroid problems and I have a feeling it will be more problems after. IDK that is probably just me. Please anyone if you have any suggestions on vitamins, protein shakes would be great. Can't wait to start my new life