Got a approved and have a date!!

[Brandy Rediker]

Hello all, sorry I haven't been on in awhile, I lurk from time to time but haven't posted anything. I just got back from our little vacation and have been resting up. That long ride wore me out. Anywho, the day before I left for vacation I got my call I've been waiting for. I've been approved and I have my date for Aug. 5th with Dr. Sudan. I'm so freaking excited. I also filled out a application for Celebrate Vitamins for financial assistance and was approved for 50% off all my orders with free delivery. That helps out a lot til I'm able to find a job once I'm able to start working. I have many questions but one that is bothering me is the vitamins. It's all so overwhelming. Just so many and I'm so afraid I'm gonna mess up. I've got vitalady's schedule to go by but still it's just so much to take in. Did any of you guys worry about the same thing?

I go this Monday for a group meeting, see Dr. Sudan and then have some more pre-op testing done. Will be there all day. I will have a list wrote down of a lot more questions, but I trust you ladies more...Can't wait to join you guys on the other side!!

 

[brooklyngirl]

Brandy- it's not confusing once you get started, what was more confusing to me was getting the prepackaged vitamins and trying to figure out how to introduce them slowly and what to do with all the packets that were open and half used. Get a vitamin sorter (or a few) that have 4 compartments and fill it up for the week (or month like some ppl do) then set timers and it's no biggie. Congrats on your date!

 

[Brandy Rediker]

Thank you @brooklyngirl I'm looking into buying a couple of the sorters. I would rather sort them out then take them directly from the bottle. Should I start my vitamins before surgery or how long after surgery should I start taking them? Here's another question, I know you can get your fat from things like butter, heavy whipped cream, mayo and what not but how good is it to get from animal fat? Do you guys eat the fat from steaks, pork and chicken?
I'm pretty sure I'll have more questions to ask in the coming weeks. =) Please bare with me on this. I've done all my research, reading everything but I just feel I guess I'm gonna do everything all wrong.

 

[brooklyngirl]

@Brandy Rediker I'm still a newbie myself, only 11 months out, I'm not sure of the answer to your question about taking vitamins before surgery, but I don't think it'll hurt to get your levels up. Have you had blood work so you know what's high/low/in range? I wouldn't add a bunch of supplements without knowing that info, except probably calcium, iron and vitamin D

As far as animal fat, remember that butter and heavy cream ARE animal fats, the come from an animal, but yes, I think probably everyone would say they eat fatty cuts of meat, that's the best part of having the DS over other WLS because it's actually possible to feel satisfied from the food that we can eat. It's hard for me to keep low carb, I constantly struggle, but the struggle is made easier when I can have heavy cream in my coffee, tons of cheese, bacon almost everyday, and real blue cheese dressing

I would suggest you read all the back threads here, the site is still relatively new, so you won't be going back years, only a few months, but there will be a lot of helpful info for you. Also, have you read DSfacts.com?

 

[Elizabeth N.]

Half price on Celebrate vitamins would buy you a crapload of actual useful stuff. Why waste ANY money on that crap?

If you can't afford the entire Vitalady schedule to start and you absolutely must squeeze every nickel till the buffalo farts, here's what I suggest:

1. Costco Kirkland regular (not senior) multis or any other generic brand regular multi that's comparable to Centrum. Take 3-4 a day. At Costco price of ~$12 for 500 and 4 a day it's a 4 month supply.

2. Any generic calcium citrate horse pill EXCEPT Costco, which will give you way too much B6 in our dose levels. For now, put a 600 mg elemental equivalent dose, which will be 2-3 pills, in a little water, like a shot glass. They will fall apart and you can take them like powder. RiteAid's version is 120 pills for $10.50 online. At 3 2 pill doses a day (the minimum for us), that's a three week supply.

3. D3 50K and dry A 25K from Vitalady. D is 100 pills $20ish, A is 100 pills $6ish. One a day is three month supply, takes you to first labs.

4. Iron, whatever kind doesn't rot your gut, but nothing plant source and not that cheap crap. I don't know what it costs because I don't take oral iron (I get infusions) and I've gotta hit post and get to my next meeting . But the Celebrate stuff is inadequate and overpriced and tastes like ass IMO.

Those first four are absolute non-negotiable. If you can't swing those, cancel your surgery.

5. A zinc/copper combo might be in order, but 4 Kirkland multis a day gives you quite a bit of copper and zinc. I have to use additional zinc but that's based on labs.

6. You MIGHT need an additional B complex, but again, 4 Kirkland multis is a LOT of B's and folate. I toss back an additional Vitalady B12 sublingual once a week or so when I remember it. I've been low in B12 a lot in this lifetime, and have not needed an injection since I went to the Kirkland multis.

7. K1 and K2 are good to start immediately but could conceivably wait for a little bit. But not terribly long. The Vitalady brand gives your great bang for your buck (it's the same as Biotech brand on Amazon, which I sometimes find on sale, and I have Prime so I don't pay extra for shipping.)

5-7 are not really negotiable, but are not AS important to have on hand instantly. (Unless you're already deficient; get that stuff tested!)

The other stuff in the prepack is good but not essential if you are unable to swing the prepack. While IMO it is far better to start high on supplements and adjust downward if appropriate, it is not mandatory if you can't afford it. But the stuff listed above is not optional. In particular, DO NOT skimp on the type of A and D. Celebrate has none of that stuff in those doses.

 

[Elizabeth N.]

PS. These are POSTOP dosages.

 

[Brandy Rediker]

@Elizabeth N., I couldn't find Vitamin A at all on their website (Celebrate). Thanks for letting me know that they aren't that great in giving me the proper vitamin needs. I don't mind buying from Vitalady, I am going to buy her 30 day prepackage regimens to get me started. I already have my protein powder mix and will be buying some of the pre-mixed drinks also. I don't have a Costco anywhere near by. Can I order these thru Costco online? I have some labs already done. I will try to post them if I can. I think I posted on here about my Vit. D or it might have been on FB I don't remember.

Right now I'm not working but once I'm able to work after my surgery I wont worry so much about affording them. I just have to get thru the next couple of months. My husband will be trying to get me on working with him, and boy I can't wait. I've been a stay at home mom for 6 yrs now and I can't wait to get back into the work field. My youngest is in school now so this mommy is ready. The last two times I was turned away from both jobs because they felt my weight would get in the way. So every since then I have shied away from looking for work.

I have one more question, the first couple of weeks after surgery, when it comes to getting enough fluids in I know we can eat Popsicle, and those ice pops all those have to be SF right? I know the ice pops have like 8 grams of sugar in them per 1. Is that a lot? I don't mind SF jello or pudding and popsicles don't bother me either I just want to make sure before I go out and buy the stuff.

Thank you again EN you helped me once before on this same subject on FB. I saved that information on my laptop but I sold it and didn't save anything before I sold it. I just feel like I'm gonna do something stupid and mess everything up. I hope I'm not the only person out there who feels this way. Ughhh!! I'll get it, just gonna take some time!

 

[Terri]

I just a month post op and so far have only been getting in A, D, E, K, calcium and multi. My doctor my B12 was a bit low pre op so I am doing shots. I give them to myself 2x a month. I haven't started iron because when I tried they made me ill and I think I may not absorb oral iron as I was taking iron 3x a day 6 months prior to surgery and was still low. I am getting new iron, ferritin, etc labs done next week and will probably end up with infusions.

 

[chevtow]

The vitamins and labs will definitely be the sticky part of this deal for me. I'm going with pre packaged when I start. How many vets continue to use pre packaged Vitalady stuff ? Or do most of you piece together your regimen based on sales and such? I'm not afraid to pay a small premium to make life easier. My business keeps me busy enough without having to constantly be on the lookout for vites on sale. OR is buying them separate a BIG savings?

 

[brooklyngirl]

The prepackaged regimen was a waste of money for me. I can't stomach the iron and don't need the Bs, copper or zinc. It was a giant pain in the neck to try to introduce them slowly that way as well. I understand the convenience factor, especially if you need everything in the set, but for me it wasn't worth the expense at all. Plus, I ended up with a ton of opened baggies with incomplete sets that I had to sit and sort out later on anyway. My opinion is that if you have to focus on cost, then do what EN stated above.

 

[Elizabeth N.]

The vitamins and labs will definitely be the sticky part of this deal for me. I'm going with pre packaged when I start. How many vets continue to use pre packaged Vitalady stuff ? Or do most of you piece together your regimen based on sales and such? I'm not afraid to pay a small premium to make life easier. My business keeps me busy enough without having to constantly be on the lookout for vites on sale. OR is buying them separate a BIG savings?

You'll save a bit of money if you buy her DS set not prepackaged. You'll spend an hour or so once or twice a month parceling everything into daily batches, if you are inclined to pre sort.

 

[chevtow]

Thanks, I didn't realize she had "sets" or "kits". I thought they were all just pre-packaged. The money isn't a big factor ( I don't want to flush it away either) but convenience is. I can handle sorting them out occasionally, at least I think so Might end up just having a bucket of pill bottles and taking the ones I need, but I bet that actually takes longer than just sorting them 2x a month.

I know I've seen this before but I'm going to ask anyway ---- do you start taking vites immediately after surgery, or is it more like a few weeks before you start? Is starting before surgery a good idea? Right now I take a multi in morning and at night, is that enough pre-op?

 

[brooklyngirl]

If I knew as a pre-op what I know now, I would've had my levels checked and brought my stores up before surgery. I also would've protein loaded to help with post-op healing.

 

[Brandy Rediker]

Component


Standard Range


Your Value

Hemoglobin A1C


4.3 - 6.0 %


5.0

THE ADA HAS MADE THE FOLLOWING RECOMMENDATIONS
HBA1C results in the range of 5.7-6.4 % are suggestive of
prediabetes.
HBA1C results in the range of > or = 6.5 % are diagnostic for
diabetes.

Average Blood Glucose (Calc)




92



Component


Standard Range


Your Value

Folate (Folic Acid)


>6.5 ng/mL


21.9



Component


Standard Range


Your Value

Vitamin D 1,25 Dihydroxy, Serum


18 - 78 pg/mL


96



Component


Standard Range


Your Value

Vitamin A Assay




VITAMIN A 38.0 ug/dL
Normal Range: 20 - 100 ug/dL



Component


Standard Range


Your Value

Vitamin B-12, Assay Serum


123 - 730 pg/mL


317



Component


Standard Range


Your Value

TSH


0.34 - 5.66 uIU/mL


0.61



Component


Standard Range


Your Value

Ferritin


11 - 204 ng/ml


42



Component


Standard Range


Your Value

Sodium


135 - 145 mmol/L


138

Potassium


3.5 - 5.0 mmol/L


3.4

Chloride


98 - 108 mmol/L


107

CARBON DIOXIDE (CO2)


21 - 30 mmol/L


22

BUN


7.0 - 20.0 mg/dL


10.0

Creatinine


0.4 - 1.0 mg/dL


0.6

Calcium


8.7 - 10.2 mg/dL


8.9

Protein, Total


5.8 - 7.8 g/dL


7.2

Albumin


3.5 - 4.8 g/dL


3.8

Bilirubin, Total


0.4 - 1.5 mg/dL


0.6

Alkaline Phosphatase


24 - 110 U/L


58

AST


15 - 41 U/L


21

ALT


14 - 54 U/L


23

Glucose


70 - 140 mg/dL


71

Please note that the above listed reference range
is for NONFASTING GLUCOSE levels only. FASTING GLUCOSE
reference ranges are shown below:
FASTING GLUCOSE REFERENCE RANGE
NORMAL: 70 - 99 mg/dL
PREDIABETES: 100 - 125 mg/dL
DIABETES: > 125 mg/dL



Component


Standard Range


Your Value

Vitamin D Total, 25OH




21

25 OH Vitamin D Status
----------------------------
<10 ng/mL Deficiency
10-30 ng/mL Insufficiency
30-100 ng/mL Sufficiency
>100 ng/mL Toxicity

 

[Brandy Rediker]

I'm sorry if this is so long, I tried to upload the file but it wouldn't let me. Anyway this is all the test Dr. Sudan done. I was told everything looked fine, what do you guys think? Is there anything I should work up before surgery? I trust you guys better then the dr on this....