Question:
Had Revision to RNY 02/01/08, have not been back to see my surgeon...
Hi, I had my reviion from stomach stapling over to RNY 02/01/08. I saw my surgeon afterwards on 02/12/08 but have not seen him (or any other Doctor) since. My surgeon's office is a 2.5 - 3.0 hour drive and I kept putting it off, then I kind of justified it to myself, thinking, "I'm doing fine, I'm losing weight, my incision is healing fine, I'm eating the correct foods at the right stages, taking vitamins, Liquid-B Comlpex, Calcium + D, Biotin, taking potassium twice a week, getting in protein first and aiming for 70-80 g of Protein, drinking plenty of water, walking on my treadmill". But the other day I saw someone here mention bloodwork. I have not had any bloodwork since surgery. I am wondering: when, how often are we supposed to have bloodwork and what are they checking? Are there any other tests or whatever I am missing out on? Thanks! — Gina S. (posted on June 21, 2008)
June 21, 2008
P.S. I wanted to add to my question above: I have been checking my blood
pressure and blood sugar at home myself. Both are now normal, (before
surgery I was borderline diabetic and had mild high blood pressure).
— Gina S.
June 21, 2008
My surgeon request blood test every 3-6-9-12 months to make sure everything
is fine...
— dyates2948
June 21, 2008
Most sergeons will have your regular family doctor do the orders for blood
work, and they can give you a list of the things that need to be checked.
I know that I have mine done every 3 months, and the do a A1C (Fasting)
B-12, Iron, Lipid Panel, Cacium, and Vit D as well as a Bone Density at 6
and 12 months. That said, I would still try to get to see your sergeon at
least a 3 and 6 months. I go every month but it is only 35 miles for me.
The check my BMI and Musele Mass and Body Water weight to make sure that I
am drinking the 100 oz a day they require.
— William (Bill) wmil
June 21, 2008
My doctor does not do additional blood work till a patient is 6 months out
... then again I think at 1 yr.
— Tammy Cardwell
June 21, 2008
WOW I too live 3 hours away, 300 miles + round trip. I could not even think
about not going back to the Doctors. This surgery could take your life if
not followed right. That just shocks me, I am not trying to be rude i can
not imagine not returning after having this tool. By the Grace of God This
is my chance to live and I would never jepordise my life again, maybe it is
just me but that really shocks me.
I know my doctor said 2 weeks 6 weeks 3 months 6 and a year. I know how
importan all the blood work is needed for everything that may go wrong. I
just saw my doctor and this was the one thing they stressed how important
it is to return. I suggest going to the Doctor and don't not go because you
have not gone, my doc told me they do not care if 1 2 or 3 years down the
road if i ever start to gain weight to come in they would never think bad
they want to get you back on track.
Best of luck Tammi
— Tammi Sandoval
June 21, 2008
I have done the same thing. I moved out of state and haven't seen my
doctor or any doctor for that matter since December and my surgery was Oct.
31st. You are doing much better than I am though as far as the vitamins
and food goes. I've lost 105 lbs and feeling great, the second month out,
I didn't lose a pound but my doctor said it wasn't uncommon to hit a
plateau so early then New Years day, it started falling off again. I know
I need to see a doctor and will soon. My biggest issue is that I haven't
been back to work since the surgery and so now I don't have insurance but
once I start working again and get insurance, I will be first in line to
get to the doctor's office. Good luck to you.
— PAWLLA L.
June 22, 2008
In a group that I attend this person admitted also that since they had
gained about 40 plus lbs they had not been back to their surgeon due to
they know that the dr will fuss at them. I go as I am suppose to every year
gain or not.
— mspisces
June 22, 2008
Same happened to me...My surgeon is too far and i felt fine so I didn't
bother going in for a labs tot he surgeon...My PCP is totally clueless as
to what tests to run...and so she was not running the right tests...I got
my hands on a list for grads...It seems many deficiencies begin to show up
at 3-4 years...Anyway, I got a hold of the tests and brought the list to my
PCP was was soooo happy to know what to do for me...It was a LOT of
tests...some 12 tubes of blood and sure enough...most of my tests came back
very low/normal or totally deficient...I have a list of tests that are for
yearly visits (As long as things are going well) Here's the thing...I felt
fine...Felt a little "lazy" from the winter....I was anemic and
magnesium deficient, along with very low Vit A and E and Zinc...Low D and
several blood problems from the anemia...I was malnurished and trying to
lose some weight I gained at Christmas...Imagine my surprize when i learned
you can gain weight and yet your body can be starving for vitamins....The
reason...RNYers do not malabsorb calories or sugar...but we do fat and
vitamins/minerals from our food and supps. THIS is why we need to have
labs...COMPLETE and at LEAST yearly.
Most doctors will run these tests if you ask...some have said "Isn't
this a bit overprotective?" The answer to that is "no, I have an
altered anatomy and I am taking my health seriously by asking you to run
these tests and responsibly as my own health care advocate." At this
point you will have your doc ordering all of these tests for you own good!
I was put on 2 months bed rest after my results came back, because my body
was starving and I had no idea how sick I was...Yes...I know...a little too
much info right? Get these tests done AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR!
CBC w/diff
CMP,
LP,
GGT,
Pre-albumin,
Dexa-scan,
LD or LDH,
PO4,
UA,
Phosphorus inorganic,
B12 & Folate,
Vitamin B-1,
Vitamin B-6,
Fe & TIBC & UIBC,
Ferritin,
Vitamins A and E,
Vitamin D,
Zinc,
PTH Intact,
Homocysteine/cardio,
MMA,
Thyroid panel,
Mg, RBC,
Selenium,
Cortisol,
HGB A1C
— .Anita R.
June 23, 2008
Thank YOU Anita for your response. I am 3.5 years out from my RNY. I only
saw my initial doctor who did the surgery for 2 visits, with the last one
only 4 months after my surgery. He truly did not provide me sufficient
information on this life-changing surgery. Then, I had to change doctors
because my health coverage changed.
The new doctors were/are ignorant about what is important for RNY survivors
and because I hadn't had any of their doctors do the RNY surgery, I could
not go to those doctors for help. This left me in complete limbo.
To help myself, this last winter, I started attending a lot of different
support group meetings, driving very long distances. I found some
consistency in what is recommended, found lots of confusion in what is
recommended, but found this source, ObesityHelp.com. A few of the doctors
told me they recommend their RNY patients megadose on vitamins and calcium
citrate (8 prenatal vitamins daily because I'm post-menopausal, and 4,500
mg of calcium citrate), besides drinking 96 oz. of liquids daily, plus no
milk. These doctors regularly follow up with their patients and seem to
know a lot about nutrition and what works for those folks who've had RNY or
lap band surgery. These doctors are with a Center of Excellence in
another area far from my home.
The leader with another support group thought I was being given bad advise
by these doctors and she thought the doctors were quacks. She was recently
hired to bring the Center of Excelence to a local hospital. I didn't know
whom to believe.
So, I decided I would try out what the doctors in the other area
recommended. I went 6 weeks religiously consuming exactly the vitamins et
al I was told to consume and dropping milk out of my diet completely. I
found out that when I dropped milk out of my diet, my weight which
plateaued 2 years ago and which had started to increase (I'd regained 15
lbs), started dropping again AND I felt TONS BETTER! I was a milk-lover,
but I found that without drinking the milk, I actually felt ever so much
better and my body didn't feel sluggish.
Then, I insisted on extensive blood work tests to find out if I was
mega-dosing or not, and if what these other doctors were recommending was
advise from quacks, as maintained by the local person.
Even then, my doctor didn't order the Vitamin A test so I had to go back
for that one. I use FitDay.com to track everything -- my exercise, my
food, the ingredients, etc. According to my records, I was clearly
"overdosing" on vitamins and minerals. But, was I?
Yes, I had about 12 tubes of blood drawn for all the tests. Found out that
I was exactly in the middle on all of the results. No, I was clearly not
overdosing, as was claimed. I was eating what is appropriate for my body,
and taking the right quantities of pills.
But, I was still deficient in one area: I wasn't getting enough of
vegetables into my diet. I complained that my pouch was too small, because
I never had the room to eat more than 2 oz. of carrots a week! The
nutritionist asked me, "Have you considered juicing your fruits and
vegetables?"
Well, in my experience, no doctor or nurse or othe professional has ever
recommended juicing fruits and vegetables for anyone who has had RNY or the
lap band. They should and live would be ever so much easier for folks if
and when they learn to juice their fruits and vegetables!
Now, through learning how to juice my fruits AND VEGETABLES, using a
VitaMix to get to the nutrient-rich leaves of the vegetables, as well as a
Juiceman II for some of my fruits, and using a Magic Bullit for my
smoothies which are packed with Isopure 25 grams of protein, I am getting
good quantities of fruits AND VEGETABLES in my diet. I am able to back off
somewhat from taking 8 pre-natal vitamin tablets daily because my body is
being better nourished. (2.5 cups of vegetables = 6 oz. of juice). I will
get my blood work done again in August checking to see where I am now that
I am getting better nourishment from vegetables (which I was ignoring
before), and adjust my list accordingly, using your complete list as my
reference.
To date, my total weight loss is 135 lbs. I have 40 lbs. to go and am
slowly reducing my size and my weight but building muscles all the while,
and have incredible energy. Now, through proper nutrition, keeping my
daily records in FitDay.com, exercising regularly doing cardio, stretching,
and weight training using free weights, and regularly having my blood work
tested, and being very proactive about me and my health, I know I will
continue to be successful.
Thank you Anita, for this very valuable list of the tests we RNY survivors
need for good health management. Thank you for your wonderful success
story. Thank you, Gina, for posting such a good question!
One last thought: protein is King. I aim for 100 grams daily; but, did you
know that too much protein can and does pack on weight? So, it is
important to not "over-dose" on protein.
What is also wonderful to know is that we CAN DRINK our fruits and
vegetables and get a better balance in our daily nutrition.
Thank you again, Gina for posting this question. Thanks everyone for
responding! Here's to our health!
— Christine Gibson
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