bruising

I am nine weeks out of my open DS and have noticed I bruise very easily. I never had an issue before is this due to low iron? not sure what my levels are I am not set for a check up till the end of the month. I currently take a chewable iron of 18 mg (1x daily) is what the Dr prescribed after surgery. also a multivitamin (4x daily) and calcium (3x daily) Thanks in advance!

You are no way on near enough supplementation UNLESS you are basing it on post op LAB work! Bruising is related to vit K.

Okay, some links for you:

http://www.gblcreations.com/Resources/Gina/VitaLadysLabsandT argets_11-2009.doc

http://www.gblcreations.com/Resources/Gina/ProgramDRNY_ERNY_ BPDDS3-2010.pdf

http://www.nal.usda.gov/wicworks/Topics/FG/AppendixC_Nutrien tChart.pdf

18mg 1 a day isn't going to be enough long term but hopefully you will be reading those links Liz posted and make some adjustments after your labs.

My surgeon had me on less than adequate supplementation too and he finally agreed to let me try Vitalady at 9 months post-op after watching my labs get worse. By 12 months post-op my labs were perfect.

The illustration Liz posted has the dotted lines indicating where you aren't absorbing any more. They bring the illium portion up and attach it to a stump of the duodenum, so everything that's absorbed in the duodenum and the jejunum isn't there in the food chain any more. That's the reason for the high dose requirements. Areas that weren't designed to absorb many nutrients now try to. This first year or so is the worst.

Try to increase your iron and get started on some dry vitamin K1. Good luck!  :)

--gina

Bruising is probably more to do with vit K than iron. I imagine that you are heading into your 3 month checkup. Is that right? If so make sure they do Vit K on the labs. Also, they may have done labs while you were in the hospital right after surgery. Do comparisons on the values then vs your most recent labs. Even if things are still in the "normal" range if you see a trend down discuss with your Doc.

Having said that you are more likely to see trends at 6 to 9 months because you start out using vits stored in your body. It's when those start to run out that you can more easily see a downward trend. Check your dosages on the multi - how much vit K is in each one? I lately changed from 600 mcg to 1000mcg (micrograms) of vit K1 because I was a little low at my 9 month labs.