the importance of vitamins

This was posted over on the WLS Lightweights board but I wanted to repost here since its such an important topic.. "VITAMINS - FOR LIFE!!! Does everyone hear this???? VITAMINS FOR LIFE!!!

I work in an Occupational Health Clinic but I have several patients who are WLSers (mostly RNY because that's what's available in our area). Anyway... I was doing a routine physical on one of these patients today - she's about 19 months post-op. She has been having some problems for a few months but has been afraid to see the surgeon because she hasn't taken ANY vitamins for about 9 months (and prior to that it wa**** and miss) and doesn't want to get lectured. She's been getting tingling and weakness in her hands and feet and she can't concentrate. She bursts into tears for no reason at all (which she did during the exam) and it seems to be getting worse.

So... as I'm doing her exam - she starts to get slurred speech and her neurological status starts to deteriorate quickly - can't remember where she is or what year it is. I call 911 and they whisk her off to the ER. I thought she was having a stroke!

The diagnosis - SEVERE MALNUTRITION AND B1 DEFICIENCY!

She will be hospitalized for quite a while to TRY to correct this problem, but I don't know if she will ever be the same.

THIS CAN BE AVOIDED IF YOU TAKE YOUR VITAMINS!!!!!

YOU ARE NOT IMMUNE TO THIS! You could have the most balanced diet on earth, but you still can't absorb the vits that you need from your food so supplementation is necessary for life - I don't care how good your 3, 6, or 12 month labs look...if you stop taking the vits - you WILL develop deficiencies and you may suffer potentially irreversible complications - including death.

OK - I'll grudgingly step down off my soap box now. But have I made my point????!!!"

Geeze! Thanks for sharing that. Pretty scary stuff. "Yabba Dabba Doooooooo!" I'm off to eat my vitamins.

Thanks Jennifer for the reality! 

Thanks for the reminder.

It's so important and I think since we are feeling so much better it's easy to lull ourselves into thinking we don't need to take the vitamin supplements.

... I was sure to take mine this morning ... I'll be after the next dose in an hour or so.

Thanks again,

Barb

 

As always, thank you, Jennifer!

9 months no Vitamins? OMG!!! that is the first thing I do every single morning is take them!!! I might not get in all the protein for the day and I might eat something bad but those vitamins are first and foremost.. thanks for the post Jennifer.

Thanks for the post Jennifer and reminder!

Thanks Jennifer for the reminder.   I have always taken but couldn't keep track so I now carry a pill box in my purse with the days of the week.    Dr. M did scare me with that. Thanks again, Pam

Jennifer,

If you didn't post this to the main forum, please do!  This is SUCH an important aspect of our lives now, and so many people either don't get the information to start with, or just ignore it.  I have seen patients come in with self-induced vitamin deficiency, too, and it is often too late to fix all of their complications.  To think that just following doctor's orders would have prevented a lot of it!  Not that all of our malnutrition is self-induced, but people ... c'mon ... when we're at a high risk to begin with, the least we can do is pop a few pills daily. 

And thanks for the reminder that it's time to go take my calcium right NOW!  lol

Great post Jennifer! Before I could even meet with my surgeon, I had to attend a class and one of the first things the coordinator stressed was the importance of vitamins 'FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.'  She told us that we needed to know that we would need to take vitamins for the rest of our lives, and that if we were unable to commit to that, WLS was not for us.  We even had to sign a contract (obviously just to stress the importance of the vitamins.)  She gave examples of people who stopped taking them, who came in with symptoms of MS and other very serious conditions...all of which were not able to be reversed. Every single morning, I take all of my vitamins and supplements before we even leave the house.  My son even takes 1 multivitamin each morning with me.