Post DS Complications 3 months later. Fainting, dumping syndome, low energy

And i forgot to add, yes i am taking enough salt. My sodium level as of October was 147 which is 3 points higher than normal.

Hi. thx for the advice. i got a blood glucose monitor 3 days ago. And its all within normal ranges. morning or fasting is around 80-90. and after meals is around 110-120.

Fainting could be many things - BP, sugar, anemia. It could be dehydration. Honestly two liters is the minimum you should get in. With the DS you can get dehydrated so easily. The only time I fainted was because I was dehydrated - post plastic surgery, fainted right after I was discharged. Ended up with three bags of IV in the ER.

Dumping is a RNY phenomenon because they don't have a prylorus valve, so the food just dumped into their intestines. When they eat too fat, the food simply backs up and if they continue to eat they "dump" what's there. What you're calling dumping, oil slicks, is the malabsorption of fat and oil in your diet. What's your carb intake? What you're describing is what happens to me if I eat alot of fried food and carbs (I'm also 15 years post-op). That's how I know I'm still malabsorbing fat. How much fat are you taking in? If it continues you might want to consult a gastroenterologist.

Did you have your ferritin/iron checked? Could you be anemic? Lethargy is definitely one symptom but there are others.

I hope you find some answers.

interesting advice. it very well could be dehydration. maybe i just need to keep drinking more water but i find that hard to do as i do 2 liters already. what am i suppose to do sip every few minutes? i mean seriously how can i make it work.

Yes my mistake it isnt dumping syndrome but i think you know what i meant. i think its because sometimes i eat high fat high protein foods like steak. thats probably why i sometimes have these oil slicks. i guess i should cut down that fat and eat more lean meats.

My carb intake it good. Every few hours i try and eat a high protein meal, at least 80% i try and keep to eating the protein and the other 20% either veggie or carbs. I will be making an appt with a gastroenterologist soon.

As for ferritin/iron, yes. as of oct. my ferritin is 56 (normal), and iron is 43 (normal) no i dont believe im anemic but i have a cardiologist appt in january.

Lots of great advice already, I'll just add to not assume the vitamin patches are working for you. True, they avoidd the GI malabsorption issue, but from what we've seen over the past few years some people seem to do well with them and others seem to get little to no benefit. So best to do the labs to check your levels and not trust these products.

And i agree with everyone else. Dumping is rare with the DS because we have the normal function of our pyloric valve. People with gastric bypass may or may not dump - some do, some don't, I've seen statistics ranging from 30% t0 70% which just tells me no one really knows what percentage dump. But for us, it's definitely rare, and it sounds like your body is still adjusting to the malabsorption.

Larra

Possibly. I will know in 2 months time on my next bloodwork. I was low on vitamin b6 and D back in October and ive been taking patches since then. if i see the same result in january then i will say they dont work. but if they go to normal ranges, i will say they are working.

and maybe your right my body is still adjusting.

Just a couple of things to add to what was already listed.

Don't wait until you faint to check your blood sugar. Check in the mornings before meals and once during the day to see where you are at. This will be valuable in addition to checking it after a fainting spell. If you are always running low you might eliminate the issue by eating more often as someone suggested but you need some baseline numbers to see.

I'm a little concerned that sometimes your BM is red. Does it remind you of blood red or just some different kind of color that seems red? Can yoy give us some samples of what foods you eat daily? I'm not sure why you would be seeing oil slicks if you are eating mostly protein.

You might want to bite the bullet and just start taking the 50k biotech vitamin d. My experience is that you can go forever adding some D here and some there without seeing an uptick. It won't hurt to take the 50k and you can see where that lands you on a following blood test.

My BM's while loose are not usually watery if I'm on my regular DS diet and not sneaking too many carbs in. I usually go once or twice in the morning and then done for the day. Early on it was a lot more variable but eventually settled down.

No idea of the fainting since it doesn't seem BP related. I forgot to check, I see you are on OTC potassium (I think that is the 199 level). Is it possible your potassium is high?

Pete

I now i have a blood glucose monitor and my levels are normal . 80-90 in mornings/fasting. and 110-120 after a meal. so i guess its a not a blood glucose problem.

Yes ive been tempted to screenshot my poo. the oil slicks do have red in them. blood red. but im sure its not blood. (or maybe it is? i hope not) i wonder if im allowed to post it on here, lol. i guess as other people have said its just the excess fat i just ate. i guess the high fat high protein foods i eat should be cut down to more lean meats.

for some reason i have a habit of vomitting up my vitamins. especially large capsules. thats why i do the patches. i dont have proof they work yet until my next bloodwork in a few months. i hope they do because i cannot stomach taking vitamins. especially not 3 different ones like 3 times a day. that would drive me crazy.

back to the poo debate. most mornings i go twice if the previous day i have eaten too much fats. i guess my body is still adjusting.

and finally my potassium is as of oct. bloodwork is 4.0 (normal)

Honestly 3 vitamins 3times a day will really not be adequate. Many DS'er take 3-5x that. I'm fairly certain you'll pooh-pooh this too as most of the advice you didn't like, but no one can say I'm not trying.

your probably right. if i see the patches dont work on my next bloodwork i guess ill have to find some supplements that i wont vomit out because they are ginormous capsules.