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As larra also posted, the all in one bariatric vitamins aren't very good. My surgeon had me on them the first year after my DS and my numbers were so bad I was supplementing with more vitamins than in the original packet (Vita-4-Life). Ultimately gave up the V4L and started individual supplements.
If you stay on what you're taking, have your labs checked in 3-6 months to make sure they're going up and not down.
You'll find something that works!
Janet in Leesburg
DS 2/25/03
Hazem Elariny
-175
It's great that you're making the effort to improve your vitamin intake, but I would caution that these all-in-one products, even if marketed for bariatric patients, and even when ok'ed by the surgeon, tend not to work well for us. Our vitamin needs are different from,and greater than, those for people with the more common gastric bypass, for whom these vitamins are marketed (and they don't always work so well for them either). Also, you can't adjust for too much of one component and not enough of another. That's why most of us take lots of separate vitamins -we get enough of each, not too much and not too little. Yes, it's more effort, but that's what we need to do to maintain our health.
So, check your levels again soon, and be ready to take the separate A, D, K, multi, calcium, zinc, etc. And you don't need yucky tasting powders, just pills. It's well worth the effort, which is to say, YOU are worth the effort.
Larra
Update from original post!
I won't claim to be perfect, but I've been MUCH better about taking my vitamins regularly. I think I've found a regiment that works for me, made specifically for the DS. It tastes a bit like dirt going down, but it's just one managably sized pill (2x daily).
Since my first post I tried the powdered version where you mix with water and drink, and this worked for a couple weeks but then I started to not want to take them again cuz it was three doses a day that tasted like flavored vitamin. Yuk! But I kept searching and found the pills I'm on now, which are from a reputable bariatric vitamin company that my doctor gave the okay for.
Hopefully my numbers will start to rise again (again, just assuming they are low from lack of vitamin intake) with continued use and the scary "you're going to die" threats to my body will remain ideas and not become actual reality. Thank you to all who posted.
:)
Thank you! Every day I say I'm going to do this and every day I get side tracked and eat whatever I have time to..(I know ..my fault) can't control it. Dr didn't do surgery on my brain, only my stomach. I need to learn discipline!
Don't try that - gummies are made with oil which is malabsorbed 80%. You might as well not eat the vitamin.
Listen, if anything, suck them all down at once. Some do okay this way farther out, but some of the vitamins do battle one another for absorption.
Valerie
DS 2005
There is room on this earth for all of God's creatures..
next to the mashed potatoes
I'm 99% sure this is something you're eating causing this problem.
First, look at your protein drink since that's a constant daily thing you're consuming:
- Artificial sweeteners can cause some people distress.
- If you're mixing with milk instead of water - try changing that. Plain milk puts my guts into a terrible state every time even thought I have no problems at all with other dairy.
- Some people are just sensitive to whey protein - even whey isolate (I know I am). Egg white protein tastes better and also lacks that horrible aftertaste.
Next, analyze the beverages you're drinking every day:
- Anything mixed in milk?
- Any artificial flavorings?
- Anything sweet - natural or artificial sweeteners?
Now with any food you're eating:
- Any fiberous fruits? Tomatoes? These can cause diarrhea
- Veggies - What are your staples? It took me a couple of years to realize that my daily staple of onions was causing me daily gas and horrible stinky poops.
- What kind of carbs? Rice and popcorn are guarantees of loose stool for me. Oatmeal in the evening means I will wake up between 5-6am to poop (nice and loose) when I usually don't go until around 8:30am. Popcorn may even get me up in the middle of the night to go when I usually don't have to at all. Pasta and especially whole wheat bread make me blow up like a balloon. Some mystery food on an Indian buffet made me look like Faruka Salt before she turned into a blueberry. Now that I'm 13 years out, I've noticed that I can tolerate some pastas better than others, but I still am wary of them overall. Even whole grains like quinoa may not give gas, but may give diarrhea because of the fiber.
- Fat - too much of a good thing at the early stage isn't always good.
I highly recommend a food journal to start pinning down your contributors. This is easiest if you go down to nearly nothing for a couple of days to what you know isn't causing gas. If you're convinced it's everything or just don't know where to start, go to water and protein drinks made with jus****er and see what happens. If you're still getting it - then switch protein drinks and try an egg based protein. For milk effects - they came within an hour feeling overfull, then gurgles, then bloating and diarrhea came a little later. For carbs, the gas comes around 3-5 hours later. Bloating can come on quickly though. Rice and oatmeal will expand more in your stomach and suddenly make you feel like you're gonna die even when you didn't feel full as you were eating it.
Once you are confident what you are currently eating is not causing problems, you introduce one more food and see how it affects you. You continue doing this daily until you figure out your contributors to the problem and you know what to avoid.
- Fiberous veggies can take 4-5 hours to affect me.
- Artificial sweeteners don't affect me, but others report just an hour or two for effects.
Valerie
DS 2005
There is room on this earth for all of God's creatures..
next to the mashed potatoes
I had a seizure from reactive hypoglycemia, starting about 4 years out from my duodenal switch. I was hospitalized and given the full evaluation, which identified an hour after every meal and 2 am as my most vulnerable times. A nutritionist gave me this advice and it has worked. Never eat carbohydrate without protein and never eat more carbohydrate than protein. Concentrate on at least 5 much smaller meals and eat every 2-3 hours. If you feel symptoms after a meal, eat a small amount of sugar, like a hard candy (believe it or not, candy was a prescription, but just one.) Alcohol causes it about an hour after taking a drink. I eat at 7am, 11 am, 1:30 pm, 4:30 pm, 7pm, with a small snack at bedtime, like cheese and a single cracker. A meal of pure protein doesn't cause hypoglycemia for me, but everyone is different. I wake up at 2 am and have half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole grain bread. I haven't gained weight on this schedule but my meals are as much as a toddler would eat. I am not hungry. I always carry a KIND bar in my bag and have a few hard candies for emergencies. You can research postprandial hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia. I was offered a drug, acarbose, but turned it down after I read about it. Pre-op I had one episode of pancreatitis, gallbladder surgery, and mild noninsulin dependent diabetes of about 4 years duration, treated with metformin. Good luck to her and you are right to be concerned. It is highly treatable in my case, with following the diet rules and I haven't had another seizure from it. My husband has learned that when I say "I have to eat" it doesn't just mean that I am hungry. When I HAVE to eat, I can feel the hypoglycemia coming on. Take care.
ADEK were on my list when I first had my surgery. I take both the K1 and K2, I take mine a different times but with my calcium. Have you check the vitalady website? It's a good starting place then adjust as needed after blood-work. Since starting two years ago my b12 is way high so went down to once a week, everything else in high-normal range, so I just keep everything else the same until my next set of blood-work. Raise and repeat as needed.
Liz
HW: 398.8 SW:356 GW: 175 CW:147
Planning/Preparing
Remember when we were preparing for surgery? How many meetings, classes and such did we attend? We were told the more prepared we were the better our chances were for success. And they were right. Go through the house, car and work place and get rid of trigger foods. Stock up on foods that will keep you on track. I removed every bad carb/sugar temptation and replaced it with lots of protein, veggies, grains and fruits.
Journaling
Get back to journaling. This will help you identify when you feel like eating, stress factors and any triggers in your life. Once you identify these factors, this will help you put tools in place to keep you from eating. It became clear I was not taking time for me anymore. I worked my day job and then spent the rest of my time caring for my husband. It was easy to reach for fast, prepackaged food. Since I purged my home I have to eat clean as there are no other options LOL
Use a tool to track you're eating and exercise like Getting Started with Health Tracker. Once I started to track ever bite and drink it became clear why I had gained.
Goals/Rewards
Make a list of goals for yourself. Make them realistic and small. Some of mine were move more, purge all junk from my home, eat more protein. If you didn't make a Weight Loss Surgery bucket list when you first had surgery do it now. GREAT reminder of all the things you can enjoy in life after losing weight.
Food
In general, a long term post-weight loss surgery eating plan includes foods that are high in protein, and low in fat?, calories, and sugar. Important, vitamins and minerals are provided as supplements. (if you had a different surgery adjust this to your food plan).
Water
Water is our Best Friend. I have to say I never went back to pop or any bad drinks, however I was drinking tea like crazy. What is wrong with drinking tea? I was either using sugar or 3 equals and 3 sweet n lows per 32 ounce glass. I found once I started carrying one of the metal bottles of water to keep it cold I drank water all day.
MOVE!
I can't say enough about how key this was for me. The reason I kept my weight off for almost 10 years was no matter what, I kept moving. If I could not go to the gym I would walk. Grab a cart and walk all the isles at your local box store. I loved Zumba, bootcamp workouts, lifting weights. When I stopped, the weight started coming back. So for me I am starting slow to avoid injury by walking and using some of the workouts on my Demand TV. Find something you love to do and it won't feel like a pain in the *** to do daily.
Support
If it's an option "run" don't walk to a support group. Come here on OH daily for support and participate in one of the food threads. It helps you be accountable and also great ideas for food prep.
Keep me posted on how you are doing.
HW:330 - GW:150 - MW:118-125
RW:190 - CW:130
I supplement both. They are for different things - K1 helps your blood and K2 helps your bones.
Remember you need dry form of all the ADEK vitamins. I get both from Amazon. K2 is also called MK-7. If you google both vitamins you can learn what each one does. I have found over the years that I like to know why I take certain things.
You've proven why getting labs done is so important :)
Janet in Leesburg
DS 2/25/03
Hazem Elariny
-175
