Please please help!!!

Hello, My name is Danielle and I was wondering if you folks might be able to help me. I had a VSG in April of 2007 and got pregnant 6 months later. The pregnancy went fine besides loosing a ton more weight and hardly being able to keep food down for most of the time.  3 months post partum I have developed numbness and tingling in my hands and feet and sometimes I have really bad pain in my spine with zappy feelings in my back. My muscles feel weak sometimes and twitch a lot.  I feel overwhelmed with depression and sometimes have full blown panic attacks. I am afraid I am dying.  The soles of my feet and my hands turn bright red and feel so numb sometimes.  I lost the tastebuds on half of my tongue (They grew back in a week) and get white patches inside my right cheek (Like I bit my cheek while chewing).  I get a rash on my arms when I carry something. Not like a raised bumpy rash, but a rash like under my skin,blotchy red. It goes away in a few minutes. I wake up at night in a panic and have a hard time going back to sleep. I get dizzy when I first stand up and I get constipated a lot.(sorry, TMI) Also my hands and feet get cold a lot. I am losing hair like crazy. I have dry skin and chapped lips chronically. My hands shake a lot too. Sorry this is so scatterbrained sounding, that is just how my brain is lately. I have three children, only one was born post VSG. I read that weight loss surgery can sometimes bring diseases on in patients. Did I doom myself? Or does this sound like something else?

The only thing I have been told is I may be deficient in some vitamins. I admit I have eaten not good since surgery and I havenot take a vitamin regularly since surgery. Any feedback is so appreciated!!!

Thank you! 

I have had MRI's on mt brain and neck. I have seen a neuro and Chiropractor.  MRI's were normal, only one small cyst that doc was not concerned about.

Good Morning Danielle, have you checked with your surgeon?  how was your last CBC?  I know I've read some where those symptoms are from a lack of vitamin B (I sure hope someone else replies to you that has had this issue)

I would recommend you put this on the main board and see if anyone else responds.

First.... get yourself a B-50 or B-100 complex and start taking it immediately.  These are classic symptoms of B deficiencies. (numbness in hands/feet, scattered thoughts, fatigue) B Vitamins are water soluble, so even if your body doesn't need it, it'll just pee it out - this is not a toxic vitamin, so you're safe to supplement on your own for now. 

Second... get to the doctor and get a full panel of labs drawn.  A full WLS panel.  (That's about 11 to 13 vials of blood.)  Here's the list of what is drawn for RNY, not sure what's needed for VSG, but I'd suggest you take this list to the doctor and get most of these done. 
http://pamtremble.blogspot.com/2008/10/labwork-recommendatio ns-after-wls.html

Third ... Make VITAMINS your new religion.  Really... your life depends on it.  Go to Walmart and pick up a bottle of Centrum Chewable Multi-Vitamins (while you're buying your B-Complex).  Then do whatever it takes to get those vitamins in your body every single day.  Set alarms on your cell phone, carry pills with you everywhere so when you remember you are taking one, have a friend check on you everyday to keep you accountable... whatever it takes.  There's NO excuse for not taking your vitamins.  Just do it.

Fourth ... make sure you're getting enough protein.  The hair loss is probably a result of the pregnancy since that is one of the triggers for hair loss.  But protein intake is also a trigger... if you're not getting enough protein the body will abandon hair health for other life sustaining function like fueling muscle (heart), repairing damaged cells and building new red blood cells.

Please keep us posted and let us know what your labs show.

Pam

Thank You So much!! I am going to see a rhumatologist on Monday morning and get some peace of mind. My husband thinks I am crazy and asking for trouble seeing a RHum, but I am scared out of my mind. However, my syptoms are not constant, they way they might be if it really was MS or a autoimmune disease. Wow, this is scary. I went to Vitalady and she totally hooked me up, but she was out of stock on Sublingual B's, So I will got to SUper Supplements down the road.  I will keep you posted, thanks so much for the great info on vitamins and labs. I will use it!

Thanks again!!