post-DS pregnancy
hey everyone,
so the boy and i have decided we're going to try and have a baby. i'm going to wait till november, which makes me officially one year out (my surgeon's suggestion when i asked him preop), but i'm not super concerned for the fetal nutrition becuase my weight has been very stable for a fwe months now.
what i am however concerned about is the scarcity of info regarding how much of what vitamins I should take, exactly. i've read anything from "just take 4 prenatals" (presumably on top of my regular vitamin regime) to "just take some extra folate". does anyone have anything more specific? did any of you lovely ladies here have pregnancies post-DS and want to share some of your wisdom?
thanks so much,
nic
so the boy and i have decided we're going to try and have a baby. i'm going to wait till november, which makes me officially one year out (my surgeon's suggestion when i asked him preop), but i'm not super concerned for the fetal nutrition becuase my weight has been very stable for a fwe months now.
what i am however concerned about is the scarcity of info regarding how much of what vitamins I should take, exactly. i've read anything from "just take 4 prenatals" (presumably on top of my regular vitamin regime) to "just take some extra folate". does anyone have anything more specific? did any of you lovely ladies here have pregnancies post-DS and want to share some of your wisdom?
thanks so much,
nic
well I'd assume you'd have to take more than a RNY'er when pg (since you are DS), but this is what I've been told to take- that's on top of what I normally take on a daily basis. I just take a prenatal vitamin before bed at night and 800 mcg of extra folic acid, along with what I normally take each day (centrum vitamin, b12, and my calcium citrate). I also have to do blood screens every 3 months to check my vitamin levels. I'd ask your bariatric doc what you as a DS patient should take. That's what I did when I got pg and they told me what to do. GL!
Hit goal weight of 140 at 13 months out from RNY!! 130 pounds GONE! 
Welcome!! You'll see a few post-op DSers on here --
Here's my experience : NO ONE KNOWS WHAT WE SHOULD TAKE.
If you ask 100 doctors you'll get 100 opinions *sigh*.
My OB freaked out about how much vitamin A I took (dry ADE pills) -- as for a "normal" person vitamin A can be toxic to a fetus. But -- I asked repeatedly -- does that apply to us since we don't absorb it ?!?!? No one knows.
One theory - and the one I like to believe - is that as long as our blood levels of something (say Vitamin A) are in normal range it doesn't matter how much we ingest -- it gets to the baby only after we aborb (or don't).
However -- I was chicken and cautious. I made sure before I as ready to conceive my levels were on the high end of normal....
(A Note : Prior to being pregnant I took quite a few vits to keep my levels high/normal -- some DSers do, some don't... so know your style)
When I got pregnant I took 4 prenatals three times a day (for a total of 12 prenatals a day) and extra tender iron with those, 2 doses of calcium w/ magnesium and D. I left out my ADEKs.
My vitamin A and K tanked while pregnant -- so did my D. So towards the end I added in some ADE's again (not as many as pre-pregnancy) and I also had to take selenium as I guess my normal Vita4Life has it and my prenatals didn't so my levels dipped.
After giving birh (and admittedly slacking off on my vitamins) my levels were in the toilet (ha - no pun intended) so I am working on getting them where they need to be.
Anyway --- Baby Cooper Lincoln is a little over 3 months old and "perfect" !!!!!!!!!!!
Good Luck!
Cindy
Oh - I almost forgot! DSers still have the "intrinsic" factor in their stomach (since we have stomachs not pouches) so we absorb B vitamins without having to supplement out the-wazoo. (In fact, a lot of DSers find their b12 / folate levels off the chart high because the multis they take have so much B in them!). So you don't have to up your folate / B vitamins as much as a RNYer does. I didn't worry about B vits at all since my levels are always super-crazy.
Here's my experience : NO ONE KNOWS WHAT WE SHOULD TAKE.
If you ask 100 doctors you'll get 100 opinions *sigh*.
My OB freaked out about how much vitamin A I took (dry ADE pills) -- as for a "normal" person vitamin A can be toxic to a fetus. But -- I asked repeatedly -- does that apply to us since we don't absorb it ?!?!? No one knows.
One theory - and the one I like to believe - is that as long as our blood levels of something (say Vitamin A) are in normal range it doesn't matter how much we ingest -- it gets to the baby only after we aborb (or don't).
However -- I was chicken and cautious. I made sure before I as ready to conceive my levels were on the high end of normal....
(A Note : Prior to being pregnant I took quite a few vits to keep my levels high/normal -- some DSers do, some don't... so know your style)
When I got pregnant I took 4 prenatals three times a day (for a total of 12 prenatals a day) and extra tender iron with those, 2 doses of calcium w/ magnesium and D. I left out my ADEKs.
My vitamin A and K tanked while pregnant -- so did my D. So towards the end I added in some ADE's again (not as many as pre-pregnancy) and I also had to take selenium as I guess my normal Vita4Life has it and my prenatals didn't so my levels dipped.
After giving birh (and admittedly slacking off on my vitamins) my levels were in the toilet (ha - no pun intended) so I am working on getting them where they need to be.
Anyway --- Baby Cooper Lincoln is a little over 3 months old and "perfect" !!!!!!!!!!!
Good Luck!
Cindy
Oh - I almost forgot! DSers still have the "intrinsic" factor in their stomach (since we have stomachs not pouches) so we absorb B vitamins without having to supplement out the-wazoo. (In fact, a lot of DSers find their b12 / folate levels off the chart high because the multis they take have so much B in them!). So you don't have to up your folate / B vitamins as much as a RNYer does. I didn't worry about B vits at all since my levels are always super-crazy.
Surgery on 4/25/05 , Dr. Alverdy in Chicago. God Bless the DS !!!
Highest Weight = 412lbs, Surgery Weight = 359lbs, Current Weight = 155lbs (5'7" tall)http://www.picturetrail.com/gid8138761
I am 8 and a half years post-op. I am currently pregnant with number 3 and have 1 year old twins as well.
With the twins, I took 1 prenatal, calcium, and 1 1000 mg folate. I needed a series of 3 iron infusions with both the twins and with this current pregnancy. However, it did the trick. My iron levels are ok as of last week. My other vitamin levels are just fine as well.
I have never been told to quadruple my vitamin dosage, but that was just me, and that was my RE and OB telling me that. Every patient is different.
With the twins, I took 1 prenatal, calcium, and 1 1000 mg folate. I needed a series of 3 iron infusions with both the twins and with this current pregnancy. However, it did the trick. My iron levels are ok as of last week. My other vitamin levels are just fine as well.
I have never been told to quadruple my vitamin dosage, but that was just me, and that was my RE and OB telling me that. Every patient is different.
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