Stuff to know about vitamin A

I’m assuming we all know we need vitamin A.  Like other vitamins, we don’t absorb it real well after RNY, especially ‘cause it’s a fat soluble vitamin and we don’t absorb fats so well anymore.  We need vitamin A to make red blood cells, for our eyesight, and for a healthy immune system.  If you get pregnant, you also need it for the baby to grow and develop properly.

Vitamin A deficiency is a problem after RNY for a couple reasons.  One, we just don’t absorb it too well.  Two, many multivitamins contain something called betacarotene for their source of vitamin A.  Betacarotene isn’t exactly vitamin A, we have to convert it to vitamin A in our bodies.  Only adults don’t covert it well for some reason.  Kids convert it better.  Also, you need lots of stomach acid to absorb betacarotene but we don’t have much stomach acid.  We do much better with retinyl palmitate or retinyl acetate in a supplement. 

Many multis have a combo of betacarotene and one of the retinyls, so we might only absorb some of the vitamin A in our multi.  Flintstones is one multi that has beta carotene for vitamin A.  That’s just one of several reasons that Flintstones are not a good choice for us.

Symptoms of vitamin A deficiency include poor night vision, then other problems with eyesight, dry itchy eyes, dry cracked lips, very dry skin and getting sick easily.  Usually your level is pretty seriously low before you start having symptoms though.  That’s why we need to get our vitamin A level checked along with other labs on a regular basis.  Some docs don’t check vitamin A routinely for some reason, so you may need to ask yours to order that test when you get labs done.

 My 3 month labs didn't include a vitamin A check..would it be advisable to take vitamin A before my next lab  check at one year? and if so in what amount?  thanks for the info Kelly, you rock =)

You getting six month labs done?  It would be advisable to get all your labs done sometime before the one year mark.  But I probably wouldn't worry about your vitamin A at this point.  It's probably good because it would be pretty unsual for someone to be deficient before surgery and you probably wouldn't develop a deficiency this soon.  I mean, you could, it's just not that likely, especially if you're getting the vitamin A you should be getting in your multi.  So I'd just get your A tested whenever you get labs done next.  And make sure your multi has 100% of the RDA in it and you're taking it twice a day.

 I'm pretty sure I don't have 6 month labs because all I have is an appt with my NUT at 6 months and usually the appointment before they will give me the lab sheet to bring in with me so I can have them drawn when I get there and I didn't get one.. should I have my PCP do them at 6 months? all my labs at 3 months were at the top of normal range or actually above normal range.

I'd probably get  them done at six months or if not, at nine months.  I get mine done every six months now but did them every three months the first year.  Stuff can change a lot in six months.

Just realized something very sad, from a product standpoint.  The Bariatric Advantage chewable multi vitamins (I use the French Vanilla) only have Vitamin A from betacarotene.  How ridiculous is that...

You'd think that a company with formulations that are specifically for bariatric patients would KNOW what we can and cannot use...

DOH.


tori

Yeah.  Actually a number of companies that market vitamins to WLS folks use stuff we can't absorb.  Like, Optisource and Bariatric Fusion use calcium carbonate.  I think in many cases they are more about money than about our health.

Wow.  This stuff is good to know!  Thanks!  What about Centrum silver chewables.  Are those generally ok?

Yeah, they are just fine.

 Hi Kelly,

After reading one of your post that talked a little bit about Vit. A, I did a little research and that's when I saw the info. on night blindness with Vit. A deficiency's. I had been having this symptom well before surgery and had discussed it with my eye doctor who never once mentioned that I could have a deficiency she only had me checked for diabetes. (Go figure)

So I did some more research to find a "dry" Vit. A supplement, and I found one....YAY!!!

I found it at Swanson Vitamins it is made by Twinlab, and it is for people who have fish allergies. It's called "Allergy A & D". The A is retinyl acetate. I hope this is something that we can absorb. A serving size is one per day, but I have been taking 2 per day in hopes of doing some damage control!!

Thanks again Kelly for your post on vitamins. Once again, I would never have known this info. without your post!!! In case no one told you this today......YOU ARE AWESOME!!!!!!!


EDIT: After looking back at the copy of your original post, I realized that it was you who mentioned the night vision problem.