malabsorption

poet_kelly
on 2/26/12 2:34 am - OH

There are these little tiny things in your small intestine called villi.  They are like fingers that grab up calories and absorb them.  When they bypass part of the small intestine, suddenly there are fewer villi in there to suck up the calories.

However, your body quickly figures that out and it is afraid it's gonna starve.  So your small intestine starts to grow more villi in the part that has not been bypassed.  After two or three years, you have about the same number you had before surgery so you absorb about the same amount of calories again.

It's pretty cool if you think about it.

However.  We continue to malabsorb vitamins because only certain spots in the small intestine absorb each one of those.  That never goes away because some of those spots are bypassed forever.  Your intestine cannot grow new ones.

View more of my photos at ObesityHelp.com          Kelly

Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR.  If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor.  Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me.  If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her.    Check out my blog.

 

Marilyn101
on 2/26/12 2:38 am - FL
Kelly thank you for your post, always a joy not to mention full of knowledge, thank you for sharing. and yes it is cool. It is amazing how our body works.
SarinaHaas
on 2/26/12 2:50 am - NY
RNY on 02/28/12
Wow, our bodies are amazing. Thank you for sharing!
illinois Gama D.
on 2/26/12 3:06 am
thanks kelly! always look forward to your post, after 9 years it is still amazing to me what our bodies can /will do, thanks for the kind, through explanation
RNYgirl2020
on 2/26/12 3:07 am
Thanks for the post Kelly. I do have a question for you. In nursing school I had an instructor who had had RNY 9 years ago. She looked great! The way she ate..... I would have never known she had RNY  she could eat an entire grilled chicken sandwich in one sitting!!
Anyways...to get to my questions...I got in touch with her after I had RNY and she gets all her labs checked every year and everything is normal...... but she only takes her b12 injections....... I have my three month appointment coming up and I intend to ask my surgeon but isn't it possible that our bodies eventually learn to absorb some (maybe not all) of the vitamins we aren't able to now early out? I'd love to hear opinions from everyone....especially those further out....

poet_kelly
on 2/26/12 3:11 am - OH
I don't think so, no.  I question how good all her labs are.  Many people don't get a full set of labs done, they may only check vitamin D, B12 and iron, for instance.  I find it hard to believe her vitamin A, copper, zinc, B6, everything is good if she's not taking any vitamins.  And I wonder why a nursing instructor would choose not to take vitamins after RNY?  But if her labs really are all good with only B12 injections, then she's definitely an exception.  Most of us need to take our vitamins!

View more of my photos at ObesityHelp.com          Kelly

Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR.  If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor.  Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me.  If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her.    Check out my blog.

 

RNYgirl2020
on 2/26/12 3:20 am
As an RN and an instructor I'm pretty sure she knows better, and she'd watch her labs closely..... but yeah maybe she is just an exception....curious to knoww about others who are 9+ years out....
Reel
on 2/26/12 5:12 am
Great post Kelly. I always wondered how malabsorption came back when the intestines were bypassed, and why the nutrient absorption didn't also come back.

I wish we could tell our body when and when NOT to try and repair itself.
poet_kelly
on 2/26/12 9:04 am - OH
Well, that would be nice!  Really, though, most of the time our bodies know what they are doing.  Most problems come about when we try to override them.

View more of my photos at ObesityHelp.com          Kelly

Please note: I AM NOT A DOCTOR.  If you want medical advice, talk to your doctor.  Whatever I post, there is probably some surgeon or other health care provider somewhere that disagrees with me.  If you want to know what your surgeon thinks, then ask him or her.    Check out my blog.

 

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