It's always been the war with or without surgery.  So why do we need to continue to take vitamins the rest of our life if down the line we are able to absorb again?

The extra villi absorb calories NOT nutritents.

Different parts of your intestien have channels which aborb different things (nutrient wise).

The bypassed area is responsible for absorpbing a lot of vitmains/minerals. These channels are elsewhere in the intestine but to a lesser extent. That is why we have to take excess vitamins AND space them out throughout the day. Teh channelse need tiem to grab the vitamin and pass it through.  YOu wait, the channel becomes clear, you take another vitamin, and you are able to absorb it.

I'm afraid that you're mistaken or perhaps confused.  

In all humans, the villi and the microvilli increase intestinal absorptive surface area approximately 30-fold and 600-fold, respectively, providing exceptionally efficient absorption of NUTRIENTS in the lumen. This increases the surface area so there are more places for food to be absorbed.

May I ask what type of scientist you are?

Pharmacology

Thanks for your response.  Now I understand.

Everything is a nutrient so it was perhaps not the best choice of words in the first sentence; however, everything else SkinnyScientist wrote is correct, especially in regard to the specific issue she addressed: vitamin and mineral absorption.

"The extra villi absorb calories NOT nutritents."

Unfortunately, those are the words she chose and she has yet to acknowledge that she's in error.  IMO, it's a serious blunder to spread spurious information to people asking for clarification on a particular issue.  It wasn't a matter of a poor choice of words.  What she said is completely without merit.

LILY--NO question is "silly", if it is a sincere question, that you nee a sincere answer to. It took me YEARS to understand the whole "remnant" stomach thing--and I've been a nurse nearly 40 years--and I'm SUPPOSED to know stuff!!! all bets are off, when it's your OWN guts !!

Mary, NY Mom and Rocky explained it very well...feel free to ask ANY questions you have-PLEASE. As a 13 YEAR, post RNY, I still learn something most every day, as WLS, and medicine, in general, is constantly changing.

Knowledge is POWER !

Thank you so much Gina, everyone has been so helpful and I also learn something here every day just reading posts from everyone else!

It happens when you eat the same awful food spread out into smaller portions.  You'll never again sit down and eat a large pizza all at once but it's "mechanically possible" to eat a slice every hour or two and finish the pizza throughout the day.