PatchMD Possibly Failed for Me

Now that I've reread the unjury post the info I saw about some vitamins not absorbing through skin must have come from someplace else. But I do remember seeing that when I looked into it.

Have you had your PTH levels checked? Calcium levels should not be dropping to a level to cause issues like this so quickly. Usually take years and maybe lack of any impact exercise to maintain bone density.

I have to watch my calcium closely to insure I take in enough so the body does not leach calcium from bones for other use. I also have to run/walk and lift to insure I build density. I love bicycling, but it does not support strong bones.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Had you had testing done prior to starting the patches? It could be causation, for sure, but it could also just be correlation. That's one of the challenging things with any vitamin regimen. You never really know, without lots of testing, if you were on a bad course before changing or what :/

Definitely get your PTH tested and make sure to add weight bearing exercise to your life if you're not doing that already. (My 73 year old mom was able to reverse her osteoporosis with adding in a day of weight lifting a week to her life - she's pretty epic!)

I should add that I also stopped using the Patches - so this isn't meant to be an endorsement for them or anything!

Thanks for sharing, this is good to know. I have been thinking about the patches myself, but I don't think I'll use them now. Not worth the risk, especially since I tolerate the supplements fine, it was just a convenience thing for me.

There really isn't enough information here to come to any conclusions. There are a few vitamins that can go up and down pretty quickly. But even if you took no supplements at all, others will take years to drop to dangerous levels. There is certainly no way that switching supplements from November to March would have caused osteoporosis.

That is sure a scafry thing. I am hearing more and more people taking or using the patches to get their vitamins in. Myself I am still using CELEBRATE BARIATRIC VITAMINS. Don't think I haven't thought about using them. I am so glad that I have stuck to my Surgeon's recomendation. So sorry that this happened to you. I am in a few support groups so I think I will be shafring this info. Thank you for posting it.

Hello....I have tried the Iron patches, but I don't think that they really do what is advertised. When I spoke to my gastric surgeon about them, he said that they were a waste of time & money because you can not absorb enough from the patches.

That being said, I had my RNY in 2001 (15+ years ago) and I was diagnosed with Osteoporosis about a year after surgery. The specialists that I have worked with at Kaiser that deal with bone disorders feel that the malabsorption/malnutrition of my procedure is what speed up the degeneration in my bones. They said that it can be heredity and therefore the surgery just made it happen faster. About 2 years ago I developed OA (Osteoarthritis) in both of my knees. With the help and understanding of my Primary Doctor and the Pain Management Program at Kaiser I have been able to manage the pain of the OA so that it has a minimal effect on my daily life.

Even still, I do not regret my decision to have RNY and would do it 100x over.

Thanks to everyone for your feedback! My bone issues happened before the patch issue. My B1 depletion happened after the use of the patches. So I cannot blame any bone issues on the patches....but I do blame the sudden decrease in my B1 level to a dangerous level! I had my WLS in May 2010 and was not low on my B vitamins until now. So I see my gastro doctor tomorrrow and have returned to taking my Celebrate Vitamins with more ordered and on the way. Cheers, Tee