RNY Class of '03: Multivitamins Still? WFPB No Oil since 12/27/17

Do y'all know what Dr. Garth Davis (Houston) suggests regarding multivitamins? I have been taking a multi everyday since my surgery and after a month of eating WFPB NO and being off the multi, my blood tests are better than ever, but I still wonder what the doctors say.

What is WFPB NO stand for?

Whole food plant based No Oil

The area in the digestive system that is responsible for absorbing certain vitamins has been bypassed with RNY surgery. That means that you can not break down the foods to the level where vitamins from that food can be absorbed. Vitamin supplements have been broken down for you and can be absorbed as they travel along your intestines. They don't need to go through the duodenum.

You need to take 200% of recommended vitamins for life. It takes a long time to become vitamin deficient. You could have "normal" labs for a year or more before you showed a deficiency. Coming back from a deficiency is much harder than maintaining your levels through supplementation. I would not take that chance.

100% what Rocky said. Plus, one month is not an indication that vitamins are not needed due to your new diet. Are you stating Dr. Davis aschews vitamins in bariatric patients in lieu of a plant based diet? While I know he endorses a vegetarian lifestyle, recommending the elimination of vitamins in post-ops sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Consider the worst case scenario in continuing to take vitamins (lost income) vs not taking them (nutritional difficulties, loss of bone and teeth, death, etc). Why take that risk, especially when experts such as ASMBS have clear vitamin protocols?

No, no...not stating Dr. Davis said that. Do not know the man, just know he is the only doc I have heard speak about plant based eating and is a bariatric surgeon. I just don?t know what he prescribes and was taking a shot to see if anyone knows what he prescribes regarding our supplements. :-)

Blood tests for most all vitamins would show almost no change over one month, so it has nothing to do with your diet.

Take your vitamins. 200% of the RDA, as Rocky outlined above. People get horribly sick or die from not supplementing after WLS.

Thank you for mentioning the duodenum, technical reply; I forgot all about that process with our plumbing. My doctor has long retired and I want to find another for checkups as I get older (48 as of this post).

Again, much appreciate the replies!

Sincerely,

Patty

Going without vitamins is dangerous for your long-term health. A month without them won't register on your blood work, since your body still has stores of nutrients to draw from, but it won't work well for you in the long-term.

The ASMBS recommends that you take supplements to avoid nutrient deficiency. Specific recommendations can be found here:

https://asmbs.org/wp/uploads/2008/09/ASMBS-Nutritional-Guide lines-2016-Update.pdf

There is quite a bit of information on Dr Davis's Facebook page