deficiencies??

Oh and I was thinking,sometimes I think I should hang out with DSers. They know they're malabsorptive, whereas most RNY don't think they are ....... til the proverbial spit hits the fan.

But then I have this pouch, and so I can't go play with the DSers, either. I don't quite fit into that world. Well, I do, but they don't think so!

I just more studiously avoid sugar, not necessarily because of the dumping (and that is unpleasant), but because of the 3 regains I've had from it.

Wow. I'm totally flattered! For a long time, I think DSers thought I "didn't like" their surgery. That was never true, but what I didn't like was watching them dorp like flies! YOW. I prefer our kind to be alive 'n kicking!

But some docs are referring to us for the high dose vit D, even without knowing that there is high dose A and at least dry form vit E, as well. And tolerable iron, etc. Life after any of these surgeries does not have to be difficult. I eventually learned to work my CD player, didn't I? See? And that's way more complicated!

OK, so then if I go there, would I answer any question or just shut my face and stick with vit D? You have absolutely NO idea how much stuff I have on paper and in files on vit D. You do NOT know what you're saying as I can jabber about vit D all day and all night for 3-4 days, then take my first breath. LOL

Can you email me privately so I have your email and can send you some of this stuff and maybe you can figure out how to extract the data? [email protected]

Michelle, I'm a band-to-DS revision patient.  Every day now, I take 100,000 IU's of D3 (50,000), which I purchase from you, btw.  (And I'm about to purchase more.)  My fingernails were about non-existent.  My Vit D 25 OH level was "<7."  (Normal range is 20-57.)  Two doctors told me they wished their labs (in general) were as good as mine.  But I still had very fragile, tissue paper thin fingernails, so I ignored the good doctors and referred myself to an endocrinologist. We started me on your D3, 50,000 IU per day.  After a few weeks, there was minimal improvement...in both the labs and the fingernails.  We doubled the D3.  Aha!  I moved up to a 17.  Then, another month or so later, a 23!  Which put me back in the normal range...but my endo told me to stay put on the D3 for the time being. I'm having labs drawn again tomorrow.  My fingernails have started to grow and, while not strong as iron, are far more like fingernails than they were a few months ago.  I suspect that I'll be closer to 30 this time. From time-to-time, I've panicked and decided that I'm probably OD'ing on Vitamin D.  And then I realize...if my labs showed me at <7, and then 17 and lastly 23...I'm just barely getting enough...even at 100,000 IU per day...and, since I'm taking 250 times the recommended daily intake of Vitamin D3 and still showing up in the LOW end of normal, an overdose seems pretty unlikely. Sorry for the long boring story, but I just wanted to serve as an example of what you were saying. Sue (And why don't you sell folate as a stand alone?  When I take folate and biotin, I "shed" less....lol)
EDITED TO ADD:  Having healthy fingernails is probably not the most important thing that a decent Vitamin D level can provide.  But knowing that your nails are just not right for you is one clue to ignore the doctors who aren't paying enough attention and to find one who will pay attention.

And just think, I want levels of 70 in vit D! New range: 32-100, right here on my own brand shiny new labs. I think Quest is still using the old 20-57 range.

Ours were never really low long enough to "feel" the difference, because the docs wanted them AT LEAST at 30, even in the 90's, but in the olden days, we didn't have these great high dose single pills. We were taking the old A&D, so D at only 400 meant a LOT of A&D, enough to shoot the vit A into the sky and leave the D down. I got D-400 alone, so you could guzzle a handful of those then without shooting the A up, but the finding of these D-5 and D-50 was a miracle and I can thank a DS buddy for THAT!

I had little A&D or D all over the place, dinky little things, in my car, stuck to a dog lip (or worse), so tiny they vanish from your fingers and turn up in a cabinet or crack. LOL

Our annual with our endo comes up shortly and I'm wondering what he'll say about these fabulous D-levels. We have had the "your D(2) is oil, my D(3) is dry" several times and he knows that D2 has to convert to D3, but he can't grasp that we have a non-working converter. But we're getting there!

Hi Michelle: I posted on your Iron thread about my Vitamin D and now I've come across this post.  Wonderful!    I will email you a request for a Vitamin D regime. Thanks! Julie

A-MEN Michelle!!

Awww...c'mon.  I wanna play on the "once a deficiency" thing... I'm currently taking 100,000 IU's a day of Dry D3 because eating fairly (I don't drink milk...because I'm not a baby cow) normal food was not cutting it for me.  The range on my stuff is currently shown 20-57...but I'm sure it will be moved upward soon.  I'm probably at about 30.  I'd like to get up to...maybe 50?  Still with me? Chances are, I *MAY* eventually get there on this level of supplementation, but once I do I don't dare just cut myself off.  Maybe...maybe...if it moves up to Michelle's goal level, I might decrease my megadoses to "SMALLER MEGADOSES."  But tissue paper fingernails hurt.  And impair your ability to do anything.  And indicate (to me) that more bad stuff I can't see is happening inside. So, I'm assuming that while I might supplement my deficiency up to a normal level, I will probably never have normal D OH 25 (or whatever the hell that is) without massive supplementation...because the malabsorption that is helping with the weight loss is hindering with the Vitamin D absorption...and I don't want that reversed. Did I do okay? Sue

Absolutely! You've got it, I think! And exactly in that you will always have to mega dose A, D, E, iron, calcium and even B12 (I know, I know they don't believe DSers need it, but they do!) because your best friend (severe malabsorption) is your worst enemy, too. So, you have put your nail-less finger right precisely on the mixed blessing aspect.

SMaller megadoses. PRECISELY! I'm SURE you've got it!

I do see that some are told to take the D2 in oil (rx) daily or coupla times per week, for X weeks, then stop or back off and one wonders, without constant monitoring, what if it wasn't enough (and D2 in oil can hardly BE enough) and when is it good enough to back off, right? Can't just throw darts at this stuff.

Ok, well not MY stuff. I already forfeited my bones, so that's all I'm giving up. (except the 150 lbs--they can stay gone)

The bright spot is that is IS possible to reach and hold, not just normal, but STELLAR levels of some of this stuff if you start soon (a week after surgery isn't too soon), test often and BE INTERESTED in yourself enough to make it happen.

Some of the segments at the ASBS conference have shown D deficiencies (iron, calcium, name it) PRE-OP, for those who have been tested. For those who can fit AND have been stuffed into a dexascan pre-op, FIFTY percent already have bone loss.

I know, we're told fat ppl have dense bones. MYTH! Maybe we did once, but weight loss ALONE (check astronauts' bone loss for 30 days!) is enough to lose bone mass and I dunno about you but for all the diets I was on, I never took calcium supplementation, or any other kind. I never replaced any bone I was losing. I did drink enough milk to feed a herd of baby cows, but dairy is not the best source of calcium or D, regardless of the American Way. LOL (nuts, seeds, greens)

So, I had 5 major wt losses, followed by 5 major gains (of course) and some minor losses, followed by major gains, like you don't know that part!

EACH time, I was relying on dairy for calcium, who knows WHAT for iron (never really liked meat), and my idea of protein........... 2-3 croutons with cheese sprinkled on my salad. TA DA! Good diet nutrition, right? I know, I can't believe it myself.

I suspect I wasn't overly endowed with bones before I took too little of the wrong stuff for so many years.

But now, we have a choice.