Question:
anemic and high liver enzymes..5 1/2 years post op am I normal?

I'm a little scared..Doc is talking transfusion..I was told to get iron supplements but the kind she told me to get, I don't think I will absorb. Is there a listing here or elsewhere of good supplements vs bad and pharmacueticals as well?    — caratop_too (posted on April 15, 2009)

April 15, 2009
I have been getting iron injections and i seem to be holding own.
   — sassy1696

April 16, 2009
You really should do some research on iron...When I became anemic last year at year 4 Post OP, my doc gave me a prescript for ferrous sulfate that made me so sick...I felt like I was being poisoned...She was on vacation for a month...so I did some research because I was on 2 mos bed rest and needed to get on iron supps immediately. After doing a non-stop reserach day and night on my own...I decided to try a non-toxic, kid friendly, low side effects, but good bioavailability for RNYers anatomy...I tried it for two weeks slowly raising my dosage...I read medical studies that showed it was non toxic in VERY high doses (2000 mg)...I started taking 4 for 100 mg...and then 8 for 200...still no side effects and suddenly I felt a warmth in my finger tips...So I upped it again and capped it off at 325 mg and in two weeks my hands and feet were warm again! I KNEW IT WAS WORKING...my dizziness started to fade...my urges to chew ice stopped dead...I actaully felt a little energy...By two months retest, my iron went from 4 to 16...No big hike up, but it put my iron in the very low but normal range...My HGB and HCT and all the other lows also went into very low but normal ranges...The highs came down as well...Over the next 4 months, I was able to get my iron up to 98 on carbonyl alone! All my blood is back to good normal ranges and I have since cut back to 8 carbonyl tablets daily (200 mg) I chew them with 1000 mg Vit C as ascorbic acid chewables (to aid in absorption) and 2 mg of copper caps which also aid in absorption...So far...so good! As for high liver enzymes I know NOTHING about that...I will aslo tell you that Bariatric Advantage switched their iron formula from Iron as Amino Acid chelate (which was the form I had been taking and got anemia) to Carbonyl shortly after I had started on carbonyl myself...so that only reinforces my confidence in the stuff as well! It's one of the purest ionic iron from the earth and is very inexpensive...You can find it at grocery stores..."Perfect Iron" by Sundown...Not flavored but chewed with Vit C does not taste all that bad...(it does not have a metal or blood taste) You'll know it by it's pretty lavender/purple color...Vitalady also has her version called Tender Iron that is sweetened..I get a giant bottle of 400 that last me a a few months...I was ordering them 2 bottles at a time because 400 tablet lasted me only a month! BA as I mentioned also has a chewable carbonyl but the price comparison is shocking...especially considering how many I needed to get out of anemia...A bottle of 50 or 100 does not last long at all! Many non WLS people become anemic. That is why the gov't fortified and enriches our foods...75 % of RNYers experience vitamin deficiencies by year 5...so you are a statistic, yes! It's normal for us! But armed with knowledge of vitamins for RNYers and how they absorb in the RNY body, we can learn to prevent deficiencies! Get labs often and take vitamins that are designed for us...If two chewable kids vitamins are good for adults and RNYers have 25-75% malabsorption above regular adults...well, you do the math...2 chewables is NOT enough...
   — .Anita R.

January 10, 2010

   — ckjjones