Question:
Can vitamin defs be prevented with regular vitamin supplementation?

Answer: No "Nutritional deficiencies after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass for morbid obesity often cannot be prevented by standard multivitamin supplementation" as stated in a study here :Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Oct;88(4):1176. Link here: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18469230 "BACKGROUND: Despite the increasing use of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGBP) in the treatment of morbid obesity, data about postoperative nutritional deficiencies and their treatment remain scarce. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a standard multivitamin preparation in the prevention and treatment of nutritional deficiencies in obese patients after RYGBP. DESIGN: This was a retrospective study of 2 y of follow-up of obese patients after RYGBP surgery. Between the first and the sixth postoperative months, a standardized multivitamin preparation was prescribed for all patients. Specific requirements for additional substitutive treatments were systematically assessed by a biologic workup at 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 mo. RESULTS: A total of 137 morbidly obese patients (110 women and 27 men) were included. The mean (+/-SD) age at the time of surgery was 39.9 +/- 10.0 y, and the body mass index (in kg/m(2)) was 46.7 +/- 6.5. Three months after RYGBP, 34% of these patients required at least one specific supplement in addition to the multivitamin preparation. At 6 and 24 mo, this proportion increased to 59% and 98%, respectively. Two years after RYGBP, a mean amount of 2.9 +/- 1.4 specific supplements had been prescribed for each patient, including vitamin B-12, iron, calcium + vitamin D, and folic acid. At that time, the mean monthly cost of the substitutive treatment was $34.83. CONCLUSION: Nutritional deficiencies are very common after RYGBP and occur despite supplementation with the standard multivitamin preparation. Therefore, careful postoperative follow-up is indicated to detect and treat those deficiencies." SOOOOOO???? Still want to take a kids chewable multivitamin or some vitamin that says "for baritrics" and has a good sales pitch?? Still want to trust that "Your labs look FINE" without actually ever looking at them yourself to see if they EVEN ran ALL the vitamin tests? I won't ever do THAT again and I WILL keep pushing that people take their vitamin regimen seriously...So if I ever offended anyone's feelings about their vitamins, I have my reasons, my own experience with vitamin deficiencies and it's NOT personal! It's REAL! And it's REAL important for long term health...    — .Anita R. (posted on May 15, 2009)

May 16, 2009
Hi, Anita. Appreciate the input. So what are all the vitamin tests that will be needed, how often and who does them?
   — Donna R.

May 16, 2009
Labs need to be done at least, yearly...Most PCP's and surgeons will do a Complete Blood Count (CBC) along with Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP)and Lipid Panel...But these tests while they do show your calcium,potassium, protein and whether or not you have anemia and cholesterol problems etc, they don't show any of the fat soluble vitamin levels such as Vit A, D, E and K...or trace elements/minerals such as magnesium, zinc, copper and selenium...They do not show any of the water soluble B vitamin levels, OR your Iron related tests...ALL OF THOSE need to be tested yearly as well as the basics...AND a thyroid panel and Parathyroid Hormone Test(PTH Intact) ...A bone density or Dexa scan as well...I take a list of these to my regular PCP and she sends me to the lab...After the tests come back...I get copies and compare my last ones to the new ones and look for rises and falls...I don't wait for my doc to call me back and tell me 2-3 weeks later what the labs say...I request copies in about 3-4 days and start comparing old labs to see where I am and how I am doing, because I KNOW my doc is not going to do that...She'll just tell me if my labs were "fine"....or not as they usually aren't now that I actually DO get all my vitamins tested...
   — .Anita R.