Question:
Got scared....

I was reading a number of different sites about, nuticional deficiosies. and got afraid...has any long term post got ostio, how does one moniter ones self.....has anyone on here who is longer post had health probs due to surgery, and malabsorption...since we don't absorb should we not take more vit than normal people who take a vit a day.....just afraid of getting un healthy...do not know why i got so paranoid....    — sweetdarling_ab (posted on October 26, 2003)

October 26, 2003
It's totally normal to get paranoid! You surgeon should monitor you regularly; mine does blood tests at 3, 6, 9, 12, and 18 months and then annually. He should also give you a list of foods to eat and supplements to take. Did he not do that? If not, call and ask for the info. And hopefully there is a support group nearby you can attend; that is always very helpful. Congrats on your surgery and your baby!
   — Chris T.

October 26, 2003
Hi, Dawn: Michelle Curran is a long-term postie and she and her hubby both had surgery; they both developed osteoporosis due to not taking the correct form of calcium; they were taking calcium carbonate versus calcium citrate. <p>That said, my surgeon and nutritionist said we need to take a minimum of 1000 mg of calcium per day, 2 chewable children's multivitamins per day OR one chewable adult multivitamin per day (make sure they say COMPLETE; I take Centrum chewable, it's orange flavored), and we need to take a minimum 1000 mcg B-12 per week. I bought the B-12 at GNC, it is sublinqual (dissolves under the tongue) and cherry flavored. Or, you can get monthly B-12 shots from your doctor. We don't absorb B-12 anymore in our intestines so we need to either take the sublingual kind or get the shots.</p> <p> As Chris said, your doctor should perform regular bloodwork on you to monitor everything. For the osteoporosis, you will need a bone scan.</p> <p>I hope this info helps!
   — Moysa B.

October 26, 2003
I am 6 years post and I have had no signs of osteo. I have my blood work checked annually by my dr. and I take my vitamins every day like I am told. If you do what you your dr. tells you, you will be okay as well. It is normal to be scared in the beginning. Just keep asking your dr. and coming to this site and ask questions here and you should get some of them answered to help you.
   — christine M.

October 26, 2003
Just wanted to pass on that my father-in-law had the old small bowel bypass about 40 years ago, and was never put on any supplements of any kind (or he was too stubborn to take them). Now, after 40 years, in his 70's, he has developed osteoporosis and has to take medications to treat that. Who really knows if the lack of calcium supplementation caused him to develop osteoporosis after such a long time? I plan to take calcium citrate anyhow, to be on the safe side.
   — koogy

October 26, 2003
(By the way, calcium levels in your blood are just that. The blood levels really don't tell how much calcium your bones are absorbing.)
   — koogy

October 26, 2003
First, you will be on some type of vitamin and nutritional suplements for life. To me it was a small price to pay to have a better quality of life. Some surgeons don't monitor your full vitamin and blood levels long term, so remember to ask your family Dr to do so at regular intervals throughout your life. Also have a "DEXA" done every year to two years. This is a bone density scan which tells you how your bones are doing.
   — M B.

October 27, 2003
To monitor yourself, you get regular lab tests every six months, for life, to look at protein levels, calcium levels, iron, and B-12, among others. You ask your doc for copies of the tests and look at them yourself, to see if you're declining in any area. This is because often, the docs say everything is normal or fine, when you're taking an nosedive even within the normal range (heading out of normal, but not there yet). I stopped myself from having a B-12 issue by noticing that when my docs just said, Oh, it's still within the normal range (but I was already feeling more tired). No reason to wait for a few months, getting deficient in one area, and possibly feeling crummy, when you can see the trends happening beforehand and head off or at least watch carefully for a a problem before it gets worse.<P>Second, as to osteoperosis, clearly it's safer to take calcium citrate that calcium carbonate. Debates rage all day on whether they're equally good, but nobody has ever asserted that calcium carbonate (Tums, Viactiv) works better than calcium citrate, so I take the latter and just keep my bones out of that controversy.<P>To check on how your bones are doing, you need periodic (annual) Dexascans. This isn't the quickie test they do on your foot, or on your wrist, but the one where they scan your hip. Bloodwork only tells part of the story; you need the scans to know if your body is leaching calcium from your bones (bloodwork won't tell you that).<P>Finally, sometimes I have to remind myself that some things that happen to us would've happened even without WLS. Some of us were gonna get osteoperosis anyway, even without the RNY. I think our odds clearly increase with it, but calcium supplementation is a good idea for lots of folks, RNY or not.
   — Suzy C.

October 27, 2003
My surgeon requires that my PCP do lab work on me twice a year to keep track of things. Ostio can be prevented with calcium pills. It is my understanding (my mom has this) that pretty much, lots of calcium in youth and then a supplement in older years can prevent it. And taking a supplement in older years can at least help curb the chances or make it less severe if we get it. And my surgeon recommends double dosing on vitamins to help get in the required amount.
   — Renee B.