vitamin deficiency 7months post op! Someone please help!!

[Strwberriekissesrbetter 2]

so here I am stuck between a rock and a very difficult place? I haven't been taking any Vitamins since surgery not because I am being unruly but because when I try I get very ill and am sick for 2-3 days! but now my body is feeling like it is shutting down! I am in a ton of pain from the waist down my muscles , joints and bones hurt and I have NO energy! In the beginning I had no energy cause I was not eating enough but now I eat 900 calories a day and at first I had a lot more energy but now I feel drained and have to take mid day naps to get through the day! I have emailed my doctor and he says it sounds like Vitamin deficiency and malnutrition! which I don't understand I am starting to think that I shouldn't have had this surgery cause I obviously don't know what I am doing with this whole nutrition thing and the further I go through this process the more confused I am! Everything I am told should work, all my stomach wants to tolerate at this moment is crackers and any dry food similar! when I eat other food like meat I get very nauseas and just don't feel good! I have done excellent in the weight loss aspect from the sleeve and for that I am very grateful but I am scared as for what I have and am doing to my body now!!! I feel like I wanna breakdown and I sooo CONFUSED!Any help offered is very much appreciated! Thank you!

[Tiffykins 673]

You definitely need to have labs done. It does sound like a potassium, magnesium and possible B12 along with the Vit D and D3 deficiency. Anemia is a big one especially if you are not getting Protein.

You will have to find a Vitamin that you can tolerate, and I recommend getting on something, and taking Probiotics to help with the stomach upset. If you are not still on a PPI, talk to your doctor about getting on one.

You may want to get your sleeve scoped if you are having difficulty eating this far out.

I will keep you in my thoughts, and please get into see your doctor immediately.

[Tiffykins 673]

Here's a very long detailed nutritional and Vitamin guide for bariatric patients from ASMBS.

http://www.asmbs.org/Newsite07/resources/bgs_final.pdf

[AutumnLily 77]

There are several companies that will send out samples of their Vitamins. Which would be good for you to try with out spending the money.

Have you tried Vitamins in liquid form or chewable form? May be the pills that are giving you the problems.

Bariatric Advantage Samples

Celebrate Vitamins samples

There may be other places that provide samples for you to try. Its worth a shot as it sounds like you are in need of vitamins in what ever form you can get.

Are you taking a PPI? Maybe the upset stomach is due to excess stomach acid?

[Strwberriekissesrbetter 2]

Thank you everyone! I am on prilosec 20mg my surgeon prescribed it for 2 times a day but I got my pcp to give it to me for 3-5 times a day cause since surgery acid reflux has been a bad problem for me! as for the Vitamins I have tried Bariatric Advantage and after $200 later my stomach wouldn't tolerate any of them ,then I tried Centrum liquid and all I did was gag and throw up I was trying to take the pill form centrum Multivitamin but after 1 and it felt stuck and I gagged for an hour that was enough for me! on top of these complication I also ended up becoming extremely lactose intolerant which has made it very difficult to get my Protein in, I have tried soy but I am not to fond of it and it makes me gag, I am wondering if I have an ulcer cause for the last month or so the only thing my stomach will tolerate with no problems is crackers and dry food similar to that!!

[Tiffykins 673]

Thank you everyone! I am on prilosec 20mg my surgeon prescribed it for 2 times a day but I got my pcp to give it to me for 3-5 times a day cause since surgery acid reflux has been a bad problem for me! as for the Vitamins I have tried Bariatric Advantage and after $200 later my stomach wouldn't tolerate any of them ,then I tried Centrum liquid and all I did was gag and throw up I was trying to take the pill form Centrum Multivitamin but after 1 and it felt stuck and I gagged for an hour that was enough for me! on top of these complication I also ended up becoming extremely lactose intolerant which has made it very difficult to get my Protein in, I have tried soy but I am not to fond of it and it makes me gag, I am wondering if I have an ulcer cause for the last month or so the only thing my stomach will tolerate with no problems is crackers and dry food similar to that!!

Ulcers are possible, but very rare with partial gastrectomies unless you have a history of them.

Lactose intolerance sucks, I still have a whey Protein intolerance that never went away.

Your body might not be responding to Prilosec, I would definitely look at switching PPIs and getting on either Zegerid or Nexium. Zegerid is a combo drug that is Prilosec with Carafate which is used for ulcer and severe gastritis patients.

If you can swallow Prilosec, I hope you can find a solid pill form multivitamin that you could possibly split in 2, or hell even a complete Gummy would help get your body something.

Please keep us posted, and if we can do anything, please let us know.

Complications suck and make all the other successes so minimal when you're suffering.

When I was having gastritis back in January, I brought up the ulcer question (because I was still smoking which increases the risk tremendously, I know I know), anyways, my surgeon said "if it only hurts when I eat then that's not typical ulcer behavior, eating usually soothes the ulcer." I had already gone back to bland, basic foods, and was still having pain. Can you eat yogurt with the lactose intolerance? I was still able to yogurt even though I had lactose intolerance.

[Strwberriekissesrbetter 2]

as far as yogurt I use it when I get Constipation cause the lactose opens everything up, but it does give me bad cramping in my stomach and I feel funky the next day when I consume almost any dairy!

[lunarose 97]

Have you tried one of the chewables? Or you can take you Centrum and cut it in half so it is smaller. I was taking their chewables which are kind of chalky tasting so I would chew a couple of papaya emyzme chewable which taste better and cut down the nastiness. Part of the problem is that when you are dehydrated and deficient you need to eat and drink more but the condition itself makes you feel nauseous so you end up in a catch 22 situation. Get your labs done to see where you are at. What helped me early down was to drink diluted fruit juices and chicken broth.< /p>

[Tiffykins 673]

as far as yogurt I use it when I get Constipation cause the lactose opens everything up, but it does give me bad cramping in my stomach and I feel funky the next day when I consume almost any dairy!

Oh yuck, then I'd get a good quality probiotic powder/crystal that you can you mix in fluids, or sprinkle on your tongue. GNC makes a great one that is truly flavorless and tasteless.

[grannyk 58]

so here I am stuck between a rock and a very difficult place? I haven't been taking any Vitamins since surgery not because I am being unruly but because when I try I get very ill and am sick for 2-3 days! but now my body is feeling like it is shutting down! I am in a ton of pain from the waist down my muscles , joints and bones hurt and I have NO energy! In the beginning I had no energy cause I was not eating enough but now I eat 900 calories a day and at first I had a lot more energy but now I feel drained and have to take mid day naps to get through the day! I have emailed my doctor and he says it sounds like Vitamin deficiency and malnutrition! which I don't understand I am starting to think that I shouldn't have had this surgery cause I obviously don't know what I am doing with this whole nutrition thing and the further I go through this process the more confused I am! Everything I am told should work, all my stomach wants to tolerate at this moment is crackers and any dry food similar! when I eat other food like meat I get very nauseas and just don't feel good! I have done excellent in the weight loss aspect from the sleeve and for that I am very grateful but I am scared as for what I have and am doing to my body now!!! I feel like I wanna breakdown and I sooo CONFUSED!Any help offered is very much appreciated! Thank you!

I am so sorry you are feeling so bad and so desperate. But I believe you have done yourself and your sleeve a disservice by not being faithful in taking Vitamin supplements for the last 7 months. This may very well be a self perpetuating problem. You say you feel ill when you take Vitamins, but you are now weakened and in pain because you haven't taken vitamins.

Please let me recommend you visit www.starrwalker.com and read some of their information. I understand that vitamins can taste really nasty, but Starr Walker's liquid Vitamin Perfect actually has a very pleasant taste. They are taken under the tongue, held there for about 30-45 seconds and then you swallow the liquid. At least get started on some kind of multivitamin supplement. Your pain below the waist is probably from just what your doctor says...malnutrition. We inherently now simply cannot eat enough to maintain our nutritional needs. My cardiologist says even though we do not have the profound malabsorption syndrome that comes with RNY, we do have some malabsorption because 85% of our stomach is gone, which does have to do with getting the nutrients we need.

Please, please, please find some sort of vitamin supplement you can take because your body is demanding it right now. I will keep you in my thoughts, because the sleeve should be the tool that makes us healthier, not becomes our undoing.

Kathe

[AutumnLily 77]

Have you been tested for IBS or Celiac or Chrohn's disease? Have you tried lactose free milk it is called lactaid? How about almond milk (it is made from almonds)? Did you have your labs done to see what your Vitamin and mineral levels are at? If I were you I would go into your doctors office and ask to have your labs done adn see if other tests can be done. See if there is an injection form of Vitamins ( I know there is one for B12) and see if those will help to get you to a point where you can start to take them orally.

[JackieOMonroe 123]

Due to disinterest in eating and trouble that I'm having with nausea when taking Vitamins and consuming Protein shakes and bars, I'm pretty positive that I'm suffering from malnutrition and starvation. I'm really worried. I ended up with extreme diarrhea last night and it continues today. I've lost 2 lbs since it started and I can't seem to keep up with replacing the Water that I'm losing. I tried One A Day VitaCraves yesterday for the first time and I finally didn't get extremely nauseous. I don't think they're complete enough for the long term, but they're good enough for now so I'm happy that I found them.

I'm just really scared. I had a hard time even moving from my bedroom to the living room today. I don't like feeling this way. I'll be calling my doctor tomorrow to work on this, but I'm just so afraid right now.

[DoOver 17]

Due to disinterest in eating and trouble that I'm having with nausea when taking Vitamins and consuming Protein shakes and bars, I'm pretty positive that I'm suffering from malnutrition and starvation. I'm really worried. I ended up with extreme diarrhea last night and it continues today. I've lost 2 lbs since it started and I can't seem to keep up with replacing the Water that I'm losing. I tried One A Day VitaCraves yesterday for the first time and I finally didn't get extremely nauseous. I don't think they're complete enough for the long term, but they're good enough for now so I'm happy that I found them.

I'm just really scared. I had a hard time even moving from my bedroom to the living room today. I don't like feeling this way. I'll be calling my doctor tomorrow to work on this, but I'm just so afraid right now.

What about your blood sugar? Do you know where it's at? When mine is low I feel weak and shaky.

It's not fun but you could also try buying some individual pills. If you can't take a major Multivitamin, could you take an individual potassium supplement, an individual magnesium? Along that line?

I have several different types that I take. I mix it up. I could not tolerate the actual barriatric ones but after healing to where I can tolerate pills, I've not had any trouble.

How long have you been feeling this bad? I'm very glad you are going to your doctor. It can feed off itself. If you are feeling bad, it's hard to force yourself to eat. And if you don't eat...well, you know how that goes.

Good Luck. Please post how you do over the next few days.

[amandaRN 1]

I have to use a gummi prentatal multivitamin and I suck on a sublingual B12 2500 mcg every other day. Don't need additional Iron yet. I drink tons of milk so my doc said not to worry about Calcium supp now if they make me sick. I try to get all my Protein and Fluid in evryday and I sure feel better when I do. Hope you get to feeling better soon!

[AnneG 7]

Hoping you feel better and get on track with your labs and Vitamins - everyone has given such great advice