Anyone else experince numbness after surgery?

[fordgirlalways 8]

I'm 3 months postop now and ever since February 3 I've had this numbness. It started out in my legs and moved it's way up to my chest. So from my shins up to my chest is just numb. The numbness is only affecting the front of my body, not the back. Yet. All my blood tests have came back fine, so that rules out Vitamin deficiencies. Also had a CT scan of my head, which was normal. I'm starting to wonder if it's surgery reated, but really hoping it's not. Anyone else experience something similiar after surgery?

[Nurse_Lenora 903]

Have you seen a neurologist?

Neurological problems can be a sign of B Vitamin deficiencies.

[fordgirlalways 8]

@Nurse_Lenora I am seeing one tomorrow. Had my B12 level checked and it was within normal range.

[James Marusek 5,244]

How are you taking your B-12? Are you consuming sublingual tablets? There are different types of B-12. Are you taking the ones identified as methylcobalamin?

Peripheral neuropathy or polyneuropathy is nerve damage that causes burning pain, numbness or tingling in hands, feet and other parts of the body. Vitamins E, B6, B12, and B1 (niacin) are essential to healthy nerve function and deficiencies can cause widespread damage to nerve tissue. The development of peripheral neuropathy after bariatric surgery can occur as the result of its absorption site in the jejunum being bypassed and inadequate nutritional supplements after surgery. About 16 percent of people who underwent bariatric surgery developed peripheral neuropathy, according to one study of more than 400 people conducted by the mayo Clinic. Generally peripheral neuropathy is numbness at the extremities. Since you are describing numbness in the legs and truck of your body, I suspect you are dealing with something different.

Generally the risk factors for developing nerve problems are:

* They lost weight at a much faster pace.

* They received less nutritional supplementation.

* They experienced prolonged nausea and vomiting.

Rather than the surgery being a direct cause of neuropathy, the associated rapid weight loss and prolonged nausea and vomiting can lead to malnutrition and neuropathy.

[Lexuskela 158]

@@James Marusek I am having issues with my peroneal nerve! From weight loss .... Doc checked electrolytes & all are okay. I get drop foot, numb tingling on top of my foot & front of shin of same leg. I am supposed to get an MRI done per my general Doc, but I called my surgeon & I am waiting to hear what they say before I do the MRI. I truly hope this can be reversed. I can't believe I lost all this weight so far, 104 lb in 7 months only to now have nerve damage. I truly hope its not a permanent complication. I can hardly wear heels now ????????, hard time crossings legs because it makes the leg more numb, & I loved being able to cross my legs. I take my B12 three times a day sublingual & Multivitamin with Iron & Calcium. This is so heartbreaking & scary

[James Marusek 5,244]

@@James Marusek I am having issues with my peroneal nerve! From weight loss .... Doc checked electrolytes & all are okay. I get drop foot, numb tingling on top of my foot & front of shin of same leg. I am supposed to get an MRI done per my general Doc, but I called my surgeon & I am waiting to hear what they say before I do the MRI. I truly hope this can be reversed. I can't believe I lost all this weight so far, 104 lb in 7 months only to now have nerve damage. I truly hope its not a permanent complication. I can hardly wear heels now , hard time crossings legs because it makes the leg more numb, & I loved being able to cross my legs. I take my B12 three times a day sublingual & multivitamin with Iron & Calcium. This is so heartbreaking & scary

@@Lexuskela I had RNY gastric bypass 33 months ago. According to your profile you had gastric sleeve. RNY gastric bypass causes malabsorption. In other words after my operation my body could no longer synthesis the Vitamins my body needed from my food intake. Therefore I have to take Vitamins for the remainder of my life. The process you underwent restrictive procedure because reduced stomach size causes early satiety and reduced oral intake. It is not malabsorption.

Taking B12 three times per day? That seems odd to me. I am taking one half tablet of B12 daily. The tablets are 2500 mcg so I break it in half. If you are taking 3 of the same type of tablets, then that would be 1,250 times the recommended daily dose. I don't think there is an upper safe limit on this Vitamin. So what is the total daily dosage of the sublingual B12 you are taking?

Another Vitamin that can cause neuropathy is a lack of B1. Initially my surgeon prescribed one B1 tablet daily, but after about a year or two and reviewing my blood work, he reduced this down to one tablet a week.

This is what one website had to say about vitamin deficiencies in VSG patients.

Preoperative Nutritional Deficiencies

Nutritional deficiencies can occur with VSG even though patients have intact intestinal systems. Obesity itself is considered a form of malnutrition because deficiencies in both water- and fat-soluble vitamins are seen in the obese population. Kaider-Person and colleagues demonstrated that deficiencies in folate and vitamins A, B1, B12, D, and E commonly are seen in patients with obesity. Research also has shown that up to 51% of patients undergoing VSG had below-normal levels of at least one micronutrient, such as Iron, potassium, folate, or vitamins B6, B12, and D.

The goal is to correct these deficiencies before surgery because they may be exacerbated after surgery as a result of poor oral intake and tolerance, noncompliance to a bariatric nutrition protocol, rigor of the protocol, absence of dietary guidance, inadequacy of food variety, and adherence to proton-pump inhibitors often prescribed for some time after surgery to reduce stomach acid, which can lead to malabsorption of B12 and iron.

Postoperative Nutritional Deficiencies

While research still is needed to evaluate the long-term effects of VSG on micronutrient status, vitamin and mineral deficiencies after the procedure are reported up to five years post-op.

Research has shown that patients who undergo VSG are at risk of microcytic and pernicious anemia as well as metabolic bone disease because of micronutrient deficiencies in iron, folate, and vitamins B12 and D. VSG decreases hydrochloric acid production and creates a significantly reduced intrinsic factor, directly affecting iron and B12 absorption. Thiamin (vitamin B1) deficiency leading to Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome also has been reported in several cases after VSG.

Moizé and colleagues reported that, after five years, vitamin and mineral deficiencies with VSG corresponded with those seen five years after gastric bypass. VSG patients who take metformin also are at risk of vitamin B12 malabsorption.

Despite universal supplementation, the prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency was the most commonly observed deficiency five years postoperatively in VSG patients. Research also has shown that while most bariatric programs and hospital protocols agree that vitamins and minerals are important, there’s variability in the prescribed vitamin/mineral protocol, and a single multivitamin containing more than 100% of the Recommended Dietary Intake may be insufficient to provide some of the necessary micronutrients while concomitantly providing excess in others.

I didn't know what Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome was, so I looked it up. Here is a link. https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000771.htm Some of these symptom appear to match but you are closer to this than I am. Anyways this is caused by a B1 deficiency. I am not a medical expert and I think you need to rely on your medical staff.

Here is a link of what patients report feeling that are Vitamin D deficient. http://www.medicinenet.com/vitamin_d_deficiency/patient-comments-2672.htm

[James Marusek 5,244]

@Lexuskela

I noticed that in past post you discussed doing increased running exercises after surgery. I came across this article and thought perhaps you pain may be due to another source.

http://acsh.org/news/2016/02/17/sciatica-a-real-pain-in-the-arse/

[LynnAlex 44]

Lexuskela, My brother had problems with the peroneal nerve. He had to wear a boot for foot drop. His doctor said that when you lose a lot of weight, many people sit with their legs crossed and do damage to the nerve. When I started having trouble--like one day I woke up and couldn't walk, I called my brother and got some advice. Don't sit with your legs crossed and put a pillow between your legs at night time. Once you pinch the nerve, it may take 6-12 months for total healing. I went to the doctor yesterday, and she told me to wait 30 days before I go for the nerve testing, as I am getting better. I have had the problem for about a month. I thought it would go away in a few days.

[josnjos 1]

Lexuskela, My brother had problems with the peroneal nerve. He had to wear a boot for foot drop. His doctor said that when you lose a lot of weight, many people sit with their legs crossed and do damage to the nerve. When I started having trouble--like one day I woke up and couldn't walk, I called my brother and got some advice. Don't sit with your legs crossed and put a pillow between your legs at night time. Once you pinch the nerve, it may take 6-12 months for total healing. I went to the doctor yesterday, and she told me to wait 30 days before I go for the nerve testing, as I am getting better. I have had the problem for about a month. I thought it would go away in a few days.

Lynnalex how is your brother now, and how are you? I am currently in hospital with acute nerve pain in my groin and legs, I had an RNY gastric bypass 4 years ago and have lost 90kg total. I was crossing my legs a lot so am wondering if this is what I have done. How is it proven? My doctors are having a huge amount of trouble trying to find out exactly what is wrong.

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[jnt1 37]

My surgeon recommends B12 injections every 6 months.

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