Vitamin & iron deficiencies after DS

[grannyweezie 1]

Anyone out there dealing with Vitamin or Iron deficiencies? My original surgery was in 02 but I didn't have any problems with my Vitamins or iron until I had to have surgery for a bowel obstruction in 2015. Since that surgery, my vitamins A, D, E, K & iron have been consistently critically low. I do not absorb the supplements in pill form. Have tried them all. Started using the Patches from here. Still didn't come up. Finally had vit K injections & iron infusions that brought those 2 up temporarily, but can't find any dr who knows what to do about the A, D or E. Surely there's an infusion for vitamins?

[Postop 411]

For a traditional DSer, the Patches aren't nearly enough. How much of the supplements do you take each day? I know you said they're not working for you, but perhaps you need more? Also, are you taking them in the dry form only, no gel caps? And are you taking them alone? By that I mean not a combo Vitamin A & D pill but each separately. Also, are you taking only palmitate or retinol for Vitamin A and cholecalciferol (D3) for Vitamin D?

As for injections, there are ones for D3 as well. I haven't heard of any for A & E but perhaps there are. I'd post this on another site, too, where there are more vets. I'll PM you the url.

Edited February 17, 2020 by Postop

[Losingit2018 1,170]

1 hour ago, grannyweezie said:

Anyone out there dealing with Vitamin or Iron deficiencies? My original surgery was in 02 but I didn't have any problems with my Vitamins or Iron until I had to have surgery for a bowel obstruction in 2015. Since that surgery, my Vitamins A, D, E, K & iron have been consistently critically low. I do not absorb the supplements in pill form. Have tried them all. Started using the Patches from here. Still didn't come up. Finally had vit K injections & iron infusions that brought those 2 up temporarily, but can't find any dr who knows what to do about the A, D or E. Surely there's an infusion for vitamins?

Many vitamins can not be absorbed through the skin. I would not personally use Patches. You may want to start using chewables. I chew two Bariatric fusions twice per day.

there is something that they call a “banana bag” to infuse vitamins and minerals. My sister passed away a few years back. Before she passed they had her on the banana bags in the hospital. So I know it exists.

Edited February 17, 2020 by Losingit2018

[Uomograsso 364]

Here as ASBMS guidelines for RNY. I don't know if they have them for DS. You can use any brand but you want to make sure it meets what ASBMS recommends

[grannyweezie 1]

3 hours ago, Postop said:

For a traditional DSer, the Patches aren't nearly enough. How much of the supplements do you take each day? I know you said they're not working for you, but perhaps you need more? Also, are you taking them in the dry form only, no gel caps? And are you taking them alone? By that I mean not a combo Vitamin A & D pill but each separately. Also, are you taking only palmitate or retinol for Vitamin A and cholecalciferol (D3) for Vitamin D?

As for injections, there are ones for D3 as well. I haven't heard of any for A & E but perhaps there are. I'd post this on another site, too, where there are more vets. I'll PM you the url.

Thanks for the response. I've even taken the D50k & it didn't help my levels either. I've tried dry (which doesn't work at all) & gel & chewable of everything. These helped slightly but the best results were with the injections of vit K & of course the Iron infusion. But it only lasts 4-5 months & has to be repeated. Nothing I've tried has moved the A & E much. I've tripled the OTC doses. I also eat healthy foods but obviously I don't absorb the fat soluble Vitamins well. I'm seeing a gastroenterologist soon who deals with Chrons patients so maybe he'll be of help.

[grannyweezie 1]

3 hours ago, Losingit2018 said:

Many Vitamins can not be absorbed through the skin. I would not personally use Patches. You may want to start using chewables. I chew two Bariatric fusions twice per day.

there is something that they call a “banana bag” to infuse vitamins and minerals. My sister passed away a few years back. Before she passed they had her on the banana bags in the hospital. So I know it exists.

thanks. I've tried chewable with no luck. Yes I've heard of the banana bag & am hoping the gastroenterologist that I'm seeing will order that. However I seem to have side effects to everything so I also dread trying it. The K injections &iron infusions worked for me but I had bad side effects to them. Idk anyone whose ever had the banana bag to see how it might go.

[grannyweezie 1]

2 hours ago, Uomograsso said:

Here as ASBMS guidelines for RNY. I don't know if they have them for DS. You can use any brand but you want to make sure it meets what ASBMS recommends

thanks I take in way way more than those if you count the Patches but my levels remain critically low no matter what I've done. Eventually I would think these critical levels will wreak havoc on my body.

3 hours ago, Losingit2018 said:

Many Vitamins can not be absorbed through the skin. I would not personally use Patches. You may want to start using chewables. I chew two Bariatric fusions twice per day.

there is something that they call a “banana bag” to infuse vitamins and minerals. My sister passed away a few years back. Before she passed they had her on the banana bags in the hospital. So I know it exists.

If the patches help, it's been minimal but I keep wearing them anyways.

[Postop 411]

32 minutes ago, grannyweezie said:

Thanks for the response. I've even taken the D50k & it didn't help my levels either. I've tried dry (which doesn't work at all) & gel & chewable of everything. These helped slightly but the best results were with the injections of vit K & of course the Iron infusion. But it only lasts 4-5 months & has to be repeated. Nothing I've tried has moved the A & E much. I've tripled the OTC doses. I also eat healthy foods but obviously I don't absorb the fat soluble Vitamins well. I'm seeing a gastroenterologist soon who deals with Chrons patients so maybe he'll be of help.

Yes, gel or chewable isn't good for us either. I take 100k/day of the dry Vit. D3. Others take 150k/day. Have you gone that high?

I do my bloods every 6 months, but the numbers stay pretty consistent with the 100k/day I take. Yours tank?

[grannyweezie 1]

no I don't think ive been over 80k per day & that was only for a month. Mostly it's about 50k. I usually recheck labs every 3-4mo. Only 3x in 4 yrs has the D touched the lowest of normal range. It's mostly way below normal in teens. The A & E have never been even close to normal no matter what I've tried. Does your low D cause depression & fatigue? I deal with that, as well as the last 3 months, dizziness & nausea but not sure if that's coming from any Vitamin deficiency or something completely different. Thankfully my Calcium & Bs have stayed normal.

[Postop 411]

Yes. It can cause fatigue if low. Iron, too. Maybe you want to post what you’re taking. 80k probably isn’t enough for you. You’ll need to let it build up. If I didn’t take 100k/day I’d be well under the 50-60 number on my bloods. I even know one who does 200k/day but that’s rare. Most are 100-150k/day.

How much A are you taking? Many take 25-50k/day of A.

Finally, do you know what your common channel length is: 250, 100, 75 or something else? That can affect your absorption .