And it just happens so fast

Deanna798
on 10/10/17 3:39 am
RNY on 08/04/15

So, I had my lab work done last February, and my numbers were all acceptable. My Ferritin had been trending down a bit, but was at 50, and an acceptable level. Fast forward to this week when I had my blood work drawn again. I just got my results back and my ferritin is now at 9. In the last 6 months it has dropped 41 points.

I'm currently using the Iron patch, but I have to admit, I don't remember to apply it everyday. I apply it probably 3 to 4 times out of 7. So, a word of caution to everyone who is lackadaisical about vitamins, be careful.

I will be calling and making an appointment with my PCP, and talking to him about a referral to a hematologist. I'm also going to start being more vigilant about my vitamin intake.

Age: 44 | Height: 5' 3" | Starting January 2015: 291 | RNY 8/4/15 with Dr. Arthur Carlin| Goal: 150

Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise. ~Proverbs 19:20

Liz WantsHealthForAll
on 10/10/17 4:19 am - Cape Cod, MA
VSG on 03/28/16

OMG! Good luck - you don't expect it to change this fast!

Liz 5'3" HW: 219 SW: 185 GW: 125 LW: 113 Desired maintenance range: 120-123 CW: 120 (after losing 20 lb. regain)!

Valerie G.
on 10/10/17 5:37 am - Northwest Mountains, GA

My iron managed to drop with patches too. YOu may need to try a different approach.

Valerie
DS 2005

There is room on this earth for all of God's creatures..
next to the mashed potatoes

Janet P.
on 10/10/17 5:41 am
On October 10, 2017 at 10:39 AM Pacific Time, Deanna798 wrote:

So, I had my lab work done last February, and my numbers were all acceptable. My Ferritin had been trending down a bit, but was at 50, and an acceptable level. Fast forward to this week when I had my blood work drawn again. I just got my results back and my ferritin is now at 9. In the last 6 months it has dropped 41 points.

I'm currently using the Iron patch, but I have to admit, I don't remember to apply it everyday. I apply it probably 3 to 4 times out of 7. So, a word of caution to everyone who is lackadaisical about vitamins, be careful.

I will be calling and making an appointment with my PCP, and talking to him about a referral to a hematologist. I'm also going to start being more vigilant about my vitamin intake.

You need infusions. At this point no amount of oral iron will help bring a ferritin level of 9 up to normal levels. I have the DS and have had anemia issues for years. Just so you know, my hematologist feels that anyone who has had WLS should maintain a ferritin level of 100, not 50.

Not sure how much malabsorption you have with your RNY but obviously you're not absorbing the iron. Oral iron is very hard to absorb.

Janet in Leesburg
DS 2/25/03
Hazem Elariny
-175

Donna L.
on 10/10/17 3:18 pm - Chicago, IL
Revision on 02/19/18

Iron is absorbed in the duodenum, so people with an RNY can have very similar issues with iron as people with the DS or SADI.

I follow a ketogenic diet post-op. I also have a diagnosis of binge eating disorder. Feel free to ask me about either!

It is not that we have so little time but that we lose so much...the life we receive is not short but we make it so; we are not ill provided but use what we have wastefully. -- Seneca, On the Shortness of Life

califsleevin
on 10/10/17 5:47 pm - CA

Actually, somewhat worse with the RNY, as the DS at least maintains some of the duodenum in the digestive path. From what I have seen, it is more common for RNY patients to need regular infusions (like, annual) to keep things up than DS patients.

Another thing to watch for is any evidence of GI bleeding (dark or tarry stool, etc.) as the bypass is more prone to ulcer problems than the DS or sleeve. I'm sure the OP's PCP will check for that as one of their diagnostics.

1st support group/seminar - 8/03 (has it been that long?)  

Wife's DS - 5/05 w Dr. Robert Rabkin   VSG on 5/9/11 by Dr. John Rabkin

 

Donna L.
on 10/10/17 7:07 pm, edited 10/10/17 12:08 pm - Chicago, IL
Revision on 02/19/18

I've seen far more DS patients need iron infusions more frequently than RNY patients - but, of course that's anecdotal and unique to my experience. As with all things, it depends on many individual factors.

Anything with a sleeve will always be more durable for ulcers and GI issues, especially when iron and protein malabsorption is involved. Usually where I am what causes GI bleeds is a combination of NSAIDs plus poor vitamin issues, because malnutrition turns the intestines into wet tissue paper. I've seen many clients get duodenal and stomach bleeds for this specific reason. It's a potentially fatal combination, sadly, and too many people gamble with it.

I follow a ketogenic diet post-op. I also have a diagnosis of binge eating disorder. Feel free to ask me about either!

It is not that we have so little time but that we lose so much...the life we receive is not short but we make it so; we are not ill provided but use what we have wastefully. -- Seneca, On the Shortness of Life

califsleevin
on 10/13/17 9:57 pm - CA

As you note, many factors apply. I see more of the reverse, but I suspect our populations are different. If you are looking mostly at a counseling/therapy based population, implicitly there are some compliance issues that hit on this subject as well, and as the DS is known to be more sensitive to supplementing and follow up, that could certainly drive side effects in a counterintuitive direction.. OTH, I see mostly people who are many years out and, by and large, successful and relatively compliant, as one would expect from those who continue post-op support activities for years after the fact. There may also be some variation in surgical technique and philosophy that influences the result - Dr. K has noted a couple times that he seeks to maximize the duodenum length when making the switch; others may prefer different trade offs that influence this aspect of the overall result.

1st support group/seminar - 8/03 (has it been that long?)  

Wife's DS - 5/05 w Dr. Robert Rabkin   VSG on 5/9/11 by Dr. John Rabkin

 

Donna L.
on 10/15/17 1:19 pm - Chicago, IL
Revision on 02/19/18

Oh, sure. I mean that's it is hard to determine "in the wild," so to speak, and I think there are absolutely surgeons who operate and shouldn't. I dislike the entire behavioral health side of bariatrics, as I feel it's grossly inadequate and non-standardized, but that's a rant for another time. I wish they would do more studies about it, actually, particularly as I feel the DS gets short-changed especially with the SADI stuff coming out. And I've frequently seen RNY patients in more life threatening situations, particularly when iron is low and NSAIDs worm their way in.

It's interesting to me how surgeons adjust the surgeries in general for various reasons. It's something most don't talk about, however I am rabidly (perhaps annoyingly?) curious about such things.

I follow a ketogenic diet post-op. I also have a diagnosis of binge eating disorder. Feel free to ask me about either!

It is not that we have so little time but that we lose so much...the life we receive is not short but we make it so; we are not ill provided but use what we have wastefully. -- Seneca, On the Shortness of Life

Sparklekitty, Science-Loving Derby Hag
on 10/10/17 3:38 pm
RNY on 08/05/19

OP has not been taking oral iron.

Sparklekitty / Julie / Nerdy Little Secret (#42)
Roller derby - cycling - triathlon
VSG 2013, RNY conversion 2019 due to GERD. Trendweight here!

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