Question for old school DSers (5+ years out)

Im now considering DS over RNY and will be making an appointment with Dr. Swietzer (sp?) at Johns Hopkins on Monday.  I know it may take a while for me to get in, so will have to continue doing my own research until then.

So, one of the things that concerns me is that I am only 28 years old and I am not sure how being that young and dealing with the affects of nutritional deficiencies may affect me long term.  Im sure it will be okay for now, but what about when Im 50-60 years old?  Im not sure how it will affect my ability to have healthy babies later on, and am concerned about things like night blindness, osteoporosis (my grandmother has it, so Im thinking that may put me at higher risk), etc.


So for those of you who have been living with your DS for at least 5-10 years, honestly, how are you feeling?   Are your labs okay?  Have you had issues and needed to up some of your vitamins the further out you get?  Oh, and are you able to stop yourself from loosing too much weight (I want to be able to maintain 175 and not get much smaller than that).

Thanks for your patience!

Nicci

Hi Nicci,

Welcome to the DS forum!

I am eight years out and feeling great and have really good labs. The key is to be committed to getting regular blood work done to continuously monitor your blood levels and modify your supplementation as needed.

I've had a few issues since having my DS, but nothing I consider out of the ordinary, just more a function of being human. You can read my profile for details.

My bone strength is excellent, I work out 8-9 hours a week because I enjoy it and miss it when I don't, my blood levels are good and I've never felt better!

Hope this helps. All your concerns are things you have to be committed to staying on top of and making sure you are your number one health advocate!

Good luck!

Jillian

Thanks for the response, Jillian.  And congratulations on getting back down to your lowest weight :-)

 Hijack!! Jillian, you look great. Love the new avatar.

Heather

Thanks Heather!

I'm nearly 5.5 years out, and my vitamin and other supplement needs have been minimal.  However, over time, I have had to adjust some things:

Two years ago, I added a zinc supplement -- upon retesting, zinc was neatly back in the normal range.

This last year, it was recommended that I add iron, which I have not previously supplemented, as my ferritin was trending down.  I will retest in a few weeks to see how that has worked.

This last year, it was also recommended that I add vitamin D, which I had not previously supplemented -- that recommendation was also based on a very slight trend downward, but mostly because there is a new "normal" range for D that is significantly higher than previously used, and I fell below the low end of that new normal range.  I take one 50K IU pill three times a week, and I will retest this as well in a few weeks to see how that has worked.

I have not had to worry about losing too much weight -- I only just hit goal a few weeks ago!

Congrats on reaching goal, Diana.  I think I read that initially you only had to take prenatal vits and calcium? 

Also, silly questions here, but what does everyone mean by regular testing?  Once a year, twice a year...?

Thanks!

At least yearly. When I have an issue that I am adjusting my supplements to address, I will test after a few months of making the change to make sure I am on the right track.

If all is well, I think most people test yearly. Some do every six months initially and then move to once yearly.

Jillian

Thanks for clarifying, Jillian.

Yes, that's all I took for the first three years, except for my own addition of vitamin C.  My labs were perfect.

But those yearly labs are not optional, and this year, I will be doing another set of labs midyear to check whether the iron and D supplementation I started a couple of months ago is working.  If not, I will adjust again.