Like I have already stated twice, I understand this is a shot in the dark. I also know that when you alter a major body part, it could have some unexpected repercussions. 80 percent of the stomach is cut out, so I would argue that in some people malabsorption could be a possibility. I completely understand that is is VERY unlikely that my brother's ALS is caused from the sleeve surgery, but he's dying...it can't get much worse than that, so what's the harm in investigating all leads?

This is a shot in the dark , but I am reaching out to see if anyone else has had or heard of this:

About a year ago, my brother had the sleeve surgery and started dropping weight super fast. He was doing great, but after about 6 months, he started to develop a foot drag/drop and difficulty grasping things with his right hand. He didn't think much of it, but soon after, he started falling down/tripping (hard). He fell out of the blue in the kitchen and chipped his front tooth, and he also fell in the drive way on his way to get the mail (causing a concussion). He went to his primary doctor who ran a bunch of tests. His doctor couldn't find anything out of the ordinary from the tests, so he sent my brother to a neurologist. The Neurologist ran a whole bunch more tests and still nothing. Finally, my brother was sent to a major hospital in Los Angeles because his symptoms continued to progress. After several more test and comparing results with prior test results, it was revealed that he has motor neuron disease. The type he has been diagnosed with is ALS (the worst of all the MND's). Immediately after his diagnosis, we began doing research into other possible illnesses that mimic ALS (if you're not familiar, its the ice bucket challenge disease that has no cure), and we found some Vitamin deficiencies that cause the same symptoms. Armed with this new information, my brother headed to the mayo clinic in Minn. to see if he had been misdiagnosed and get a second opinion. Within the first 30 min. of his visit with the specialist, he was confirmed to have ALS without having anymore testing. He felt like the doctor dismissed the information about WLS and diseases that mimic ALS without a clear explanation. I guess I am writing this in the slim chance that someone else has had this happen to them, and if there is any helpful advice as to how to find a doctor who will look into alternative options. It just seems so fishy that he was perfectly healthy before surgery, and within a year he has been given a death sentence! We have read many studies on the (small) connection between bariatric surgery and neurological disorders. From what I have read, there are reported incidences of some vitamin deficiencies and nutritional malabsorption that can cause symptoms that mimic ALS. Like I said, I know it's a long shot, but I still think its worth investigating. I am just afraid that his doctors are not looking into the connection between rapid weight loss and neurological problems. If anyone knows any helpful info, we would love to hear from you...thanks so much for reading my post.