Hello there, I just made my account after having received my DS back in 2013. I'm about to turn 23, so I got my procedure when I was 16 (guessing I may be the youngest person on this forum now haha.) I know you'll probably be met with some surprise or even dismay at that fact given that it's pretty unconventional, but at this point it's safe to say that it was a good decision for me as by all measures I'm extremely healthy. However, the only persistent issue that's been plaguing me is anxiety issues. What I'm anxious about varies but for the past year or so I've gotten borderline obsessive when it comes to vitamin/malnutrition anxiety. This is despite going by the recommendations of my surgeon and having good bloodwork (I just got my labs for this year done a couple weeks ago and all looks good.) Current regimen is:

Kirkland multivitamin 2x a day

Kirkland calcium citrate (this version has d3, magnesium, and other minerals in it) 4x a day

Iron in the morning

5000IU Vit D 1x daily with one of my calcium doses.

However, after having done some more research this past year, I see that regimens for different people vary WILDLY, with recommendations calling for additional A, E and K as well as b12 on top of what I personally take, all the way up to the vitalady regimen which is on another planet compared to what I take. I've discussed this with my parents as well, who are 15 and 20 years out respectively from their own DS surgery, who are on the same regimen as me and have maintained good labs the entire time. Their answer to me is that while that may be better for some people (i.e. vitalady's regimen) there appears to be no real reason for me to take nearly that many supplements. However, despite this, I see people on this forum ranting and raving about how someone like me is "hospital bound" or "slowly killing myself" by not taking the 30+ supplements vitalady prescribed, even though like I said my entire family's labs have been fine for years despite taking what our surgeon (Dr. John Rabkin of Pacific Laparoscopy) recommends. While I realize that people are often really only educated as to their own personal needs (despite claiming to be more educated than all medical professionals it seems like) and that every DS patient adapts differently, has different abilities to absorb, etc., this has still left me with some pretty debilitating anxiety. For instance, after reading some vitalady testimonies on here, I got so anxious that I was basically slowly killing myself that I have been bedridden for the entirety of today. However, as I said, I've received no professional medical advice telling me to alter my intake and instead only have anecdotal evidence of peoples' own experiences telling me I need to change. I'm not trying to invalidate anyone else's experiences here, as like I said, no one's going to know their own needs better than themselves at the end of the day based on their own lab history and stuff like that. But at the same time the disparity between what I see here and what has worked for me thus far is still extremely distressing, especially given my age as I will have to monitor my vitamins for far longer than most patients given my young age. Basically, I really don't want to die an early death because of this surgery, and I want to feel like I'm doing enough.

Thanks for your reply. I often wonder about this as well. I will be 20 years postop soon. I am older than you and so far I am in better shape than most of my peers. No meds/no walkers/canes. No broken bones. I can still run and do anything I could do at 20. Still can't do squats but I couldn't do them at 20 either...

I do have some dental problems and I could blame those on my DS except both my parents and all my grands had NO teeth by the time they were my age. I think my problem is genetics, not surgery.

I just compare myself to others in my age group and so far so good. When I see all the crappy food most of my peers eat, it makes me hope that makes up for whatever ill effects there may be from the malabsorbtion. And like you said, no long term studies or real information available so it's a best guess scenario.

You are extremely fortunate to be able to eat carbs like that at 6 years out. Very different from most of us but men are always better at weight loss than women! 350 carbs is more than I eat on a cheat day! I can't even LOOK at that many carbs without gaining. Maybe it's your activity level.

I do have a question. You remarked that malabsorbtion will take it's toll on your body as you age. Curious. Why do you feel that way? Thanks!

Congratulations on 6 years!

One PM is not good for me because I am delivering a home cooked meal to my Covid quarantined Parents exactly then.

When I arrive we eat.

So I hope you'll choose the weekend . Eleven would be ideal for me but 10:30 works too ( I swim early in the morning then shower )

I'm 6 years post op Sadi DS, and had a similar issue. It also happens with other procedures after losing a lot of weight. Your body is looking to reach a new equilibrium.

In a nutshell, you like are not retaining enough fluids. If you have a lot of loose stool bowel movements, you losing fluids in urine and bowel movements while your body is trying to adjust.

It lasted on/off for me from month 12 or so to around 18. I had to increase sodium intake, and cardiologist suggested eating salty foods for awhile. Obviously drink more water based products.

It's not been an issue for me since.