Vit D deficency and Weight loss

Is there any correlation between Vit D def. and slow weight loss?  I am a light weight and I have actually had a revision from a failed gastric sleeve to an RNY.  I faithfully take all my required vit's.  Once in a while I forget the calcium but for the most part I am right on schedule.  I am 11 weeks post op and at 4 weeks post op all labs were normal.  As of today I have lost 38 pounds since the revision.  I have been in a stall for 3 days.  I am so upset with myself..... What am I doing wrong?

You are on target...that is 3.5 per week. I average 2.45 per week. For a lightweight. You are excelling

You're not doing anything wrong.  Here are the averages:

20lbs - in month 1
7-10lbs - in months 2-6
5-7lbs after month 6

So at 3 months out post op, if you were exactly on average you'd be at 34 to 40lbs lost.  You've still got 1 week to go before you hit the 3 month mark and you're already ABOVE average with your weight loss.  38lbs is great!

Also... 3 days of the scale not moving is NOT a stall.  It's not a stall (or plateau****il you don't lose any pounds OR inches for 4 or more weeks.

You're doing great.

BTW -- if you're vitamin D deficient, what are you doing to fix that?

I just found out yesterday that I was Vit D def.  I will see my surgeon next Tuesday.  I have to travel 5 hours to see him.  I suppose they will put me on 50,000 iu a week for 3 months on and 3 months off. Maybe a little sunshine might help too.  

Thanks for the data on the weight loss averages.  I am going to write them down and post them so I can remind myself not to go into a panic mode!   

If they put you on the Rx for Vitamin D.... skip it.  After RNY those little green gelcaps are useless to us.  They are Vitamin D2 (less potent version of D) and they are suspended in oil (we malabsorb fats now).  You want a water soluble version of Vitamin D3.  Unfortunately the right kind is not available by prescription -- but you can buy it over the counter. 

I buy mine on Amazon.  It's Biotech 50,000IU Vitamin D3 in a small capsule. Here's the link.

For info on why this is better for us, here's Andrea's post about it. http://wlsvitagarten.com/2010/03/22/scripted-d-fail/

Also realize that once a week for 3 months isn't going to cut it either.  You need to be much more aggressive than that.  I did 30 days of 1x per day, then 30 days of 3x per week, then 30 days of 1x per week... then retested.  I brought my levels up from 32 to 84 in 3 months and have been able to maintain that level since.  I now take 1x per week 50,000IU plus 5,000IU per day just to keep my numbers up in the range that's ideal (80-100ng/ml)

You can put yourself on vitamin D.  What you want is  D3, not D2.  D3 is available over the counter.  In fact, you cannot get it by prescription.  As Pam explained, you don't want the prescription stuff because it will not be absorbed.  But many docs don't realize that.

How low is your D?  If it's very low, 50,000 IU once a week won't be enough.  RNY folks with good D probably need about that much to maintain it.

Kelly

If they give you prescription D please don't bother.  I took it for 2 years with absolutely no affect.  I then went onto Dry D3 - by Biotech which I get at Vitalady.com -50,000 units 2 times per week and my levels went from 36 to 97 in 2 months.  Once you get to a level you like, you need to stay on that dose, never as you said, go off them for 3 months, that is just a recipe for disaster.  My levels actually went down a little on 2 times per week, so I increased further to 3 times per week which is where I am now.  I am awaiting my current labs results as week speak.

I am severly D deficient and right now I'm taking upwards of 50,000 IU per day in addition to my regular supplements to boost my numbers. I won't do that forever but I do take the pill that Pam recommended.

While I can't speak about correlations for weight loss, I can say I FEEL so much better. Ignoring my deficiency brought about joint aches and pains that were impacting my life. I felt like a 100 year old woman!

Pam and Kelly:  What are your sources regarding Vitamin D2 vs Vitamin D3 after Roux-en-Y?  I was unable to find a study proving that one is absorbed better than the other after Roux-en-Y.

Actually... it's not an issue specific to RNY or weight loss surgery.  It's for everyone.  Vitamin D3 is about 3x more potent than Vitamin D2 within the body (some studies stay up to 10x).  When we ingest Vitamin D2 it must first be converted to Vitamin D3 before it can be used by the body... so in that conversion process, some of the potency of D2 is lost.  When we are exposed to sunlight and our body converts UVB rays to vitamin D... it's making D3, not D2. 

For more Vitamin D information than you ever wanted to know... take some time at the Vitamin D Council website (www.vitamindcouncil.org) and read up on all their research.  For specifics about the different types of D, here's a page that will get you started: http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/vitaminDPharmacology.shtml