Surgery Soon....in need of a bit of help

Hello Everyone,

So I met with my surgeon last week and he said that he is recommending that I get RNY, I am not going to lie I was a bit on the fence with getting this procedure done because I was afraid that there were major "vitamin defficiencies" after talking with him he reassured me that there wasnt if you take your vitamins as told, is this true??? I want to know all of your expertise because you all have had the RNY and what I should expect???


Thank you all in advance..

No, DS requires major vitamins.  I had RNY and take my vitamins and I am 2 and a half years out, below goal and doing awesome!  I have never felt healthier and thanks to the vitamins I don't gret sick as often as I did before WLS. 

 I'm hoping some of the more seniors respond to this one.

I had RNY ~8 weeks ago., my father about 2 years ago.

I take
B12
B complex
Multivitamin 2x daily
D3
Iron 
Calcium citrate 3x daily


Its not really a big deal, but I also have no problems with swallowing pills.  My father takes the same course and aside from having to up his vitamin D to 2000iu from 1000 a couple of months ago, he's been good.

The calcium bugs me sometimes, my schedule flips between days and nights and it's easy to loose track. I think you will find though that *all* of the WLS come

 Cut my post off....

Some sort of vitamin regimen.  I think there is very little difference between the supplements aside from a pill or 2.  The 5 year study information got VGS should be available now for comparison.

Either way, best of wishes!

 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20094819?itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum&ordinalpos=1

5 yr study. Here ya go!

That's not exactly true.

It would be very, very unusual for post ops never to develop any vitamin deficiencies.  However, as long as you take your vitamins as recommended by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (be careful because some surgeons do not tell patients to take the things recommended by the ASMBS, some tell them to take Flintstones, for instance, which are not adequate for us), get your labs done regularly (a complete set of labs, not just the few things some doctors recommend) AND adjust your vitamin supplements accordingly, you should not have any MAJOR deficiencies because you will catch them while they are still minor and take care of them then.

A while back I did a survey here on OH about nutritional deficiencies and here are the results.

Most commonly reported was vitamin D deficiency, present in 77 percent of people responding to the survey.  It should be noted that vitamin D deficiency is also very common in the general population, not just in gastric bypass patients.

Iron deficiency was also common, with 54 percent of people responding to the survey having experienced that.  Iron deficiency is not as common as vitamin D deficiency in the general population but it’s not uncommon in menstruating women, either.

Vitamin B12 deficiency was also fairly common in gastric bypass patients responding to the survey, present in 46 percent of respondents.  Vitamin B12 deficiency is reportedly rare in the general population but is fairly common in gastric bypass patients due to decreased intrinsic factor in the surgically created pouch.

Of all respondents, 23 percent reported vitamin A deficiencies.  In addition to the malabsorption created by bypassing part of the small intestine, gastric bypass patients have difficulty absorbing beta carotene, a source of vitamin A found in many vitamin supplements.  That’s because they don’t produce as much stomach acid as “normal" people and a fair amount of stomach acid is necessary for the absorption of beta carotene.

Fifteen percent reported vitamin B1 and vitamin B6 deficiencies.  Some doctors do not routinely order lab tests to check for B6 deficiencies, though, so some of the respondents may have had B6 deficiencies that went undiagnosed.  Fifteen percent also reported potassium deficiencies, which can be deadly if not treated promptly.

Eight percent reported deficiencies in vitamin K, zinc, copper and magnesium.  Some doctors do not routinely order lab tests to check for vitamin K or copper deficiencies, though, so some of the respondents may have had vitamin K or copper deficiencies that went undiagnosed. 

It should also be noted that the average person responding to the survey had experienced three different nutritional deficiencies since their surgery.

 Thanks Kelly,

I was hoping you would respond with better information. ^_^

Thank you Kelly. When I went and met with the nutritionist they said that we can take flinestones for our multi vitamin...why can we not? What multivitamin do you take??

The reason we should not take Flintstones is because they are missing some of the nutrients we need, like seleniium.  We need a complete adult multi, one that includes minerals like selenium, according to the ASMBS.

I take Centrum or a generic equivalent.

You need to get it in your mind that you have to take vitamins the rest of your life. They are not optional at the 2 year point or later when you are eating more "normally" or when the caloric malapsorbtion stops. Vitamins are a LIFETIME commitment with RNY. Vitamin deficiencies can permanently harm your health. It is a serious matter and you need to understand it before surgery.

They are easy to manage once you get your routine down. I'd rather take my vitamins than the other medications I was taking for my comorbidities.

It is good that you are thinking about it before surgery.

Good luck,

Kay