Vitamin Contradiction

 Yesterday while at a support group, a woman that had lost almost 200lbs( and you would never know it, she looked AMAZING, no skin issues at all) was very honest and said she never takes her vitamins but her labs always come back and are good. So the doctor said not to worry about taking the vitamins if her labs are fine. This was very contradicting to me. Then in the same breath the coordinator says vitamins for life. I’m still pre-op so this was very confusing to me. Any thoughts??

~Megan

Their labs might be fine for now, but sooner or later it will catch up with them.

I take my vitamins every day because I know right now im not eating enough foods to get all that I need. Also did she say her labs always come back good, or did a doctor say her labs are always good? with some things good for a normal person is different then good for us. There are some things most doctors dont even check unless you ask them, like protein, calcium, b12 just to  name a few. 

There is a really good post that might help some. I know I have started keeping a spreadsheet with alot of test done, date of test, results. That way I can keep track of what my labs are saying.

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/rny/4152810/Pam-T-or-Vital adyLa/

I would want to see her lab results. Seriously, vitamin deficiency can happen pretty rapidly, and it's just not worth the gamble to not take them. There are so many options for vitamins that there is absolutely no excuse for skipping them. I find it dangerously cavalier for the doctor to say she shouldn't worry about taking them, if he did indeed say that.

Vitamins are part of the package. End of story. I am not interested in playing Russian roulette with my health.

As far as skin goes, that has nothing to do with vitamins.

Take your vitamins.

I will now step down from my soapbox.

Her labs may be fine right now, but they can drop precipitously!  You did not say how far out she is, but I am 5 years out and my Vit D was too high (134) so my doctor -- despite my protestations -- told me not to take ANY Vit D except what is in my multi and my calcium.  I did as told and 4 weeks later, my Vit D was less than half of what it was (60-something) and now is too low.  It takes a while for some deficiencies to show up, but she WILL have some eventually.

Also, if her labs are "good" just because they are within the "normal" range on the lab report, that is NOT necessarily good.  We need a Vit D level of  80, for example, because we significantly malabsorb Vit D, but that is higher than what the lab sheet lists as in range.

Take your vitamins.  And ask her at thge next support group how afr out she is and how often she is having her labs done.

Lora

I agree..how is this going to affect her in the long run. They may be good now, but how is it going to affect her bones and health in the future. It's too much of a gamble. I'm not sure how far out, I think it was almost 2 years. I had no idea that they don't check for all things unless asked. I will def ask him what he checks for when we come back for check ups?

Several things here:

1)  How far out is she?  For some it takes longer for the deficiencies to show up.

2)  I would like to see her labs, wonder if she's actually seen them and tracked them.  I suspect there are at a minimum downward trends that will spiral out of control before long. 

3)  Some of the deficiencies she will face without supplementing can be permanent.....why would anyway WANT to take that chance.

Yes, when we elect RNY it is vitamins for life.

If she is truly tracking her trends, then the decision is hers ...  personally I prefer to take them prophylactically and that is what most of us do.

However ...   the most important thing about vitamins is tracking your results and noticing trends - up and down - do NOT rely on doctors/nurses/NP's/PA's to do it for you.   Decide now that you are going to be responsible for your health and not delegate it to people *****ally don't have as much invested in it as you!!!!

We all start this journey as individuals and we end it as such - what works for me and what I need to take may be completely different to what your needs may be - there is no one size fits all in this!!!

It is far far better to take daily supplements and have regular labs at least once per year.  It's far easier to make adjustments to low vitamain or mineral supplements vs end up with BIG deficiencis, which can lead to long term "catch up" to get the deficient item up to normal levels, or it can lead to long term issues which may never be fully resolved. DAVE

I don't believe her labs are always good.  I suspect some of them aren't.  However, she may not get them done regularly or may  not get a full set of labs (some docs don't order all the things I think we should get checked unless we specifically ask - like they may not order vitamin A, vitamin K, zinc, copper, etc).  If she hasn't been taking vitamins for very long, like more than a few months, then there is just no way all her labs are all good.  However, it can take a long long time before people start experiencing symptoms of some deficiencies, so she might look and feel fine for quite a while.  In the meantime, she may be developing irreversable nerve damage, bone loss, etc.

most drs dont know what levels are are suppose to be at....i was told my levels were fine when my b-12 was at 352....and my D was at 37...which I know they are not fine....i was told by my PCM and my bypass surgeon my levles were fine....it finally took a trip to the chiro and he agreed with me that my levels were very low..but he is very much into nutrition and such along with the chiroptratic......

i did get a new PCM and had my labs done with him... and he agreed with my old labs that they were low from the previous drane labs... as i was ok, with the labs he had drawn..but was low 6 months before that...

now to this time..i was off my vitamin regime for about 4 weeks and i noticed that things really dropped...and again a new PA with the base is concerned so they are running them again in 3 months, but i know i was not faithful for about a month....so things can drop very quickly and i am sure your friends levels are not FINE....even if her drs are telling her they are fine..

just take your vitamins....yes it sucks..but its life..

debby