I am 7 years out 42 and not sure what is going on with me..

Hello!

I had gastric by pass surgery 7 years ago and maintained my weight for all of that time within 10-15 pounds.Lets start JAN of this year.. I was not going for my labs as I should have for 5 of those years.. let me tell anyone one is going to have this or just have had this GO GET YOUR LABS DONE! Well I made a new years resolution this year to take care of myself because I have been feeling weak, dizzy, pale, cramps.. M iron levels came back with a 4 out of 12 so I was going for iron infusions.. I had a set of 5 and that did not bring up my levels so I just got done with a set of 3. Tomorrow I get a draw to see where I am at again. I have been taking my vitamins the gastric bypass optisource, can someone tell me what other vitamins would also help. I would like to be able to take more vitamins I am afraid as I age I will just have more issues what are you all taking?

Well compared to you I am a newbie. I had labs about every 2.5 months out in the first year and with the exception of B12 all my labs were always good. Being I am a guy I prob wont have the iron problems you do but I do take an iron pill each day. I take all my b12 sublingual and because I don't absorb it all that will I do that twice a day rather than once. All my other vitamins I take all the live long day every so many hours. You can't take them all at once and expect your body to absorb it.

 

Talk with your doctor about you vitamins and establish a routine on when to take them. The thing about iron pills is I am told they block your intake of calcium so you have to take them last before you go to bed. Otherwise if you take the iron first the calcium you take later will not be absorbed as well or at all. 

Mostly talk with the doc and maybe he will recommend some different vitamins for you. 

2 multi a day, if your taking optisource you need 8 a day to get the 200% recommended. I also take b12 sublingual 2500 mcg 3x a week, 1500 calcium daily. I do not need iron according to my labs, but it is something I keep a close eye on. I've been anemic in the past and infusions were all that worked if I see them going down I will have to do infusions again the doctor said.

I have Iron issues, it took me a year to get them within a "OK" range. From what my doctor told me it can take a while for Iron levels to get back up where they need to be. There is Like Iron in your blood and Ferritin Iron that is harder to get back up or something like that. All i know Is finaaly i feel better, My levels are good for me , I can function. I take vitamins and im 41, i have no problems with them as long as i remember to take them

I take chewable multis, iron and vitamin C and  D3  in the morning and then calcium in the evening. But everyone is different, it all depends on your labs.

Might I suggest you also have a bone density scan.  If you haven't been taking calcium for years, you may be at risk for osteoporosis.

That being said, my labs are always good (well, not BAD-but good in doctor's view, but D3 was low in my book last year so I've been taking more of that) and this is what I take:

Daily:

2 women's multis

6 calcium

1 iron

1 B complex

1 C

2 stool softeners

1  dry D3

 

Weekly:

Nascobal B12 nasal spray (one spray, one nostril)

optisource is no good for WLS patients, despite its marketing. if you compare its stats to other multivitamins, like centrum, they fall short. i would start by making that change. good luck.

Maybe you'll have more issues and maybe you won't. It's a certainty if you aren't taking vitamins. If you're taking your vitamins and they're all at good levels, whatever issues you may have will be better dealt with. Your body cannot do jack when its malnourished. Imagine having an iron level of 4 and needed emergency surgery for something -- that would be BAD.

I take Costco brand Performance vitamins (broken in half), PLUS I take 100mg of B1 a week, 25,000IU of dry vitamin A a week, 50,000IU of dry vitamin D every two weeks, 1000mcg of B12 daily, 100mg of pantothenic acid (B5) a day, 300mcg of selenium daily, 300mcg of K1, 600mcg of biotin, 1000 mg of calcium and magnesium in the form of a cal-mag citrate blend, 800mg of folic acid and the biggie for me, 150mg of elemental iron in the form of carbonyl iron and 3 Proferrin (heme iron) a day. I'm now adding in desiccated (dried, defatted) organic beef liver for the high levels of heme iron. Because I struggle with that one too and can't get infusions.

This is totally tweaked to me and my needs and interests. I don't need so much B5 for it to look good on lab reports, but B5 is well known to help with stress and the metabolism of certain amino acids that also helps with stress so I like it. Because I'm a worry wart.  I have to choose my multi-vitamins carefully or my B6 levels get too high, and that's common in iron deficiency too. Too much is just as bad as too little.

But I will tell you, it's nearly impossible to get everything you need from one multi-vitamin. Especially THAT multi-vitamin. I can swallow larger pills now and I bet you can too. I had great success with the Alive! Max Potency until I had to switch because of the stupid B6 issue. It has alot of everything, especially B vitamins. You'd still need more folic acid, biotin, calcium, iron, and maybe vitamin K. As with all those bigger tablets, I cut them in half for better absorption.

Everything but my iron looks great on labs. In fact my vitamin D got up to 127 taking the 50,000IU 3x/wk and so now I'm reducing that to get back to the 80-100 range.

And don't forget protein. I get 80-120g a day and my protein levels on labs are right around 7 where we want them to be.

Aside from iron and the problems it causes, my health is great. I'm 6 years out and 31 years old. No real regain but sometimes I'm fitter and sometimes I'm flabbier at the same weight and size depending on my lifestyle choices! Unfortunately I'm on the flabbier side right now, but summer is almost here and that'll change.