Confused about vitamins and supplements, ranges and ratios???

I used a general surgeon for my sleeve (last Feb) and he doesn't believe there are any mal-absorbtion issues for sleevers.  I've discussed it all with him and he said I'm "good to go," and don't even require lab work etc...  I should just take a daily multivit. and I'll be fine.

So...I asked my general pract. to order complete labs on my blood to confirm this.  I waited until after 3 months post op had passed and then had my blood work done.  Just got the results and I don't really know how to decifer.  I was told by my GP that all was fine but iron was a bit low so I can try to increase my consumption of iron-laden green leafy things... or take a supplement but it may be constipating.

Otherwise, my labs show:  95 sugar...181 Cholest, 55 Tri, 52 HDL and 118 LDL.  My iron was 35 and 15 iron saturation.  all B vitamins looked good as did my vit. D.  I am waiting for her to send me a copy of the lab results but she said all looked fine. 

Here's where I get confused!!  My dearest and very knowlegable friends (who have also had wls) recommend supplements and I've really been preferring not to take anything I don't have to take.  They said my ratios could be better.  

Any suggestions and recommendations??  I will be 4 months out on June 19.  I do keep stalling despite sticking to plan, but I've lost about 50lbs.  thanks!!

Congrats on the great blood work results!  Everyone is different, with different diets and different needs.  Have your friends had VSG or some other type of WLS?  Unless they have degrees in nutrition or medicine, ignore them!  Well meaning friends do not trump your doctor.  That's what blood work tests are for.

Those numbers look really good to me. I am surprised your cholesterol is that high but in the scheme of things that is not a high cholesterol number. I would suggest spinach for the iron as a supplement will make our typical poopie problems far worse. I take a lot of supplements but at the core is a simple multi-vitamin and that is really all we need. Now I take a triple dose as while we may not have absorption issues we do not get as much as they expect from our normal diet, so when they give the percentages of daily recommended values its based on a normal diet which we do not have. So I triple up. Now if you want to improve your situation, I would say take additional vits a, e, d, and b vitamins. The a and e will help with skin retraction. You could also take some BCAA (branch chain amino acids) as they protect muscle and help with building lean muscle as well.  Some CLA and ALA as well as the BCAA also promote fat burn. They are not fat burners but they help shuttle the fat from fat cells to your blood stream for processing. There are whole host of other amino acids that would be beneficial but even the list I gave you here is a lot to consume. L-Carnetine and Acetyle L-Carnetine are also good for fat burn. There are a number of other fat burners you might want to consider too like green tea extract and garlic supplements. To really reduce cholesterol Polycosinol works amazingly well because it coats your arterial walls so that cholesterol cannot stick to them and it basically gets shuttled out through your liver.

I'm over 3 years post-op and take a multivitamin and mineral tablet once a day.  Bloods fine.  Many Drs follow the guidelines for RnY, which is not appropriate for us.  :-)