The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has published the article “Nutritional Deficiencies after Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass for Morbid Obesity Often Cannot be Prevented by Standard Multivitamin Supplementation”. One of the startling finds in their study to me was that only 33% of the participants were compliant in taking their vitamins at all. Their study found that at three months 34% of the study participants needed at least one supplement, by 6 months the number had increased to 59% and by month 24 the number was up to 98%. The conclusions of the study were
(1) A single multivitamin is insufficient post-Roux-en-Y gastric bypass to prevent deficiencies. In fact 60% were deficient within six months and virtually all participants were deficient within 24 months.
(2) The vitamin D and calcium deficiency prevalence corresponds with the length of the Roux-en-Y limb.
(3) Proper and adequate post-operative supplementation may become burdensome and expensive and challenge patient compliance.
I have to say that I was thrilled to see that there was a study done on this subject. I still get emails that doctors are telling their patients a Flintstone a day is enough. This study shows that you absolutely need to commit to much more than that. I wish they had gone into what those deficiencies are and what the signs and symptoms are, but I guess that can be for a later study. I don’t think that many doctors and patients know what the symptoms of deficiencies of iron, calcium, magnesium, thiamine, etc., are and how they can present, such as ice craving, agitation, heart racing or “panic attack”…. I friend of mind developed peripheral neuropathy. He also broke his leg one Christmas. After six weeks in a cast, expecting to get his cast off, he went back to the doctor, they X-rayed his leg and there had been absolutely no recalcification of the break. And he had been taking his Calcium Citrate as directed. They ended up having to double the dose and healing time .
If anyone would like to read this study for themselves it is located at: http://www.ajcn.org/content/87/5/1128.full.pdf
I just got the blood work back from my doctor and my cholesterol was 143, HDL was 58, my LDL was 70 and my Triglycerides were 76. Excellent – so far so good! Like I said earlier. D was only 46 and expected it would be higher.
I was astonished to see in this study that only 33% take their vitamins!
My daily regimen:
High Potency Multi Vitamin – 6 x per day (2 softgels are a “serving”)
Magnesium Taurate – 125 mg 5 x per day (plus I spray magnesium oil on my skin for transdermal absorption) – I have never had a “so called panic attack since I started taking magnesium”
Omega-3 Fish Oil – 3 TBS per day (Carlson) – Barlean’s is supposed to awesome though (comes in Pina Colada)
Vitamin D3 – 2 5,000 IU per day
Calcium Citrate – 2,000 mg (4 TBS Nature’s Blend Blueberry)
Vitamin A – 10,000 IU 2 x per day
Vitamin E – 400 IU 1 x per day
Multi-Mineral Capsule – 1x per day
B12 – injection 1cc per month
Niacin (non-Flush) – 500 mg 2x per day (may stop taking with cholesterol numbers)
Tyrosine – 500 mg – 3 x in the morning
Taurine – 1500 mg – evening (as needed)
1 protein shake/bar per day
itsnotaddictiontransfer 