StefanieSparklePants

I was told my blood work was fine by my bariatric team. A couple months later I was overwhelmed with fatigue and ongoing hair loss. I insisted my general practitioner re-run my blood work. It came back that I had anemia. My bariatric team didn't run every test available to check for anemia. They only checked my ferritin which was technically "normal" but borderline. The TIBC and iron saturation and total iron count came back as showing I had anemia. Exhaustion could also be not getting enough calories, but in my case it was anemia. Make sure they're checking more than just your ferritin levels. My iron starting tanking around month 10. Might not be that, but once i upped my iron, some of the fatigue went away. Still battling it though.

Despite taking the recommended dosage of Iron I still ended up anemic. Despite taking some of the best Vitamins offered, I'm 14 months out and still losing hair to the anemia. Sometimes your journey won't be perfect. I have new challenges now. I'm slowly restoring my iron levels. My hair keeps getting cut shorter and shorter. But, keep in mind, sometimes what's recommended may not always be enough for you/ might be too much for you. That's why it's important to watch for the signs and symptoms of anything..... Weird. I kept all my post surgery bariatric appointments and was faithful with blood work. I told my team about my symptoms a couple months after the blood work and they told me, oh, well your blood work was fine. I had my general practitioner run my blood work and It came back anemic. Anemia can come on quick. Weirdly enough, i have too high of levels of Vitamin D and B12. Go figure. So, the point of this ramble is to pay attention to changes in your body and you really do have to be your own health advocate and DEMAND testing.

Same thing happened to me, and still does on occasion. Warm soup will be your best friend. I'd heat my water up before I drank it which soothed my tummy. The first couple drinks in the morning was hell for awhile. It gets better.

The water flavoring packets are great, but LOADED with acid, which caused me tummy pains early out. I can drink them now just fine. Your tums is super sensitive right now. I would say that stopped bothering me around month 5.

Miralax and colace together should help. That and a good pro-biotic

It's not about, "how much can I get away with without dumping." It's about completely changing your ways. Muffins and pancakes (even the so-called healthy ones) can have up to 40-some carbs in just 1 serving. It isnt always about sugars. I dump with high carb items too (like the ones you mentioned.) save testing those waters until you're at least 1 year out or close to goal. Not sure how far out you are, but that's a slippery slope.

Two words for you: Water weight.

What are you eating?

Hi, I feel like this is pretty unusual. I had my RNY last july 20th, 2015. For the most part, I didn't have trouble with incisions healing, but 1 incision did become mildly infected. I was prescribed antibiotic salve and it cleared up. From time to time, if I hit my side against something or wear an elastic waistband over that old incision area, it become irritated and sometimes will scab over. This seems crazy that a 14-month old scar would still scab over and get irritated. It doesn't seem normal. But I'm guessing it is because i've irritated old scar tissue where the incision was made? I dont know. It's weird. Help!

Not sure which Bariatric Advantage vitamin you got, but I use the Bariatric Advantage chewable Innovation. It's newer than their previous chewable. It's got an improved taste and iron and calcium together. I really like it. It's like a fruit punch. They're expensive, but Im willing to pay for a vitamin i enjoy taking.

I recommend Quest protein powders (Amazon, GNC). They are pretty good. The ready made Premier protein shakes (i think they were mentioned already) are pretty good too.

Try this question in the gastric sleeve portion of bariatric pal. You might get more answers.

Has anyone taken spironolactone after gastric bypass? I take it for PCOS, mild acne, and to help with edema and swelling near my ankles. (I thought the edema problem would go away after losing 125 pounds. I was wrong). Did anyone have trouble with the drug after bypass? Absorption-wise or other issues? Thanks!

Gas-X wont help you with the gas they pump into your abdomen during surgery. It only works for gas in you digestive system.

3 weeks at home

So far. Mini Peanut Butter sandwiches and cheese and a piece of dark chocolate helps me. I'll look into glucose tablets for those really bad times. I think at my lowest reading, it was in the 40s and I felt like I was dying. I cant imagine the low 30s. Beyond scary. It's too bad, because it seems to be set off by morning coffees. Only a month ago, my morning coffees weren't a problem. Carbs have made their way back into meals too and that doesn't help. I'll have to be super mindful. I hear about folks getting bypass reversals because of this stuff, and that's not really in the cards for me. Thanks for the suggestions!

I've read some posts about folks dealing with reactive hypoglycemia at about 1 year + out. Im a little over a year out and now struggling with it. Ive read several links explaining what it exactly is. What I'm asking with this post is what are some of your personal remedy foods and emergency Snacks? I could use some ideas. Protein pairing seems to be key.

It's just IV fluids. Im a little surprised they didnt tell you that would happen.

food mourning is real. It's ok. I'm over a year out and make mistakes. Sugar/food was a major addiction and i used it to take my blues away. Sometimes it happens. I've suffered through dumping a couple times just to have a taste of what I once considered "normal." Melty Mints are my weakness. You know the ones. They are Hershey kissed shaped and are pastel pink, yellow and green with white sprinkles on the bottoms. Oh how i miss them! Sometimes you just need to talk about the cravings you're having. Maybe it sounds a bit silly, but it helps. It's just good to know other people have their moments too!

Im over a year out. Certain birth controls effect my weight and make me gain. My psych meds still seem to work well. Iron absorption seems to be an issue for me. I space out meds and vitamins through the day. That seems to help.

Im a little over a year out and just only now feel comfortable drinking caffeine. I'll get a SF mocha from starbucks like, once a week. Its wonderful to have caffeine again, but it also can play havoc with blood sugar levels too as you're more sensitive to caffeine after surgery. It hits your system super fast (like alcohol does). My advice is to listen to your surgeon and use caution first time you get anything SF, as the SF stuff can make some folks dump or super gassy! Not fun to be gassy at work all day and then have a caffeine crash. Trust me!

It's a misconception that dumping comes on by only eating too much sugar or fats. I dump if i drink water too quickly. It can be a bummer. Just be super mindful going forward and you should be fine.

Im over a year out and still deal with 2 week long periods. Ive just switched to seasonale so I only get bleeds 4 times a year. If you end up in the same boat, get the bleeding under control ASAP, because then you might be dealing with anemia as well. Anemia is no fun. I have zero energy. Im currently on massive iron dosages. I had/still have PCOS, and I dont know if that has played a role in the abnormally long periods, but it probably hasnt helped. I noticed too, after a couple months out from surgery, PMS pain is more intense too. I was told this is due to all the estrogen being release through fat loss. It's definitely a journey. Most people seem to get their hormones under control after your weight loss plateaus. I was told that was going to happen for me too; it unfortunately didn't. So, all I can say is, if you end up having long bleeds, get that under control fast and talk to your team about upping your iron.

Im a little over a year out and Im struggling with this. It wouldnt hurt to invest in a glucose monitor. Ive had too many episodes now where I crash, I try to remedy it with like, peanut butter crackers and cheese, and then I just crash again, and on and on it goes for the entire day. Protein followup seems to be key, but sometimes you can get too far gone. Ive had blood sugars so low I get confused. You dont want to get to that point. It's scary. Monitoring has helped some.

Djmohr, Thanks for your response. I keep hearing in several forums that absorption comes back. I also have not found any evidence to support this. I'm not sure if people's surgeons are telling them this or not. I recall hearing a few people say something about the receptors (or something) within the intestines " grow back," and then more absorption occurs and that this magically happens when a honeymoon period is over. Everyone's honeymoon period differs, though. I only lost weight for 9-10 months, then I was done, and I'm still anemic. So, i dont know. Like you said, there's no evidence of this. It's weird what people will believe. Thanks for the input!