SeattleGirl72

P.S. even if my osteoporosis was due to the surgery (and again, I really have no idea), I still would have had the surgery. I was under a lot more health risk weighing over 300 lbs than I am now. And besides, they do have bone-building drugs. But again, Calcium supplements and weight-bearing exercise are a good idea and may help you avoid it.

I have osteoporosis, but it runs rampant in my family (I'm 60 years old - so getting to be that age, too...). I didn't have a baseline scan done before I had surgery, so I have no idea how much of it was the surgery and how much was genetics & age. I suspect it might have been some of both.
And yes - adequate Calcium supplementation and weight-bearing exercises should help...
you do lose some bone weight with any major weight loss because you don't need the same amount of bone to hold up 150 lbs as you do 300 lbs....so some loss is normal, expected, and not problematic. But yes...you want to try to avoid osteoporosis. I honestly don't know how common it is, although I know it's happened to some people. But as with mine, it may have something to do with age & genetics, too - you really don't know for sure unless you had a scan prior to surgery.

I had a sleeve for nine years and my Vitamin and mineral levels were perfect. I just took my Vitamins and Calcium every day.

One of the reasons I was leaning towards sleeve surgery was because issues with malabsorption were less frequent than with other weight loss surgeries, or so I understood.
I stopped taking my Vitamins early this year after I started maintenance (made me nauseated so I wouldn’t eat) & my bloods have come back twice since then with all my levels being very good. My bone density is excellent too. My surgeon & dietician are happy with me but we’ll keep monitoring just to make sure. I do eat a balanced diet: Protein, vegetables, fruit, dairy, whole/multi grains, low fat, etc. And I think I just absorb my nutrients well - genetics play a part here I think.
We’re all different & those who’ve had issues may naturally not absorb nutrients via food &/or supplements as well as others. Some sleevers happily give up regularly taking vitamins yet others continue to take supplements for myriad reasons.
Follow your team’s instructions re vitamins & keep up with your blood tests to monitor your levels. That way it there are any significant drops in your levels they are picked up quickly & something can be done about it. There’s a difference between being aware of possible complications & worrying about something that may not happen.
Good luck with your surgery.

Even if a deficiency occurs, labs are ordered so often in the beginning, most things are rarely missed or corrected in a timely fashion.

Of the mainstream procedures, the sleeve will be the most benign of them when it comes to supplement needs and the amount of trouble one can get into by ignoring them and the labs. Supplementing with the sleeve is largely an individual thing - there is much more influence by individual variations and dietary habits than there is from the surgery. I've never heard of B1 being a particular problem, but given that the primary dietary source is from the grain complex, and many people are into low carb dieting (Atkins, Keto, etc.) that minimizes that food group, it isn't surprising that such deficiencies would be showing up - not from the procedure, but from the chosen diet. My wife is chronically low in Potassium, but that is just her, not her WLS (as DS in her case.) That is managed by checking levels periodically and adjusting supplements as needed - just as if she had never had WLS.
I have heard it hypothesized that there might be some Iron absorption issue with the sleeve owing to the somewhat more rapid transit times of food through the stomach, but I haven't seen any validation of that concern. The malabsorbing (RNY, DS) procedures specifically do malabsorb minerals such as iron to varying degrees as much of the mineral absorption happens in the duodenum which is bypassed entirely (in the RNY) or partially (in the DS) so iron levels can certainly be more of a challenge with those patients. I had a bleed a few years ago that sapped my iron/ferritan levels, but was able to restore them to normal in a few months by doubling my oral iron supplement; most with an RNY or DS would need iron infusions to recover from those levels.
I tend to lose a bit of D normally so have been supplementing that since before my VSG and continue to do so at moderate levels (2-5k IU) both from that perspective, and also our surgeon prefers to see us in the higher end of the normal range on the blood levels; some in the malabsorbing camp will use 50k IU supplements to keep things in line (particularly the DS folks who specifically malabsorb fat soluble Vitamins such as D)
I know quite a few long time DS people (10-20+ years) and have seen very little problem as long as labs are regularly taken (annually usually) and responded to; however ignore those at your peril as weird things can happen if you don't. And that's with the DS, which is the fussiest of the procedures in that regard. With a sleeve, you are much more likely to get into trouble by something that you bring to the table - whether that be intrinsic or behavioral - but that is good reason to keep up with periodic lab checks just the same (my labs are a lot simpler than those of a typical DS or RNY person, as there is less that is needed to be monitored with the VSG.)

I have a high-stress desk job where I work 10-hour days. My surgeon recommended taking at least two weeks off,, but I went back after one (11 days, to be precise; I had surgery on a Thursday and took that weekend off, plus the next full week, and then went back the Monday after that). I had a follow-up visit with my surgeon six days after surgery, and he cleared me to return to work. I am working from home most days, but I was in the office my first day back.
I felt well enough to go back to work a week earlier, but I wouldn't recommend it because it's practically a full-time job just to track your fluids and Protein at first. I felt great the day I went back, and by then, I was able to drink more fluids and didn't need to track by the hour, so I just sipped Water at my desk all day and had a Protein Shake for lunch.
I will say that I was not as productive as usual the first couple of weeks back just because I was a bit preoccupied with thinking about the surgery, getting protein and fluids, what to tell people if they noticed I wasn't eating any solid food or that I've lost weight (nobody has noticed either so far), etc. But I'm guessing that no matter how much time I had taken off, I still would have been distracted the first couple of weeks back.

At the time of my surgery, I had a high-stress desk job where I easily worked 10 hours/day, more with my commute (which was 1-1.5 hours coming and going).
I had my surgery on a Tuesday and returned to work the following Monday. *That first week, I was able to work from home, so I did. BUT, I was fatigued and needed more frequent breaks than usual. One day, during that first week, I stepped away from my desk for a lunch break and sat down on my couch. I woke up 1.5 hours later!
The following week (would have been week 2), I returned to the office. I can't say that I was terribly fatigued by then and had no trouble concentrating to perform my job. However, for several weeks, I'd sort of "crash." My husband and I had a running joke of it because as soon as I'd sit in my chair on Thursday evening, I'd fall asleep.
My advice: take as much time as you feel you need. You WILL have fatigue. You WILL need frequent breaks even if it's only to go to the bathroom. I was pressured into returning after 1 week. I was the manager and they depended on me. Besides, I had a healthy fear that my department would fall to ruin without my influence.

Like everyone else, I have a high stress desk job with long days, and lots of direct reports who supervise others. Not to mention constant meetings.
I’ve requested three weeks time off. During week two, I have a handful of meetings I’ve committed to (4-5), via Zoom, Teams, or WebEx, as my company has been remote since early/mid March.
My original plan was to only take two weeks, but this is a big transition, and I owe it to myself to take time to recover physically, emotionally, and psychologically. Wish I could have taken a full month, but due to ongoing projects, unfortunately that’s not an option.

I am curious as to how much time you need to take off work after surgery. I have a desk job but I work about 10 hours a day and I need to be quite alert and able to think. If my energy level is low, effecting concentration, I won’t be able to do anything - so might as well plan for a longer leave. Would 3 weeks be enough time?

Ditto high stress desk job. My doctor offered a month and I was able to take a medical leave, so I took the full month. I probably could have gone back at 2 weeks, but I was able to use the extra time to get my eating down and to do lots of walking - I couldn't go to far at once so instead I went a few times a day. If you can get the time, I would take it.

I also work 10 hour days, mostly desk, very busy and stressful, with a need to think and make decisions quickly. I went back to work after two weeks, with no issues. One caveat...I was working from home for my first two weeks back, which was easier food-wise as I did not have to pack meals.

Thank you all for your helpful responses

except for Iron, deficiencies supposedly aren't that common as long as you stay on top of your supplements. Iron can be tricky because some people have a hard time absorbing oral iron, so they have to get it from infusions. But the majority can absorb oral iron just fine.
also, most deficiencies can be corrected by increasing your supplement intake. Iron, of course, is the one that can be tough to increase once it's low. I've been able to bring mine up by increasing my (oral) iron intake, but some people can't and have to have an infusion to bring it up.
you'll be getting regular labs drawn to see where you are, and they'll have you increase or decrease supplementation if your levels get out of range. I've had to increase my iron and decrease my Calcium in my five years of being post-op. So just stay on top of your supplements and get your labs done when you're supposed to, and you should be fine.

I had very little pain after surgery, other than gas pain, which isn't really alleviated by pain meds. I was sent home with a prescription for Vicodin, but I didn't need it. I didn't even need to take Tylenol. They did say that they recommend minimizing the amount of pain medication you take because it can cause Constipation, but they also said if you are in a lot of pain, you should take it and not let your pain get out of control.

actually, most of us DON'T have much pain after these surgeries. I had almost none. I had a morphine pump in the hospital which I felt I didn't really need, but the nurses made me use it since they wanted me to get up and wal a lot. I was sent home with pain killers, but I don't think I ever opened them.

Hello all - I just started the process for Gastric Sleeve surgery after doing a lot of research on my own. My insurance requires 6 month on a nutrition program, which thankfully I am already in Month 5. The part that has me nervous is the referral requirement. I really have not had a steady primary care physician for the past 6 years - mostly due to the fact that I’ve been so ashamed of my weight. So I really don’t know if I can just walk into a Dr’s office as a new patient and ask for a referral. Can I ask my OBGYN? Not sure if she would be open, but I can try.
I have a BMI of 43 along with high blood pressure and sleep apnea so from that sense I don’t believe qualification is an issue. I have completed the initial application for the bariatric surgery clinic and am waiting for them to contact me for next steps. I am concerned about the referral becoming a blocker.
I would appreciate it if anyone who has gone through a similar situation can share their experience or advice. Thank you!