Malabsorption

[AnnParker 0]

Has anyone with a sleeve experienced malabsorption? I know it's common with gastric bypass, but not with the sleeve. I had a sleeve in Feb 2010 and have been having some problems (pain in right side, pain in back on right side) and my gastroenterologist did a fecal fat test which came back positive for fat malabsorption. My hair is falling out and I am exhausted all the time. I take my Vitamins, but I don't think my body id absorbing them. Just wondering if anyone has experienced this. I sure hoe so. Thanks for listening.

[O.T.R. sleever 3,386]

I'm sorry to hear this, yours is the only case of malabsorbsion I've heard of with the sleeve.

[COsleeveDude 273]

Has anyone with a sleeve experienced malabsorption? I know it's common with gastric bypass, but not with the sleeve. I had a sleeve in Feb 2010 and have been having some problems (pain in right side, pain in back on right side) and my gastroenterologist did a fecal fat test which came back positive for fat malabsorption. My hair is falling out and I am exhausted all the time. I take my Vitamins, but I don't think my body id absorbing them. Just wondering if anyone has experienced this. I sure hoe so. Thanks for listening.

I'm also sorry to hear you're having trouble.

So, does that mean you're supposed to eat more fat?

While there may not technically be malabsorption, I suppose it is possible that, unless we eat more of certain things and/or more frequently, that we could be passing some of them out before they are fully digested.

Whether that leads to a deficiency is a different story, as is whether the deficiency shows up as symptoms or on standard tests.

Good things to research and think about, thank you. Again, sorry for your trouble. Let us know what solutions your doctor comes up with.

[ChristyLove 39]

I am curious on what they suggest to fix the problem. What did the doctor say would help?

[RickM 1,747]

Did your gastro have any ideas/guesses as to why you are getting the test results that you are seeing? I'm not familiar with that test, or what it is really testing to produce its results, but since we sleevers don't have the mechanical malabsorption that is inherent in the RNY and DS, I am guessing that there is some other imbalance somewhere. Many of the diets that are used for weight loss and that often carry over into maintenance are inherently imbalanced - the popular low carb diets are often short of Fiber, and the soluable fiber binds with fats to aid in their digestion. Maybe a fiber shortage (or shortage of the right kind of fiber,) is causing a high reading of undigested fats in the stool (just guessing here, but throwing out possibilities)? I know my nut wanted me to increase my fat consumption as I moved into maintenance to help ensure proper absorption of the fat soluable Vitamins (A,E,D & K) so if there is an imbalance in fat digestion, that could ripple through to some Vitamin absorption (this is a common concern with the DSers who malabsorb fats and have to watch that balance.)

Good luck, and I hope that you find an answer -

PS - while you are working on finding a solution to the fat problem, there are "dry", or Water soluable, forms of the fat soluable vitamins available - Bariatric Advantage (and I'm sure the other bariatric specialty houses) sells a dry "ADEKs" tablet for the DS crowd, and places like Vitamin Shoppe also sell dry A,D,E, and K in various forms.

[AnnParker 0]

The gallbladder, liver or pancreas could be causing the problem. However, all my blood tests are normal and I've had a ultrasound and cat scan which were normal.

[SweetnCurvy 112]

Has anyone with a sleeve experienced malabsorption? I know it's common with gastric bypass' date=' but not with the sleeve. I had a sleeve in Feb 2010 and have been having some problems (pain in right side, pain in back on right side) and my gastroenterologist did a fecal fat test which came back positive for fat malabsorption. My hair is falling out and I am exhausted all the time. I take my Vitamins, but I don't think my body id absorbing them. Just wondering if anyone has experienced this. I sure hoe so. Thanks for listening.[/quote']

I have heard of some malabsorption with the sleeve. The nurse at my surgeon's office said so during one of the support groups. Although not as drastic as gastric bypass but there is some.

[iggychic 1,405]

this needs to be reviewed by your doc and nut immediately. not knowing how much fat or what sources its coming from make it difficult to offer any advice here.

there are many calorie enhancers with fat as their primary focus but if you take them wrong you risk dumping.

ive been dealing with my aons malabsorption issues for almost seven years. i want to reassure you that this can be fixed but you must involve ypur surgeon, a quality nut, and a gastroenterologist. if they cant work together fire them and move on or this will get worse.

[Babykitty 0]

Hi there. I had gastric sleeve done in 2014. In 2017 I was diagnosed with iron-deficiency anemia and had IV Iron treatments. Just recently (2019) I have also been diagnosed with copper deficiency and Vit D deficiency. I'm still getting "diagnosed," which basically means they want to rule out everything else under the sun before they start any actual treatment. You definitely need a GI.