Like most, I sailed through the actual surgical procedure without complications. I had no major issues or problems.  I ignored my surgeon’s supplemental advice of 2 Flintstones chewables and Carnation Instant Breakfast as his recommended ‘supplemental’ advice; and began taking bariatric specific supplements as soon as I got home from the hospital.

Imagine my shock when 3 years later I had a mild heart attack due to severally low ferritin and iron levels.  The form of iron I was taking, was not what  I needed.  I also learned that the portion of our small intestines that does the best job absorbing iron – I had removed as part of my bypass surgery.

Then, I was diagnosed with osteoporosis and severally low vitamin D and zinc.  How could this be?  I was taking my supplements.

Apparently taking supplements – even those designed for bariatric post-ops – is no guarantee you’re getting the nutrients you need.  Deciphering blood work results is tricky, as not all is always as it appears at face value on test results either.  You have to know what to look for, to know how deficient you are and in what nutrients.

Adjusting supplements is an art form.  You take more, but how much more.  You adjust your dose, wait 3, 4 or 6 months – test again, adjust again.  Taking too much of some supplements can be dangerous, and even with malabsorption, apparently this can happen.

If you are one who is a gastric bypass post-op who had a malabsorptive procedure, it is urgent you do three things:

1. Make an appointment with your doctor, or hematologist ASAP and get a full panel of testing done to check all of your nutrient levels, including thyroid
2. Get a dexa bone scan to check your bone density
3. Take your supplements, including your high quality protein shake, faithfully every single day. Note: you will have to take supplements more than just once per day.  I’m currently taking supplements 4 times per day.  Check your levels, supplement and then test again and adjust as needed for you.

If you are feeling tired, no energy, experiencing symptoms of depression, numbness, tingling, etc…. you need to get to your doctor now.  Please.  We had this surgery to get healthier, and that’s not always what happens for everyone.

Find a support system to help you, keep you on track with your diet, exercise and what you’re experiencing.  This will help you.

To your health,

Traci

P.S. Reply below and let me know if you have experienced any gastric bypass complications since having your surgery. What issues are you having?  What type of surgery did you have?  How far post-op are you?

What Causes Obesity?

The simple reason: calories in – calories out.  If one eats more calories than they burn off, then the extra is stored as excess weight.

What is not so simple, is why an obese person has more calories than they are burning off. This is where the true cause of obesity lies.

Before I give you those reasons, I want to qualify those reasons with this: There are no always or nevers. Meaning one can not say this is always the reason, or this is never the reason. There are going to be exceptions in all things; but my focus is on the common broad-reaching reasons that are true for a large majority of the obese population.

Reasons for excess calories that lead to obesity:

1. Slow Metabolism Some folks have a slower than average metabolism: whether genetic or brought on by years of yo-yo or starvation dieting, slow metabolism affects the body’s ability to burn calories – thus affects weight.
2. Ghrelin This is the hormone that triggers the feeling of hunger. It has been proven that most obese folks have excess amounts of grehlin production.¹ ² Yes, they are truly hungry all the time.

Now the above two reasons are contributing factors, but they’re huge. When I hear someone, referring to the obese, say ‘Why don’t they just stop eating?’ or ‘Why don’t they go on a diet?; it irks me. It’s an ignorant (i.e. uneducated) statement and a broad generalizing prejudiced statement at that.

I would bet that nearly every single obese person has dieted more than the average size person; and in fact, the dieting is one of the contributing causes of obesity! “Dieting” usually involves deprivation; starvation methods of weight loss, that involve too few calories that throw the metabolism into starvation mode where it won’t let go of fat. And if you happen to be one of the unfortunate ones who has a genetically slower metabolism, and you try the deprivation/starvation dieting method – you truly screw up your metabolism to the point where you can gain weight eating very few calories per day. I know – as I was one of those unfortunate few.

I know for a fact that every single person who has had gastric bypass has been on a diet, and most on a supervised diet. This is one of the requirements one must meet before having gastric bypass. So gastric bypass is not the easy way out, or quick fix. It’s the last resort when all other attempts to lose weight have failed. Undergoing major surgery to dissect your stomach down to the size of an egg and remove 5 feet of small intestine and redirect what’s left is most definitely not the ‘easy way out’. It’s painful, costly and has lasting long-term potential for side-effects, if one is not careful and diligent in taking their protein and supplements.

Then you have the ghrelin hormone issue; where you feel like you’re starving – ravenous even – and going without food is nearly impossible. This goes beyond having will power; as your body is literally working against you. This goes beyond normal hunger; this is a hormonal imbalance triggering the ravenous appetite and the need to eat.

Gastric Bypass resolves the ghrelin hormone issue as the part of the stomach that produces the ghrelin is removed during the gastric bypass procedure – for those surgery types that are both restrictive and malabsorptive; such as Roux-en-Y (RNY), the ghrelin issue is resolve immediately when the surgery is done.

However, gastric bypass also helps for those with slow metabolism as it reduces the food intake, and the calories/fat absorption via the malabsorptive component, to bring the caloric intake in line with the body’s metabolic energy needs. Not to mention that by losing the weight, one is then better able to exercise to boost the metabolism even further; where as while obese, exercise is often very difficult to impossible.

Obese people are not lazy, they have a metabolic condition that contributes their obesity. Is every single obese person suffering from one or both of these reasons? No. There are some who just choose to eat too much and not exercise. Like I said, there are no always or nevers and there will exceptions to every rule; but the majority of obese people dieted themselves into obesity. They have a body that’s working against them and they are frustrated, embarassed and often fighting depression and stereotypical prejudices.

It is my hope that this article enlightened those of you who did not know these facts, encouraged those of you struggling with obesity to know it’s not all your fault and I encourage you to see a doctor for help in overcoming your obesity. Gastric bypass may not be the answer for you, but remember: if you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always gotten. Another day doing nothing to seek help for your obesity is another day without progress toward overcoming it. If you are a gastric bypass post-op, I encourage you to reach out and help others – either those in the obese community with questions,  the new post-ops that need mentoring or helping to educate those who do not understand obesity.

Give back and pay it forward.

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¹ The Hunger Hormone, Controlling Ghrelin

² A Matter of Fat; Ghrelin Hormone Promotes Storage of Energy as Fat