I have so many questions....

[DianaCox]

I was told to take Prenavite, a coated prenatal. I’ve been taking it for over 14 years with no vitamin burps or taste.

 

[Ainu]

Hey everyone, another quick update. I got all of my green lights and I have a date to see the surgeon. I'm seeing Dr. Matthew Parker December 19th. That's when I get my surgery date. My doctor is sending the letter to insurance so hopefully everything goes smoothly.

 

[hilary1617]

HI @Ainu Congratulations on the green lights!

 

[Larra]

When you see Dr. Parker, make very, very sure he does the real, standard of care DS with 2 anastomoses and a reasonable length common channel, such as 100 - 125 cm. Or better yet, the Hess method. We did have one guy who had the DS at your clinic awhile back, but I don't remember which surgeon he had. If Dr. Parker isn't experienced with the DS, insist on a different surgeon.

 

[Ainu]

Thank you for your advice. I think they all have experience with the surgery there. The diagram they gave us shows a common channel of 75-100 cm. It's the same diagram that I've seen everywhere for the DS but I'll make sure it's the right one.

So I was looking at what vitamins to take. I'm very nervous about getting the right vitamins and the right amount. I was thinking of the barimelts vitamins. The ADEK, iron, multi, and calcium ones they have. I think that covers the basics. Maybe add a b12 sublingual. They also make B12 with added intrinsic factor. Anyone have any experience with that?

 

[Larra]

No, no, no. Combo vitamins like ADEK are useless for us. They sound perfect, but contain so little of each component as to be useless, and even potentially dangerous in that they make you think you are getting what you need when you aren't. You need the separate "dry" D, A, and K for sure. Your calcium has to be calcium citrate (not carbonate), which you can get cheap at Costco, just make sure you get the right one as they have both. Multi for sure. Iron for sure. You might, or might not, need B12 (I don't, but others do), but that's more of a gastric bypass problem than a DS problem.
Don't waste your money on fancy pants bariatric products. They are NOT designed for someone with a DS. You can buy almost everything you need between Costco and Amazon.

 

[Ainu]

No, no, no. Combo vitamins like ADEK are useless for us. They sound perfect, but contain so little of each component as to be useless, and even potentially dangerous in that they make you think you are getting what you need when you aren't. You need the separate "dry" D, A, and K for sure. Your calcium has to be calcium citrate (not carbonate), which you can get cheap at Costco, just make sure you get the right one as they have both. Multi for sure. Iron for sure. You might, or might not, need B12 (I don't, but others do), but that's more of a gastric bypass problem than a DS problem.
Don't waste your money on fancy pants bariatric products. They are NOT designed for someone with a DS. You can buy almost everything you need between Costco and Amazon.

Well that's good to know. My nutritionist keeps telling me to just take ADEK and I assumed it was just a single by itself. Now that I'm no longer terrified of pooping to death I'm scared of not taking enough of the right stuff and my body falling apart.

 

[Larra]

Your nutritionist doesn't understand the vitamin and mineral requirements of the DS. They rarely do. I can almost guarantee that if you use ADEK's instead of dry A, D, and K you will become deficient in one or all of them within a year or so. Then the DS gets a bad rap as causing nutritional deficiencies, when it's really the poor advice patients are given and not the operation.

 

[southernlady]

Well that's good to know. My nutritionist keeps telling me to just take ADEK and I assumed it was just a single by itself. Now that I'm no longer terrified of pooping to death I'm scared of not taking enough of the right stuff and my body falling apart.

Your nutritionist does not know SQUAT about how to feed a DS or how to keep a DSer healthy.
Start here with the list from Vitalady (if you can buy from her, do so but you can also do what many do and buy from Amazon, for most, Costco, WalMart, Target, etc for some. http://bariatricfacts.org/threads/vitalady-links.11/

We also have a linked store here where you can help the site stay ad free.