Long term concerns

[JoshG]

Hi - I am 5 months from my surgery, just getting started, and my sister raised a concern that a lot of people that get the sleeve end up with anemia, and that if I were to get cancer in the future, it would be horrible to be anemic and get chemo and all. I read about the likelyness of iron/b12/calcium deficiencies, but as a 37 year old, I wonder the long term concerns.....

Does anybody know anything about this and similar risks of being anemic and having a serious disease like cancer?

[DesertGal]

I just had my blood work POST OP done last week and got results yesterday. Everything came back NORMAL (except I need to up my calcium by one more pill) andas long as you take your vitamins and supplements diligently, you should do fine.)

I figure with the shape my body was at before surgery in March, and the medications I spent money on for high bp, cholesterol, diabetes... my following a vitamin and supplement regimen was well worth the swap.

[GigiUSA]

I completely agree with DesertGal. I take my vitamins every single day. I go to get my 1st labs in a little over a week.

You know what is right for you... and you will have to make your decision based on all your own personal factors. Everyone is different but this was the very best decision for me and I will never look back! xo

[RehabNurse]

Your risk of dying from the multitude of obesity-related diseases (e.g. heart disease, diabetes, sleep apnea, blood clots, high blood pressure, strokes, elevated cholesterol) is many times greater than your risk of developing anemia.

I was sleeved 2+ years ago and my serum iron level results are always within normal limits.

Many sleeved people become anemic for two reasons: (1) instead of eating iron-rich foods, they backslide into bad habits and consume a bunch of snacky sliders, and (2) some sleevers don't regularly take their supplements for some odd reason.

[Sandra3]

After a 20 years battle against obesity I knew the sleeve was my last hope.

So yes there is risks, I did wonder "what will happen if I have stomach cancer", but then realized that I had so many issues currently there, why worry about something that has not happen yet, when you are already at risk of dying really soon because of obesity?
I was for sure not going to reach the next decade at that rate. The sleeve did save my life for sure.

I have chronic anemia , the bypass was out of questions because of the deficiencies issue.
At some point (around month 5) I did have issues, we don't really know why but my levels suddenly crashed down. I'm guessing that since I can't find all the food I need (I'm currently in Asia and finding a steak is like waiting for a rain of frogs) supplements are not absorbed that well.
Absorption is better from food.
Also I had IBS for 20 years and that doesn't help with absorption either. I was chronically deficient in iron and D vitamin before the sleeve.

So it got much worth post-op, but it is slowly improving. And I do monitor it closely.
I take supplements twice a day, because my dosage it's so high taking all in one doesn't work.
My B12 and calcium are fine since the beginning and my D has reached recently the minimum, so only the iron left to boost now....

But with 100 pounds gone, I can now be much more active, painless and that's worth dealing with deficiencies!

[Christie13]

Not one issue with any bloodwork because I focus on proper nutrition and take all my vitamins. I fill up first on nutrient rich foods before I waste any of my limited space on junk that is nutritionally void. While some people do get anemic....as everyone else said....they are usually not focusing on good nutrition and vitamins. Agree with all my fellow sleevers above as well.

[Prumms]

It's a valid concern. I would just say get your blood work done regularly and have a doc check them.

[Ann2]

Others' comments above are spot-on.

Then there's this: Before we had VSG surgery, how well nourished were we actually? Did we then eat nutritiously? Or did we choose from too many fast-food menus? Did we eat a lot of processed carbohydrates and sweets? Did we actually take vitamins/minerals/necessary food supplements when we were obese? Were our meals filled with fresh veggies, fruits, and whole grains? My point is that you shouldn't assume that pre-op you or any of us existed in a non-anemic, nutritiously secure condition or that normal-weighted people are not anemic by merit only of their weight. Could be that before we were sleeved and before we learned and practiced good self-care we were already in pretty crappy nutritional shape.

The thing about self-care is you have to actually CARE for yourself. For sleeved patients, that includes:

* As Christie 13 said, eating nutrient-rich foods and eating those first

* Having an annual blood panel done to diagnose any nutritional deficits that should be addressed with supplementation (Don't assume that if your tests at 3 months, 6 months, 12 months come back "good," that you'll never develop an issue, because those things can change for a nymber of reasons.)

* Taking a good-quality daily vitamin/mineral supplement and other supplements that YOUR body needs (My daily supplements aren't what another VSG patient might need.)

[RehabNurse]

Could be that before we were sleeved and before we learned and practiced good self-care we were already in pretty crappy nutritional shape.

I totally agree...

Prior to undergoing weight loss surgery, I had nutritional deficiencies in vitamins A and D. The vitamin A deficiency was due partly to hypothyroidism and not helped by my previous diet of processed foods with virtually no green vegetables.

The vitamin D deficiency was due partly to my racial/ethnic background. Also, I was a night shift worker for many years, so I slept during the day, thereby minimizing my exposure to the natural sunlight needed to produce vitamin D.