Guest guest Posted October 7, 2003 Report Share Posted October 7, 2003 My PCP and ND both believe that people need to be above 600 in serum B-12 to feel good (above 200 usually keeps you out of the range where you're risking permanent neurological damage, and that's it). http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000569.htm This is a good article about B-12 for normies. We cannot absorb B-12 from food AT ALL, and sublingual supplementation doesn't work for some post-ops (raises hand). Shots are easy, cheap, and effective. After two months of injections every 10 days, a week after my most recent injection, my level was 1118! My " natural " pre-op level was 1151. I think I've " arrived " and I'm going to drop my shots back to every 20 days. Your iron is also really low. My total iron has run from a low of 55 to my current 226. My TIBC has run from 410 (now) to 606 (higher numbers are WORSE here). My sat % has run from a low of 13 to 50.1 (now). The reason my current numbers are so much better, and even on the high side, is that I've been taking two Chromagen Fortes a day (300% RDA for elemental iron) since June. My ND cut me back to one a day and believes in another month I should drop back to every other day dosage to keep my iron levels good. My ferritin has ranged from 13 to 61, better numbers also thanks to the Chromagen Forte. In my personal opinion, you should push for both iron AND B-12 supplementation. Pernicious anemia is NOT fun. Z Open RNY 09/17/01 Before 310 lowest 126 now 150 (goal was 160) http://www.ziobro.us Vitamin B-12 Hello, friends. I've been feeling extremely tired and have virtually no energy for several months now. I went to my doctor and asked her to test my Vitamin B-12 and iron levels. I knew to ask that, of course, because of this group. My levels have been: 6/22/02 Vitamin B-12 316 5/29/03 Vitamin B-12 301 9/30/03 Vitamin B-12 249 According to the lab reports, normal levels are 200-1100 for Vitamin B-12. My iron levels: 5/25/02 Iron 64 5/29/03 Iron 63 9/30/03 Iron 96 5/25/02 TIBC 264 5/29/03 TIBC 409 9/30/03 TIBC 380 5/25/02 %SAT 24 5/29/03 %SAT 15 9/30/03 %SAT 25 According to the lab report, normal iron levels are 35-175, TIBC 250-400, and %SAT 15-50%. Although my B-12 is falling in the normal range, my PCP thinks me getting a B-12 shot once a week for three weeks and then monthly will help boost those numbers. Here's my question - can someone remind me why WLS patients often end up low in B-12? And why it has to be an injection vs. a pill? I thought my PCP said something about about B-12 is metabolized, but I'm confused. I know this group of " experts " could probably explain it better than her! Thanks! ===== Cincinnati Open RNY 12/17/01 Pre-op 335 Current 167 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 8, 2003 Report Share Posted October 8, 2003 Not everyone is in agreement that B-12 shots are better than sublingual tablets. A dr. Baker in Minnesota tracked the B-12 levels of patients by whether they took sublinguals or shots. He found that the shots product a high level at the time the shot was taken, but had worn down to a low level by the time for the next shot. He recommends to keep the B-12 level constant with sublingual tablets. Ray Hooks For WLS nutrition info, visit http://www.bariatricsupplementsystem.com Ziobro wrote: > My PCP and ND both believe that people need to be above 600 in serum > B-12 to feel good (above 200 usually keeps you out of the range where > you're risking permanent neurological damage, and that's it). > > http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000569.htm This is a > good article about B-12 for normies. We cannot absorb B-12 from food AT > ALL, and sublingual supplementation doesn't work for some post-ops > (raises hand). Shots are easy, cheap, and effective. After two months of > injections every 10 days, a week after my most recent injection, my > level was 1118! My " natural " pre-op level was 1151. I think I've > " arrived " and I'm going to drop my shots back to every 20 days. > > Your iron is also really low. My total iron has run from a low of 55 to > my current 226. My TIBC has run from 410 (now) to 606 (higher numbers > are WORSE here). My sat % has run from a low of 13 to 50.1 (now). The > reason my current numbers are so much better, and even on the high side, > is that I've been taking two Chromagen Fortes a day (300% RDA for > elemental iron) since June. My ND cut me back to one a day and believes > in another month I should drop back to every other day dosage to keep my > iron levels good. My ferritin has ranged from 13 to 61, better numbers > also thanks to the Chromagen Forte. > > In my personal opinion, you should push for both iron AND B-12 > supplementation. Pernicious anemia is NOT fun. > > Z > Open RNY 09/17/01 > Before 310 lowest 126 now 150 (goal was 160) > http://www.ziobro.us > > Vitamin B-12 > > Hello, friends. > > I've been feeling extremely tired and have virtually no energy for > several months now. > > I went to my doctor and asked her to test my Vitamin > B-12 and iron levels. I knew to ask that, of course, because of this > group. > > My levels have been: > 6/22/02 Vitamin B-12 316 > 5/29/03 Vitamin B-12 301 > 9/30/03 Vitamin B-12 249 > > According to the lab reports, normal levels are 200-1100 for Vitamin > B-12. > > My iron levels: > 5/25/02 Iron 64 > 5/29/03 Iron 63 > 9/30/03 Iron 96 > 5/25/02 TIBC 264 > 5/29/03 TIBC 409 > 9/30/03 TIBC 380 > 5/25/02 %SAT 24 > 5/29/03 %SAT 15 > 9/30/03 %SAT 25 > > According to the lab report, normal iron levels are 35-175, TIBC > 250-400, and %SAT 15-50%. > > Although my B-12 is falling in the normal range, my PCP thinks me > getting a B-12 shot once a week for three weeks and then monthly will > help boost those numbers. > > Here's my question - can someone remind me why WLS patients often end up > low in B-12? And why it has to be an injection vs. a pill? I thought my > PCP said something about about B-12 is metabolized, but I'm confused. I > know this group of " experts " could probably explain it better than her! > > Thanks! > > ===== > > Cincinnati > Open RNY 12/17/01 > Pre-op 335 > Current 167 > > Homepage: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Graduate-OSSG > > Unsubscribe: mailto:Graduate-OSSG-unsubscribe > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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