Alright all you nutrition lovers, lets talk about vitamins! Someone recently asked me if I needed to take special vitamins, specifically B12, following my stomach removal. Obviously, without a stomach, I have to take special vitamins to do the job that a stomach is suppose to do. So, let me illuminate you on everything I take since the surgery, and will have to continue to take for THE REST OF MY LIFE. I put that in all caps because yes, for the rest of my life I will have to take special vitamins. Do I find it annoying? Yeah absolutely. Do I think it’s worth it to take them because removing my stomach resulted in the removal of my gastric cancer? ABSOLUTELY.
First let me talk about B12, this vitamin is actually directly related to the stomach. It combines with a protein, which is made by the stomach, and is absorbed into the stomach. Well, we all know at this point that I have no stomach in any form or fashion. So how do I get my B12? I give myself B12 shots every month into my leg. That’s right, every month I take a diabetic needle (because I’m a baby and the needle is way smaller than a normal needle) and I fill it with B12 and stick it in my leg. The first time I did it I was shaking uncontrollably; I think when you are placed in a position to give yourself a shot it’s way different than receiving a shot from a doctor. Regardless of my uncontrollable shaking I was able to do it, and I actually just gave myself my second B12 shot two days ago, I am proud to say that this time I did not shake while doing it. If you refer to the pictures I attached you can see that I have a needle disposal container, alcohol wipes, diabetic needles, and a vial of B12. Those items are all I need to maintain my B12 levels and avoid deficiency.
What surprised me, following the surgery, is that even people with stomachs have B12 deficiencies. It is WAY more common than I realized. In fact, one of our friends who lives close by was travelling 6 hours to get B12 shots because he has a deficiency and his parents are doctors (that live 6 hours away). So, while he was here, visiting me and my husband, I gave him a B12 shot. Talk about a Grey’s Anatomy moment…. All I was doing was giving him a B12 shot but in that moment, I felt like I was working the ER during a code red.
Along with B12 shots I also take vitamins every morning, they are pills though and not shots. Each morning I take Vitamin D3 2,000iu, and Bariatric Fusion vitamins (these are vitamins that I do not promote they were recommended for me by my surgeon at Johns Hopkins). I am going to attach a picture of the vitamin’s bottles and the nutrition facts, in the slideshow below, so you can take a look if you are curious, you are also welcome to google them. The Bariatric Fusion vitamins are made for people who specifically have had gastric bypass, a partial gastrectomy, and total gastrectomy’s. They are JAM PACKED with all the vitamins you can think of, all the vitamins that I am not getting now that I am stomachless. The first time I took the Bariatric Fusion vitamins they were chewable and tasted like chalk, I had to take 4 a day. Imagine feeling so sick you think you might be dying, then having to chew down vitamins that tasted so bad you dreaded having to take them. It didn’t take long for me to say enough is enough and I convinced my Mom to order me the pill version, which I only have to take once a day. Surprisingly this is all the vitamins that I take, I know it doesn’t seem like much (I really thought I would be taking much more) but the Bariatric Fusion vitamins are the most recommended by doctors at Johns Hopkins because they have everything that is essential, besides the Vitamin D3 that I take with it. I feel very lucky to only have to take two pills a day, and give myself one shot a month. Because let’s be honest, it could be so much worse.
Do I feel like I am getting all the nutrients and vitamins that I need? I would say yes and no. Yes, because I am living a decently normal life. I show no signs of vitamin deficiency, and have had blood work done which all show my vitamin levels are good. But on the other hand, I definitely notice a difference in my energy level. I am extremely tired ALL the time. I sleep at least 10 hours a night and sometimes I feel like that isn’t even enough. My Mom, who had the surgery four years ago, says that she sleeps around 12 hours a night, so for me to feel this tired is not abnormal. And honestly, I’ve always been a sleep lover. So, sleeping 10 hours a night isn’t a negative thing for me, it’s more of a perk. I take melatonin most nights, this has nothing to do with the surgery, but I took it prior to the surgery and my surgeon said it wouldn’t have any side effects so I’ve continued to take it. I feel like it works just as good as it did when I had a stomach, which surprised me because now that I'm stomachless certain medications do hit me differently. For example, I cannot take Excedrin. I took it once since the surgery and while I was sitting on the bathroom floor, throwing up and feeling like my life was literally going to end because of a migraine pill, I wrote my blog post titled "I didn't know then, but I do now." Let's just say I will never be taking Excedrin again.. no matter how bad my migraine is.
I will say that I had a VERY VERY scary experience with vitamins when I first got out of surgery, it was so scary that the nurse (who worked for Hopkins) told me to go to the emergency room immediately. Have you ever heard of what happens when you take too much of vitamin B? Because I can tell you honestly that no doctors at Johns Hopkins had until me. Tune in later for my blog post about that story, it might surprise you!
