May 2021
Jacqui Lewis - BHSc Nutritional and Dietetic Medicine
Why All the Blood Testing After WLS?
Excellent effort - You’ve made it through the pre-op, the workup and the surgery and now you’re officially on “The Losers Bench”. Undertaking Weight Loss Surgery is a life changing decision with life changing results. Now the “work” begins!
Maintaining your health after Weight Loss Surgery of any kind is dependent on a range of contributing factors.
After Gastric Sleeve or Bypass surgery, the changes made to your digestive system leave you vulnerable to deficiencies in certain key nutrients.
Not only do you only have the capacity to accommodate very small portions of food in a sitting, the surgery is “malabsorptive” which means you absorb fewer calories from the food to assist your weight loss - but this comes at the cost of nutrients such as B12, Iron, Calcium and Vitamin D.
The following preventative measures are key for the rest of your life:
- Daily supplementation with a Bariatric Multi-Vitamin formulation
- Regular Blood and Nutritional Screening
- Solid and long term relationship with your professional team
Catching up deficiency can be hard - prevention is key.
Your Bariatric dietitian will regularly monitor your bloods for life after bariatric procedures to ensure the correct balance of B vitamins, B12, Iron, Calcium, Vitamin D, Niacin, Folic Acid, Electrolytes, and other essential nutrients.
Regular check-ups with your Bariatric Surgeon and dietitian are an essential key to your long term success, and also create a better early detection and resolution of any issues that may arise along the way.
Your long term success after gastric Sleeve surgery or bypass is more likely when you take advantage of the professional advice and input of a bariatric team composed of your surgeon, dietitian, exercise physiologist and psychologist, to assist in all areas that contribute to obesity.
New research is developing regularly, and some recommendations are being modified.
Your Bariatric Team will be up to date with these developments - which will protect your health over the long term., and is a great way to take the guess work out when things are not quite on track.
Your dietitian will recommend a Bariatric Multivitamin over a "standard/general" multi as your needs are no longer general.
For example - before surgery the daily need for B12 is 3mcg - After WLS to reach your needs it is recommended you take 350 - 500 mcg of B12 daily.
Here is a handy guide on what to look for and how often you will need to get your bloods checked once you have had Weight Loss Surgery:
Button textJacqui Lewis,
BHSc Nutritional and Dietetic Medicine
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