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Iron Deficiency for the 3rd time, poor gut health
Oy, I am at the infusion center for my weekly saline and bi-weekly multivitamins. And I just learned that we have to do IV iron next week. My iron stores are VERY low. This is the third time that this has happened in the past several years.
Hopefully this will make me feel better BUT the last time I had the infusion of iron it causes severe inflammation and oxidation that left me ill for quite a while.
I am between a rock and a hard place because oral supplementation is not really effective plus it will take a year to resolve my iron stores that way.
Along this same vein, be sure to get a wide diversity of micronutrients from vegetables. You do not want subclinical nutrient deficiencies and poor gut microbiome diversity. It effects your entire health over time. Very often people can have subclinical deficiencies that do not show up in labs. Fresh pressed organic green juices are my new morning ritual -- straight from my garden. It makes me feel so much better than a morning coffee, although coffee is still my secret addiction, and it is packed with micronutrients.
I also do a daily homemade raw milk kefir and that has been life-changing for my chronic constipation (so bad was the constipation that I have a hernia from it). I was able to d/c Linzess, which is a horrible drug that gave me diarrhea. I believe this to mean that the kefir is providing whatever bacteria I am lacking. But that is just an assumption. It is the first time that I have normal BMs in many years.
I also have a condition Myalgic Encephalomyelitis that confounds things. And that is a serious condition that is in some capacity related to gut health. My clinicians believe that the RNY GB with GB removal and the blind loop that results is a contributing factor to my ME. Do not believe surgeons if they tell you that there is no blind loop with RNY (like one did on this forum).
Hopefully this will make me feel better BUT the last time I had the infusion of iron it causes severe inflammation and oxidation that left me ill for quite a while.
I am between a rock and a hard place because oral supplementation is not really effective plus it will take a year to resolve my iron stores that way.
Along this same vein, be sure to get a wide diversity of micronutrients from vegetables. You do not want subclinical nutrient deficiencies and poor gut microbiome diversity. It effects your entire health over time. Very often people can have subclinical deficiencies that do not show up in labs. Fresh pressed organic green juices are my new morning ritual -- straight from my garden. It makes me feel so much better than a morning coffee, although coffee is still my secret addiction, and it is packed with micronutrients.
I also do a daily homemade raw milk kefir and that has been life-changing for my chronic constipation (so bad was the constipation that I have a hernia from it). I was able to d/c Linzess, which is a horrible drug that gave me diarrhea. I believe this to mean that the kefir is providing whatever bacteria I am lacking. But that is just an assumption. It is the first time that I have normal BMs in many years.
I also have a condition Myalgic Encephalomyelitis that confounds things. And that is a serious condition that is in some capacity related to gut health. My clinicians believe that the RNY GB with GB removal and the blind loop that results is a contributing factor to my ME. Do not believe surgeons if they tell you that there is no blind loop with RNY (like one did on this forum).
What are the pitfalls that you've encountered on this journey?
What are the pitfalls that you've encountered on this journey? Night time eating is a big one for me. I always was a late night binge eater. Although I don't binge eat any more the habit of craving food at night is a monkey on my back. There are times I can go virtually all day without eating but at night there are times when I'll be starving for food.
There is actually a syndrome related to nighttime eating categorized as either night eating syndrome (NES) or the sleep-related eating disorder (SRED). NES is characterized by evening hunger, abnormally increased food intake after the evening meal, nocturnal awakings with ingestions, morning anorexia, and insomnia. Unlike binge eating, excessive amounts of food are not eaten. Ironically, one of the treatments for NES is to eat regularly throughout the day and include protein at every meal.
FYI: If you suspect that you have NES then get yourself to a therapist who specializes in eating disorders. The National Eating Disorders hotline can be a good starting point: 800-931-2237. Some psychiatric practices employ nutrition therapists who bring both he psychological and nutritional perspectives into the treatment approach.
There is actually a syndrome related to nighttime eating categorized as either night eating syndrome (NES) or the sleep-related eating disorder (SRED). NES is characterized by evening hunger, abnormally increased food intake after the evening meal, nocturnal awakings with ingestions, morning anorexia, and insomnia. Unlike binge eating, excessive amounts of food are not eaten. Ironically, one of the treatments for NES is to eat regularly throughout the day and include protein at every meal.
FYI: If you suspect that you have NES then get yourself to a therapist who specializes in eating disorders. The National Eating Disorders hotline can be a good starting point: 800-931-2237. Some psychiatric practices employ nutrition therapists who bring both he psychological and nutritional perspectives into the treatment approach.
Thankful November, My Bariatric Life
November is traditionally a time to give deeper consideration for all that which we have to be thankful. And I am thankful for massive weight loss because it has given me back my health and my life. Before my gastric bypass in 2003, I had cycled through obesity, anorexia, binge eating disorder, bulimia, and finally morbid obesity. I was physically and emotionally deteriorated when I turned to bariatric surgery. But I did the hard work and pulled myself together to achieve the level of fitness I have today. Please know this dear reader: You have the power to change your life just as I did.
Provider Review
Vishal Mehta M.D.