Last week, my WLS support group forwarded an email regarding osteoporosis from Susan Maria Leach, the owner of www.bariatriceating.com and author of Before & After.
In the email, she writes: "Except for floundering around early on and taking Flintstones for my first year, I've been a pretty good post-op role model for taking vitamins since my lap RNY nearly 7 years ago.
Or so I thought! When Ty [husband] and I had a motorcycle accident last September, I learned from my orthopedic surgeon that my bones were like butter when he attempted to place the screws to repair my fractured leg. Follow up confirmed that I had vitamin D, iron, and calcium deficiencies in addition to moderate to severe osteoporosis that is just crazy for a healthy 46 year old."
She goes on to say that studies have found that more than half of all bariatric patients fail to take their vitamins on a regular basis (and recommends taking Bariatric Advantage vitamins, which are sold on her website).
My questions are: Why wouldn't these vitamin D, iron and calcium deficienies have shown up in routine bloodwork??
And if this is such a common WLS complication, why aren't patients required to get bone mineral density (BMD) tests on a regular basis? Especially since women are already at risk. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, one in two women over 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lifetime.
I'm going to ask my surgeon these questions in my three-month post-op check up next month, but I'm wondering if anybody can shed some light on this. Has anybody pre- or peri-menopausal gone for a BMD test? Thanks, Kathy
