hair loss gastric bypass
Is Your Gastric Bypass Making You Malnourished?
Copyright (c) 2009 Ready 4 a Change
The basic aim of a gastric bypass is to help you lose weight in order to avoid the co-morbidities of obesity, and therefore, your diet following surgery is also specially designed to achieve this objective, and also to maintain the weight loss.
Postoperative dietary patterns require drastic modifications to suit the new metabolic and physiological milieu. The total caloric intake, as well as the intake of macro- and micronutrients, is much reduced due to the anatomical changes brought about by the surgical procedure. Your dietary intake is reduced, as is the absorption of food, consequently the risk of nutritional deficiencies increases manifold.
So, is your gastric bypass making you malnourished?
If your diet is being supervised by a dietician and you are following up regularly with your bypass surgeon, chances that you are suffering from any major deficiencies are minimal. Especially if you have been prescribed special nutritional supplements following monitoring of the blood levels of micronutrients.
If not, you must realize that since you have already been suffering from morbid obesity, you are at a greater risk of nutritional deficiencies, particularly of fat-soluble vitamins, zinc, and folic acid.
You are a risk for anemia, secondary to iron, folic acid or vitamin B12 deficiency, as also neurological disorders such as encephalopathy and peripheral neuropathies due to thiamine deficiency. Other deficiency syndromes to watch out for include vitamin D deficiency leading to osteoporosis, and ocular symptoms from vitamin A deficiency.
It is imperative that you have frequent, small meals which have a low glycemic index, with a high protein content, to combat problems like postoperative nausea, dehydration, dumping syndrome, stomach pain, ulcers, and gastritis.
Nutritional supplementation under supervision is the obvious solution for all these problems. It makes sense to choose a a gender and age specific formula, especially designed for those having undergone a gastric bypass, that contains most of the essential vitamins and minerals, and does not exceed the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance by more than 150 percent, so as to avoid problems of toxicity.
Essential elements in this regard include iron (recommended daily dose for men is 100 to 200 milligrams, and 300 to 350 milligrams per day for menstruating women), vitamin C (60 milligrams of vitamin C per day), vitamin B complex (1000 micrograms of vitamin B12, 300 milligrams of vitamin B6, and 5 milligrams of folic acid), and calcium (600 milligrams per day).
The warning signs to watch out for include lethargy, fatigue, shortness of breath, pallor, tingling of extremities, brittle nails, hair fall, bleeding gums, dark under eye circles, dry scaly skin, painful oral ulcers or fissures, poor wound healing, easy bruising and frequent infections .
If you suspect that your gastric bypass is making you malnourished, do discuss it with your nutritionist in consultation with your surgeon. They will evaluate you thoroughly and monitor the blood levels of essential nutrients and alter your diet accordingly in order to avoid complications. Very rarely, a revision of the surgical procedure to a more metabolically active procedure may be warranted.
About the Author
Alma Orozco is a certified patient coordinator of the Ready4Achange team for weight loss surgery in Monterrey, Mexico. Monterrey is rated as the safest city in Latin America and the medical facilities out there are certified by US hospitals. The low cost of living makes surgery very affordable in Mexico. You can check out Gastric sleeve surgery done by Dr Zapata at CIMA Monterrey by clicking on the link.
Dry, damaged hair?
My best friend had gastric bypass surgery a few months ago, and one of her side effects has been some hair loss, and now is a little dull and dry. She’s been trying different conditioners and all of the stuff you can get at the store, but not getting much out of it, so she says. Does anyone have any natural home-based remedies she could try? If it matters, her hair is shoulder-length, straight, and black. Thanks kindly~
Well, I passed the suggestions along to her – alot of them she’s already tried, but some not – so she’s going to test one of them she was interested in this evening. Thanks for your responses – cause’ she didn’t like my idea of shaving her head 
I have a surprising homeopathic technique that I love. Take some extra virgin olive oil and pour it into your head (a little bit at time) with your head in a sink or while in the shower. Do this on dry hair. The dry hair will soak up the oil. Now put a shower cap on and let it stay on for as long as you can (I did it for about five hours).
Next, take water and shampoo and wash your hair very good. Scrub the scalp. A little bit of the oil will probably be left in your hair. This is okay. I scrunched my hair into rough waves and wore it like this for a day.
The next day, do a thorough washing (it may take 2 or 3 times to get it all out).
After I did this to my hair, it was a HUGE difference. My hair was soft, shiny, and super-smooth. Hope this works for you too!
Gastric Bypass, RNY~the truth about hair loss
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