Way back in 2014 I weighed over 300 pounds. I hated myself and the way I felt so I decided to do something about it. I had tried to lose weight in the past but I never lost more than 30 pounds and I was never able to maintain it. I decided it was time once and for all to look into weight loss surgery. I found a dr that my insurance accepted, who was 200 miles away, and started the arduous process of getting accepted. Every month for 6 months I had to drive to the clinic, see the dr and do some diet counseling. I also had to go through a grueling psychological exam and at the end of those 6 months, my insurance company deemed me worthy of the surgery.
During this process, my dr and I talked about the many different types of weight loss surgery available. We ultimately decided on a gastric sleeve. Like most weight loss surgeries they remove a huge portion of the stomach but the difference is that in a sleeve they do not reroute the intestines. This means that all the food I eat will pass through every bit of my intestines which will dramatically reduce the possibility of malnutrition, which would turn out to not be the case with me. With this surgery you don’t lose as much weight, but you are supposed to have a better long term health outcome.
I was sold, so in July of 2015 I under went the 2 hour surgery of removing 80-85% of my stomach and regaining my life. Recovery was hard as was getting used to the new way of eating, but I adapted. I lost weight fast and felt great, until I didn’t.
My first bout of anemia hit me hard in 2017. The symptoms came on all of a sudden it seemed. I had no idea what was wrong with me. I couldn’t think straight, my heart raced, I was so exhausted all the time. I would come home from work and have to take a nap. One morning I woke up and I had no idea where I was and couldn’t remember what I had to do. That lasted for about 2 hours and it terrified me enough to decide to call my dr. I went in and told him my symptoms. We did some blood work and within a day I got a call back from him.
“Ms Burlison, I have the results of your blood work. It seems like you are anemic. Your levels are so low you are close to needing a blood transfusion. Also, your kidney function is low and we will need to continue to monitor that.”
I was shocked but so relived my extreme exhaustion wasn’t something serious. He went on to tell me that a lot of times during the surgery the part of the stomach that facilitates in iron absorption is removed causing chronic anemia in the participants. I was a little annoyed that my weight loss surgery dr never mentioned that to me. But if I take my supplements, I will get over this and continue to live a normal life.
I take my iron daily and a month later I went in for repeat blood work to check my kidney function and iron levels to make sure my iron is returning to normal. The results were great, kidney function is back to normal and my levels are rising nicely. I’m feeling dramatically better. I can go for my long walks again, think straight and no longer need daily naps. It was amazing. But since I started feeling so much better, I stopped taking my iron as regularly and then I stopped all together. I felt fine for a few years.
But 2019 came and it hit me again like a ton of bricks. All the usual symptoms appeared, confusion, racing heart, extreme exhaustion. I went back to the dr and sure enough, my iron levels were extremely low again. I start the iron again, feel great and again stop taking my iron. This will happen one more time again in early 2021.
This brings us to present day, mid 2022. For the last month or so my stamina has decreased, I’m so tired, I come home and cry from exhaustion, my heart is racing all the time, and generally just feel like shit. I’ve talked to people about it and everyone tells me it’s just depression. My dad, sister, and uncle all died within this passed year, I sold my parents house, broke ties with my other sister, started a new job, and had to move. People kept telling me it was just stress and that made sense to me, until it didn’t.
Within the last couple weeks, my thinking has become increasingly foggy and my ability to think quickly has decreased exponentially. So I decided to finally go to the dr. This is a new dr who is not part of the major health care systems. They started their own practice after all the covid regulations. You pay a monthly fee and get unlimited visits and discounts on all your labs and tests.
I get to my appointment and break down while I’m explaining to her everything that has been going on. I’m crying to her that I just want to feel normal again, I just want my energy back. I tell her about my history with anxiety and depression, my past anemia and my kidney issues. She sits and listens for an hour. Tells me that we’re doing blood work and then once we get that we will work on a game plan. I left feeling a little hopeful.
The next day I get my blood work back. And would you believe I’m anemic again? What a shocker! LOL But this time we get to add on 2 more vitamin deficiencies. It turns out my vitamin D and B12 levels are pretty low as well. Which any one of those could cause exhaustion and mental issues, but I have the trifecta of exhaustion causing deficiencies. So, she prescribed these 3 different supplements that I had to order. She suggested them because they are more bioavailable than just the types you get at the store and since I don’t have my entire stomach I will always have absorption issues.
So, now I’m taking the supplements I had at home until the new ones come in the mail on Tuesday. I feel like I’m getting a jump on things. It usually takes at least a couple weeks before I start to feel normal again after starting my iron again. I’ve been trying to go outside and sit in the sun, when it’s out, for at least 10 minutes a day. I know I should sit out there longer but with my work schedule it’s hard. I’ve been working 5:30am to 4PM. It’s bee a rough month, to say the least.
I’ll keep everyone up to date and eventually I plan on writing about my crazy job life. It’s a doozy!
I have absorption and methylation issues so most B12 is toxic for me. My doc got me on Trifalomine through Fullscript. It’s pricey but worth it.