Bariatric patients…TAKE YOUR VITAMINS!!!

One of the most annoying drawbacks of having bariatric surgery is that you have to take vitamin supplements for the rest of your life. I guess this same logic goes for anyone who is lacking in certain nutrients. It becomes a part of your daily routine, at least it should, but it can also become annoying. Physically you know that you need them, but mentally you are only thinking…”EVERY DAMN DAY FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!” As I’ve mentioned over and over again to get through this lifestyle change you have to become mentally prepared. So if you don’t listen to anything else I say, please listen to me when I say to TAKE YOUR VITAMINS!”

Pretty much all bariatric patients are required to take the same vitamins because we are lacking in those nutrients due to the fact that we aren’t eating as much and therefore not getting in the required amount that a full-grown adult needs. As time goes on you find different supplements that will benefit you. So that means more vitamins to take throughout the day. Mind you…this doesn’t even count other prescribed medicine that you have to take. As you can see this routine can become old especially to someone who is not used to taking medicine in the first place. I went from taking 2 prescribed pills and a multi-vitamin first thing in the morning to taking an additional 8 FREAKIN MORE a day! I even set my alarms throughout the day to remind me when to take them, but I was so over it.

Enough of my soapbox…guess what happened to me when I tried to be not only act grown but also brand new by not taking my vitamins for an extended period of time. The most ridiculous thing about it is that there was no reason at all for me to stop taking them except that I was just tired of doing it every day and multiple times a day. I thought to myself that I was eating more so I can’t possibly need all of these vitamins anymore. HUGE MISTAKE! At first, I was cool. I didn’t feel any side effects or anything. In the back of my mind, I can hear my nutritionist saying in pre-surgery classes and someone asked what happens if we don’t take our vitamins, her reply was…”You’ll find out.” I knew it couldn’t be good, but of course, nothing’s going to happen to me. That was my mentality since I’ve been so successful in this journey. Maybe 3 weeks after my genius ass just stopped, out of the blue I started feeling weak and sluggish. Then the weirdest thing happened as to where my tongue just started burning and tingling. It was so damn uncomfortable. Of course, I didn’t associate my lack of vitamins for any of this discomfort. A couple more weeks went by and my tongue was still irritated. So I (finally) decided to look it up online and see what could be causing this. One of the first things that came up was a lack of B12, iron and folic acid in your system. Guess what…those were three of the supplements that I take. They haven’t been in my system in well over a month. That day I started taking them consistently and on schedule again. Within 3-4 days I got my energy back and my tongue stopped feeling like it was on fire.

I’m sure that I only had a minor reaction to not taking my vitamins. I’m just glad that I caught what was going on with me before any more symptoms occurred. I don’t even want to know what would have happened had I gone on not taking my vitamins any longer. If you miss a day or two every now and then, I’m sure that’s no problem, however; just don’t do it! TAKE YOUR VITAMINS!