Health & Wellness Magazine Live + Thrive Magazine - Summer 2018 | Page 30

THE ESSENTIAL NEED FOR Supplements FOLLOWING BARIATRIC SURGERY By Dr. Kerry Kole, DO, FACOS, CAQ-CCM Medical Director Of Trauma - Troy Beaumont Hospital Bariatric, Trauma Surgery and Surgical Critical Care GIVEN THE average diet in the United States, it should come as no surprise that many people are deficient in critical minerals and vitamins. For individuals who have had bariatric surgery such as bypasses, switches, or sleeves, correcting and preventing those deficiencies is even more important because individuals don’t absorb minerals as well as they would if their digestive system were completely intact. While it may seem obvious to know which deficiencies you may be facing, it usually isn’t. The symptoms of a given deficiency often overlap with others. Some can even overlap with seemingly unrelated symptoms altogether. For instance, a vitamin D deficiency could manifest as loss of hair, depression, muscle pain, depressed immune system, or a number of other symptoms. An extremely common symptom to be on the lookout for is fatigue. If you are having unexplained issues, they could be solved by getting a blood test and finding out whether or not you need to be supplementing a vitamin or mineral. 30