Advice for additional vitamin intake

Skwinty

Philosopher
Skwinty
Joined
Jun 16, 2008
Messages
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My wife suffered from Crohns and as a result had her large intestine and most of her small intestine removed.

This occurred about 20 years ago. She eats a balanced diet without too much high fibre as the high fibre causes blockages.

I give her a Vitamin B12 cocktail intra muscular injection every 2 weeks as she feels very tired without the B12 injection.

Lately, she is findind that the boost from the B12 is not lasting as long as it used to.

What additional vitamin injections should I give her? Any other form of oral vitamin is useless as the tablets are not in her system long enough to be digested.

Any advice from the resident medical experts? I am hoping that Linda will respond with some of her wisdom, but any others, please feel free to chip in.

Many thanks
Skwinty
 
I would think asking her own doctor who is familiar with her case would be the wisest course of action. He/she will be able to test for what deficiencies she actually has and prescribe accordingly.

For example:

Senior author Michael Holick, added, "Since the ability to absorb vitamin D in CD patients is unpredictable, the only way to determine absorption efficiency is to perform a vitamin D bioavailability test. This test is convenient and its use may guide clinicians in administering the appropriate therapeutic dose of vitamin D for treating vitamin D deficiency in patients with CD."
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http://www.sify.com/news/study-show...isease-patients-news-scitech-lbtqOmihhbj.html
 
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Yes, her MD prescribed the B12 shots that I give her.

I am looking for second opinions here.:)

Thanks for the link.
 
Skwinty said:
... I am looking for second opinions here.:) ...
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I think the point is that, even if you could be sure you were getting reasonable advice here, you should see another doctor who can order blood tests. There is no a priori reason to think more vitamins will help.
 
I will re-iterate what Professor Yaffle and JJM said about discussing this with her doctor, as specific tests would be useful plus familiarity with the details of her resection and history.

Sensations like fatigue are strongly influenced by suggestion and are not in any way a reliable indicator of the adequacy of vitamin B12 supplementation. If she is getting injections every 2 weeks, it is very unlikely she could possibly be deficient. Other vitamin deficiencies are possible (even probable) - specifically fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E) which can be given in water soluble/liquid form. And mineral deficiencies such as zinc, magnesium, and iron are possible. These are amenable to oral supplementation, but not in tablet form for the reason you stated. Calcium deficiencies are usually related to vitamin D deficiencies.

Different amounts of supplementation are needed to correct a deficiency vs. maintainence, so it would be helpful for her doctor to identify whether any deficiencies are present and monitor their correction.

Linda
 
Thanks Linda and others who have responded,

Are there any over the counter multivitamins (water soluble) that would be beneficial for her. At one stage she was using a vitamin spray of which there were many (the was a whole box full of them, I can't remember the trade name but I think it was Sea something or other).

She used to spray them under her tongue, but they were hellish expensive and I am not too sure of their efficacy. She also used to take Cell food, but no longer.
She does see her MD on a regular basis, so my enquiries here are more for my benefit than hers.

I would not consider self medicating under any circumstance, so have no fear there.

As far as the fatigue issue is concerned, she is not a slacker and works full time, so I am not too sure what to make of the fatigue being influenced by suggestion that you speak of.

Thanks
Skwinty.
 
A second opinion should come from a second doctor, with a blood test to see what actual deficiencies exist.
 
phunk said:
A second opinion should come from a second doctor, with a blood test to see what actual deficiencies exist.
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Yes. Looking for a medical opinion on the Internet makes you Jenny McCarthy.
 
Is there much research on sublingual sprays, and how well they are absorbed (eg in people with Crohn's etc)?
 
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Professor Yaffle said:
Is there much research on sublingual sprays, and how well they are absorbed (eg in people with Crohn's etc)?
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Another question about Crohns.

As I understand, the removal of her intestines disposed of the Crohns, I think, because she has not shown any further symptoms for 20 years.

I know that when she was initially diagnosed and treated, the doctors could not be specific as to whether it was Crohns or ulcerative collitis.

She did have a Parkes pouch for a while, but that was unsuccessful.
 
Skwinty said:
Thanks Linda and others who have responded,

Are there any over the counter multivitamins (water soluble) that would be beneficial for her.
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Not trying to be rude, but virtually everyone who has responded has suggested, first and foremost, that she see another doctor for a second opinion if this is a problem. Thanking people for their responses and then continuing to ask questions that the qualified people who have responded have just stated that it would be inappropriate for them to answer for a specific person is confusing at best.

I don't know any of the specifics of her case and am in no way qualified to comment on them, but your wife is also 20 years older than when she started receiving these injections. While it's possible that she's just now turning 25 or 30 it seems likely that she's rather older. Is it possible that time is catching up with her as well?
 
jasonpatterson said:
Not trying to be rude, but virtually everyone who has responded has suggested, first and foremost, that she see another doctor for a second opinion if this is a problem. Thanking people for their responses and then continuing to ask questions that the qualified people who have responded have just stated that it would be inappropriate for them to answer for a specific person is confusing at best.
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I understand what you are saying here, but I did say in my second post that she does see her MD on a regular basis and this line of question was more for my benefit than hers.

Are you suggesting that it is improper for me to ask for advice on these matters?

If so, sorry for bothering you good folk here at the James Randi Educational Forum.
 
Skwinty said:
As far as the fatigue issue is concerned, she is not a slacker and works full time, so I am not too sure what to make of the fatigue being influenced by suggestion that you speak of.

Thanks
Skwinty.
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I'm not suggesting she is a slacker, or that her sensations of fatigue are all in her head. I'm just saying that in addition to the various physiological factors that contribute to that sensation, there are psychological factors, especially suggestion, as well. And as far as vitamin B12 injections go, it is not a valid or reliable indicator of its effects anyway (no difference in placebo-controlled trials).

Linda
 
Skwinty said:
Another question about Crohns.

As I understand, the removal of her intestines disposed of the Crohns, I think, because she has not shown any further symptoms for 20 years.

I know that when she was initially diagnosed and treated, the doctors could not be specific as to whether it was Crohns or ulcerative collitis.
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She can still get Crohns in the remaining instestine (anywhere from mouth to anus). If it was Crohns. Removal of the large intestine +/- last part of the small intestine (ileum) cures Ulcerative Colitis. If they couldn't tell the difference on examination of the resected intestines, the subsequent history suggests UC (if she isn't on medication).

She did have a Parkes pouch for a while, but that was unsuccessful.
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Does that mean she has an ileostomy?

Linda
 
phunk said:
A second opinion should come from a second doctor, with a blood test to see what actual deficiencies exist.
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x10.

Take her to another doctor, and get another PROFESSIONAL opinion. We are not (well, most of us are not) doctors. If you really care about your wife's well-being, take her to a real doctor.

:cool:
 
The reason I brought up the slacker issue and fatigue, is because she has counselled many other people who have or are about to get a colostomy bag and many of them can't function normally.

Ie, they do not go to work and spend most of the time sleeping.
Now, I am not saying they are slackers because I don't suffer from the disease and so I am ignorant of the symptoms.
Please don't get me wrong here.

I just wondered about the connection between fatigue and suggestion.

I have read that Ulcerative Collitis and Crohns are psychosomatic diseases, is this a correct description?

I do know that she responds well to the B12 shots, especially if I have forgotten to administer for a while.

You mentioned a probable vitamin A, D and E deficiency and fat and water soluable supplements. Are these similar to Vitathion?
 
Skwinty said:
Thanks for the sublingual term. I will google and see what is available.
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After my abdominal surgery, I took a liquid multi-vitamin for a time. I think Centrum makes it. It wasn't difficult to find and there are probably other brands. Since your wife has had part of her intestines removed she may be having trouble absorbing enough of most vitamins. That's what my doctor told me would happen after my own abdominal rearrangement. It couldn't hurt for her to ask her doctor about sublingual or liquid vitamins.
 
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