[fr1endly2]

HEY DOCSANAE a dear friend of mine, whom also had gastric bypass surgery, actually with the same surgeon as me brought these two articles
to my attention knowing i have the issues with numbness that i do....


SHOWED ME THIS ARTICLE: COPPER DEFICIENCIES


Copper deficiencies have been showing up as a side effect of weight loss surgery. It is however a rare occurrence, but one that you should be aware of. Patients will show symptoms of numbness or tingling in the feet or hands. Although these symptoms are normally seen as side effects of B12 deficiency, patients will have normal levels of B12.
Copper is an essential mineral in the formation of blood and for the nervous system. Copper deficiencies have been found in studies done that included patients who had other kinds of stomach surgeries such as the removal of the stomach for medical reasons.
A lack of copper is linked to iron deficiency because copper is required in the proper absorption of iron. Low levels of copper can also cause osteoporosis. Copper can be found in oysters and shellfish and in bygone eras, the major sources of copper came from copper pipes from through which drinking water flowed.
Too much copper can cause nausea and vomiting, so it is not recommended that you take copper supplements without the advice of your doctor. There is a difference of opinion whether wearing a copper bracelet works or not. An Australian double blind study found these bracelets to be effective despite most doctors saying the contrary.
So if you are having tingling sensations and your B12 levels are fine, ask your doctor to check your copper levels. We are still learning what to look out for following weight loss surgery. The research continues.

and this:

Copper Deficiency as Cause of Unexplained Hematologic and Neurologic Deficits in Patient with Prior Gastrointestinal Surgery -- Wu et al. 19 (2): 191 -- The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine

MAYBE i should request this testing for my issues????
what are ur views????

[DocSanae]

Yes, that's one possibility. There are lots of minerals that are needed in very minute amounts for our system to work smoothly, that can become deficient because of the change in the plumbing and the areas of absorbtion. It's not a bad idea to ask your dr to run a test for you.

However, even if the test comes up positive for copper deficiency, as the article states, getting too much copper is dangerous, there is copper poisoning.

So, what I suggest is use copper pots and pans.
Used to be, iron kettles and skillets were excellent sources of iron before the days of supplements and iron pills, and teflon pans.

[fr1endly2]

INteresting and i dont use copper pots anymore
hmmm
thanks for the info as always

[Kat]

...interesting

[fr1endly2]

KAT do you experience numbness?
mine is actually getting worse...
and in some odd areas......
just no time to get docs right now

[Kat]

My hands and arms go to sleep lots...like carpel tunnel, during the night and sometimes just standing or sitting.

[DocSanae]

Well, quite honestly, much of the numbness could be due to degenerating disks, that went unnoticed, but was caused and aggravated by the excess weight you carried over all the years.
So, the first thing to do is see an orthopedic surgeon and a neurologist. If what they find don't match your symptoms, or the symptoms too severe from what would be expected of the physical findings, then then thing to check out are deficiencies. Of course, you can have both physical symptoms and deficiencies at the same time, so that has to be kept in mind.

Lisa has been checked by her drs about this, so it is time to see if there are any such deficiencies. It would be best if you could get to your dr ASAP, but if you can't take the time out in the next month or so, one thing you might try, is start using a copper kettle or pan or something, and see if the numbness gets better after some time. (It's not going to go away immediately, symptoms caused by deficiencies take time to resolve.)

That's what comes to my mind for the moment.