Vitamin B12 is essential to your body's ability to create red blood cells, synthesize D.N.A. and maintain a well-functioning nervous system. This nutrient is plentiful in most Western diets, as it is present in eggs, milk, meat, fish and poultry. Gastric bypass is a surgical procedure that alters the anatomy of your digestive system. It is used to treat obesity, but can have unwanted effects on your ability to absorb essential nutrients.
Gastric Bypass Surgery
Gastric bypass is the most common form of surgery used to promote weight loss, according to MayoClinic.com. It has a lower risk of complications than other surgeries used to induce weight loss, and can provide a long-term solution to obesity when combined with healthy eating and exercise. Gastric bypass is, however a major surgical procedure and as such is not without its risks.
B12 Absorption
Gastrointestinal surgery that involves the removal of portions of your stomach or intestines can affect your ability to properly absorb nutrients such as B12 from the foods you eat, according to the National Institutes of Health. Weight loss surgeries such as gastric bypass are included in this category. Your stomach produces an enzyme called intrinsic factor that helps separate B12 from the protein-rich foods that supply it. When less intrinsic factor is produced as a result of gastric bypass surgery, less B12 is absorbed.
Effects
The NIH states that you should be monitored for potential nutritional deficiencies after undergoing gastrointestinal surgery. If gastric bypass results in a B12 deficiency, anemia can occur along with symptoms such as fatigue, facial pallor, constipation and weight loss. Damage to your nerves can occur and can sometimes be permanent. In prolonged or extreme cases of B12 deficiency, you may experience dementia and loss of balance.
Treatment of B12 Deficiency
You may need to supplement your dietary consumption of B12 in order to make up for the nutritional shortfall that can take place after gastric bypass surgery. B12 used in vitamin supplements is not bound to protein and thus can be absorbed without intrinsic factor. R.E. Brolin et al. of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey found that multivitamin supplements were not sufficient to make up for B12 deficiency after gastric bypass surgery, but that B12 supplementation corrected deficiencies in 81 percent of cases. Brolin's work was published in the "Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery" in March 2008.
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