Hello, Haystack, welcome to the group. Are you suggesting that your copper anemia is somehow related to or a result of having RYGB surgery? To be honest, I have never heard any of those words before, nor have I heard of that condition. So, of course, the only good and helpful response any of us can make here is to tell you to stick with a qualified doctor. If your doctor is good, that's great. If you feel like you need a second opinion, I support that. It sounds like you've encountered some obstacles to health. I hope they can be resolved.
How did your RYGB surgery turn out? The gaps between your various diagnoses are large enough that you must have had some results. Was it a good thing for you? Why did you have the surgery? Were you pre-diabetic? And if so, did this surgery stop that progression? Or has the copper anemia somehow messed with your RYGB surgery?
Please let us know.
Good morning, Diane Seattle, thanks for the response.
Copper deficiency anemia is definitely a result of the RYGB. It is caused by malabsorption. Although not common, there are articles that can be located on the internet. See the citation to one in the reply below. The only treatment seems to be to take Copper injections and/or pills. However, Copper must be transported, and Ceruloplasmin is the primary transporter. My new theory (?) is that the Copper infusions I received and the pills I am taking are not absorbed because of low level of Ceruloplasmin. I only became aware of the low level and importance over the past 2-3 weeks. Although labs were taken for it in 2012 (2) and 2014 (1) neither doc who ordered the tests ever mentioned to me what the low level meant. However, one of the docs referred me to my Hemotologist, but he was focused on Copper since he had recently attended a conference where Copper Deficiency was discussed and Copper infusions were reported to be the answer. Assuming the results from the blood draw last week show a low level, I presume my Hematologist will be surprised. In the meantime, I have been researching treatments to bring the level up, but have turned up virtually nothing other than taking Copper, which is why I joined this group and asked for input from the group. I did find one listing for a Ceruloplasmin injection, but the product is manufactured in Ukraine, and I doubt it is authorized in the US.
Prior to my RNGB I had a number of problems, including sleep apnea, high triglycerides, pre-diabetes, etc. I weighed about 335 pounds and now weigh 190 or so. I am pleased with the weight loss, but not the serious side effects that have resulted. In addition to the normal ones, I had a bowel obstruction in 2004 that resulted in a resection and loss of more of my colon and small intestine. I was in ICU and a medically induced coma and on a breathing machine for about a week. My wife was told by the nurses and docs that I was touch and go. I delayed going to the ER, which resulted in sepsis. I was diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Disease, Stage 3 in 2015, which my Nephrologist says was probably caused by the Sepsis. In late 2018 I had two kidney stone attacks requiring surgeries. Kidney stones had not previously been a problem. I also was diagnosed with Diabetes in 2014 by an overzealous nurse practitioner, but my two PCPs after that (one is my Nephrologist) say that was wrong. My A1C is low, generally in the 4s, but I have been told that anemia results in an inaccurate A1C reading. My recent research revealed that I likely have Hyperinsulinemic Hypoglycemia, which is a fairly recently discovered side effect that causes high spikes in blood glucose after eating meals (even "good" ones) followed by serious drops. I think that is what caused the overzealous nurse to diagnose diabetes since she tested it shortly after I ate lunch.
My sleep apnea is gone, I am not diabetic, and I lost a lot of weight, which is all good, but I still wonder if it was all worth it given the serious side effects. My wife and I have discussed this numerous times and always tentatively conclude that it probably was since we don't think I would have survived otherwise. Nevertheless, I still wonder.
