I'm glad your sister got her in for blood work..lets hope he checks for Bl2 deficiency.........studies have shown that use of ileocaecal segments results in intestinal malabsorption of B12. The length of ileum alone does not seem to be the determinant factor in causing B12 deficiency or B12 malabsorption.
to read more on symptoms of Bl2
www.wrongdiagnosis.com/v/vitamin_b12_deficiency/symptoms.htm#symptom_list
Most doctors believe that you have a 5 yr supply left in your liver of B12...and i wonder if they've only tested on men. I Know 3 people on this forum who have B12 deficiency and it happened in short order. Mine showed up in 7 months.......Holly in about the same time.......also Magnolia. The only way to replace this is by a shot until serum levels get back to normal and then once a month to maintain the levels.
I know i'm repeating myself but in a study of nursing homes where a diagnosis of dementia was the one of choice...approximately l/3 turned out to have Bl2 deficiency. Most older adults lose their ability naturally to absorb the vitamin but coupled with having the ilium removed which is responsible for the absorbtion of the vitamin its a good bet and one that should definatly be looked into as a cause of irratic behavior. Its a simple test. Pat