NUT appointment today and some small positive changes in recommendations happening

[writegirl]

@Munchkin yes, indeed. I mean, to a huge degree the whole bariatric industry is a giant cash cow. Don't get me wrong, I am happy to have a great surgeon and I trust Dr. Boyce with my surgical needs. He has a right to make a living off of his skillset. It is an industry though.

Schmantzy product line video: http://www.barilife.com/about-us.html (video at center of page)

 

[Munchkin]

@Munchkin yes, indeed. I mean, to a huge degree the whole bariatric industry is a giant cash cow. Don't get me wrong, I am happy to have a great surgeon and I trust Dr. Boyce with my surgical needs. He has a right to make a living off of his skillset. It is an industry though.

Schmantzy product line video: http://www.barilife.com/about-us.html (video at center of page)

You want a good cutter! Other than that you need to advocate for yourself. YOU are the customer and the buyer always has to beware. I find it shameful when people you are supposed to be able to trust come off like used car salespeople. You have no idea how many 600lb people were sold lap bands by these charlatans! Because people TRUST them.

 

[Ray_Of_Fricken_Sunshine]

@writegirl When I had my final pre-op group appointment, we went over the same stuff, though I was the only DS and all the information was geared towards the RNY and Sleeves.
Anyways, they push so hard for you to have chewable vits, until you've been cleared to take pills, just as you said. EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON. THERE. said they were taking Flinstones. I had mentioned that I couldn't find the chewable Centrum in stores, and that I had to get it online, and they all looked at me like my ass was on backwards. The NUT agreed that Flinstones are perfectly acceptable, and "Really convenient, because they sell them everywhere".
Awesome.

 

[k9ophile]

Who sponsored the conference? Drug companies spare no expense when it comes to pushing their drugs. They often offer continued education credits at no cost to the participant. Next time you're in doctor's office (any doctor) look around and notice how many things in the office have a pharmaceutical company's name or logo.

I'd like to know what other regimens were looked at, i.e. BariLife compared to what?

Silly me. I thought it might be an independent conference. Or at least one NOT sponsored by a drug company.

 

[writegirl]

You want a good cutter! Other than that you need to advocate for yourself. YOU are the customer and the buyer always has to beware. I find it shameful when people you are supposed to be able to trust come off like used car salespeople. You have no idea how many 600lb people were sold lap bands by these charlatans! Because people TRUST them.

In Boyce's defense, I am not sure he falls into the category of "charlatan." It's interesting that you mention the LAP because there was an older woman in my class getting a LAP revision to a sleeve. She asked what surgery I was getting and when I told her she said "Oh, that's the big one!" and then said "At my age, I'm not looking to lose much more. I just don't want to gain and the Lapband is making trouble for me. But that big one, if I was your age, that's what I'd get." Her husband chimed in with "She's had the Lapband in her for almost 15 years and we didn't know it was supposed to come out after a while." I didn't get a chance to ask if Boyce did her original lapband, but I got the feeling he didn't since she said "When I went to Dr. Boyce I thought I might need a fill to fix the problems with swallowing I'm having but he said no, it's overdue to be removed."

I think he really does believe his program is comprehensive and resolves all the nutrition issues. It's like one of those things that when you get too close to the issue you can't see the problems with objectivity any longer. I think he doesn't see the NUT issues for DSers with objectivity because he is so invested in solving the problems that he cannot see the points he is missing. As a researcher myself, I appreciate that he's so invested in making sure research backs his surgical decisions and part of the problem with DS nutrition advocacy (and Vets, please correct me if I am wrong) is that there is actually so little real hard research. We have certain voices, like Dr. K who emerge and publish and a few other published findings that support what the vets all already know from living DS, but that is pretty much it. Someone (I cannot remember who) had mentioned in the FB DS group something along the lines of "Would surgeon's believe the NUT issues if it they were published by DS veterans?"

It's actually not a bad idea. It may be time for DSers to compile qualitative research on nutritional deficiencies and join forces to compile labs. I mean, hell, we are actually in a better position to gather that material than so many of the surgeons who, outside of a blind study, only ever see the labs of their own patients.

 

[Munchkin]

In Boyce's defense, I am not sure he falls into the category of "charlatan." It's interesting that you mention the LAP because there was an older woman in my class getting a LAP revision to a sleeve. She asked what surgery I was getting and when I told her she said "Oh, that's the big one!" and then said "At my age, I'm not looking to lose much more. I just don't want to gain and the Lapband is making trouble for me. But that big one, if I was your age, that's what I'd get." Her husband chimed in with "She's had the Lapband in her for almost 15 years and we didn't know it was supposed to come out after a while." I didn't get a chance to ask if Boyce did her original lapband, but I got the feeling he didn't since she said "When I went to Dr. Boyce I thought I might need a fill to fix the problems with swallowing I'm having but he said no, it's overdue to be removed."

I think he really does believe his program is comprehensive and resolves all the nutrition issues. It's like one of those things that when you get too close to the issue you can't see the problems with objectivity any longer. I think he doesn't see the NUT issues for DSers with objectivity because he is so invested in solving the problems that he cannot see the points he is missing. As a researcher myself, I appreciate that he's so invested in making sure research backs his surgical decisions and part of the problem with DS nutrition advocacy (and Vets, please correct me if I am wrong) is that there is actually so little real hard research. We have certain voices, like Dr. K who emerge and publish and a few other published findings that support what the vets all already know from living DS, but that is pretty much it. Someone (I cannot remember who) had mentioned in the FB DS group something along the lines of "Would surgeon's believe the NUT issues if it they were published by DS veterans?"

It's actually not a bad idea. It may be time for DSers to compile qualitative research on nutritional deficiencies and join forces to compile labs. I mean, hell, we are actually in a better position to gather that material than so many of the surgeons who, outside of a blind study, only ever see the labs of their own patients.

I don't think he falls into that category either. I have never heard about him selling a lapband to a 600lb person. But there are those who do!

 

[writegirl]

I don't think he falls into that category either. I have never heard about him selling a lapband to a 600lb person. But there are those who do!

Jesus that is scary to contemplate. The more I read around about people's experiences with WLS and different surgeons, the more I am glad to have Boyce. No one is perfect, but he does bonafide DS and is an expert cutter. Lap on a 600 lb person seems like a nightmare.

 

[Munchkin]

Jesus that is scary to contemplate. The more I read around about people's experiences with WLS and different surgeons, the more I am glad to have Boyce. No one is perfect, but he does bonafide DS and is an expert cutter. Lap on a 600 lb person seems like a nightmare.

And it's totally safe for the surgeon. He just blames the failure on the fat person and we accept the blame. After all nothing else worked and yet another failed weight loss program is no big surprise.

 

[aaa]

They do a one month check up and 4 month labs, as far as I know.

@writegirl Is that for the first year? If so, that's good.