Re: asbs; was: lost track of time

[Guest guest]

> I didn't realize you were already at the meeting , I do hope you

and others will keep us updated on the happenings there.

** I was only at the conf. from tuesday afternoon till friday noon.

I attended one workshop tuesday afternoon that was geared for dieticians. it

was the biggest waste of time because they argued with how to hold the

discussion - about 85% of them were working for less than one year and

wanted the guidance of the 5yr. and up folks. most of them got up and left.

they can't see beyond the food pyramid which is too heavy in carbs for us.

on wed. I attended what is called the essentials class - if its your first

year they make you attend this one - it was basic info for residents or

surgeons new to bariatrics. it lasted from 8am till 5pm and mostly surgeons

like Sugarmen, and others did it. they all swear up and down that

they don't see deficiencies and that supplementation isn't necessary. it was

a joke I thought. they also discussed the new adjustable lab band which

actually has some pretty depressing stats in the USA. only a 50% weight loss

and a higher complication rate because of constant need for adjustments to

the band over the first 3 yr. it also takes 3yr. to lose that 50% of excess

weight.

wed. night I attended a short presentation by dr. jacques who is into

supplementation and deficiencies in " us " . she is a naturopath and is in

conjunction with a line of supplements called bariatrics. seems like a good

line since its not all lumped together in a multi. the iron, calcium, b12 is

split out from the multi which comes in chewable or pill. also high in folic

acid which she has found obese women in general to be deficient in. this

seemed to be a hot topic. if you are having nausea, lack of energy or other

issues related to alertness you might want to add some folic acid. very

important.

on the following evening I was listening to a discussion between two

surgeons - one where I work and one from U.VA. who have seen severe folate

deficiencies. so dr. jacques is on target I believe. she also is very much

into the antioxidants. c and e for wound healing, etc.

thurs. at the conf. was numerous short sessions on everything imaginable - I

listened to several on hypothyroidism after wls, vit. d, and a few others.

basically no new info for me.

I got to meet michele - One L - from dr. champions office, lisa from dr. T's

office in melbourne, shelia from NJ and our own Vitalady and vitaguy. dr.

marcus from md. I also spent some time with discussion restrictive vs.

malabsorptive procedures. at the welcome social One L and others cornered

any new docs we could find and tried to educate them. dr. Sashi from PA?

was one of our victims. thats about all the info I have right now - the

flight back was a little long and I'm a little fuzzy still.

sue