Yes. Anything in oil is not absorbed so it has to be dry or bioavailable liquid.

On May 30, 2011 at 6:10 AM Pacific Time, newyork***** wrote:

The DS carries substantial long term risk for malnutrition.  It has serious and potentially dangerous implications and complications.  Many surgeons don't want to do them for those reasons,  and in my view,  the hesitation is justified.   The DS is not for everyone - it means a lifetime of commitment,  attention, and vigilance.  And expense.  And surgeons cannot possibly take on a lifetime of aftercare for every surgical patient,  and knowledgeable post-DS care is extremely difficult if not impossible to find.

As much as I hate to admit it, NewYork***** is more right than wrong.

The surgery is much more difficult and much more specialized than most other WLS. The hospital bill for my surgery was $127,00.00 at Abington Memorial. Cigna paid just shy of $10K of that. That's gotta be a money loser for someone.

The DS is a lifetime commitment of attention and vigilance. You have to keep on top of your vitamins and protein as well as blood work and understand what all the numbers mean. Forever. And ever.

I don't depend on anyone but me (and advice and insight from the helpful members of this OH forum) to make sure I stay healthy.

That said, I should have done this 10 years before I did.

As many other have said here over time, The folks at Abington Bariatric are great. Dr. Antanavicious was a great surgeon and the hospital care was great. I would highly recommend the practice to anyone thinking about the DS.

The office staff for aftercare is another case entirely. I grew tired of getting bad advice on vitamins and protein. The office staff treats DSer like RNY folks and we don't get the level of care we should post-op. I also got tired of driving 2 hours from southern PA to Philly, arriving 15 minutes early for an 11AM appointment and waiting 2 hours for 5 minutes with Donna. The surgeons are great but the office staff could stand a bit of love.

I am seeing my PCP for my blood work now and with the help of the fine folks here I am doing very well.

j

Pre-op I would make my own gravy at any temperature. It could be 45 degrees and I'd have beads of sweat popping up on my forehead.

These days if it's 60 degrees out I am freezing. It's a nice change actually.

The nights in PA are now getting down into the mid 40's and we just put the electic blanket on the bed. I cranked that sucker up to 7 last night and was in heaven.

My wife, on the other hand, is the human flame beacuse of her age. We are actually talking about getting a twin size electric blanket so I can just use it on my side of the king size bed. I can be warm and she can be cool.

j

Mmmmmmmm.....SCRAPPLE!

It was a DEXA scan. They did my left hip, lower spine and I think my left shoulder.

I have the report.  What I typed is exactly what the rsults said.

When I asked about the T score I was told they don't do T scores for 47 year old males.

I upped my A from 100K to 150K at 3 months and it has moved my A up a bit.

I've beenaround...just nothing to post about :)

So had my DEXA scan on Christmas eve. Here are the results:

Z Score results:

AP Spine (L1 - L4)  3.7
Femoral Neck (Left)  2.3
Total Hip (Left)  2.8

It says:
1)  "The patient's overall BMD Assessment is within expected range for age" (47 Male).
2)  "The value of BMD to predict fracture risk in this age group is not clearly determined".
3)  "Specific guidelines for monitoring BMD in men under age 50".

Doc tells me  am fine.

I was expecting a T score number and have no real idea how to read a Z score.  Anyone have a clue?

My wife did my avatar.

She's constantly reminding me what an a$$hole I am :)

Heparin was the only real reason I took my pain meds in the hospital.

Those Hep shots sting like a mofo.

Looks like I'll be ordering the 50K from Vitalady today :)

My face has gotten a bit thinner, but my breath is still the same :)

I was planning on visiting my family Friday in Newport News and coming back  to PA Saturday morning. Looks like 3 hours from my mom's to the Galleria.  This looks doable.

If I can swing it I'd love to stop by and meet everyone!

I'll know more when it gets closer to the weekend.