Follow-up to Andrea's vitamin presentation - lab link inside also

Hi All,

I'd like to second Barb's thanks to Andrea for taking time to put together such nice information on vitamin requirements for all surgeries, and presenting it at our Raleigh Meet-up this past Saturday.  It was really good info, and I know how busy Andrea is with the rest of her life so taking the time to do this was of great service to all of us in the community.  At that time, I promised to provide a link for those interested to a new lab that has opened up in the Triangle.  Gerald (my sweet SO) ran across this in the Herald-Sun last week, and was kind enough to bring this up in the meeting. 

There is a lab that just opened in Durham on Highway 54 (which is easily accessible from I-40) that does all kinds of lab testing - no doctors orders needed, just walk in.  It's a pay as you test kind of thing.  I'm not sure about specific vitamin tests they can do, but they do offer a CBC and chem profile test, among lots and lots of others  And, if you're in need, since this is a new facility (these are franchises) they have a special coupon for any test for $10 between now and 11/30/08.  The coupon is found on the page for the local facility at this link:  anylabtestnow.com/rdu.  I know at the meeting Saturday, some folks mentioned how this might be a good resource if you need certain tests redone after additional supplementation, suspected false high/low, etc.  Sometimes you can't place a price on peace of mind, you know?

Also, Andrea discussed the need to be proactive about tracking labs over time to detect trends in vitamin levels.  For instance, if your PTH is trending upward, you can bet your D3 is going to be trending downward, as well as your calcium.  High PTH levels affect calcium absorption, and is a good indicator that calcium supplementation is inadequate or that calcium is being leached form your bones.  Tracking labs could help you spot trends so that you - as a pro-active advocate for your own health - can alert your surgeon or PCP as soon as you spot a trend.  And I say "you" because too many times our surgeons are too busy or don't have the information in front of them when we see them.  Or as Andrea also pointed out, our surgeons are great cutters, but they sometimes don't know "jack" about vitamin supplementation, at least not enough to help us keep our levels out of the toilet.  Sadly, sometimes our own nutritionists don't know enough either.  Andrea's admonition (and I second that) is to use some sort of tool to help you track this information so that you can spot trends early.  This is so especially important for us DS-ers in the group.  To help out, I have an Excel file that was shared with me by my wonderful Angel from the DS board that a lot of folks have used to help with vitamin level tracking.  As I said during the meeting, I am happy to share this file with anyone who is interested in using it.  If anyone needs/wants a copy of the file, please PM me with your email address and I will send it your way.

I'm so glad we are talking about a matter that is of life and death importance to all of us as post-ops.  Like Andrea, I am not a medical professional, nor do I play one on TV, so please take what I say with a grain of salt until you consult with your team of medical professionals.  Although I am a research scientist and have been doing metabolism research for over 10 years, I certainly don't have all the answers, and sometimes don't have any answer at all.  But I am committed to helping my fellow WLS folks if I can.

Ok, back to your regularly scheduled programming.....

Hi Angela,

Thanks for the information. I'll PM you for the spreadsheet. I think it would be a great tool no matter the type of surgery.

Did you two find any 'fine' duds?

Hi Barb,

Thank you SO much, yes, we did !!    I was dreading the trip to the flea market because we needed to get in and get out, and you know how the crowds can be.  But we got him all decked out from top to bottom including the tux, 2 sets of studs/cufflinks, 2 shirts, bow tie and cumberbund, shoes and a pocket square for $125.  I even found a lined black taffeta wrap for $15 only to get to the register to find it was only $5!!  OMG, I couldn't believe it.  I didn't have any luck there with dresses, mainly because they were a little much for me.  I really prefer the more understated back ****tail dress, so I found one at University Mall in Chapel Hill on our way back.  Plus, I got a beautiful woven silver and black wrap for the black dress (wore that last night) and a silver top to pair with a long black georgette skirt and that black wrap I found in Hillsborough for Friday night.  I even found some black beaded earrings and necklace I forgot I had that will pair nicely with the dress/suit for Friday night.  And I know you love a bargain like I do - I got the dress and the wrap for around $65 total.  It almost felt sinful to walk into the Prestonwood Country Club last night knowing how little I paid for my dress.

We are so grateful to you for the tip for that place.  Gerald will get many miles out of his tux no doubt, and he even said that if he could get me to marry him one day, he'd already have his tuxedo.   I did see quite a few things I liked in smaller sizes, so I know I'll be able to go back there post-op.  I think he's going to go back and get a red vest and tie for his Christmas party. 

You're so sweet for asking.  We truly have come to love you and Ben so much.  I know you've had a rough go.  Please let us know how we can help lighten your load if we can.  Prayers and blessings for you, my dear.

Hi Angela,

I'm delighted to hear that you and Gerald SCORED!! Like you said, I love a bargain, but I don't want to dress like the bargain bin... It sound like you looked like a million bucks. I'm sure no one would have guessed that you were dressed to kill on a 'budget.'

Thank you so much for your support and kindness. It is truly appreciated in ways I cannot begin to articulate.

I called them and the two tests that I'm interested in are:

PTH  $209
Vitamin D  $129

They also have an Anemia panel, a TIBC, and some other interesting tests.  Just a note -- they don't list them all, so call them for pricing if you want something not listed.

Excellent.  While it's not exactly a $10 test, my guess is this could come in really handy when you've got a doc who won't order a test for some reason, or worse, when they're naive enough to think you can't get false highs or lows on a test.  I know you're strapped like we all are, but I hope you'll be able to have those retested, for your own peace of mind if nothing else.

If you do, let me know what you think of the place.

I spoke to them about creating a WLS panel of vites for a discounted price.  We'll see how that goes.

I really HATE that I missed Andrea's presentation and of course the meeting itself.  My husband and I were out of town.  I really need to know more about what I need vitamin-wise and test-wise.  Ya'll didn't video this did you ???

hugs,

Fre