supplements vs supplements - my two cents

Lot of angry ding-bats on the forums today Grim.  Must be a full moon.

don't be so hard on yourself.  still following moon patterns?

What is particularly concerning is your willingness to follow your nutritionist without doing any research yourself. Of course your nutritionist will endorse the product they sell; it's called profit incentive. You need to be your own health advocate, as at the end of the day, it is your life. Surgeons are not nutritionists and not all nutritionists are knowledgable, so blindly following their advice could be detrimental.

Instead of feeling attacked, look again at the advice and links given you. The AMSBS is highly regarded; they are not associated with a company. Look at what they say you need and compare it to your supplement. Deficiencies don't show up right away. You should also be tracking your lab work to find trends in your levels. Just because you are in range doesn't mean everything is great. If your numbers are steadily dropping, you have to up that vitamin before you are deficient.

You are advocating that people blindly follow a supplement, because they are all the same. This is bunk. 

Let me clarify somethings, please.  I never advocated Bariatric Fusion rather, I simply stated that I used their products.  Secondly, my doctor and nutritionist never recommended a particular in fact, they did suggest that I research for myself, brands/ingredients/options etc... What they did state rather emphatically was, don't get caught up in everybody else's opinions about bariatric specific vs. OTC vs. CVS vs. GNC and so on.  They recommend that once I found something that worked to stick with it.  If they did anything correctly it was gauging my expectations properly.  My weight-loss hasn't been easy and certainly, it's been filled with ups and downs.  I made a lot of adjustments and I worked closely with my support group and family.  All I was trying to offer up was not to play into all of the thousands of choices.  It's maddening and discouraging to see so many conflicting statements.  I chose something that worked for me. I follow my labs every 3 months and my husband is a doctor (Hematologist/Oncologist).  He's amazed at my labs post surgery and personally feels my results are due in part to my consistency and patience.  I've never shared my story outside of my support structure and my doc suggested I visit a site.  I'm sorry I did because while I felt a kindred spirit of sorts with other bariatric patients, after getting attacked by so many on this site, how about que sera, sera.  

Your husband is a doctor?  Goodness me.

Please don't go there about my husband.  He's board certified and Chief of Oncology at a world renowned center and a frequent lecturer at NIH and Hopkins.  His accolades are many but you're not worthy to know anything about him.  You should be ashamed of yourself for making such a comment.  What does he have to do with this exchange?  Goodness me!  Are you even married?  You people are cruel and all could go to hell!  I'm embarrassed and ashamed to have anything in common with you whatsoever.  You've crossed the line.  

You continue to defend a post full of misinformation.  Whether or not you intended the message you originally sent is different from what you actually wrote.

First, you state, "there is too much discussion about quantities and nutrients."  When selecting vitamins, one HAS to look at the quantities of nutrients in those supplements.  Some are better than others.  Some you have to take 2-4x as much to get the bare minimum.  In my opinion, there isn't enough discussion about quantities and nutrients.  Many think a product labeled Bariatric must be better than OTC.

Your advice to "stay the course" and instinctively follow one brand, is misguided.  Yes, I am sure Fusion lists it follows ASMBS guidelines (I don't use the product).  But does it say how many you have to take in order to meet those guidelines?  Does their recommended serving meet the guidelines?  Have you checked?  Others have and alerted you to the fact that you have to take 8 of them to meet guidelines.  Are you taking 8?  If so, you have a lot of discretionary income that many others do not have to spend.

Third, you did advocate Bariatric Fusion.  You directly said it was the best move you've made and you are glad you are not considering other choices. 

Finally, how lovely your husband is a doctor.  However, just looking at your lab numbers to see if they are in range, and not tracking trends, especially at just over a year out, is still misguided.  You never said you are tracking them, so the assumption is that you are just looking at them.  And, again, as others have pointed out, deficiencies rarely occur at your stage. 

Listen, I could care less what you do.  However, your thread was intended to "help" others, and it was full of misinformation. Further, you may be one of the lucky post-ops who have NO problem absorbing nutrients.  When you tell someone to just pick a supplement and stay with it, and ignore all the discussions about quantities and nutrients, you are dispensing harmful medical advice. Not everyone absorbs equally and taking a subpar vitamin on top of that, can be dangerous.

I'm sure you will see this as a personal attack.  It isn't.  I am merely responding to a post full of errors.

As positive as you started the post, you ended up in a very angry, very hostile matter. 

Take facts over emotions. 

Some of us who had been on these boards for a while have seen it all. Including people who claimed that their labs are great only to discover that only basic panel was tested and the rest was not even considered. It is close to impossible to test ALL vitamins and minerals.  Most deficiencies show in year 2- 3 and later.  And once they happen - sometimes it is very difficult to correct. Also some so called "low normal levels" are often too low (i.e B12) and can cause permanent damage.  Unfortunately a lot of great surgeons don't know that. A lot of normal doctors don't know that. 

Chill and try to see what the responses you got really try to tell you - and check the data. 

From personal experience - it took me 2 years to get back into optimum for me vitamins/mineral levels after they drop to just "low normal", and while the doc (a great one BTW) was telling me "but your numbers are OK" , I felt like Crap... It took a vet from here to look at my lab results and suggested I increase some individual elements and see it that would help... I am grateful to her to this day... 

See it as it is - people try to inform you... Some of us really know what we are talking about.. 

Thank you H.a.l.a.B. I appreciate your civilized and constructive approach to my post.  Your insight and suggestions are appreciated and I really do understand the battle confronting me regarding supplementation.  I posted earlier that my husband is an oncologist (hematologist) and very familiar with managing blood panels and quantity trends.  I might be at a slight advantage regarding my lab work however, it doesn't mean that I throw caution to the wind.  I continue to read and study about malabsorption and micronutrient deficiencies and hope to never encounter some of the unfortunate problems they bring.  Thank you for your reply.  My eyes are wide open and I pray every day for an improved quality of life on my journey.  One day at a time.  All the best!

posterity