Dr Stewart - how is his follow up care

Dr. Stewart's follow-up care is superb.  He goes out of his way to accommodate his patients.  Just this past week he spent an hour on the telephone with me discussing DS issues.  I don't see many surgeons investing that much time in their patients after they've "made" their buck in the operating room.    

He does sell a multivitamin and it is just that - a multivitamin.  Is it appropriate?  Yes.  Is it sufficient?  Yes, as a multivitamin, which is how it is marketed.  Additional supplementation is required.  As already stated, he offers vitamin D and vitamin A injections as well.  He is not "anti-Vitalady".  He is "pro-normal labs" and will do whatever it takes to keep labs in normal range.  

I am extremely pleased with his aftercare.  We have 4 new Lubbock-area DSers that he is operating on this month alone (the first was today) and 2 more lined up for next month.  If I had issues with his surgical abilities or his aftercare I would make certain none of our potential DSers went to him.  

ANY DS patient who blindly follows a physician, whether a DS surgeon or otherwise, is destined for trouble in my opinion.  It is OUR responsibility to educate ourselves and assure our continued good health.  There are probably hundreds of different vitamin regimens that we follow as fellow DSers on this forum  Some take much more than others and some much less.  We all adjust our regimen based on lab results, whether it's increasing or decreasing doses.  The key is frequent lab checks with appropriate adjustments based on results before problems occur.   That being said, I'd rather over-supplement and back off as opposed to trying to make up for a deficiency.  

As for his nutritionist, I don't know anything about them since there was a change in staff recently.  I'm not qualified to respond to that question.

I can recommend Dr. Stewart without reservation and I'm a harsh critic.  All you have to do is look at some of my other posts to understand that.  Are there specific reasons these questions are being asked that I can address more appropriately or are they just general?  I'm happy to help any way I can.  I just don't understand some of the animosity in this thread from people who know absolutely nothing about him. 

I totally agree with you Steve, I have had excellent post op care and would recommend him and his staff (although I haven't met some of the newer staff).  I do use his Multivitamin and then supplement most of the normal Vitalady program as needed based on my labs. I have told them this and other than Sue saying that she thinks it is a lot of pills, she hasn't said anything negative to me about VL. They even promote Vitalady for the A and D that they sell to compliment their line.

I think when it comes to ANY surgeon, you have to take the aftercare with a grain of salt. That is why I love this forum so much, you have so many Vets that have been living this and can offer solid advice. I have found that Dr Stewart cares for his patients and his after care, he puts effort into it which I don't see from some other surgeons.

Becky, I don't understand why you have such an issue with his vitmain line, he never said it was an end all be all - 1 pill solution as you seem to think. He blended his own Multivitamin which contains higher levels than a Centrum type multi, he then recommends (based on your own labs) Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Calcium and Iron. Do I think that covers everything.. No, that is why I take the Vitalady program but it's a good step.

Just my two cents. Kj

Do you remember when I tangled with and then blocked Becky? This is a great performance showing the reasons why. She's bonkers.

I give the guy credit - he blends a multivitamin, calls it special for WLS patients, and makes some nice bucks on the side. 

I don't remember the price off the top of my head, but it's not a heck of a lot. I doubt he's raking in the cash on the vites, but it's a good product multi-vitamin wise. They're not giant horse pills, and you only need to take 2 per day (unless your labs require otherwise of course). Me likey.

That sounds better than Spiegel's multi, which is three giant horse pills per dose. Of course, his ex-NUT thought it was a "cure malnutrition" vite. It ain't.

OMG I hate having to choke down horse pills. Getting something the size of a communion wafer lodged in your esophagus is one of the worst senstations inthe world. Thenif you break them up into smaller pieces the jagged edges scratch on the way down. *shudder*

I think I'd rather eat earwax than take horsepills.

I'm sorry, I don't know you from a hole in the wall but I'm rather taken aback by your tone in this whole thread. 

Did Dr Stewart **** in your Wheaties?  Did he offer you foul weather when you wanted it fine? 

Why do you feel the need to pounce on him?

I'm unreservedly pro-Stewart as a surgeon.  Not just because I had a great experience, and so did my husband, and so have the 15 patients we have since sent his way.  Wonderful surgery.  No major complications.  Most issues patient induced rather than anything to do with the surgeon. 

I've never really thought much about him as an aftercare resource and really neither have most of our group here in Lubbock.  As to the shots and multi-vitamins, yep, they exist and some of us take them, some don't.  And I don't think the multi-vites are lining his pockets with gold.

I thought the standard feeling on the board was surgeons are cutters not PCPs, and I thought I'd read that sentiment from you on more than one occasion.

If you are looking for a Dallas surgeon to bash, why not pick on Dr Barker?  The guy who suddenly decided to start doing DS's about 9 months ago and now does RNY to DS revisions--he claims.  The guy who charges an obscene program fee and never lays eyes on the patient after surgery.  (Just to head you off at the pass, dr S' program fee is a whopping $375 or there abouts. Dr Barker is at least $1500)

Again, why this sudden animosity towards Stewart?

Don't get me wrong, I think Dr. Stewart is a great surgeon and I don't think I could have made a better choice. I also think Sue is great and her post op diet suggestions are right on. I know she is proactive with labs and altering supplementation to the individual but she was very anti VitaLady during my pre op class. However they do suggest using her Vit D and A because the dosages are right.

Ok, so it seems everyone's had different experiences with Sue and the Vitalady issue.

I never got the impression she was anti-vitalady, but I did get the impression that they felt her guidelines were overkill in some respects. They seemed to prefer to look at your labs to determine what you actually need instead of megadosing on everything across the board whether you need it or not.

If you happen to be someone who doesn't have good aftercare, I can see why vitalady's guidelines can be crucial to maintaining health, but I don't see what the big deal is with medical professionals disagreeing with Vitalady's recommendations if they're doing a perfectly good job keeping their patient's labs in good shape through their own methods. If vitalady's guide works, great! If Sue's guideance works, great!