Apparently, I pissed someone off

Sorry if my situation or something I said pissed you off,  but I am not an ingnorant lying B****!!!

It's not the first time, and simply because something I post and do to stay healthy is not the *typical* DS protocol, or my labs are different for a legitimate medical reason. I have other medical issues which require adjusting my particular vitamin levels, due to other prescription meds I take, which is why I always say it may not be right for everyone whenever I answer something involving vites or nutrition.

I have always said check with your doctor or dietitian, ask questions.  Your labs and your individual situation should be your guide, not what someone else is doing for themselves.  I am blessed to have a PCP who will listen, and will admit that I probably know more about my surgery than she does, and she will call my surgeon for guidance if she's not sure about something. Nine times out of ten, I've been on the right track.

That said, my inspiration for returning to college for a different degree last year when I was 52, so that I can become an RD and get off disability ( which is under Social Security's Ticket To Work program) was because of my DS.  I was getting so much wrong information from dietitians, because many of them won't take the time to learn about the requirements of each *individual* WLS. Most of them don't even know what a DS is, and if they do, they take a "one size fits all" approach when it comes to dietary needs.  From my support group, I found out that some are still advising patients to take children's Flintstone vitamins!  
Each surgery has different nutritional requirements, as does each person, depending on other conditions they might have, just as many of us have foods that we can eat, but others can't tolerate. The bariatric specialty I'm training for doesn't even exist yet!  By the time I get to my hard-core Dietetics classes, that may have changed, but when I went on my own personal "college tour" to find out what it would take, each and every department head I met with told me I was the first to approach them with that interest!  I would love to return to my old job as a reporter, but I can't.  The physical demands are too intense for the effects SLE has on me.  The DS got me up out of bed, but I still have to watch my activity level, and not get into a lot of strenuous activity, or push myself beyond a certain point,  which is exactly what major market news reporting does.   It's not just sitting in front of a camera or microphone and looking good or speaking well.  Newspaper reporting is just as rugged. All have murderous deadlines and high stress, which is also not good for someone with SLE.

The Vocatonal Rehabilitation option is a GODSEND for me!  As long as my grades are decent, they will pay for tuition and books.

I'm not out to change the world, just make it a better place nutritionally for those of us who have WLS.

You are doing it, and doing it well...Good for you.  You've got your focus.  Let the detractors step aside.  I have alot of respect for your success and determination.  It looks good on you.

Thank you Ann.

I just don't want to create any ill will here.  This is a fantastic group of people, much better than my program's support group where I live, which I stopped going to about a year ago.

(This is urgent?)

I felt it was, because someone else's emotions were involved, as well as my own.  I'm still not sure why this person feels the way they do, but so be it.

I'm not one to get into a bickering session on this board.  That's not why I'm here.  As I learn something nutritional, I pass it on, with the caveat that I'm not a medical professional...yet.
As someone else learns and posts something useful, I benefit from that.

Isn't that what this forum is all about, anyway?

What vitamens do you take? I still take flintstone chewables with iron.

Lisa, are your labs looking ok??  Or, are you getting all of the labs you need?  Probably not if you're going with your surgeon's advice and Flinstone vites are part of that.

Here is the vitamin schedule that most everyone here follows to begin with.  It can then be tweaked according to what your lab results are.  Everyone here is very helpful when you post your labs (just make sure you're getting the proper ones run), and will help you adjust your vitamins.

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/ds/4103619/VitaLadys-Jan-2 010-DS-Plan-amp-Shopping-List-OH-Formatting/action,replies/t opic_id,4103619/page,1/

Also, here is a link to the labs that you need to have run:

Labs and target ranges: https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AU46vLsRDC9rZGhranhtcXpfO GNxcDk2c2c0&hl=en

Hope this helps!

 Lisa, you should have ditched the Flintstones a long time ago. Doc suggests them as a new post-op so it's easy on your healing stomach. They just don't have all of the amounts we need long term.

What kind do you take and how many?
I take one in the morning and one at night.

I take 2 a day....morning and night. I use the adult multi made by Walmart. The brand is Equate.