How did you educate your primary doc?

I just love my primary doc he has always had my back and been really supportive of my decision to get WLS the only thing is he only knows about RNY and he was the one who told me to go to Dr. Rupp to begin with.  When I last saw him to get my base line labs and what not I tried to explain it to him and he looked puzzled and said he dont have a cue about the DS and I dont want to lose him as a doc, so I need ideas on how best to educate him on what I am going to need post surgery, once that time is here.  I was planing on pulling some stuff from DS facts and putting that together but if there is anything else you guys could think of that would make it easier for him to understand that would be great.  Thanks.

I went to DSfacts.com and printed off everything they had. I also took a list of the vitamins that I take and how often I take them. She didn't know anything about the DS but she was excited to learn about it. Because I walked in knowing what I was talking about she took me very seriously. She sent e a typical vitamin D prescription. I called her office back and told them that the prescription wouldn't work and I explained why. She called me back and asked what I would need. When I told her she went "Okay. I'll write that up for you."

for me, it has been a long and frustating road.  my pcp (a two woman practice) wouldn't support my decision for any type of wls.  had to have my endo doc write the letter of necessity to the insurance company.
how i turned things around was gentle and constant persuasion.  right before my surgery, i printed out stuff from dsfacts.com.  they totally dismissed it.  they poo-pooed the notebook binder from my wls surgeon as well. i thought for sure i was going to have to find new pcp after my surgery.
today, over two years later, they have changed their minds about the ds.  one of the docs totally gets it, the other, i need to remind occasionally that i did not have the rny.
i knew doc #1 got it when hubs and i had an appointment for checkups and she was telling hubs to cut down on his fat intake.  she looked at me and said "lucky you, you need the fat."
ah-ha, finally, my educating them for 2 years has paid off.

I have the best PCP, he has never heard of the DS, and since there is no place within 3 surrounding states that does the DS I have no medical professional that has ever hear of it forget about treating for it.  I put a packet together for him, and a pic of my new configuration.  I also asked him to treat me as a patient not as a DSer, clinically treat my symptoms etc.  if you tell him to treat you as a short gut patient that may help, may not.  so my pcp is great, with the pics and info. it makes sense to him, and it really should make sense to any medical professsional if they are willing to take a few minutes to learn....good luck with you info....btw tell him you are looking for someone to work with you...

I had to comb Pubmed for stuff. Lots of it is now on DS Facts. Give him a nice stack of peer reviewed material from there. You might also contact Vitalady and see what she likes to give docs about supplements and tests and stuff.

 All of this is very good advice. I have found that most providers will work with me and the ones who won't make the short list of ones I won't go back to. I have been very fortunate. Having all my other conditions improve, plus the massive weight loss, has helped. It sounds as though you think he is open to being educated and that is really all that is needed. We learn early on the need to be our own advocates / health care leaders and this will be good practice for you for the times when you may have to go to Urgent Care, the ER, etc...

Being another patient of the U of MN clinic you could also refer him to their website and/or print of information from there. However, be advised that the U of MN clinic is fairly well known for not having adequate nutritional support information for DSers. It seems that they are more accustomed /  comfortable in dealing with banded and RNY patients. I followed the recs I got here and have adjusted based on labs since then picking up an Endo along the way. Dr. Ikrammudin is my surgeon and his advice on how to bring up my D post-op was such a gradual increase in D that it would have taken years to get to the 150K I am currently taking. The various NUTs I have seen there have repeatedly told me that they are just thrilled when they can count on patients consistently taking their daily multivitamins. However, when I began talking with one about DS math and how counting calories didn't really make sense for me she did understand. Maybe they are making baby steps. 

Dr. B has been working with the DS for decades and knows his stuff but the NUTs there support all the docs so I can't help but be skeptical. Also, as a patient 2 years out I am already getting labs for Dr. I only annually. I mainly count on my primary to order labs so I can have insurance pay for them. I have found that my Gyno provider is another very supportive partner. She is thrilled to help me get the information I need but pushes that I follow up with my Endo for anything that is flagged as out of range. She was tantamount in my meeting my pre-op needs for the Mirena IUD to make sure I didn't get preggers unexpectedly. Knowing how proactive and committed I was then really helped her be supportive of me now. 

My guess is that if the DSfacts and peer reviewed stuff from pubmed don't work then you might need to find someone new or go with an Endo for your lab/nutritional needs. I don't know if you have met Bridget Slusarek, RN. BSN. at the clinic. My guess is not since she is normally Dr. I's shadow when I am there. Regardless, she has told me that should I need it, there are several PCP's in the U of MN clinic who are very supportive and educated about the needs of WLS patients and are willing to take on new patients. I can get you her email if you wish/need. Just PM me. 

I know that a bunch of this has been a bit off-topic of your main question but, as I said, all the above has really given you very good advice. Best of luck!