OH Conference

Hey Guys

Just finished day 1 of the conference. Any of you here too? Bo McCoy is hilarious. Colleen Cook is an awesome motivational speaker & advocate. Postop & Doc were funny & informational. Can't wait for what tommorrow holds. Better get some shuteye. I'll try to post sometime tommorrow.

Later, Mike

 Mike, 

Whats the conference? I am interested to attend the next one...
Mario

Mario

The OvesityHelp Narional conference is this weekend in Atlanta, GA. The schedule of events is at:

https://obesityhelp2012.eventbrite.com/

So far the conference has been great. Today is the main agenda. So my expectations are pretty high. I will post again later today or tommorrow.

 Thank you! 

Got back this afternoon after a great weekend attending the OH conference in Atlanta.  My wife and I had a great time and are already looking forward to next year.

 

On Saturday, Bo McCoy was emcee and funny as ever.  Dr. Connie Stapleton of “Post-op and the Doc" fame brought her wit and great knowledge of the mind and psyche to bear in her presentation “WLS and ALCOHOL:  Facts and Folly" explaining the rationale to abstain from alcohol – a poison that is harmful for everyone but especially post-op WLS patients – and the effects it has on our physical, mental, and social health.

 

Jeremy Gentles gave an excellent talk “Exercise, Myths and Realities" on the virtues of “working hard" in your exercise.  One should not exercise to the point of pain (myth of No Pain, No Gain).  Although, working hard is required to get results.  Low impact cardio will not result in increased endurance, increased metabolism, etc.  High Impact Interval Training (HIIT) will.  Low weight (or no weight) and more reps will not result in increased lean muscle mass but heavy free weights with fewer reps will.

 

The Professional Q&A Panel answered questions from conference attendees.  A couple of the Q&A are:

 

Q:  Why can’t bariatric surgeons standardize their pre- & post-op instructions to patients?

 

A:  Though a standard instructions would help support groups to better answer WLS candidate & patient questions, surgeons have a difficulty in agreeing on the surgical procedure for a particular WLS.  So, it is doubtful that pre-op and aftercare protocols will be standardized in the foreseeable future.

 

Q:  Has any studies been completed to indicate the amount of malabsorption is created in post-op RNY and the amount of recovered absorption within the 18 month “honeymoon period"?

 

A:  No studies have been completed but anecdotally Dr. Smith believes the malabsorption for calories is about 10% post-op and recovery is complete by 18 months resulting in complete absorption of calories.

 

Dr. Dennis Smith presented a breakout session entitled “DS Nutrition" providing a multitude of information on the science of nutrition and how the Duodenal Switch (DS) WLS impacts the body’s mechanisms.

 

Colleen Cook presented a breakout session entitled “Hope & Help for the Pain of Regain".  This session covered the journey that Colleen has made since her RNY in 1995.  She is a motivational speaker and author of “The Success Habits of Weight loss Surgery Patients".

 

Dr. Jacome presented a breakout session entitled “Optimizing the Benefits of Bariatric Surgery for Long Term Success" which outlines the instructions and procedures that his practice utilizes in ensuring the success of his WLS patients.

 

Charlie Brown presented a breakout session entitled “No Shame in Revisions" which outlined her story in having a revision to get her WLS journey back on track.  She is a motivational speaker that will challenge you to take responsibility for you and let no one marginalize you.

 

One of the conference vendor sponsors, Premier Nutrition, provided a photo booth all afternoon and evening for everyone to document the memories.

 

Saturday night, the Grand Finale entailed a member fashion show followed by Masquerade Party with DJ.  I was awestruck by the success and confidence shown by so many WLS post-ops.  The DJ kept the place a rockin’ til late in the evening.

 

Don’t know yet where or when the conference will be held next year, but Lord willing the creek don’t rise, we’ll be there!

Thanks for the report, I wondered how those conferences went!!!  Good stuff on the exercise, I wonder if they recorded any of those to be posted on here (Youtube?)

I didn't see a video camera setup but several attendees were using their smartphones to record some. I didnt but wish now I would have at least audio recorded the sessions that I attended. You may want to contact Kim Gyurina, OH event manager, to see if OH recorded the sessions.