petition to ASMBS

I have written a petitition to the ASMBS, asking them to require Centers of Excellence to provide patients with the ASMBS guidelines - which means they could  no longer tell patients to take Flintstones and Tums.

Here is the text of the petitiion:

We, the undersigned, respectfully request that the criteria used to designate bariatric surgery centers as Center of Excellence be amended in order to require surgery center staff to provide all patients with the ASMBS recommendations regarding vitamin and mineral supplementation after bariatric surgery.  As bariatric surgery patients and supporters of bariatric surgery patients, we are all deeply concerned about the  number of surgeons, nutritionists and other surgery center staff that advise patients to take Flintstones vitamins, gummy vitamins, calcium carbonate such as Tums or Caltrate, etc.  We are also concerned about the number of surgeons, nutritionists and other surgery center staff that advise patients to take no iron, no B12 or no calcium and about those that advise patients to wait several weeks after their surgeries before starting to take multivitamins and iron.  We strongly believe that long-term patient outcomes will be improved if patients are provided with the ASMBS nutritional recommendations prior to their surgeries and urge you to require this of all Centers of Excellence.

If anyone would like me to email them a copy, including spaces for signatures and the address to which to mail the completed position, just PM me your email address.  I don't know how likely this is to  make a difference but it seems like it's worth a try.

Sounds like a good plan, I dont know why doctors are not getting their info from that organization in the first place.

Kelly, just pm'd you, sort of. iPad doesn't work on the PM editor so I had to put my info in the subject line. Sorry if it looks rude, it was't meant that way. I just had no other choice. Ken

Yes PLEASE...this issue concerns me as I had indicated in the other thread.  Thank you!!

They need to make it a little easier reading though, like put in leamens terms better.  The print is real small and it seemed like it was for doctors only, however, I did read some of it.  My email is [email protected] and I will participate in that petition.

It is written for healthcare professionals, but really our docs should take the responsibility for putting it into language we can understand.  Although maybe some of us here on OH would like to take that on as a project.

I dont know what pm'd means so I just put the email out there, no biggie.

Have you ever thought of making this a profession for yourself?  You are so good at giving the information and your so knowledgeable you really should.

I work as a freelance writer and do a lot of health articles.  But I have no desire to go back to school to get a degree to be a registered dietician or something.  If going back to school was in the cards, but it's just not... thanks for the encouragement, though.

  Me too Kelly~  I think all centers of excellence should be required, not just suggested, to provide their patients with the guidelines from ASMBS regarding vitamins.  Wouldn't that make it more excellent?

It would show follow thru for all patients health . Of course, in the end it's up to the patient to comply or not.



 I think you can send me a email thru here now, or if you still have my email :)