Re: medical advice

[Guest guest]

Marta,

I have always enjoyed your posts and I learn so much from you and from others

here. If I didn't belong to this group, I would be so lost. We have learned to

glean information from everyone and share our own joys and struggles.

I took a health class in school last year and the professor is a real health

nut. She knew her stuff. She basically told us that people get enough of their

vitamins from foods if they are eating right and don't even need a multivitamin.

She also said that if we have a bowl of Total, then we are already exceeding in

the vitamins and that we needed to be careful of that. Of course, she wasn't

referring to people who have had a weight loss surgery.

I think the key is to educate ourselves and to listen to doctors that we trust.

I fully trust Dr. K and I am so glad he is my weight loss doctor. He seems so

knowledgeable to me. I have had problems in the past and he knew exactly what

to do. He also explains things very well to me and listens to any concern I may

have. He cares for me and respects me as an individual. To me, this is

invaluable. I deeply respect him because he has changed so many lives and his

after care is wonderful. He doesn't just perform a surgery and then leave us to

fend for ourselves. This list is also invaluable. Who else can I talk to about

my bowel movements, lol??

I hope you feel better soon. Please don't leave the group or stay gone long

cause I need you, lol.

--

**Wake me up from the nothing

that I've become**

-------------- Original message --------------

I am not giving medical advice here. The purpose of this group is to

exchange information and support each other. I, as well, as all of

you my fellow groupies, give our experiences and our opinions.

What makes me different is that I am a trained scientist and prefer,

usually, to stick to evidence-based medicine. There are exceptions,

for example, I prefer not to use artificial sweeteners, and there is

no basis for that, it is just my own personal preference.

It is difficult for me to observe people dying of poor choices. That

is the worst thing about being here. However, I also find it

difficult to see people get ripped off by " medicine show " barkers.

Extremely high levels of some vitamins can cause damage to the body

and I do not approve of someone who advocates for extreme vitamin

levels *without scientific studies* to prove benefit.

I don't have to be here. I work full time and have On-Call

responsibilities and yet still make time for the group. Of course,

the same is true for everyone who is here, regardless of their

background.

One of the biggest misconceptions I see is that DSers think they have

not had a Roux-en-Y, but that term is a generic description of the Y-

shaped surgery that creates the anastomosis of the small intestine.

It is often used incorrectly to describe the Gastric Bypass Roux-en-Y

surgery, hence the confusion in DSers who insist (correctly) that

they did not have a gastric bypass and the insistence (correctly)

from their physician that they have indeed had a Roux-en-Y surgery.

Anyway, I am currently on-call, busy, tired and cranky.

Marta