Re: vit B12 and customizing programs

January 8, 2004

, I think you're on the right track. In your post on

supplements you say we should have access to specialists who can

build custom programs for people based on their blood test results,

surgery types, tolerance for pills, etc. This sure sounds logical

and desirable to me! I'm astounded at how different we all are in

so MANY things: success with the surgery, complications, physical

and/or emotional reaction to various foods, reaction to medications,

long-term health problems and nutritional deficiencies, etc. There

are SO many opinions out there, among both surgeons and patients,

based mostly on anecdotal or observational results. Patients who

have good, or bad, results from some particular food, supplement,

method, whatever, become convinced based on their own experience

that their way is best. Surgeons do this too, based on particularly

memorable patients, or maybe on the experience of the majority of

their patients. Nothing particularly wrong with any of that,

really, since I think in so many areas there either just isn't

research data available, or its done badly, or not relevant to WLS

folks, or whatever. I think the important thing for both patients

and docs to acknowledge is that there are LOTS of individual

differences and exceptions to the rules; there aren't as many

universally " right " methods as people seem to think. But when we

have dramatic good or bad results we tend to forget all this and get

wedded to our ideas based on our own experience. I had to chuckle,

, to see that you're no exception: in your post on B12 you

say " I honestly think that only people who are at risk of IV drug

abuse if they have needles around, or people who are afraid of

giving themselves shots, should be put on sublinguals. " Yet lots of

people, including me, seem to do fine on sublinguals. My surgeon

told me after my last lab tests to take them less frequently because

my B12 was so high, the same experience as Amber. I have no idea

whether it will *stay* high, since at the time I was only a year

out, and I'm perfectly willing to start injections if my blood

values start to dip. You've certainly sold me on the ease and

frugality of injections.

Anyway, if you do start a " roll your own program, " sign me up!

Celia

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