DS lab orders - post your list here!

I have found some DSers to presume they have OK lab values for certain tests, when, upon a little investigation, they found that they were never actually tested for that particular thing!  I can't stress enough that YOU are responsible for KNOWING:
1.  what you are being tested for
2.  what the results are
3.  if those results are acceptable or not
4.  and finally what action you should take based upon the results of those tests!

This is a list of the labs tests I had done this time around.  I'm not saying everysingleperson needs everysingleone of these tests everysingletime...   I'm saying:  Be responsible, dammit!

Now, the lecture part of the series is over and the hands on lab skills portions begins. Please compare and contrast your lab orders with mine and publish your results below.

DUODENAL SWITCH LAB ORDERS

CBC with differential/platelets COMPREHENSIVE METABOLIC PANEL (fasting) LIPID PANEL w/ LDL/HDL ratio (fasting) HEPATIC FUNCTION PANEL (part of the CMP) AMYLASE, serum FERRITIN IRON, serum TIBC (transferrin) COPPER ZINC PHOSPHORUS, serum PTH, intact CALCIUM, ionized, serum VITAMIN D, 25 HYDROXY MAGNESIUM, serum VITAMIN E, SERUM VITAMIN K1 VITAMIN A TSH THYROXINE (T4) VITAMIN B1 (thiamine) VITAMIN B2 (riboflavin) VITAMIN B3 (niacin) VITAMIN B5 (pantothenic acid) VITAMIN B6 (pyridoxine)   VITAMIN B9 FOLATE (Folic acid) VITAMIN B12 (cobalamin)   MMA (Methylmalonic Acid)

Note: You must be fasting for many of these tests, including the CMP and the Lipid panel, as well as some of the vitamin tests. Call your lab and ask for specific preparation instructions (or look them up online)  Some of these tests samples must be frozen, some wrapped in foil.  Vitamin A requires avoidance of foods and vitamins with vitamin A for 48 hours AND a fast. (It takes between 17 and 25 tubes of blood to get all of these tests done - depending on your particular lab.)

Yep, I'm missing the B vitamins except B9 and B12, the MMA, THYROXINE, TSH, TIBC, AMYLASE, and the HEPATIC Function Pannel (unless you want to tell me what might be included in that).  Adding them to my spreadsheet now. Will talk to Dr E this week. Thanks BC! Gina ETA: Nope not missing TSH. Found Hepatic tests within my Comp. Metabolic Panel (14).

Hepatic function panel:
protein, total, serum
Albumin, Serum
Bilirubin, Total
Bilirubin Direct
Alkaline Phosphate, S
AST (SGOT)
ALT (SGPT)
Some of my labs were off this time... so I had a recheck of just the Hepatic Function Panel (Liver Function Tests) just to check that portion instead of having the whole CMP drawn again. (My alt was elevated, and then on second check it went even higher... but now that I've got all my labs up except the PTH (which takes a little while to correct) my ALT is back to normal.  I think it was just showing stress on my liver due to the extra work it was doing on my behalf regarding my vitamin D levels and my iron levels and such... )

Gina,  DSers typically don't have as much problem with B vitamins as do RNYers... but I wanted baseline to see how my body is doing with everything...  I supplement with super B complex and right now my B vitamins are high so I'm backing down on the frequency of the B supplementation.

I suspect my B-12 will be high this time because I've been taking B-12 dots twice a day and a B-complex 2 twice a day. When Dr E sees how much B supplement I'm taking, he may ask for a draw for those just to check the levels.  I didn't like the direction my iron (46) and ferritin (37) was headed, so I take a 150MG of VitaLady's Poly-Iron and 150 MG of her Tender Iron daily.  --G 

Do you have these done every six months or yearly? Thanks for posting this as I was wondering what the labs were. Linda

Personally I'm having most of these done on a six month basis right now... and a few of them (that I'm having some difficulty with) I'm  having done even more often than that.  When my labs and other health issues become stable I will probably only have these done once a year.

Thanks, have made a list, and will check with the doc and make sure he covers everything!

happy you posted this list.  I have copied this to make a spreadsheet for my PCP as she will be doing my labs afgter my surgery.  Thanks for taking the time to spread the word. Jennifer

Just an FYI . . . . I email Dr B's office and they fax me a lab order to take to my local clinic.  I haven't checked line for line with BC's, but nothing on it looks unfamiliar!  I had my pre-ops done at the U, the same day as my pre-op appt (about 2 weeks before surgery?), but I've had my 3 and 6 month labs drawn here.  Some post-ops have gotten grief trying to get lab orders for labs at the U, but I've never had any trouble getting one when I requested - and I'll be requesting again here in a month or so!  Saves me a doctor's visit, cuz I just go to the lab here and skip my pcp.