1 Year Labs...

I know many of you had your labs done more regularly than I, but my surgeon was of the feeling that she would do them at 1 year unless something were going on that warranted doing it sooner... She also offered to do it at anytime prior to one year, if I wanted. I was okay with that approach, knowing that I can do them earlier or more often if wanted. Anyway, I got my labs back, all but my B6- apparently, there was a problem with the serum sample when delivered so I had to redraw on Friday - should get that back early this week. I have my one year check with my surgeon on this Friday and am looking forward to checking in with her... I've been on a pretty nasty stall/plateau for the past couple of months, hovering between 151 and 154 for a while. Dipped down to 149 for a day, but I think that was a fluke. Was really hoping to be down to 150 by my 1 year check but to be honest, I haven't been as vigilant as I could have been and I'm not overly excited about it.... Laissez-faire at it's best, eh? Anyway, my labs were okay... Obviously, my surgeon will know better, but nothing extremely alarming pops out... Most notably: My blood counts were a little off - a little low on the white side, a little high on the red, but just a little... I've been battling a summer cold, so I'm guessing that's it. My Mean Platelet Vol was a little out of range, on the high side, as well. Some of my proteins came in a little low but within range - just on the very low side... My kidney function was 68 - which, if I'm reading this correctly, indicates a slight elevation, not alarming, but according to my labs, anything over 59 is "high" and anything over 90 is serious... again, something I'll discuss with my surgeon and PCP if necessary. I'm thinking it's probably all the protein we need to take, and the rapid weightloss, which, as you know, taxes our kidneys. Prealbumin was right in range and B12 was within range but a little on the low side... 491 with the range being listed as 200-1100... May talk to my PCP about going to the shot, just to be safe. Other than that, everything they test for seemed to be within range, although a couple where borderline high or low... Not having seen a baseline, I can't really tell you if that means anything or not... I'm also seeing my OB/GYN in a couple weeks. Having some problems on that side... I'm not sure if it's hormonal or what... I'll save that for another post, or, if you're brave, I posted about it on the Sex Before and After Board a few days ago... Suffice it to say, something is not right in that area and it's really starting to concern me... Anyway, just rambling, thought I'd share. I've felt a little out of touch with you guys lately because things have been so hectic in my life. I do think of you all often and hope you're doing well!

Are you taking a B Complex? How much B12 are you taking? Kathy

I'm taking 1000mcg b12 liquid sub a day, plus 300 mg of Thiamin (B1) in caplet form... In all honesty, per my nut, I am only supposed to take the b12 no more than 3x per week and the Thiamin once a week but shortly after you and Laurie started experiencing some symptoms of neuropathy, I started getting this weird limp/drag thing with my left foot when I walked and got nervous so I started taking it all daily...

The B1 doesn't have the other Bs. You should probably should be taking a B100 complex which will replace your B1 supplement. Our surgeon had us on B1 for the first 30 days and then on a B50 complex. With issues I had... I switched to B100 and I do 2 a day from reading around (yahoogroup ossg-protein and ossg-nutrition). Cannot really OD on that stuff. As for the B12, I take 2500 mg sublingually a day. Mine runs about 1400 which is above normal range but my doc says "High but we like it high." The surgeon should be adjusting things based on your labs. Even though your B12 is in normal range... I wouldn't accept that as normal. You might want to ask on the yahoogroup(s). Kathy

That was kind of my feeling on the B12 - within range, but not okay, especially given the limp thing... I haven't noticed it lately, though, so I'm hoping if it was related, I got it in check in time... will have to see about upping that... As for the B6 - what's weird is, they specifically requested it, but I was never told to supplement it... To be honest, I don't even know that much about it, that's what I'm doing now, researching it...

My PCP requested a bunch of tests including selenium and I was never told to make sure my multi-vitamin had it. Well, mine for many months didn't. So now I know I'm deficient. The reason my doc says B1 for the first 30 days is that you can take 1/4 of a pill and they are tiny. The B complexes are harder to take - they are big and don't go down the easy when cut. I'm getting the CVS brand B100 and I break 'em in half to swallow it. Once in a while it's caught in my throat but I can get it down. Owie! Beware of sublingual B complex liquids... they often don't have B1. How a B complex doesn't have B1 is confusing to me. Kathy

Yeah, I actually was taking a B-complex for a while but we had talked about it once before and I realized that while it had most of the other Bs, it didn't have nearly as much B12, not enough, anyway... so I switched... Sigh... My entire "snack cupboard" has been replaced by supplements and vitamins and minerals... I can't even imagine what your kitchen looks like with both you and Rich... lol

Regarding your one issue you posted on the other board... having had neuropathy along with diabetes... I had issues in the area for periods of time and I felt it was due to the neuropathy. Perhaps getting your B6 up and your B12 up will improve things. Kathy

Thanks, I'm curious to see what my B6 turns out to be... I have begun taking Black Cohosh as a trial, to see if that helps... I've read that it's often helpful with similar symptoms... it's been very frustrating, to say the least... if I thought I could get in any sooner, I'd probably shoot for an earlier appt with my OB/GYN... I just feel like something isn't right.

Actually thinking about it... my "O" hasn't been around but I really haven't tried much either. With all my other issues...attempts have been severely lacking. Pain isn't a great aphrodiatic. Plus I have 0 drive. Spoke to my gyn and asked for testosterone check. They did the labs but no one ever called me with results. I guess I gotta do everything myself. (Sigh...) Kathy