2 years later......

TODAY is the 2 year anniversary of my WLS. I'm maintaing my weight pretty well, I did put back on about 5 lbs, but have been holding there and I'm good with that. I hope you all are doing well. I'm so tired and so busy, I don't get over here much at all. I pop in sometimes and read. I had my bloodwork done recently and some things came back off. Most of my nutrient levels are fine, protein, B12, etc... - all normal. However, my iron was a little low (low-end of normal), so I'm back to taking supplements for that; my liver levels are high and my white cell count is low. I also had trace amounts of protein in my urine and I'm super tired all the time. My doctor is concerned, and quite frankly, so am I. I had fatty liver disease before surgery. I thought WLS would resolve that. Guess what I discovered, WLS can trigger NASH, which is basically fatty liver dsease with scarring and liver damage. This is due to the rapid weight loss. Another couple possible reasons for my low white cell count/high liver levels is Lupus and some type of leukemia. None of it sounds good, quite frankly. I'm going back to retesting at the end of August and those results will determine what, if anything, we need to do. I sure could use some prayers that nothing serious is wrong! How is everyone else's bloodwork coming back? Good I hope! Traci

I hope that nothing is seriously wrong, and that you'll be feeling better soon. I haven't gone back to my surgeon yet...probably won't, because he always sends me to my regular doctor for blood work and says "keep up the good work"...so I figure I'll just see my PCP this fall and save myself the headache and expense of heading to the city. Thankfully, my doctor has several bariatric patients, so he knows what to look for. Good luck with your retesting...I hope everything magically returns to normal! Pamela

Hi Pamela! I didn't go back to Dr. Richardson for my bloodwork this year. I did last year and he said I could come back to him or go to my regular doc. Since Dr. R is now 1.5 hours from me, I opted to drive the 5 miles to my Family Doc's office. Unfortunately, my family doc does not know much about WLS, so I'm educating him. LOL I too am hoping all magically returns to normal.

HI Traci, My bloodword was similiar to yours....all well except for low end of the average range for iron....and I am always tired....the nurse asked me yesterday when she was giving me my B12 if I noticed a big change....well I have been on the shots monthly now for a year and "on paper" they are working...but my energy level is shot....I am just tired......she said many people say that they notice a big difference the next day after the B12 shot but I just laughed.....if she told me it was red cool aid in the syringe I would beleive her because I don't see any improvement. I am sure you will be fine....I will certainly say a prayer that your follow ups are all fine. Hang in there.... Hugs Karen 299 - 163 - 149

Hi Karen Do you have low white cell count as well? This is the one that has me and the doctor concerned - not so much the iron. I do notice an improvement when I take my B12 shot - a huge improvement, just not a total elimination of the fatigue. It was so bad earlier this week I would fall asleep if I sat down! This only one week after my B12. I'm calling Dr. R today to find out if my liver levels were normal last year or not. I thought I remembered they were, but maybe they were just improved, but not completely normal.

Hi Traci - it's so nice to hear from you!! I'm sorry you have some results that are concerning. I too have low iron which I have NEVER had in my life other than when I was pregnant. I also had some numbers that the doc was concerned about, but mostly cholesterol (199 - I didn't think it was that bad, but certain docs fixate on different things) and also high glucose readings. My surgeon wasn't concerned by these numbers, but the GP was... I hope your retest comes out well. Sometimes I think we just have bad days - when I had my bloodwork done I had a little virus so that may have caused problems. Please let us know how you're doing, and know that my thoughts and prayers for a good outcome are with you. Hugs, Nancy