I need your help on LABWORK!!

My Fellow OH'ers I have a dr. appt. today and I am going to ask for my blood work to be done. It was just done 3 months ago, but I have been having some problems and want things checked again. First, I take all my required vits. that my Surgeon requires plus extra Iron, B-12,and Calcium. My lab results from 3 months ago, were all with in range, but on the low side?!?! No follow-up instructions were given. Things that I'm dealing with now. Severe joint pain (knees, shoulders, hips), lower back pain (feels like little knots in the muscles of my back), dizziness (at first it was when I stood up to quick, but now it seems like just breathing will make me dizzy), Irregular periods (one week on one week off of bleeding,sorry if TMI, Maybe a hormone thing??), Fatigue, I am tired all the time! Sorry that was long, but here is my actual question. Are there specific tests that can be run to check hormone levels or anything else that COULD cause the issues I'm having, and if so, what are they? I just don't want them to run the normal tests, I want them to be SPECIFIC! Any and all help is appriciated!! Thanks for being here for me!

How much Iron are you taking? do you know what the level was last time it was checked? Dan

Good Morning. I can't help a whole lot but I will try to help a little. The joint pains I am not really sure about. The dizziness could be caused by the irregular periods because that much bleeding can lead to low iron. What kind of iron are you taking and when are you taking it? I have the same problem so I have stayed with the chewable iron and I take it at night on an empty stomach so that it has better chance for absorbtion. Also it shouldn't be taken within 2 hours of calcium foods or supplements. My doctor also suggested taking with Vitamin C to help break it down better. As for the periods they could be caused by the hormone fluctuations with the weight loss but since you are a year + out you may want to get that checked by your gyn just to make sure there is no underlying problem. Low iron can also cause the fatigue. I definitely agree with your idea to get your labs done so that you know if something is going on. Hope things get better. Courtney

You should definitely see your GYN because I had the same bleeding problem (before surgery) and it turned out I had a small fibroid. The heavy bleeding made me weak and dizzy. As far as iron supplements, according to one of the surgeons in my surgical group, iron does not absorb without vitamin C being taken at the same time...he said to either use a tablet of C or just have a small glass of OJ. Hope that helped! Christine 253/240/138 1 WEEK OUT!! WOO HOOO!