Patch MD - 3 months post OP tests

What Grim said.

Also, I love the site www.labtestsonline.org for finding out information like this. It is a great site for learning about what tests mean, your results, etc.

Thanks for letting us know,

with the Vit D you also do overnight? I find give me insomnia

also don't be offended by the advise given here, personal experience I've been on this site since my surgery over 9 years ago and just like you I put all my trust on my doctors and guess what they always said I was "normal"; started feeling weird a couple years ago but my doctors kept telling me I was o****il I requested my records and then I discovered I was borderline or deficient on Iron- my ferritin was 4.4 my Vitamin D was 18 and calcium and others were just borderline,

tried to raise my iron with patches and pills but nothing worked until I had a round of infusions 2 weeks one infusion every other day and still struggling because my levels wont raise to normal.

the same things you are advised I was back then and never really believe my doctors would just not care but maybe yours are better; in any way you should keep a record and keep an eye; believe me you DO NOT want to end up with a bad case of anemia

My vit D and calcium are combined and I apply those patches in the evening as well and I have no problem sleeping.

thank you, Ill give them a try at night

I used to be in a FB group that was created for patches users. The group is no longer there. Over 2 years 90% of people reported their number dropping drastically when they use patches, specially the calcium with D, but also others.

That group was dropped because the people realized the patches are not effective, and can give people false sense of security regarding the vitamins levels.

You've gotten great advice. I really hope you can understand WHY the replies are so passionate. Deficiencies can be life threatening and no one here wants that to happen to you or to anyone.

Thanks to the people here, I knew to ask for copies at my 3 month lab draw, and each draw thereafter. I keep track of my levels. I've also made notes of how levels of certain vitamins affect me personally. Example: my surgeon told me to reduce my B12 because my level was literally off the chart high. I reduced my dosage, and after a few months felt sluggish. My level had fallen to below 800. My surgeon thought that was fine, but for me-it was just too low. ( this was before I'd stopped iron ) I read about it, did research and found out that some levels are not one size fits all. I bumped up my B12. I keep my level around 1800, and I feel great. I tell my surgeon that I felt awful at a lower level of B12. They don't argue with me.

I also realized, thanks to Rocky, that the weird knee pain and my legs feeling restless at night-meant I was becoming deficient in iron. I'd stopped taking a multi with iron-switched to Centrum Silver-during my first year out because I didn't think I needed it since I no longer have a Shark Week. Boy, was I wrong. I started back taking a different type of iron. Even starting back on iron, my levels started falling. I increased my dosage and my levels got better and have stayed at a good level. My weird knee pain and restless feeling legs went away.

I fully credit Hala, Rocky, Kim, Grim, Lady Tazz, White Dove, and the others who are farther out than I am and have dealt with falling levels and how to avoid them. Without their advice, there's no telling what may have happened.

Yes, I appreciate everyone's opinion as well and have learned a lot from everyone.

Hi. My hospital has an on line medical records feature that I registered for. I can see all my test and lab work results for the past 10 years. It makes it very easy to see any trends and offers a graph feature that can be printed.

Maybe your Dr./hospital has something like this since everyone seems to be going to electronic medical records?

I wish my hospital used a similar software. While I can see my labs online, they are not easily located or in a format that makes it easy to track trends.

My provider, Kaiser Permanente, put all my results in software that tracks my trends, including a year on year graph. They also post my results BEFORE my doc reviews them, so I know what I need to discuss with him. My old spreadsheets are now filed.