I would hazard a guess that your labs are so low due to how malabsorptive you are. I'm surprised this hasn't been presented as a possibility by any of your doctors. I can definitely emphathize with the lack of energy. My labs aren't quite as low are yours, but have created tons of issues. If you haven't got plans to, I would strongly recommend that you see a hematologist right away. I just had my first IV infusion of iron last week to help battle my anemia/iron deficiency; I have another one scheduled this week. I would think that would be something for you to look into since you'll have a hard time absorbing enough iron fast enough taken orally. You should also inquire about B-12 injections; these are quite simple. Hang in there.

I'm sorry you are only taking post-op people, because I completely recovered from a 20 year history of anorexia/bulimia. I've been in the process of recovery for awhile, and then I completely recovered (symptom free) for the past 7 years. I would join the group just to add support and to help people with what I've learned through therapy, in case it helps them too. If you wish to allow recovered ED people into your group, just let me know. :)

gotcha LOL, I kinda squirmed at the word "impacted" just seeing that brings back horrid memories, know what I mean?

You are absolutely correct.  It is a symptom.  I didn't want people who are just "impacted" to panic.

Well, I have suffered through both. In March 2007, I had a Peterson's space hernia.  I suddenly had waves of pain in my lower abdomin surrounding my belly button.... like pretty bad labor pains.  I went to bed hoping to sleep it off.  I woke up in the a.m. and the pain had intensified to the point I could no longer stand up straight and when the waves of pain hit, I couldn't stand at all.  I was still having bowel movements, but they were skinny like spagetti.  This ended with hernia repair surgery. Fast forward to April 2008.  I started noticing pain under my sternum upon waking.  It almost felt like anxiety but it definitely hurt.  I took my Prevacid and about an hour later, the pain would go away.  Then I started noticing that certain foods and drinks caused me more pain.  Then it progressed to the point that I had the same bad pain in my chest in the afternoon as I did in the morning.  Meanwhile, I was going to the doctors and begging for pain relief and answers.  Then I had a seizure.  Everything was confused by the siezure - suddenly, everyone was focusing on the siezure activity and not the orginal complaint.  I end up with a neurologist who puts me on siezure medication and tells me not to drive for 3 months.  Meanwhile, I'm not a believer that siezures are the problem.  I see my GB surgeon and he orders the plethora of testing.   I have all of my tests complete except for one... my appointment to go over the tests with my surgeon is a week and 2 days away .... when suddenly, I wake up in the morning in excrutiating pain.  It felt like I was having a heart attack.  Pain in the middle of my chest, radiating horribly in my shoulder and I couldn't catch my breathe.  LONG story short - I had a perforated ulcer.  My gastric contents were emptying into my abdominal cavity.  Once at the hospital, the only test that showed something wrong was the chest CT showing air under my diaphragm.  They flew me out and I had emergency surgery that night. I will say, that while all the testing was going on at the first hospital, I took 3 little sips of tea, just dying for something to comfort me.  I felt that tea hit my stomach and spread all over in my abdomin like flames.  That's when I knew what was wrong - and when I started screaming and passing out.  THAT is a pain I never want to experience again.  If you have pain in your chest - especially after eating or drinking - DEMAND to be checked for an ulcer.  I came so close to meeting my maker that I saw angels and people with halo's in my room and I kept mumbling about how beautiful they were.   Also leading up to the ulcer, my iron dropped extremely low and I was very very exhausted just going from one room to the next.  I was scheduled for iron infusions the day my ulcer perforated.  Needless to say, I missed that appt.  SO pay attention to any correlation bewteen low iron (anemia) and chest pain after eating or drinking. Hope that helps! Pam