6 month appointment.

I saw my doctor yesterday and all of my bloodwork is perfect. I am down 73 pounds. Only 18 more to my goal. I feel great and I am speaking at one of his seminars tonight.

I hope you got a copy of the report so you can see if your levels are really "perfect". You will also want to compare levels next time you get your labs to look for trends. I keep my results on a spreadsheet. Deficiencies do not usually appear by the six month mark. They are more common the further we get out.

Why do I need a copy? He would not lie to me and he sat there and showed them to me as we went through them. I have faith in my doctor I don't need to keep records,

I keep a spreadsheet of my lab work so I can spot  downward trend and correct it before I become deficient.  It is very hard to pull numbers up once they have tanked.  

My ferritin was 13 ( normal range is 11 to 306... big span, right?)  I watched it drop and became exhausted.  My doctor told me my labs were fine.  I insisted on a hematologist referral and was prescribed infusions that very week.  My hematologist now prescribes infusions when my ferritin get close to 50.  The same thing happened with my vitamin D and B12 levels.  

Doctors look at the number on the page and not the downward trend.  They don't have time for that... you do!  Keeping records and watching trends is ESSENTIAL to your health.  I've seen MANY people come back, three years post surgery, severely deficient.  They trusted their doctors blindly.  

Being your own healthcare advocate is worth the time.

I hate to tell you, but you are setting yourself up for issues down the road. 

If your doctor forgets to order a certain blood draw and it goes on for a few years and your levels tank then what?  When you keep records of your results you can stay on top of things and if a certain test wasn't done you can call your doctor and request it.  Why wait until you have to have iron infusions or B12 shots because he had been forgetting to order those tests?

You seem to be a person who doesn't want to take your health and wellbeing into your own hands.  Doctors are cutter and they don't always make sure all the necessary testing is being done afterwards.   

I keep track of every blood draw I have done so I can see if there are any significant changes or trends.  Some of my levels have been on the low side and my doctor says that OK.  No it is not OK in my mind.  I prefer to have mid range or slightly higher on some of the vitamins. 

In a year or two when something happens you will wish you had records.

in year 3 - when I felt like I was dying and wanted to die - my well meaning docs were telling me "your labs are fine, there is nothing wrong with you..." only that most of them were low normal - barely normal... my RBC, Hemoglobin, iron. ferritin, proteins, D, my T3 was not even tested.. My cholesterol was very low... only when someone else looked at the labs - she pointed out that to me.. I started taking  dry D3, got B12 shots (weekly) an last but not least - begged and got iron infusions (my ferritin was 10...the lab listed 10-256 as normal levels) when I started feeling more like a human again... one year of my life was taken from me because no doc saw low normal on so many numbers as an issue... ugh...

and there is more...  some numbers they will not test unless you ask them to, request them to test that.  month 6 - no big deal.. but year2 3 and later - not good... 

btw:most people do great with B12 sublingual or monthly injections. My body metabolize that like crazy. I need weekly B12 shots. Initially my doc did not want to give me the script - but after he test my blood a week after B12 shot in his office) and my B12 came back as 412... he believed me and now I get my weekly shots.  No questions asked.  

I was doing as you - and my docs are great- but they can't feel what I felt...an numbers are not everything... based on pure numbers - my BMI is oover weight...based on my body fat %  - I am in a lean category...(at 22%body fat - that is below normal of 25% -30% for woman my age) 

No one is saying your doctor would lie. But he sees hundreds of patients, and is really busy. And they are not perfect, and have never had to live with this surgery the way we do.

Faith is great. I have faith in the people working at my bank. But I balance my own checkbook, and go over statements, and make sure there aren't charges on there that I didn't make. It's my account, and I'm responsible for what happens. And I'll say with 100% certainty, If I don't have enough money in there, they will let me know immediately. This very minute. But I've seen people go years with vitamin deficiencies, and they never get a notice.

No one is more invested in my healthcare than me. If I don't take control, no one else will.

Congrats on the progress.

Congrats!!!!!!

Congratulations on your great progress. Laura makes a good point. I always get a copy of my lab work so I can see and track actual numbers and watch for any downward trends.