normal lab values

I've posted this on the RNY board before but just thought I put it here, as well.

It's always a good idea to get a copy of the lab report when you have labs done. Doctors will sometimes tell you your labs are good when they really aren't, plus if you see the numbers yourself you can track trends. Like if you get your iron tested today and it's still in the normal range but it's dropped a lot since you had labs done three months ago, you'd want to start taking more iron. Docs usually will not tell you if it's dropped, just that it's normal now.

I have a spreadsheet I use to track my results.  I’d be happy to send anyone a copy if you want.  Pam has one on her blog you can download too.  Andrea sells a lab tracker workbook that includes all kinds of interesting info about labs and also has places to track your results.  Of course you can devise your own system, as well.

So look at your lab report. They are really easy to read and you don't need any special medical knowledge to read them. Your lab report will list the normal ranges and on mine, if something is high or low, they have it in bold type and put a big H or L next to it so it's easy to spot.

The normal values they list will all be accurate except two. You want to pay close attention to those two.

It will say something like 211-911 for B12 and you really want your B12 to be about 900-1000, but it's OK up to 2000. Below 550, people get symptoms like depression and fatigue. Below 400, people get permanent nerve damage in their hands and feet. I have no clue why they list it normal below that.

It will say something like 30-80 for vitamin D but you really want your D about 80-100.  Lower than that, we are at increased risk for things like osteoporosis, heart disease and some cancers.

Most other things, like iron and ferritin and protein, etc, you want near the top of the normal range.

Your PTH, you'd rather have near the bottom of the normal range.

This is all true for all people, not just those that had RNY.

Where's the like button?  ***Like***

--gina

hahaha  Gina!

Thanks Kelly.  I just reviewed my pre-op labs and the B-12 & D numbers were horrendously low, but true to form, only the D showed as being lower than than the range.  The Doc did prescribe 6 weeks of 50,000 D gelcaps for me, and the Nut explained how the number would level out as the fat left my body.  I took it upon myself to get B-12 sublinguals immediately since he did not suggest it.  We'll see how the first set of post-op labs come back.  :-)

And, since i don't know Pam or Andrea, would you mind sending me your spreadsheet?
[email protected]

Thanks for all y'alls labwork assistance!

I'm sending you the spreadsheet.

Just so you know, the prescription your doc gave you is D2, which is not absorbed very well.  We really need D3, which you can't get by prescription.  I order mine from vitalady.com.

Kelly

Thank you for the spreadsheet Kelly!

Yeah, what Kelly said about the D. The medical types think the D2 oil-based stuff is what to do but it's pretty useless for everyone. Maybe one of these days those things will go the way of voodoo dolls and leeches. Get yourself on some high doses of dry D3. Vitalady is my first choice always but you can also get 2,000 and 5,000IU doses at VitaminShoppe as well. Just make sure it's dry capsules or pills and D3 not D2.

--gina

What about the D3 that's included with my Calcium?  Would be 1000 IU per day.

Yea, the D2 and D3 is like the B12 cyano versus B12 methyl, right?  The Nut goes by the "white book" and quotes that the cyano is recommended.  That sure doesn't make sense when we eliminate a step and increase the availability by going straight to the methyl.  So what if it costs more?  I figured I'd use the cyano for the first set of labs and the methyl for the 2nd set and see what comes up as different.  Is that correct & logical thinking?

Yeah, methyl is better and higher doses are ok too.

Don't even bother counting the D3 in the calcium just add enough to bring you up fast and near 100.

--gina
 

Gotcha!

Well, the D3 in your calcium is great, but 1000 IU a day is hardly any.

How much D3 we need depends on who you ask, and it's really different for everyone because we need to base it on our labs.  But the RDA of vitamin D is only 600 IU per day,  though the Vitamin D Council recommends 2000 IU a day for people that have good D levels and normal digestive systems (so not us).  And consider how common vitamin D deficiency is - people clearly need more than they are getting.  Most RNY folks I know take somewhere between 10,000 and 50,000 IU a DAY to maintain decent levels.

D2 and D3 is kind like the cyano and methyl B12 - but not exactly.  While everybody absorbs methyl better, most absorb cyano OK.  Sure you can do a little experiment and see which works best for you on your labs, but you could also stick with the cyano if your first labs say you're absorbing it well enough.

With D2, most people do NOT absorb it well enough, so that's different than with cyano B12.  People absorb a little of it but not that much.  The deal is that we have to convert D2 to D3 in our bodies so we can use it for stuff, and it takes a bunch of D2 to make a little D3.

Kelly