Timing for bloodwork post surgery

[michaelp]

I will be 12wks post surgery on 9/24.  My next doctors visit isn't until 10/28 however I feel I should have my blood work around now do see how I'm doing with my levels and any adjustments that should be made. I will be followed by my primary doctor as my DS surgeon is not in network (I was self pay). 

The question is should I wait till 10/28 or have blood work now and are there specific blood tests for DS patients?

Thanks

[newyorkbitch]

There is a board here on this site you should find and read...

[Girlrocker]

Hi Michael, the labs question definitely comes up frequently, but I understand the board can be a little difficult to navigate. Much of this additional information can be found on the Members only tab. Check Lifestyle tab too. Hover on the white tool bar above over each white tab, and then you'll get drop down screens for each of the sections. Members only means only people who have an account here can see this information, no guests and 'robots'

To answer your question, yes, there is a lab template, here's the link:
weightlosssurgery.proboards.com/thread/8800/lab-template

You'll want to get pretty comprehensive labs done to monitor everything and the 12 week/3 month point is exactly when you should start; and yes, get them done and the results so your PCP has them ahead of your visit. How savvy/supportive is your PCP? Show him the template, and tell him yes, you need it all. We suggest you get them done every 3 months the first year. Some of the PCPs, surgeons think we are 'overkill' in this, but we explain to them that it's important to keep on top of our numbers and catch things before they are at a deficit, a problem. I'll be 3 years out in December, and I have them done more than once a year. Our labs are our own body bible about what's going on, what vitamins/supplements we need to focus on. What vitamins are you taking so far?

Sept 18, 2014 10:53:43 GMT -5 michaelp said:

I will be 12wks post surgery on 9/24.  My next doctors visit isn't until 10/28 however I feel I should have my blood work around now do see how I'm doing with my levels and any adjustments that should be made. I will be followed by my primary doctor as my DS surgeon is not in network (I was self pay). 

The question is should I wait till 10/28 or have blood work now and are there specific blood tests for DS patients?

Thanks

[jpcello]

Michael you may also want to start a spreadsheet with your baseline labs. This way moving forward you can easily track your labs and follow trends (high or low) easier. I simply use an excel spreadsheet with all the labs listed with a column for the range. When I plug the numbers in if something is high or low, I highlight in a color so I can easily see the trends. I'm almost 12 years post-op so my spreadsheet is rather large now but I can see everything from the beginning. Also easy to see if something was missed.

[DSwitcher]

Vitalady has a list with all the insurance codes. Was very helpful for my PCP who is doing all my labs.

[PeteA]

There is no substantial difference in my mind from having your labs at 3 months or 4 months. As long as you had nothing you were
tracking pre-op then it shouldn't matter. Some Docs start labs at 6 months because the feel that the surgery itself causes some
blood work results to be a little strange.

I was happy to get labs at 3 months but it only served to calm some of my fears about the whole new post-op chemistry. Longer term
it was just a good start to watch for trends.

Pete

[DSwitcher]

My PCP is taking over my labs. I'm doing 3-6-12-18-24-30-36-48 months w followup on any that are low or decreasing. After 4th year, I will go to yearly, unless otherwise indicated.

[newyorkbitch]

I'm 14.5 years out - I never wait a whole year to do labs. I do them every 6 months and I do iron levels every 3-4 months.

[goodkel]

Sept 18, 2014 10:53:43 GMT -5 michaelp said:

I will be 12wks post surgery on 9/24.  My next doctors visit isn't until 10/28 however I feel I should have my blood work around now do see how I'm doing with my levels and any adjustments that should be made. I will be followed by my primary doctor as my DS surgeon is not in network (I was self pay). 

The question is should I wait till 10/28 or have blood work now and are there specific blood tests for DS patients?

Thanks

LOL!

There is a very long list of labs for DSers. I don't think that I have had them drawn once without someone making a comment about how many vials of blood they had to take from me.

There is a list of Labs on the Labs board. It is under the Members Only Category because it involves personal medical information.

weightlosssurgery.proboards.com/board/25/labs

I was deficient in iron and low on D at my three month set of labs. I am glad that I didn't wait any longer and have the problems get worse. Ordinarily one month late isn't such a big deal because you are already taking the full spectrum of vitamins and are coming off of satisfactory results on everything (high normal range). But, that is not the case with your first post-op set.

I'd get them now.