One year labs

Just got my one year lab results back and wanted to be sure all is well.  My PTH intact is 21, iron total 108, ferritin 218, vitamin D 188 and B12 1856.  B1 says pending for some reason.  I supplement vitamin D four times a week, take 75 mg iron nightly with 500 chewable vitamin C, and 2500 B12 sublingual nightly also.  I had a bone density done recently.  All is well there except it showed femur with a tiny bit of pre osteoporosis.  Very small pre stages.  I need to watch this closely.  So do I keep doing what i am doing?  I see the surgeon next Wednesday for the one year check then I dont see him again for another year unless there is a problem.  I have lost 110 so far through diet only and would like to lose about another 40. I am 67 years old and unable to exercise due to knee problems.  So I am working through food control only.  It can be tough but so worth it. Anyway all comments welcome.  I think things look good but if I need tweaking please let me know.

Those are all excellent labs.  Your D and B12 don't need to be that high, although it's not bad for them to be that high.  You could probably cut back the B12 to every other night and cut back to doing the D three times a week instead of four.  That would just save you a little money and give you a little less pills to take.

Your doc may tell you your D is way too high, but according to both the Linus Pauling Institute and the Vitamin D Council, that's not a dangerous level for D.  It's just higher than doctors usually see because so many people are deficient.

Thanks for the reply.  I am taking my supplements based on your previous recommendations.  I will cut back a little now that you have seen my numbers.  I hope the iron is OK.  I think it has dropped since I had the surgery but I guess all in all it is holding up.  I am going to look up the pre surgery labs in a bit and will post that for review. Thank you again and I will go to M W F on the vitamin D and maybe cut back on the B12 also.  I have heard and read so many horrors about low B12 I really like that high and the D also.  Better to be a little high than tank out.  Thanks again for the response.

IMO D is way too high.  Are you taking vit K also ?  With high D and noirmasl calcium - you may ask the doc to do test that show calcium deposit in there asrteries and thed rest of the body. Sometimes with high D people asbsdorb too much calcium and if there is not enough other minerals or vit K, the body can put the calcium in bones so it may sdtoired it in stones (kidcney, GB) or cause calcification of arterrtirs, tendonts, etc. 

Moderation is a key. Too much is not good, not enough is not good. 

How much D you are taking ? I weould cut that to once as week for as month, then maybe increase to 2 times per week... Depends on blood work. 

Thank you, Hala!   I wrote two replies to this thread and deleted them both because I can't believe that someone would encourage another human being to do this to themselves ...

OP, your D is WAY TOO HIGH!!!!    Ignore being told it is ok - it is NOT!   It's a fat soluble vitamin and has toxic potential - the consequences of too much are worse than being slightly deficient.

Unqualified people, have no place giving medical advice about which they know nothing!    I'm going to leave it there ...

Well my D started at 15 two years ago.  So I supplemented at the request of my PCP.  At surgery last January 24 it was still 15.  So I kicked up the supplements even more.  Then this March it was 43, in August 116 and now in Febryary 188. I was taking 50,000 vitamin D 3 times a week. I reduced it to 2 times a week recently.  So maybe once a week will do.  I don't go back for labs for a year so I hope 50,000 once a week will hold it at a good number.  They did test K and it was 296 in August at 6 months out and up to 341 this February 7th.  I am not supplementing Vitamin K.  So how does this sound.  My cholesterol is 169 and my triglycerides are 84 so that sounds pretty good.  Thanks formthe input.  I know nothing but am learning constantly from you guys.  Thanks again.

If you're making big changes in any of your supplements, I would check those things again sooner than one year.  I usually do them three months after changing my supplements.  You don't need a complete set of labs done, just the things you change a lot.  If you just reduced the D from three times a week to two times a week, it may drop some more even if you keep taking it twice a week.

I'm also gonna suggest you read what the Linus Pauling Institute and the Vitamin D Council say about vitamiin D levels - both of those institutions think 188 is perfectly fine for a D level.  Do the reading and see what you think.

Your iron is fine right now.  Your ferritin is excellent.

You do realize that amputees are able to exercise, right? Having knee problems does not mean you cannot exercise, it just means you cannot do certain exercises. Work with a sports physiologist or physical therapist to develop an exercise plan. 

If she is 67, she is probably on Medicare (and, potentially, also on a fixed retirement income) which means that paying $250 or more put of pocket for a sports physiologist or a physical therapist might not be an option.  

I know this is probably going to sound cranky, or maybe even *****y -- and I definitely don't mean it to sound *****y... but don't mind if it just sounds a bit cranky because I DO feel kind of cranky about the topic today -- but there is also no law that says everyone MUST do formal exercise after WLS. Yes, it is certainly the preferred way to go, but it IS possible to lose the weight and keep it off without it.  Some people have physical limitations and some just hate formal exercise (and for some, like me, both apply/applied).  For many people who just don't like to exercise, no amount of "try it, you'll like it" is going to change that.  

Also, just as a general note for anyone who doesn't have any first-hand experience with knee issues, people often significantly underestimate what physical activities cause pain for people with really bad knees.  It isn't just things that directly require flexing of the knee or weight bearing exercises; many things that people would never suspect would cause knee pain, such as lateral pressure, can be very painful. 

Lora

Medicare pays for physical therapy.  Part B pays 80%, I think.  But it is covered. 

I'm not saying she should go to physical therapy or that she should exercise. Just that Medicare does cover PT.