Honestly, I do not know that I think you are "bad off". I am concerned about you and I think you need some serious work on your vitamins and labs. But "bad off", no. Just need a good doctor to take it all very seriously and work with you on it. I'm sorry that yours has abandoned you. That sucks. I think seeing a hematologist would be great. Perhaps they will help with the whole smear rather than just the iron issue. And until your labs are stable... you need them drawn more than every 6 months. As for needle phobia, I was terrified when in one day I went from hearing the words "You are diabetic can you get in here NOW" to this is how you load a needle and shoot yourself. Scary as heck. Closed my eyes but I did what had to be done. Many folks on the other yahoogroups buy veterinary grade B12 or even B complex and give themselves shots. I'm NOT kidding. They buy syringes also. As for B12 now... how much is the B12 you are taking now? Now many mcg? I know for some the sublingual won't be enough but if you are taking 500 mcg... I'd go and get a bigger dose. I'm taking 2500 mcg daily and mine dropped from 1400+ to 1100 and I wanted it back up over the top so I doubled up. Oops. LOL! Haven't seen the new numbers. Hope it isn't too over the top but I just want it to stay up there. As for B1, I take 2 B100 complex a day. That got rid of the neuropathy symptoms I had earlier on. Have you read the vitamin document is posted in some of the Yahoogroups file section? Written by Julia Zubrio? It's good stuff. Take care! You know you have all of our well wishes. We'll do what we can to help you get back on track. Wi**** was more - like finding you a doc. Hugs, Kathy

Usual suspects in order are: dehydration (as Becky mentioned), calcium, magnesium or potassium. If you drink regular coffee, you should try to get at least one extra glass of water per day per cup of coffee to offset the caffeine on top of your regular intake of water. I get leg cramps some nights if I move my foot the wrong way. I get enough water and usually suspect potassium. Need to get my level checked. When I was hospitalized in June, I was low. Kathy

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm, that could be. I sometimes drink all my water in the same hour. The link says you should spread it out. I know I drink too much coffee too. Thanks for the reply.

The last few months I haven't had much sleep--leg pain wakes me up. At first I thought I might be low on potassium and started eating bananas and taking potassium pills. That hasn't helped. Nothing I do makes them go away--I used to be able to just stand and straighten my leg for a short time and they would subside. I don't go to the doctor until Nov. 21. Any ideas?

I don't know about ya'll, but my Wow moments, for the most part, are a thing of the past. I've been maintaining for quite a while so things like crossing my legs, tying my shoes, etc. are second nature now... But, I had a very bizarre Wow moment last night I thought I would share with ya for grins and giggles... I was doing my nails last night, taking off old polish, trimming, etc. toenails included. After I got done with the 'maintenance' part, I decided to put on some fresh polish, but I needed to make sure all the nail polish remover and such was off. I didn't want to jump in the shower so I swung my feet up into the bathroom sink, one at a time, to wash and dry so I could paint them... It occured to me as I'm standing there on one foot with one foot swung way up on the counter that this was something I never could have done pre-WLS... Course, I never painted my nails much before WLS either. But just the sheer act of throwing a foot up over the counter, maintaining my balance and still being able to BREATHE without all that stomach fat pushing into my chest... Wow! Okay, so it's pretty weird, I know, but I warned ya!