Labs not so good

I posted this on another board but wanted to post it on the KY board on acounta I'm from KY. I will just copy and paste. Hope that's okay. I finally got my pcp's office to fax me my lab results today. I knew my iron and protein were low because when I got them to give me results on the phone, they told me doc wants to see me because of the numbers. Today when I got the fax, I looked over the numbers and my Iron is low = 29 protein low = 5.7 globulin low = 2.0 hemoblobin low = 11.5 hematocrit low = 34.4 absolute monocytes low = 131 ferritin low = 4 And ya wanna hear something funny? My cholesterol was 206 before RNY 11 months ago and now is 10 points from being and the LOW LIMIT! Who'd ever thought someone might need to get their cholesterol UP? I did a quickie internet search on these results and it found that one of those is related to our sex drive. I guess that (along with pre-menapausal) would explain my lack of one, huh? I thought when I lost the weight, my sex drive would go up. My husband's sure has. It's like... there's just no "need" for it anymore and I'm tired all the time. I work full time in one business, seasonal business is about to come around at which time I'll be working 12 - 16 hours a day and I'm also going back to school. IF I take the summer classes, the seasonal business will have to rely on my dh to run it because I won't have the time, my daughter will run the store and I'll be working on my degree. I'll still have to work on my off days from school though. When do I work in "relations" with my husband AND getting my labs back where they need to be? How can I get my protein UP? I eat three and four times a day (counting snack) and drink at least 15 grams of protein a day. I can't hold anymore than that. If I take more iron than one a day, I can't go to the bathroom even though I take a fiber supplement EVERY day. What is a person to do in a situation like this? Gale

Work with your doc on getting your labs back up. Some of those numbers are really low... I can't wait to see what my numbers turn out to be. My endocrine doc is coming up here soon so I will see some results but in Aug is when I get all the tests Dr Tom wants run. And we will see whether I am doing good or not. Now from a male perspective about your other issue. I think I can answer for your hubby here... any time that you two can devote to that the better. Getting your labs up shouldn't have too much bearing on "relations". A few extra pills or an improvement in food selection should help the labs. Is there a pill that helps the female desire like there is for men. What kind of Iron do you take? Some iron supps deter "#2". I am taking a gentle Iron to help me out and it doesn't seem to have the effects of other iron. My nutritionist wants me to have betweent 85-130grams a day of protein. I have found that hard to do but it is doable to hit 85-90 without too much issue. My food selections help me out there. My meals consist of egg, chicken, shrimp, fish and beef. cooked whatever way I can stand it. But usually with as much grease removed from it as possible. Grease kills me. low fat tuna salad, lf chicken salad, chicken and dumpings with lots of chix. hard boiled eggs as a snack ... damn near a meal as it is. I try to mix some fruits and vegatables in when I can. Thats just a sample of what I do right nowI am still trying to determine things I can eat without the ill effects. But it seems to work so far as Since my surgery feb 12th I am down 73 lbs. Wish I lived closer to you. I have been looking to pick up some side work as my job is in the slow months right now.

Thanks for your input. I can't remember which of the blood tests results is suppose to affect the sex drive but read that one of them did. I don't know if there's a pill or not for women, that would definitely help if there was. As far as the protein, I try to get between 60 and 80 grams a day. Some days it's a bit low but those are the days I just can't eat much. I hadn't done the boiled eggs as a snack. I LOVE boiled eggs and that would be a wonderful snack as well as a treat for me. I am to the point that I don't much care for fried eggs anymore. I can't stomach tuna without bread anymore either. That was okay for a few months after surgery but now... YUCK! I also find that I can't eat something today and do fine with it and tomorrow eat the same thing and even LESS of it and get sick with it. It seems to change with me from day to day. The one thing I KNOW I can eat and NOT get sick is protein, pure protein. ANY kind of carbs can trigger illness... sometimes it's severe stomach pain to the point that I can hardly stand it. One night the pain was so bad, I threw up. I was not nauseated, just vomitted from the pain. I had a tiny (and I do mean TINY) bit of icecream that night. I can now have 1/2 cup of skim milk with Special K cereal for low-carbers. It's got protein and fiber too. However, if I have a full cup of skim milk, horrible pain and bloating. Not worth the pain on that one I'll tell ya. Thanks again for the food suggestions. I will be boiling me some eggs soon. Congratulations on your 73-lb loss. That's outstanding for 2 months. I'm down 110 lbs total but I lost a few of those before going in for bariatrics. I can't remember my starting weight before surgery. I'll have to look on my profile page to get that. I think it was around 232 though. Gale