help labs

how do i read the lab report.

Next to each test, it should tell you what your result was.  Different labs may do things a bit differently, but the lab I use puts a result in bold type if it is abnormal with an H next to it if it's high and an L if it's low, with regard to the reference range they use.  The reference range on my lab reports in in paranthesis next to my result.

For the most part, you want your results to be within the given reference range, most of them preferrably near the top of the range.  With vitamin D, it needs to be at least 80, even though most labs use pretty low reference ranges.  With B12, it needs to be at least above 550, and 900 or 1000 would be ideal, though again, most labs use must lower reference ranges than that.

If you want to post your results here, people will be happy to help if you don't understand what some of them mean.

You can also make an appt to go over them with your doc.  Often docs just want to say "They all look OK', which doesn't give you much info.  You can ask your doc to explain to you what every test is and what the result means.  Make sure to ask questions if you need to.