6 month checkup! I do have some ?'s

Hi,

I went to my doctor this past week for my 6 month check up and all was well.

One of the things that I found out was my Vit D was the highest the NUT had ever seen, so I have stopped that. I was able to stop my complex Vit B as well. My other labs (other than D) were OK.

My NUT did say that I should not be having any protein drinks at this time. I was to stop the Isopure - which was my holy grail and I had 40 gms of protein daily! I can still have the low carb Slim Fast which I drink for breakfast, but only a couple of times a week (mainly when I work). She wants my protein to be 60-80 per day - and that I shouldn't go over it because it is just extra calories. She also warned me about Weigh****chers (the other NUT I had talked with thought it was a great program, people do lose weight, etc - but the one I just saw said it makes her nervous) and not to get into carbs, only one fruit per day, avoid whole grains, etc, and to have protein first. She did not give me any range of carbs to be in, and I have cut out the whole grains, but still having one fruit daily.

My main question on the above is about protein drinks. It seems many veterans here drink them daily. I am kinda confused on what to do??? I do appreciate not having to buy the Isopure as it is expensive, but what she says seems different that what I have seen on here.

Lastly, I have my goal at 140, (almost there!!!), and when I asked my surgeon about that, he said - don't let people tell you you are getting too thin, just keep doing what you are doing and let your body decide where you will end up. Is that what most of you did to figure out what your goal is? At Weigh****chers, I am keeping 140 as my goal so I can stop paying .

Thanks for all the great support here - have a great weekend!

The only thing I agree with is "just keep doing what you are doing".  I don't know what your labs said so I have my doubts they gave you good guidance there either. :(

--g

Hi Gina,

Here are my labs:

Vit A - 36.2

Vit B1 - 183 - high

Vit D - 143 - high

Folate - 821 - high

Vit B12 - 1704 - high

Prealbumin - 15

TSH - 2.227

PTH - 27

Iron - 68

Cholesterol - 179

Triglyceride - 75

HDL - 54

LDL - 110

Sodium - 142

Potassium - 3.9

Glucose - 99

Calcium - 9.5

WBC - 8.6

HgB - 13.7

Platelet - 240

Ferritin - 208.0 - high

Let me know if you see anything weird - even though I am a nurse - you are an expert as I have not researched this part of the surgery, etc.

Thanks!

Lynn

I would cut my D3 to 3 times a week and B-Complex to once a week but not stop them. If you're supplementing B12 you could reduce the frequency as well.

Potassium would worry me a little and I'd start using Morton's Lite Salt and low sodium V8 juice to get some extra potassium in my system.

I don't think your ferritin is too high. You want it at the top of the range or a little over-- if you have no infection or inflamation going on.

Your D3 is keeping that PTH nice and low.

Do you have an Albumin number? You want it in the 4's and your protein serum near or in the 7's. Your Prealbumin would be very low on the range my lab uses.

What is the range stated for Folate? Mine just gives "greater than" numbers.

--g

I am not sure whatyour range is for vitamin A but it looks very low.  Most ranges are 38-98 and we want to be closer to 60-80.  Let me know if that is your range or if it is lower.  Vitamin A deficiency can lead to blindness, so it isn't anything to fool with.  The normal dose for vitamin A deficiency is to start at 25,000 units of dry vitamin A - palimate or retinol which you can get at vitalady.com - from biotech

your vitamin D is very high - at one point I got to greater than 150 and my Endo freaked - they couldn't measure the level.  She had me stop it for 2 weeks and then get retested. It went down to 112 which she still thought was too high but it dropped considerably, so I went back on it.  Instead of taking it 3 times per week, I took it 2 times per week and went to a great level after that.  For you, I would take the same dose you are taking but take it 4 times per week instead of daily.  then get rechecked in 2 months to make sure you are at a better level.

b1 being high is fine as well as folic acid - they are both great.  You just pee out any excess vitamin B1 and being too low is dangerous - nerve damage is possible

your b12 is perfect - keep doing what you are doing.

If you are taking a b complex - you might want to stop it and just take a b1 supplement on it own.  Many of us find we have a high B6 level which if high enough can be toxic and you get B6 in a b complex.  You need the B1 though - take the same number of mg as in your b complex

are you on thyroid medication?  IF so, you want to watch your TSH - it is okay but getting towards too high - the range is .3-3.0 and while on synthroid, you really want to be as close to 1.0 as possible,  If you aren't on medication, you are okay but again, make sure it doesnt' go above 3.0

your iron is okay but not great, you really want it up around 100 but with your ferritin at 200 which is perfect - it is a weird combination.  One possibiltiy is - do you have major inflamation or an infection going on?  After all my surgeries, my ferritin went up to close to 400 for several months due to the inlfamation in my body and too months to go down.  So, sometimes a high ferritin isn't always a sign of good iron contol.  I was actually iron deficient with a ferritin of 375 - took alot ot oconvince my doctors of this.

Your pth is great due to the high vitamin D.

Hi,

Thanks for the information. I am on Armour Thyroid, I thought I would probably have my PCP take a look at the labs as well (I also have an appointment with my GYN Friday, so I will take a copy of them with me there too).I had wondered what my thyroid was doing as there are times I get very hot/cold - also had bad cold recently that could do that too. Also being 54 does that too.

I love all the information - I need to start learning more myself about the vitamins, etc - they don't teach that in nursing school.

As far as inflammation/infection - I did have horrible cold when the labs were drawn. Idk if that would have caused that or not.

Thanks again for all the great support!

Lynn

Don't stop your good protein shakes, please, please, please.

Hi,

My folate range is 140-600.

All this is so confusing to me. It seems to me when I have read "success" stories, most people are still drinking at least one protein drink per day - usually more.

Without the isopure, I am getting about 60 grams per day, and that includes getting my Slim Fast drink in.

NUTS are really clueless on how to help us be successful. They have no personal experience with how protein shakes help curb hunger and cravings.

If folic acid is in your B-complex that should be enough to keep you in range. If you're supplementing with folic acid daily, you could stop that and see if taking 1 B-complex a week keeps you in range.