Post Op Blood Work

[newbegining2024 82]

I am at the end of week 3 post op, and I had my bloodwork done 1 week again from primary care for other reason. However because he knew I had surgery done, he order to check Vitamins and urinalysis.

I don’t know if I am freaking out? But it has more red in the result than before the surgery. Hope to see if anyone of you had testing done post op and maybe can explain a little bit before I get a call from my doctor.

It show I have too much B12, then there is Protein in my urine, and bilirubin is high. I hope my liver is ok! Maybe all this is normal after surgery.

Edited February 16 by newbegining2024

[ChunkCat 728]

I'm not a doctor and you should definitely ask your doctor about these results! They are the only ones that can really interpret these things for you!! However I can tell you from experience that sometimes the B supplements they have us taking after surgery can really push up the B12 levels, even into the abnormal category. But far as I understand it, the body will deal with the extra B12 just fine. At least that is what I was told and it may be true for you, so try not to worry until you talk to your doctor!

Also, rapid weight loss post op can do odd things to our labs overall, especially our liver labs. That is because all that fat we are losing has to be processed in the liver and it stresses it out a bit. This is one of the reasons we are advised to avoid alcohol for the first year, that liver doesn't need anything else going on to stress it out! Plus there is a risk of transfer addiction but that's a whole other story... So try to remind yourself that your body is working very hard right now and that will probably show up as some unusual labs for a while. Your doctor will let you know if there is anything to be concerned about.

And finally, being in ketosis post op can do weird things to our labs as well, especially when it comes to what shows up in your urine. So again, try not to fret too hard until you talk with your doctor about this. It is possible this might be something they want to follow, or it could just be because of surgery and rapid weight loss in ketosis. Only they can tell you what is really going on. ❤️

[catwoman7 11,212]

High B12 is common after surgery. Mine is always over 1000. In fact, I know vets who swear they feel better if theirs is over 1000. The only time my clinic ever said anything about my high B12 level was when it went over 2000 a few years back. And even then, they just suggested I cut back a bit on my supplement. Otherwise, it's met with a shrug.

weird liver numbers are also pretty common after surgery. Rapid weight loss is hard on livers. My liver numbers didn't settle down until I was a year (or maybe more) out...but they did eventually stabilize (i.e., in the normal range).

P.S. those hemoglobin and MCHC levels are so close to normal that I wouldn't worry about them. Your doctor or surgeon will let you know if they're in issue, but I'm guessing they're probably fine.

Edited February 16 by catwoman7

[newbegining2024 82]

Thanks everyone for the messages! Hopefully someone will find message when they run into the same situation and help ease their mind as well.

I did get a call today from my doctor. They also said they like my B12 to be over 1000. If I don’t feel well because of it I can take my B12 3-4 times a week.

They assure me everything else that is showing red is fine, because of surgery and my body is recovering. My wounds are still healing etc…That’s why they don’t do blood work till 3 months after. It just so I needed blood work done for other reasons and it freaked me out.

[Arabesque 7,240]

You’ve just had pretty major surgery, your body is in recovery mode, stressed & you’re not eating much, so yes your labs will be a little screwy for a while.

You want to be in Ketosis to burn fat so this is a good thing. High B12 could be you don’t need as many supplements. Like do you take additional B12 as well as your multis? Increased bilirubin levels are also common with weight loss. Ketosis & weight loss is hard on your liver (all the fat it’s trying to process out of your body). It will settle eventually.

Probably better to discuss these results with your surgeon & their team though as they are more knowledgeable about what to expect after surgery while you are losing. In saying that, my GP used to run labs between my surgeon’s requirements (so I was getting them done every month or two). She was tracking & monitoring only so if anything unusual popped up we could be proactive. And they were sent to my surgeon & his colleague as well so they saw the results too. Bonus was my GP was a medical school friend of my surgeon’s colleague.

[newbegining2024 82]

6 hours ago, Arabesque said:

You’ve just had pretty major surgery, your body is in recovery mode, stressed & you’re not eating much, so yes your labs will be a little screwy for a while.

You want to be in Ketosis to burn fat so this is a good thing. High B12 could be you don’t need as many supplements. Like do you take additional B12 as well as your multis? Increased bilirubin levels are also common with weight loss. Ketosis & weight loss is hard on your liver (all the fat it’s trying to process out of your body). It will settle eventually.

Probably better to discuss these results with your surgeon & their team though as they are more knowledgeable about what to expect after surgery while you are losing. In saying that, my GP used to run labs between my surgeon’s requirements (so I was getting them done every month or two). She was tracking & monitoring only so if anything unusual popped up we could be proactive. And they were sent to my surgeon & his colleague as well so they saw the results too. Bonus was my GP was a medical school friend of my surgeon’s colleague.

I am taking B12 sublingual 1000mg once a day. Could be the diet I eat have additional B12 in it. My Bariatric team did say I can take B12 every other day and see how it turn out. Because I just have surgery done, I won’t test it , maybe after the 3 month post op I will test taking it every other day and see how the result comes out.

Ever since I am young I do feel like my body absorb more nutrient than everyone else. I have no science to back it up tho. It is in my gene that my family member are in plus size, maybe that’s a factor that effect it.

[catwoman7 11,212]

2 hours ago, newbegining2024 said:

I am taking B12 sublingual 1000mg once a day. Could be the diet I eat have additional B12 in it. My Bariatric team did say I can take B12 every other day and see how it turn out. Because I just have surgery done, I won’t test it , maybe after the 3 month post op I will test taking it every other day and see how the result comes out.

Bypass patients are supposed to take B12 supplements (either by injection or sublingual tablets) because our new stomachs lack intrinsic factor which is needed to digest it. You likely won't absorb the B12 that's in your multi or food. So keep taking it unless/until your clinic advises you to stop. As everyone said above, high B12 isn't dangerous. I wasn't told to cut back on my supplement until mine went over 2000.

Edited February 17 by catwoman7