I know this isn't about medication, but I couldn't find where else to put it :-)
Before I went veg, I had every intention of getting a blood test so I could get a baseline of my nutrient levels and then get re-tested after I changed my diet to see if anything changed.  I didn't get the test before (I couldn't wait that long!), but I've been veg for a bit over 2yrs now and I reckon it's time I made sure my diet is adequate.
There are a few things I want to ask the doctor to check, like iron and B12, but is there anything else I should get checked?  I thought about cholestorol, but I forgot to fast (I love food too much hehe) so that might have to wait till next time.
Any other suggestions appreciated :-)

Hi Tara,

I'm a little late in seeing your post, but I'm curious how your tests went. I just went to the doctor yesterday (4 months after becoming vegan) to get all my levels tested. I did it to make sure everything was alright...and also I thought I'd be able to "prove" to my non-vegan friends that I am getting all I need from a plant-based diet.

I told my doc I am vegan now and he tested my folic acid (which was fine), Vitamin B (which was fine), Vitamin B12 (which was a little low so he suggested a supplment of this as well as a multi-vitamin). My vitamin D levels were VERY low. The normal range is 30-100. Mine is 11. My doc prescribed me prescription D vitamins for 12 weeks to get my levels up. I'm not sure how related the D is to a vegan diet. I know we don't eat fish or drink milk, but it was also just winter with no sunshine outside of work hours!

Anyway, I hope all went well for you. If anyone else reads this, how were your vitamin levels at last testing?

Kristin

I am going to get all of my bloodwork done on Monday.  I will be sure to report the findings ASAP!
My whole family is worried that since converting from vegetarian to vegan that I am not healthy!  I can NOT wait for my Dr to tell me that my blood work is PERFECT! 
Normally whenever I have gotten blood work in the past as a vegetarian my iron levels were always a tad bit low.  My Dr suggested I take an iron supplement.  I did for a while but I found that it made me super nauseas so I've opted to eat more iron-rich foods (broccoli, almonds, kale, sunflower seeds, lentils, chickpeas, tofu, sesame seeds, cashews, etc.) now and hopefully that changes the results for the better.

I have been thinking about getting blood work done myself.  Here is a list I was thinking of getting:

Basic metabolic panel (or complete met. panel): gives values of glucose, sodium, potassiuma and calcium (amonth others) as well as BUN and creatinine (kidney function tests)

Prealbumin:  measures nutrional status

B12, and likely other B vitamins if my doc recommends them

Cholesterol panel

Liver funtion tests

These are just some basics that we use at work (i'm an RN in critical care) so there are what I could think of that I would like to know about myself.  If anyone else has any other suggestions please let me know!

Kristin, I aced my tests :-)

More detail here!  : http://www.thekindlife.com/forum/thread/i-even-surprised-my-doctor-with-how-healthy-i-am

Hello everyone,

I'm so late posting this I don't know if anyone will even see it, but I'm sitting here with my blood results right next to me. I'm not sure exactly what to even look for, but I only have a relative deficiency of D so I hope to pump that up.  My Dr. said that everyone she's tested lately is crazy low so I feel pretty good about being only slightly low.

Laura, what IS BUN? I was looking at it wondering and then read your post!

I'm also slightly high with the female hormones. I'm 48 and my last period was Dec. so I'm assuming I'm in menopause(?) I got night sweats for about 2 weeks and since then I've had NO symptoms of menopause (unlike my friends who feel like they're going crazy) except that my period has apparently ended.  Piece o' cake!  :-)

The BEST news, though is that for years I've tested quite high with C Reactive Protein. I was told that that's apparently the way my body is and I can take a daily aspirin (which I haven't done).  WELL... at one testing it was 4.23 (even higher on a subsequent test) and my recent level was .20 (normal is less than 1.00).  I'm SOOOO happy and I KNOW that all of the credit goes to my vegan diet (as of the past 7 mos.)!

IslandChica, I just read an article about Vitamin D deficiency. Apparently it IS rampant. Here's the link in case you are interested:
Mark Hyman, MD: Vitamin D: Why You Are Probably NOT Getting Enough and How That Makes You Sick