postpartum labs

[mysticmomma]

What bloodwork do you find useful in a pp woman. I am having a physical in a few weeks and want to ask for what I need. My birth was in Feb and was a UCish type birth.

[JunipersMom]

From a birth that occurred 6 months ago - there wouldnt be anything in bloodwork that would be needed postpartum, no matter where or how the birth occurred. I would think it would just be a normal physical - nothing to do with the birth.

[mysticmomma]

thyroid function, cbc... please list even if it seems standard for a physical.

[Jane]

Well, every year I get a Pap, complete CBC + thyroid (T3, T4, TSH) + cholesterol panel + fasting blood sugar. Because I work in heath care (), I get HIV, Hep B & C. I used to get tb skin tested occasionally (not the once a year suggested by the state), until I got exposed to tb...
That's somewhat customized for me b/c of my risk factors/family history. You could consider HSV testing, Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Colon screening (occult blood or more invasive tests), breast screening, liver panel, or kidney panels, osteoporosis numbers, etc. The value of a health care provider is that you shouldn't have to come up with this stuff...and if you do, they'll help you figure out which ones are prudent for you.

[bryonyvaughn]

OT: TB testing

Originally Posted by Apricot

...I used to get tb skin tested occasionally (not the once a year suggested by the state), until I got exposed to tb...

FWIW I think *everyone* testing for TB should avoid the skin test. It is a human blood product (think of all the viruses for which they don't screen) *and* the more often you get them the more likely you'll get false positives which will require chest x-rays whenever TB testing time rolls around. A safe alternative is the QuantiFERON-TB Gold test. It's basically the same stuff except instead of injecting it into you, they draw your blood and mix in with the biological in a test tube and read the results there. You're not taking in anyone else's viruses or DNA/RNA and not increasing your chances for false positives and future chest x-rays.

~BV

[Charmie981]

Originally Posted by bryonyvaughn

A safe alternative is the QuantiFERON-TB Gold test. It's basically the same stuff except instead of injecting it into you, they draw your blood and mix in with the biological in a test tube and read the results there. You're not taking in anyone else's viruses or DNA/RNA and not increasing your chances for false positives and future chest x-rays.

Gee, if only I had read this yesterday morning . I had been avoiding a TB skin test for my Arkansas license because I was pregnant, but now that I'm not anymore, I went and got it yesterday with no research (because I was sure I didn't want to know...turns out I was right ). I have it read tomorrow, but I'll keep this in mind for future tests, should they be indicated.

Apricot, how did you get exposed to TB? I was worried that mine would be + because of my stint in the Philippines, but it seems to be negative so far (12 hours or so to go).

As for pp bloodwork (yeah, I'm going to get on topic!!), I wouldn't ask for anything in particular, except a TSH and T3 and T4, because sometimes pregnancy can effect thyroid function, and even that isn't standard unless there are symptoms. Otherwise, any problems would have shown themselves by now for sure.

[Jane]

As far as I can find out, the mantoux PPD (purified protein derivative) comes from cultured tb, not blood. After all, tb doesn't live in the bloodstream, but instead inside tissues. I used to do tissue culture, so I'm pretty familiar with the techniques and have a comfort level with being tested. But my personal physiology is such that I don't want to be tested every year.

Charmie, I'm not sure where I was exposed. It's been 5 years since my last negative test. It could have been overseas, or in clinic, or at the mall, or from a family member...now I have to decide when/if I want to do the prophylatic treatment.

[blue_bug]

you could also get a cmp (complete/comprehensive metabolic profile) done. it will tell you your liver enzymes, blood sugar...basically checks your liver, kidney functions as well as electrolytes, blood proteins...