B12Beth said:A sustained drop to 1,100 or 1,200 calories reliably under-delivers a predictable set: B12, vitamin D, iron, folate, zinc and magnesium.
Vitamin and mineral labs to check while on micronutrients — my doctor orders these quarterly:
- B12: Can drop due to reduced GI absorption. Mine went from 650 to 380 — now supplementing.
- Iron/Ferritin: Reduced food intake = reduced iron. Ferritin dropped from 70 to 27. Supplementing.
- Vitamin D: Was already low (21 ng/mL), now taking 5000 IU daily.
- Folate: Stable, no issues.
- Zinc: Slightly low, added a multivitamin with zinc.
Nutritional deficiencies are a real risk when you're eating significantly less. Don't skip your labs!
Following on from LipidDoc_ATL — and this may be the naive question:
How people separated a drug effect from the ordinary consequences of a large deficit and disrupted sleep, because I cannot?
jason_paloalto said:Vitamin and mineral labs to check while on micronutrients — my doctor orders these quarterly: B12: Can drop due to reduced GI absorption.
Iron studies on micronutrients — important especially for women:
| Marker | Baseline | Month 6 | After Supplementation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ferritin | 60 | 18 | 45 |
| Iron | 90 | 50 | 88 |
| TIBC | 310 | 380 | 340 |
| Transferrin Sat | 34% | 15% | 25% |
My ferritin cratered at month 6 from reduced dietary intake. Iron bisglycinate 36mg with vitamin C brought it back up. Don't wait for anemia symptoms — test proactively.
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View ResultsClosing the loop on my own question.
Update: I got the sleep and the intake sorted before deciding it was the drug, and most of the flatness went with them. Not all of it, and I am watching the rest.
Dr.PainCLE said:Iron studies on micronutrients — important especially for women: Marker Baseline Month 6 After Supplementation Ferritin 60 18 45 Iron 90 50 88 TIBC…
Blood count monitoring for micronutrients: my doctor noticed my MCV (mean corpuscular volume) trending up at month 6: 89 → 97 fL. This flagged potential B12 or folate deficiency.
Sure enough, B12 had dropped from 620 to 340 pg/mL. Started B12 injections monthly and MCV normalized within 2 months. GLP-1 agonists can impair B12 absorption — this is a real clinical concern that deserves routine monitoring.