Dag’s Round 1 blood test brief

For you this is one of the highest-yield tests because your hemoglobin was 13.1, your MCV has drifted down from 97 to 87, and your platelets have stayed high around 439-520, which fits possible iron loss plus chronic gut irritation. The result I am expecting is either a still-normal hemoglobin with early iron-deficiency clues such as low-normal MCV/RDW changes and platelets that are still elevated, or a clearer drop that would strengthen the case for ongoing occult blood loss.

This matters a lot for you because ferritin has fallen hard from about 94 to 55 to 49 to 35 while you also have fatigue, brain fog, and a prior diverticular bleed history, so this is the cleanest single snapshot of whether you are moving into genuine iron depletion. I am expecting it to come back low again, quite possibly in the low-20s to 30s range, and anything below 30 would strongly support true iron loss rather than a harmless fluctuation.

In your case it helps separate mild chronic background inflammation from something more active in the gut or elsewhere, especially since you have persistent bloating, eczema, prior calprotectin elevation, and platelets that have tended to stay high. I expect a mildly elevated but not dramatic result, roughly in the same ballpark as your recent 2-3 mg/L readings; a jump above 5 would make the current flare feel more active and less like a slow-burn baseline issue.

This is relevant because you have chronic post-meal bloating plus falling iron stores, and celiac is one of the standard rule-outs even though your old tTG IgA was negative years ago. I expect Total IgA to be normal, which would make a future tTG IgA test trustworthy; if IgA is low, an old or future negative celiac result could be falsely reassuring.

For you they matter because the recent alcohol re-exposure made the gut worse and you want to know whether the liver still looks calm while you are also taking atorvastatin. I expect these to stay normal, similar to your previous AST 18 and ALT 19 pattern, which would support the idea that alcohol has been hitting the gut harder than the liver.

This is particularly useful for you because you recently stopped drinking again after a period that clearly worsened your bloating, so it gives a cleaner read on whether the alcohol re-exposure left a biochemical footprint. I expect it to be normal or only mildly up from your recent 22, and a clearly high result would tell us the liver side of the alcohol story is more active than it looked in December.

For you this is mainly a completeness check: with bloating, recent alcohol irritation, and pancreatic/liver questions in the background, a normal bilirubin helps keep the focus on gut motility, inflammation, and iron loss rather than bile obstruction or liver dysfunction. I expect it to stay normal, like your previous total bilirubin of 9.4 micromol/L, and anything clearly high would push the workup in a more hepatobiliary direction.

This matters less than ferritin or CBC for your main problem, but it rounds out the liver picture so you do not miss a bile-related clue while focusing on the gut. I expect it to remain comfortably normal, near your previous mid-70s values, which would again argue against a cholestatic or obstructive explanation for the current symptoms.

For you this is not about generic cholesterol hygiene but about whether atorvastatin 20 mg is enough in the setting of very high Lp(a), where standard risk calculations understate danger. I expect HDL and triglycerides to still look strong, but LDL may still sit above the ideal very-high-risk target of about 55 mg/dL, which would keep the pressure on dose escalation or broader prevention planning.

This is one of your most important heart-risk markers because it captures the atherogenic particle burden more directly than standard cholesterol numbers and helps quantify how well the statin is containing the part of risk that is modifiable even though Lp(a) itself stays high. I expect it to stay decent, ideally under 80 and hopefully not far from your previous 63.9, which would be reassuring on the treatable side of the lipid story.

This relates to you because alcohol history, possible small-bowel dysbiosis or malabsorption, fatigue, brain fog, and bloating all make B12 worth rechecking even though it was 396 last time. I expect it to come back in the normal range, probably somewhere in the low-to-mid normal zone rather than frankly deficient, but if it has slipped again it would widen the absorption story beyond iron alone.

You added this for a good reason: the sudden severe upper-abdominal/epigastric pain episode with nausea and sweating in early April cannot be waved away as just gas, especially after alcohol exposure. I expect lipase to be normal, close to your earlier 35.3, and if it is meaningfully elevated it would force pancreatic causes much higher up the list.

For you it is not as strong a test as lipase, but it is cheap and helps provide a fuller read on whether that pain episode had a pancreatic signature. I expect it to be normal again, like your previous total amylase around 58, and a normal amylase together with normal lipase would make pancreatitis much less likely.

This matters because your eczema, inflammatory background, and supplementation gaps all make it useful to know whether the level stayed in a good range after stopping and restarting supplements. I expect it to still be acceptable but perhaps lower than your previous 98.7 nmol/L, and a drift down would support tightening up the supplementation routine again.

This is relevant because borderline hypothyroid drift can contribute to bloating, slower gut motility, fatigue, and a worse lipid profile, and your TSH has been creeping up from 2.0 to 2.65 to 2.82 to 3.61. I expect it to land in the upper-normal or borderline-high range again, and if it crosses above 4 the case for a fuller thyroid workup gets much stronger.

This is not central to your current bloating problem, but your PSA has moved from 1.3 to 1.5 to 2.0 over the years, so it makes sense to keep the trend honest rather than discovering later that it kept climbing quietly. I expect it to stay in range and hopefully around the same neighborhood as before; a meaningful rise above 2.5 would justify taking the prostate side more seriously.

For you this is more of a rule-out than a likely hit, but the persistent severe bloating and upper-GI discomfort make it reasonable to check if there is a more unusual acid-related driver hiding in the background. I expect this to be normal, and if it is high it would be a surprise result that could materially change the diagnostic direction.

This helps in your case because CRP can look only mildly abnormal while your broader pattern still suggests a simmering process involving gut inflammation, skin disease, or iron-related platelet activation. I expect it to remain mildly elevated in the high teens or low 20s, similar to your recent 17-22 range, rather than shooting into clearly acute territory.

This matters because ferritin can be artificially pushed up by inflammation, while your real question is whether the body is quietly running out of iron after the old bleed and possible ongoing occult loss. I expect TIBC to stay normal or edge upward from your recent mid-50s to low-60s values, and a rising TIBC together with low ferritin would fit true iron depletion very well.

For you it is a strong companion to ferritin and TIBC because it can reveal functional iron shortage even when the picture is slightly blurred by inflammation. I expect it to be lower than your older 40% reading and possibly in the teens or low 20s if iron depletion is genuinely advancing; a solid normal result would weaken the case for active iron loss.

This one is not about solving the bloating or iron problem; it is just cheap useful knowledge to have on file, especially if you ever end up needing urgent care far from your usual records. There is no medical expectation here beyond finally filling in a basic piece of information you do not already know.

This is relevant because alcohol can drain magnesium, and your arm cramping/vibration symptom during the April pain episode makes it worth checking even if it is not the main story. I expect it to stay in the normal or low-normal range around your previous 0.82, and a low result would give you one more concrete, fixable consequence of the recent alcohol period.