Tests are Normal

As I have written in previous posts, I spent much of January doing numerous tests to figure out why I got the pelvic stress fractures.  When all was said and done, the endocrinologist concluded that it was just overuse (although since then, Jordana and I think it might be the wrong orthotics I got last summer).  Anyway, the doctor had me do a follow up Vitamin D blood test in April to make sure things were OK.  The results showed that I was Vitamin D deficient (my blood levels were like 20 or 21).  He prescribed 50,000 IUs of Vitamin D once per week for 6 weeks, plus Citrical daily.  He scheduled another blood test 3 weeks after the 6 week regimen of Vitamin D supplement was completed.  Anyhow, the test came back normal -- Vitamin D at 57, magnesium, phosphorus, some other hormone, all normal.

So this is all good news for me.  As my running progresses, as well as cycling and swimming, I'm hopeful that my injuries were a fluke caused by some combination of over-training and wrong orthotics.

Here's an amusing anecdote when I was getting my blood tested.  The lab tech is trying to fill the first test tube from a vein in my right arm.  She comments that it is going slow and I mention that I have really low blood pressure being a runner (and low resting heart rate).  She mentioned that my blood seemed to be clotting.  She tried to shift things when the needle must have slipped and blood starts spurting all over her lab coat, my arm, the table, the floor.  She quickly takes the needle out and puts some gauze on my arm and tells me to apply pressure.  I do but notice that the blood is pooling in the crook of my arm and running down my arm.  I tell her that I need more gauze because the one I'm holding is drenched.  She gets a bunch more gauze and that quickly drenches with blood as well.  Finally, we get it stopped. She comments:  this has never happened to me before.  Great.  So we go to the left arm (two more test tubes to fill up).  That works better although the veins start swelling up.  Luckily she is able to fill both test tubes. But I had two huge bruises on both arms for several days.  Of course, no one wanted to sit near me on the Metro with both my arms bandaged up!!  I guess that's one way to avoid seatmates...