Electrolyte and blood test?

Iv'e been having palpitations and fainting a lot lately and my doctor said i might be anemic. I'm 15 and a vegitarian so I can see why I might be but I have to go get a blood test and an electrolyte test in a few days. What exactly will they do and what happens if I am anemic?

They will draw blood from you, and also they will look at your electrolyte level (Potassium) to see what precautions you need to take and also perhaps you need to look at your eating habits. Whenever the potassium level in the body becomes too low, you're in serious danger of major problems and even death. I don't mean to scare you, just take what the dr. says very seriously and have the blood test. It should relieve your mind and I'm sure your dr. will prescribe whats in your best interest

well they will just draw some blood from you and they will be able to determine your hemoglobin and hematocrit which whill tell if you are indeed anemic. a lot of other labs will come up such as your electrolytes and will give him a better idea of what is going on. i have had it done to me before and things went well. try searching on yahoo CBC or complete blood count. and metabolic panel!

If you happen to be anemic and the most likely reason for it is your vegetarian diet. Then the doctor will prescirbe for you iron supplements and perhaps Vitamin B12.

But if the cause of your anemia is unknown. Then your doctor will have to do more testing before he will know what to do.

the blood test the doctor is talking about is looking at your red blood cells. how many there are and how much hemoglobin is in them. hemoglobin comes from iron and it carries some nutrients and oxygen around. if your low in them, you may be anemic. and you ll feel tired and short of breath. if thats the case you can increase iron in your diet, and b vitamins, by eating more whole grains, dark greens, peas and beans and red vegies. beets. also cooking in cast iron increases the iron in you r diet also. if your electrolyte test is abnormal, then they are looking at the minerals in your blood, like calcium potassium, sodium, and some others. they are supposed to be in perfect ratios, and if they are out of balance you feel sick to your stomach weak muscle cramps and even confused if its bad enough. so eat lots of fruit and fresh vegies, and drink water. most imbalaces in the blood stream of young adults your age are caused by diet. dont worry. get your diet together.