Interested in lab work but have no idea what I’m doing

[cloratheshadow]

What are we commonly testing for? There’s so many options for testing and I’m not sure if I should test a ton of things or just a few. What do you test for and where do you go?

Also are we able to go to a location to draw blood?

I’m on Tirz and going to stack Reta soon but when I think of stacking other things I go back and forth. I think I need to see where all my levels are at and then I can decide and also see what changed in a few months.

Also how long does it take to get results?

 

[FartfulCodger]

I'll be eagerly watching this thread. I'd like something cheap and accurate that covers my hormones, cholesterol, liver function, etc. and anything that has to do with general health. My understanding is that blood tests that draw just a couple drops of blood don't provide accurate results. Not interested in a "subscription" or sales pitch for treatment.

If anyone has had a positive experience with a particular company, please share. I've been hearing good things about Function Health.

 

[CNCCurrency]

What are we commonly testing for? There’s so many options for testing and I’m not sure if I should test a ton of things or just a few. What do you test for and where do you go?

Also are we able to go to a location to draw blood?

I’m on Tirz and going to stack Reta soon but when I think of stacking other things I go back and forth. I think I need to see where all my levels are at and then I can decide and also see what changed in a few months.

Also how long does it take to get results?

Not sure in California but in Arizona you can go to any of the labs and request any blood test you want and they're pretty reasonably priced

 

[sfkid]

I assume since you mentioned GLP compounds your goal is to lose weight and monitor related biomarkers.

Ide say this is all you probably need.

HbA1c

Fasting Insulin

CBC

Lipid panel

 

[Turbo-Farmer]

What are we commonly testing for? There’s so many options for testing and I’m not sure if I should test a ton of things or just a few. What do you test for and where do you go?

Also are we able to go to a location to draw blood?

I’m on Tirz and going to stack Reta soon but when I think of stacking other things I go back and forth. I think I need to see where all my levels are at and then I can decide and also see what changed in a few months.

Also how long does it take to get results?

Search

“Is anyone doing bloodwork frequently?”

You’ll find a wealth of information

 

[cloratheshadow]

Search

“Is anyone doing bloodwork frequently?”

You’ll find a wealth of information

I’ve seen a lot of different results and a lot of what seems like unnecessary. I’m asking what the basics are. But thanks for the help.

 

[cloratheshadow]

I assume since you mentioned GLP compounds your goal is to lose weight and monitor related biomarkers.

Ide say this is all you probably need.

HbA1c

Fasting Insulin

CBC

Lipid panel

Thank you for this! I don’t want to get a ton of them just because I want the important ones

 

[Turbo-Farmer]

Basics are dependent upon

I’ve seen a lot of different results and a lot of what seems like unnecessary. I’m asking what the basics are. But thanks for the help.

basics are dependent upon what you are trying to accomplish.

I’m trying to lose weight so I have a scale. I am also trying to reverse my insulin resistance; so for that I run: a1c, fasting glucose, and fasting insulin.

I calculate my,

HOMA-IR (Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance) which for my situation is the most reliable indicator of my metabolic health.

 

[5byfive]

We are in a golden period for this where there are a lot of compaines competing to get customers for their comprehensive testing services and spending venture capital money while losing money on every test to try and corner the market (just like Uber, Door Dash, etc. did). I got a very comprehensive pannel from Vitals Vault for $200 in Decmeber but there are probably half a dozen companies doing the same thing. Run a Google search and you'll get all the ads.

 

[Vriende]

Search

“Is anyone doing bloodwork frequently?”

You’ll find a wealth of information

I’ve seen a lot of different results and a lot of what seems like unnecessary. I’m asking what the basics are. But thanks for the help.

TurboFarmer was referring to this recent thread on this forum -- [archived internal link]

There is really a lot of good info there including a lab price comparison spreadsheet posted by Calm Logic.

 

[jordekorn]

In California we have labcorp just buy the tests you want, no dr.

 

[Gt3294a]

Thank you for this! I don’t want to get a ton of them just because I want the important ones

At least once, you probably want a full hormone panel and thyroid function. You might want to know what it was in 5 years for example. I use lab corp, for a small fee, they actually drop by my house in the morning, which is super convenient for me. I use lab corp when my numbers might be a bit off instead of running it through my regular doctor. My regular doctor can be a dick about shit. Also, there are doctors that basically mostly just see folks that are bodyhacks or whatever you want to call it. I have a remote doctor to discuss my blood work with once a year. She will spend over 30 minutes discussing my labs, listening to me kick things around, giving advice (even on dosage of vitamins), etc. it’s nice to have a second opinion (my opening is first,…). It’s all pretty cheap these days. Good luck.

 

[Rtrain]

I'll be eagerly watching this thread. I'd like something cheap and accurate that covers my hormones, cholesterol, liver function, etc. and anything that has to do with general health. My understanding is that blood tests that draw just a couple drops of blood don't provide accurate results. Not interested in a "subscription" or sales pitch for treatment.

If anyone has had a positive experience with a particular company, please share. I've been hearing good things about Function Health.

I just called my doctor and had him call in a complete blood panel for labs. Everything came back fine. Said he will probably low my blood pressure med strength down the road.

 

[Lovedog100]

I'll be eagerly watching this thread. I'd like something cheap and accurate that covers my hormones, cholesterol, liver function, etc. and anything that has to do with general health. My understanding is that blood tests that draw just a couple drops of blood don't provide accurate results. Not interested in a "subscription" or sales pitch for treatment.

If anyone has had a positive experience with a particular company, please share. I've been hearing good things about Function Health.

Have you tried going to google and typing in "Blood testing near me"? Here in Thailand I can find blood testing places easily. In California you can find them as well. Usually a doctor sends you to them. However you can walk in with a list of things that you want tested and ask for them. You will get some stupid replies because it's out of the ordinary for them. Ask to speak to the manager if you can't get past the desk.

 

[FartfulCodger]

Have you tried going to google and typing in "Blood testing near me"? Here in Thailand I can find blood testing places easily. In California you can find them as well. Usually a doctor sends you to them. However you can walk in with a list of things that you want tested and ask for them. You will get some stupid replies because it's out of the ordinary for them. Ask to speak to the manager if you can't get past the desk.

Yes I did all that. You get a million websites and is hard to say who the best deal is when there are 200 individual tests, sometimes priced individually and other times bundled into different tiers. It's overwheming. I'm interested in hearing from a forum participant who got a pretty comprehensive package at a good price.

I've found some other threads in here that are allowing me to narrow things down. I wish I could fly to Thailand because I'm pretty sure it would be cheaper there!

 

[Lovedog100]

Yes I did all that. You get a million websites and is hard to say who the best deal is when there are 200 individual tests, sometimes priced individually and other times bundled into different tiers. It's overwheming. I'm interested in hearing from a forum participant who got a pretty comprehensive package at a good price.

I've found some other threads in here that are allowing me to narrow things down. I wish I could fly to Thailand because I'm pretty sure it would be cheaper there!

The packages are a good start because of the bundled price. I don't know where you fit in for age and weight, however the packages that I look at are those that are for people that are diabetic, or pre-diabetic, and packages for seniors. Most overweight people that are big enough to go this route are diabetic or prediabetic. I then add tests that I want to know about as well, such as testosterone, vitamin D and B12. My extras depend on my protocol's at the moment, and what is concerning to me.

A good start is to grab one of the packages, pay cash, and see where you are at. You have a baseline to see changes from then. As you learn more, you can ask for more things to add to your test if you have concerns.

 

[msyntakz]

One of the members here (woundcarping I think) referred me to a site called Fitomics. There's a post about it on the forum here. I signed up for the $30 month-to-month program to check it out, but it's not required. I went with the Male Hormone Panel and an HbA1c, used code BCOOPER (found online) for 7% off at checkout, and paid $186 bucks altogether. This was Labcorp testing. They also have Quest available that I saw.

I know they also have a GLP-1 panel too. Here's a screenshot of that one:

But I wanted to get a baseline on my hormones, so I paid the additional.

As far as turnaround times? Well, I did the draw this morning at around 10:30am ET, and I have already seen my CBC, CMP and Lipid profile (greatly improved!), but still awaiting the others. From searching, I am seeing up to a few days for hormone tests, but we shall see.

Overall pretty straightforward. From ordering to first results was about 12-14 hours I think? Your experience may vary, of course. Worth it to me.

 

[CathyGoesFar]

The service I use tests:

Total Cholesterol

LDL Cholesterol

HDL Cholesterol

Triglycerides

VLDL Cholesterol

Apolipoprotein B (ApoB)

Lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)]

Glucose

Hemoglobin A1C

Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP)

C-Reactive Protein (CRP)

Homocysteine

Total Testosterone

Free Testosterone

Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG)

Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate (DHEA-S)

Estradiol

Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH)

Free T4

Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1)

Vitamin D

I pay $70 a month and get testing quarterly. The only thing I don't like about it is their association with a rather famous "motivational speaker" who is known for the unending promotion of more and more programs, events, books, audio programs, etc that you suddenly "need" if you get sucked into his programs. You get an appointment with a clinician included. They are full fledged MDs, NPs, etc. They try to sell you on their own line of supplements(of course) but it's been a very brief mention IME.

The hormone testing has been invaluable since doctors seem strangely resistant to ever actually testing them.