What Blood Tests Would You Suggest?

health

(7e02a06723488a479801) #1

Our insurance is changing. I rarely go to the doctor. Planning to go before my insurance changes. I am female in my late 50s and feel good.

Edit: I am in one of the states where you can never order your own bloodwork so a cheaper option once my insurance changes is not available. I am also a long way from neighboring states so it would not be easy to drive fasted to a place I could get testing

We currently have no copay for bloodwork. Our new insurance will have a very large deductible for blood work. I would like the doctor to order bloodwork to check on my general health, he/she is very accommodating. What would you recommend? I have no family history of concern that I am aware of.

I do have thyroid problems and will ask for the full panel and will ask to be tested for celiac. I will ask for Vitamin D, iron and ferritin levels, the B vitamin panel.

What else? I do not mind having a lot of blood taken


(KM) #2

Fasting insulin. Uric acid.

If they will do a really complete lipid panel with particle size, that can be of use, maybe. Iodine.


#4

Curious, what purpose does Iodine levels provide for someone with thyroid issues?


(Robin) #5

I would get every test under the sun while it’s free, even if it’s not necessarily relevant right now.


(Joey) #6

@7e02a06723488a479801 (Assuming you are in the US?) Along with milking your current coverage for every test imaginable - even if only for a baseline - I would check out “Own Your Labs” for when your insurance changes.

We’ve been getting the same LabCorp tests for a fraction of the price of even other online discount sites. It’s the same labwork from the same labs … only the price is less and you’re supporting a keto-friendly nonprofit.


(KM) #7

To be honest I don’t remember what it was about iodine. I went down a rabbit hole about it back in September - there’s a thread here actually about fluoride started by @Pjam where @Alecmcq talked about it. I watched a few videos about it and thought it was worth a shot and wouldn’t hurt to try.

Don’t know if it was thyroid effective or another hormonal support but I did feel good after trying it. Lately very tired but don’t know if iodine has anything to do with it .


(7e02a06723488a479801) #8

I agree but I need to know what tests to ask for. My doctor is older, for example when ordering a thyroid test, they will order just a TSH, it does not automatically occur to them to get the thyroid antibody test but will if I suggest it.

@SomeGuy yes I am in the US. I happen to be in a state that does not allow you to order your own tests. One downside to paying directly is that I will not get credit to my very large deductible for the test unless they participate with insurance companies


(Joey) #9

With respect to a lipid panel, the “NMR Lipid” test - offered by LabCorp - would be high on my list along with the typical batteries of bloodwork (CBC, Comprehensive, etc.). Yes, get Vit D-25 level and as noted a fully detailed thyroid workup. Perhaps include insulin, although like glucose level at time of draw, it’s just a “spot” reading. Frankly, we order these for ourselves annually - and we happily pay directly for them as we regard them as valuable info.


(B Creighton) #10

Wow. However, when you change insurance, you probably will be able to either find an accomodating doctor or use something like Ulta Labs, which will issue an inhouse doctor’s order when you order labs online. I have also gone to a family doctor who now specializes in fertility/hormone therapy, and so orders lots of blood tests, and therefore gets good rates with Labcorp.

Ditto Kib on the fasted insulin test. If you don’t know, that means it’s basically up to you to ensure you fast 12 hours before the blood draw - basically skip breakfast. You want this number to be below 7 at least - more ideally around 5. This will show no insulin resistance. Doctors don’t normally order this test, but it is far superior to blood sugar tests at predicting future diabetes.
Ditto on the full thyroid panel including antibodies. Iodine, if you want to keep your thyroid working at all. I use a whole food vitamin with kelp to ensure I get enough iodine, because I use plain sea salt. I would personally avoid all SAD dairy, esp cheese, as it has lots of A1 caseine, which I believe may be connected to thyroid antibodies. Either stop totally, or eat goat dairy and A2 cheese - which is somewhat hard to find. Try azurestandard.com
Homocysteine - if it’s high, you may be able to lower it with TMG and/or methylcobalamin form of B12
ditto on uric acid
Triglycerides
Here is one you will probably not hear - oxLDL. You can’t get this test from Labcorp anymore apparently because there are doubts about the accuracy… That is somewhat understandable given the many kinds of oxidation LDL can undergo. I get mine through Ulta Labs which uses Quest I believe. Nevertheless, I strongly feel this test is the single most accurate predictor you can get from blood tests of ongoing atherosclerosis. If it is above 190, there is about a 90% chance you have active atherosclerosis. Ideally, you want 60 or below - which I have managed to do for 2 years now.
I personally do not concern myself with the other LDL tests, although I did get some this Dec because they were in a discounted package. You may want to test Lp(a) if you have never done so. For instance my triglycerides were high, but my LDL was low, and my VLDL was on the high side. This is telling me that all those triglycerides were traveling around in VLDL. Which implies I was in a fat burning state. This was confirmed with a blood ketone reading of 1.
So, order Ketone testing.
My LDL to HDL ratio was 2:1 - which is quite good, and not indicative of any heart disease risk. VLDL is also not a risk factor for heart disease, because the LDL particle is too big to get embedded in the artery walls.
You might consider testing for magnesium, etc, although mineral levels in blood can be an inaccurate reading of the amount in your body.
Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratio test. Ideally you want this ratio to be less than 3 to 1. If it is higher, this can be best corrected by eating more fresh or near vacuum packed frozen WILD seafood - esp the cold water varieties. As of this last year, I have also taken to eating a good bit of hemp seed and milk which is a decent source of ALA. As a woman you will be better converter of ALA into Omega 3 DHA and EPA - the primary goal. Of course refrain from eating any foods prepared with seed oils.
Well, those are probably the most important blood tests for your future metabolic health.
Homa-IR, A1C and maybe a few others. If you are staying away from sugar, however, your A1C should be good. If it is high you can generally expect your oxLDL to be higher than optimal because A1C is measuring the level of glycation of your hemoglobin protein. LDL is covered in a protein, and when it becomes glycated from blood sugar, it will oxidize about 6 times easier.


(Bob M) #11

Iodine is very difficult to test, so I probably wouldn’t go down that rabbit hole. You could try taking small amounts of iodine, but testing is tough.

You certainly want the normal panel, with liver tests (ALT, AST). GGT is something that I usually get tested. HbA1c isn’t bad, though if you’re keto, it might not tell you a lot.

Dr. Ben Bikman recommended insulin and free fatty acids, and had some equation that related this to insulin sensitivity. This may be a niche thing, because even I haven’t done this. Always wanted to though.


(KCKO, KCFO 🥥) #12

I second this recommendation. I’ve used it and loved it. My insurance didn’t cover some testing I wanted, this did the trick for a fraction of the cost thru my dr.'s office.


#13

I’d check Life Extensions Lab page, they have in network docs that can prescribe labs in the restricted states most of the time so it’s not technical direct to consumer.

Q) If I live in a restricted state, what will be included with my kit?

A) If you live in NY, NJ, RI, or MA, you will receive a prescription for the blood draw signed by a doctor in our network. You will also receive all the necessary blood draw tubes, instructions, and a pre-paid shipping label. Please note that most of the samples will need to be centrifuged prior to shipment, so you will need to find a facility that can draw, process, and pack the blood for you.

https://www.lifeextension.com/vitamins-supplements/blood-tests/faq