Blood tests

[Quatroskin]

Question for the Fam here. How many of you got blood tests done before using any peptides and how many of us just said screw it and and went for it anyway? I myself have just went for it with Reta so far. Curious to see everyone’s answers

 

[Minkster]

I just happen to have had blood work done before starting Reta but am planning to get some at 6 mos because I'm curious.

 

[sfkid]

I do quarterly bloods. But if you are doing just GLPs really value will show up in lipids and insulin. Those will naturally get better as you the pounds come off.

 

[woundcarping]

I did some, but I also just sent it. I got more capillary home draw kits but decided their accuracy/methodology is garage for me. This week I did more to update and expand my baseline, as well as the 8 week TRT labs.

 

[sfkid]

I did some, but I also just sent it. I got more capillary home draw kits but decided their accuracy/methodology is garage for me. This week I did more to update and expand my baseline, as well as the 8 week TRT labs.

View attachment 17996

In the US, https://marekdiagnostics.com... You can customize your labs all you want, like shopping on Amazon..
My cost about $125 for everything I want... Results in 3-4 days...
They use quest diagnostics for the draw which have offices in all major city/states...

 

[woundcarping]

In the US, https://marekdiagnostics.com... You can customize your labs all you want, like shopping on Amazon..
My cost about $125 for everything I want... Results in 3-4 days...
They use quest diagnostics for the draw which have offices in all major city/states...

I use Fitomics and Labcorp.

These labs were $830 without a discount code.

 

[Minkster]

I've used Jason Health (quest labs)

 

[sfkid]

I use Fitomics and Labcorp.

These labs were $830 without a discount code.

That's crazy 🤯. Not judging but do you really need every possible test available from the lab 🙂.
I know body builders that are on massive amount of gear and don't even do 20 percent of those labs.

 

[myopicmystic]

Hers/Hims does offer some comprehensive lab panel membership through Quest. I think there's a once yearly and a twice yearly offering.

However, depends on if you have beef with Hers/Hims.

 

[woundcarping]

That's crazy 🤯. Not judging but do you really need every possible test available from the lab 🙂.
I know body builders that are on massive amount of gear and don't even do 20 percent of those labs.

Context matters.

 

[Quatroskin]

I did some, but I also just sent it. I got more capillary home draw kits but decided their accuracy/methodology is garage for me. This week I did more to update and expand my baseline, as well as the 8 week TRT labs.

View attachment 17996

How does this work? You take your own blood and send it in ?

 

[Quatroskin]

In the US, https://marekdiagnostics.com... You can customize your labs all you want, like shopping on Amazon..
My cost about $125 for everything I want... Results in 3-4 days...
They use quest diagnostics for the draw which have offices in all major city/states...

Thank you for this info. Is this with or without using insurance?

 

[WholesomeApril]

Why I used Reta alone I didn’t test.
But when I decided to get into HGH I did do regular bloods

 

[woundcarping]

How does this work? You take your own blood and send it in ?

Capillary draw is done at home, it sucks compared to venous results.

Those tubes were traditional venous draws.

 

[latviantower]

I didn’t for tirz alone - just relied on my annual physical labs and my PCP had recommended GLP anyway. But when I started hgh and test I do them every 8 weeks. Goodlabs drawn at Quest. $160 with discount code.

 

[Calm Logic]

Thank you for this info. Is this with or without using insurance?

That would be without insurance. But they are still somewhat overpriced compared to GoodLabs or Fitomics.

 

[Thee Oohwee]

I'm lucky in that I get some pretty comprehensive labs done about every four months with my primary care folks. I see them in a month and a half and plan to talk to my provider about my starting on Reta...

 

[Quatroskin]

I've used Jason Health (quest lab

Why I used Reta alone I didn’t test.
But when I decided to get into HGH I did do regular bloods

Same here. I just went for it with Reta. I’m really wanting to add some Tesamorelin and BPC 157 and thinking of just sending it also 😬

 

[TxUt777]

I just received a kit from rhythm for a mail in blood test kit. I'll draw it in the morning. I also ordered a lingo cgm just because I want to see what all the things are doing to my glucose levels lol. Has anyone used either of these? Pros cons?

 

[woundcarping]

I just received a kit from rhythm for a mail in blood test kit. I'll draw it in the morning. I also ordered a lingo cgm just because I want to see what all the things are doing to my glucose levels lol. Has anyone used either of these? Pros cons?

Capillary draws like Rythm and Siphox (the two I used) aren't worth it to me... their accuracy and precision aren't particularly robust, making them impractical for what I wanted.

 

[TxUt777]

Are the hormones and cholesterol fairly accurate? I am aware it's not a full panel workup, I just want to keep an eye on a few things.

 

[DragonOfTheSea]

So, I’m 42, and hadn’t been to the doctor in probably 25 years, and never gotten blood work done.. my wife, bless her heart, was up my ass about getting a full work-up for the last 2-3 years.

I finally gave in and did it this year, January 5th. I was peaking in weight, drinking a fair bit, and generally unhappy with myself at the time.

My blood work came back moderate- with the exception of high cholesterol, and really not good liver numbers well into the “yellow” range.
An ultrasound was promptly scheduled to view the status of my liver, and resulted in diag of NAFLD.

This immediately triggered me to begin taking liver enzymes, and why I started GLP’s in the first place! Tirz first then stacked Reta soon after. Changed my diet, basically stopped drinking alcohol, both easily because of the Tirz.

I had a new panel done 2 months later, March 12th-
All my numbers were healthy green zone and massively improved already!

I’ll probably keep doing them quarterly as long as I’m on main dosage of any peps, then maybe biannually once on maintenance.

 

[woundcarping]

Are the hormones and cholesterol fairly accurate? I am aware it's not a full panel workup, I just want to keep an eye on a few things.

I'm on TRT and from that perspective capillary is entirely worthless for me... I was hopeful to be able to get "cheap" monthly labs, but it turns out they're basically only moderately decent for maybe determining trend directions, unless other variables were at play for that particular draw that made that particular data not comparable to the other tests.


At the same relative time, before TRT started, same time of day, same relative hydration):

Total Test:
Labcorp 239ng/dl
Rythm 277ng/dl
Siphox 183ng/dl


4 years ago my total test on two Labcorp tests 3 days apart was 262ng/dl and 263ng/dl (my test wasn't 277ng/dl).

Labcorp is the benchmark, Siphox was low by 23% and Rythm was high by 16%... this time.

 

[rixsternaz]

I just received a kit from rhythm for a mail in blood test kit. I'll draw it in the morning. I also ordered a lingo cgm just because I want to see what all the things are doing to my glucose levels lol. Has anyone used either of these? Pros cons?

Ha! I just got my kit 2 days ago and will draw it tomorrow morning.

 

[codered]

I have bloods from before starting glp1, in-between and today.
Difference is mind blowing, it's not just weight loss.

My hba1c is below 5, my cholesterol, triglycerides all went down, as did uric acid, liver enzymes and even blood pressure.