I’ve scheduled an appointment about a week from now to have overall blood work done and am wondering what exactly I should have them test for beyond the usual stuff. I’m thinking cholesteral (both LDL and HDL, of course), triglycerides, HIV, Hepatitis A, B and C, testosterone . . . .
Are there any other things regarding testosterone or other hormones that I should be curious about? Estradiol, etc.? Is it free testosterone that I should be looking at?
I had my T-levels checked twice a couple years ago (don’t know if the Dr. was referring to free T or what) and the first test was unusally low (250 units of whatever), so he said it was probably just a fluke and that I should do it again first thing in the morning, which is a more accurate measure. So I did it in the morning, about a week later, and the reading was 950. I was not on any T-boosters at the time. I’m now on TRIBEX, RED KAT, M and maca, so I’m curious to see what the results will be.
I asked Dr. Ryan a similar question and this was his response
Dr. Ryan wrote:
Regarding bloodwork I would say start off with a a complete blood count w/ differential (CBC w/diff), a comprehensive metabolic panel, lipid panel + homocysteine, thyroid panel to include free T4, free T3 not just total T4 and TSH. A female hormone profile including LH/FSH and DHEA.
This should give you a pretty good work-up. There are some more specific nutrient tests (Spectracell) and hormone profiles that can be done, but the above would be a good place to start.
Of course, this is for a woman, but maybe you can glean some info for yourself…
Thanks for everyone’s input. I got my results over the phone, so I’ll give you the big ones that I remember (they’re mailing me the complete paperwork), but then I’ll have a followup question for Cy, or whoever might be in the know.
Total Test.: 597
Free Test.: 87.6 (they also said 1.5% ?)
Estradiol: 32
Total cholesterol: 200
LDL: 96
HDL: 99
Triglycerides: 30
The cholesterol and trig. numbers seem great, but I’m surprised that the testosterone is as low as it is (I’m 30 years old by the way), reason being that I’ve been on TRIBEX (4 caps twice per day - max dosage), RED KAT (2 caps twice per day - max dosage), M, maca and ZMA.
I had the same tests done about a year ago (maybe a little more), when I was only on ZMA (no TRIBEX, RED KAT, M or maca), and my total Test. was 950! I know it can vary a lot during the day, and has to do with time of day, etc., but both tests were done essentially first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.
This time, though, they kept me waiting in the office a loooong time, so I was probably up for about 2 and a half hours (and starving and feeling tired and weak because of it) before they drew the blood. Could that be why it’s so low? Should I be concerned? It just seems odd, especially since I’m on the T-boosters. Anyone have any input? Thanks.
PS: They checked for LH as well, but I forgot to ask over the phone what it was. They’ll mail me the full report in a few days, though.
Stupid, stupid, stupid!!! (Smacking self on forehead). I just rememebered (what a jackass I am) – I had been out drinking the night before.
It was a Friday night after a long week (I’m almost always too low on sleep during the week, with Sat. and Sun. being my catchup days) and I probably had 4 or 5 vodka-tonics the night before, and probably only got 7-ish hours of sleep before waking up to go to the doctor’s office to get the blood drawn. Would all of that (especially the alcohol the night before) have brought it down?
Thanks. Now I’m genuinely curious. I might have the T levels checked again just to be sure. That just seems surprisingly low, especially given the supplements I’m on.
I just got the full paperwork in the mail. I was mistaken when I said that they checked for LH; they didn’t, and I now remember Bill Roberts once saying that in order to measure LH accurately you’d have to do it every fifteen minutes all day long or something.
Anyway, the interesting thing is that my SHBG was high. It was 52 nmol/L, whereas the normal range is 7-50 nmol/L. Even given a few drinks the night before and being a bit short on sleep, isn’t THAT odd, given that I’d been on the max dosages of RED KAT, TRIBEX and maca??
I just came off all the T-boosters for a week, but I’m going back on this week and will get my levels checked again when I’ve been back on them in a few weeks. Do I have any reason to be alarmed?
[quote]Damici wrote:
I just got the full paperwork in the mail. I was mistaken when I said that they checked for LH; they didn’t, and I now remember Bill Roberts once saying that in order to measure LH accurately you’d have to do it every fifteen minutes all day long or something.
Anyway, the interesting thing is that my SHBG was high. It was 52 nmol/L, whereas the normal range is 7-50 nmol/L. Even given a few drinks the night before and being a bit short on sleep, isn’t THAT odd, given that I’d been on the max dosages of RED KAT, TRIBEX and maca??
I just came off all the T-boosters for a week, but I’m going back on this week and will get my levels checked again when I’ve been back on them in a few weeks. Do I have any reason to be alarmed?
Thanks again.[/quote]
Your results are relatively meaningless based on your indulgence the evening prior to having blood drawn.
Supplements will typically not make up for poor choices whether they are a lack of sleep, excessive alcohol consumption, a poor diet, or half-asses training.
Thanks guys. I wasn’t sure how much weight to put on the fact that I’d had a few drinks the night before (a rarity, by the way) and not gotten enough sleep. Apparently you all agree that it probably was a factor. I will try to contact Cy, though. And thanks for the link, Dr. Ryan.
