My question is how to ensure that blood panel results are accurate. Since test and other hormone levels fluctuate throughout the day, how do you know that the time at which your blood is drawn will give you a good picture of your hormone profile? I would think that with test spikes and valleys you could be high or low normal test in the same day depending on time, food intake that day, pre or post workout… etc? What can you do to get the most accurate results?
Thanks.
If for some reason accuracy were really desired rather than just a reasonable general picture, then I think you’d have to take tests on different days and average the results.
So far as levels varying throughout the day, that is true, but it’s true for everyone so that is not a variation to worry about. As to whether the normal range is defined as being morning readings, I don’t know… it would be a little relevant but again would be more fine tuning than anything else.
The main thing accomplished by these tests is getting a general picture. In other words, although 250 and 300 ng/dL (for example) are as much as 20% different according to how you look at it, they give you about the same picture, whereas for example 500 or 600 ng/dL give you a different picture, though again they are not precisely the same as each other.