IGX

My 23andme test confirmed what I already knew from family history - my mom's side has fucked me with a history of heart disease and Alzheimer's. Dad's side live forever barring freak accident. Saturated fat is bad, alcohol is bad - but it seems that there's a trade-off between fat intake and the heart disease/Alzheimer's. Anecdotally, my grandmother's Alzheimer's progressed rapidly after heart surgery and being put on a low-fat diet.

My HMO is shit and my PCP is only slightly better, so I'm just going to order my own blood test.

$189 at WellnessFX gets
Lipids including Lp(a) and ApoB (these two seem to be the most important)
CRP
TSH/Glucose/HbA1C (my father has Type 2 Diabetes but neither of his parents had issues with it so that's mostly lifestyle)
BUN/Creatinine, AST&ALT, Bilirubin, Albumin, Total Protein - these seem relatively unimportant
25-Hydroxy VitD, Calcium, Electrolytes, Bicarbonate

Testosterone is basically another $300 - I'm in my 30s and my dick still works like a champ so I don't see this as being worthwhile
Thyroid is $200 - I don't have any trouble losing weight when I eat even a little bit clean, not sure this is worth it.

I can piece together something via directlabs or mymedlabs that should come in a little cheaper (but not a ton) but I'm not sure if there's anything missing from the WellnessFX panel that I should get.

Low test won;t manifest as dick dysfunction or even reduced libido. (god how i wish) It won't even manifest necessary as physical weakness. I've hit lifetime PR's in teh gym with the test level of a 70 year old man...that said, get it checked not to understand what baseline is FOR YOU. These are wildly variable in both free and total test. Whoever is charging 300 for that is ripping you off. i routinely get T, total, Free and Est checked for 50 bux.

When I was around 50 my thyroid went on me. Took a couple months after to find the right dosage etc for me and get leveled out. Doc said if we had had baseline numbers from back when I was feeling good - it might have been quicker to figure out. Same with testosterone. If you can afford it get a complete workout and save the results for when things go south on you when you get old and creaky. It can be well worth while.

milosz wrote:My 23andme test confirmed what I already knew from family history - my mom's side has fucked me with a history of heart disease and Alzheimer's. Dad's side live forever barring freak accident. Saturated fat is bad, alcohol is bad - but it seems that there's a trade-off between fat intake and the heart disease/Alzheimer's. Anecdotally, my grandmother's Alzheimer's progressed rapidly after heart surgery and being put on a low-fat diet.

My HMO is shit and my PCP is only slightly better, so I'm just going to order my own blood test.

$189 at WellnessFX gets
Lipids including Lp(a) and ApoB (these two seem to be the most important)
CRP
TSH/Glucose/HbA1C (my father has Type 2 Diabetes but neither of his parents had issues with it so that's mostly lifestyle)
BUN/Creatinine, AST&ALT, Bilirubin, Albumin, Total Protein - these seem relatively unimportant
25-Hydroxy VitD, Calcium, Electrolytes, Bicarbonate

Testosterone is basically another $300 - I'm in my 30s and my dick still works like a champ so I don't see this as being worthwhile
Thyroid is $200 - I don't have any trouble losing weight when I eat even a little bit clean, not sure this is worth it.

I can piece together something via directlabs or mymedlabs that should come in a little cheaper (but not a ton) but I'm not sure if there's anything missing from the WellnessFX panel that I should get.

History and examination contribute close to 90% to a diagnosis, and blood tests about 10%. Consulting a good doctor would be money much better spent.

I'm well over 50 and my doc always includes PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen?). It's good to have a baseline of that as you age. Stay away from anything with Benadryl (including Tylenol PM type stuff) prior to the test because it bumps up the number somehow.

milosz wrote: My HMO is shit and my PCP is only slightly better, so I'm just going to order my own blood test.

That would suck. I can't imagine a plan that doesn't cover a good annual physical w/ bloodwork. Just tell your doc you feel tired and run down all the time and you want a good workup including thyroid, testosterone, estradiol, vit D, PSA, etc. Tell em you have a friend who was in a similar boat and his hormonal milieu was a mess and since correcting it he's feeling much better.

No way you should be paying out of pocket if you have a plan. Gotta be a squeaky wheel.

There was a good piece on just checking out 'cash' prices for testing. In many places blood tests cost the insurance company, say, $120 and it passes, say, $40 onto you, per test, when the cash price at a place might be closer to $15 or less.

There are several places online that do very inexpensive blood tests as well

Move to Canada.

can i bring my guns?

dead man walking wrote:can i bring my guns?

Just don't tell anyone.

milosz wrote:My 23andme test confirmed what I already knew from family history - my mom's side has fucked me with a history of heart disease and Alzheimer's. Dad's side live forever barring freak accident. Saturated fat is bad, alcohol is bad - but it seems that there's a trade-off between fat intake and the heart disease/Alzheimer's. Anecdotally, my grandmother's Alzheimer's progressed rapidly after heart surgery and being put on a low-fat diet.

My HMO is shit and my PCP is only slightly better, so I'm just going to order my own blood test.

$189 at WellnessFX gets
Lipids including Lp(a) and ApoB (these two seem to be the most important)
CRP
TSH/Glucose/HbA1C (my father has Type 2 Diabetes but neither of his parents had issues with it so that's mostly lifestyle)
BUN/Creatinine, AST&ALT, Bilirubin, Albumin, Total Protein - these seem relatively unimportant
25-Hydroxy VitD, Calcium, Electrolytes, Bicarbonate

Testosterone is basically another $300 - I'm in my 30s and my dick still works like a champ so I don't see this as being worthwhile
Thyroid is $200 - I don't have any trouble losing weight when I eat even a little bit clean, not sure this is worth it.

I can piece together something via directlabs or mymedlabs that should come in a little cheaper (but not a ton) but I'm not sure if there's anything missing from the WellnessFX panel that I should get.

I'm at the same place, in that I feel pretty solid now and want to get a snapshot of what this looks like so I can better maintain as I age and the shift work continues to take its toll on me. Currently looking for a PCP that is in the know and willing to work with me rather than just ignore concerns, something my F-I-L is dealing with now.