My 12-month lab diary — what worked for you?

NurseKim_ATL said:

A defensible baseline is short: HbA1c and fasting glucose, a lipid panel with ApoB if you can get it, ALT and AST, creatinine with eGFR, TSH, ferritin…

Pushing back on NurseKim_ATL here. I would drop the "get everything" instinct further than this thread does. Every extra test is another chance at a false positive, and incidental findings have their own cost in scans, biopsies and worry.

That is the short version; the long version is somebody else's post.

pete_manc_UK said:

I got a full panel before starting and a repeat at three months, and the second one is more useful than the first purely because I now have something…

Blood work came back perfect. baseline bloodwork + this community = winning. 🏆

DanielChem_CHI said:

I would drop the "get everything" instinct further than this thread does.

PSA: get baseline labs BEFORE starting baseline bloodwork therapy. You need a "before" picture to measure progress. My recommended pre-treatment panel:

1. CMP + A1C + fasting insulin
2. Complete lipid panel with particle count if possible
3. hsCRP, ferritin, B12, vitamin D
4. Thyroid panel (TSH + free T4)
5. CBC with differential
6. Liver panel (ALT, AST, GGT)
7. DEXA scan or body composition

Total cost at Quest without insurance: ~$200. Worth every penny for the data.

A narrower follow-up, since the general answer is now clear:

What actually belongs on a baseline panel, as opposed to the enormous list that gets pasted around here?

Reporting back.

Took the whole panel in rather than the one flagged line, and the conversation lasted two minutes instead of generating three more tests.