⭕ Where to Get Bloodwork done? ⭕

[ZenSwift]

Hey guys, seems like it's a good time for me to get some blood work done to see what the hell my body is running on.

 

I'm Looking for advice on distinctions between different types of tests and what data can blood work give me? What is the most valuable data Bloodwork can cover?

 

Also if you have a direct suggestion of where to get it done that would be great! 

I'm in Calgary, Canada. 

Edited April 2 by ZenSwift

[Yimpa]

Sorry, I wouldn’t know I’m in the USA.

But I also envy you that you’re excited about getting bloodwork done! Many times I get it done there is some difficulty since my veins are very difficult to find. Do you have that problem as well?

[Michael569]

First question,

Do you pay for medical examination (US Model) in Canada or is medical care funded through taxes (EU model)? 

[ZenSwift]

@Michael569 in not sure! I expect to have to pay to get some comprehensive results. 

[Leo Gura]

There are so many possible tests and they are so expensive that you really need to be in search of a health problem when picking tests.

The more common wellness tests would be:

• Vitamin D3
• Male or female hormones
• Thyroid: TSH, free T3, free T4
• LipoProfile cholesterol
• Anemia, blood iron levels
• Vitamin B, folate
• Liver panel

In the US you can order all these tests online at websites like WalkInLabs.

Not sure how it works in Canada.

Edited April 4 by Leo Gura

[Michael569]

22 hours ago, ZenSwift said:

@Michael569 in not sure! I expect to have to pay to get some comprehensive results. 

Best find out. If you have to pay for everything, the price will scale up. 

In general, I'd say there are tiers of tests that are worth doing as men and women age and then there are specialist tests which are worth doing if you experience symptoms (e.g. fatigue, hair loss, lethargy, palpitations etc) 

In general, if you are otherwise healthy and have no symptoms, I'd start with Tier 1 and see how much you can get from your MD. Then if you want to know more, Tier 2-4 you may need to pay private (possibly even Tier 1 as doctors don't like to test in the absence of symptoms which I can understand) 

. You can drop this all in Chat-GPT and ask it to explain to you what each does and why they are good to know. 

Tier 1 (very important to keep an eye on, past 30-35 or with a family history of heart disease, hypertension or FH) 
Very high level of evidence certainty in relation to all-cause mortality and CVD

• Blood Lipid Panel (inc. HDL, LDL and Total Cholesterol + triglycerides)
• Blood Pressure 
• Anthropometric measurements - waist: hip ratio & BMI 
• Glycated haemoglobin HbA1C + fasting glucose 
• Liver enzymes (ALT, AST & GGT) + maybe liver scan if you're a bit older or have a history of drug/alcohol abuse. 

Tier 2 (fairly important to know), 

• Kidney health (creatinine, GFR, cystatin C) for a start, more if something shows up 
• TSH & fT3 (thyroid) 
• Vitamin D

Tier 3 (conditionally interesting - with occurrence of symptoms) 

• Hormonal panel (LH, FSH, Testosterone, oestradiol, SHBG etc) 
• Full Blood Count + B12 + Folate
• Full iron panel 
• Red Cell Fatty Acids  - only private
• Vitamin & Mineral panels 

Tier 4 (speculatively interesting) 

• DEXA for bone mass  - more relevant as you age, although sometimes they also do peripheral muscle mass and subcutaneous fat density, which is interesting even for a younger individual 

Bonus Tests - all will have to be 100% private funded 

• V02 Max - massive predictor of all cause mortality and your overall fitness level 
• Grip Strength  - strong predictor of frailty risk and your overall strength 
• ApoB100 - strong determinant of CVD risk 
• LP(a) - once in a lifetime, a strong determinant of CVD risk 
• ApoE4 - once in a lifetime, a strong determinant of Alzheimer's risk 
• Methylmalonic acid (if vegan or vegetarian) 

Edited April 3 by Michael569

[sholomar]

We used to have anylabs around here where we could order tests on demand but they closed down. Unfortunate. A quick google search for your area shows this. 

https://www.albertaprecisionlabs.ca/

The types of things to get tested for have already been covered by other posters here.  All the ones Leo posted are among the most important. I would add getting a fasting glucose test and A1C test.  Ferratin levels check for iron... high iron means you should donate blood.

Edited April 4 by sholomar

[ZenSwift]

Thank you for the valuable information guys!