+ 19 Bloodwork - What to Get and When - MUST READ
A lot of people wonder what bloodwork to get and when to get it. So I put together a very comprehensive list of what I believe every individual should get regardless of whether they use AAS or not and when for AAS use.
When to Get Bloodwork Done:
A..........When you are about 24 years of age. This is when you are probably at your healthiest and it’s a good idea to get a very comprehensive physical done which includes these tests listed below. I would hold onto these results for the rest of your life as you could use it as a reference point to what your normal optimal levels were for YOU as an individual (provided you are healthy at the time to begin with). One of the things this could be beneficial for is when you may want to start TRT at the age of 55 (or whenever the time comes). Your healthcare provider will know what YOUR optimum levels should be.
B..........Before you ever start AAS. This would indicate whether you are healthy enough or not to move forward (by no means should this replace a comprehensive physical by a healthcare provider). It will also give you a snapshot of where you are BEFORE your start messing around with your hormone profiles so that you can gauge if you’ve recovered correctly from PCT.
C..........Before you start EVERY AAS cycle. For the same reasons as B.
D..........Six weeks into your AAS cycle. Just to name a few benefits of doing so. Will tell you if you have bunk gear. What your health is like overall. If your liver is being stressed from orals or any other compound. If your AI is dialed correctly. If you are having prolactin and progesterone issues while on 19-nor compounds. Just to name a few.
E..........Eight weeks AFTER your PCT is finished. This will tell you how your PCT went by comparing it to the results you got in B.
List of Tests to Get:
- LH
- FSH
- DHEA
- Pregnenolone
- Progesterone
- Prolactin
- Estradiol - sensitive, not regular.
- Metabolic Profile Panel
- CBC
- Thyroid Panel (not just TSH, get full panel)
- Lipid Panel
- Total Testosterone
- Free Testosterone
- SHBG
- Growth Hormone Serum
- IGF-I
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin B12
- Dihydrotestosterone, %DHT Free, DHT, Free
I know that bloodwork is expensive especially if covered out-of-pocket. But remember this. If you can’t afford bloodwork you should not be engaging in AAS PERIOD. That’s like wanting to own a Hummer and complaining about the price of gas.
Hopefully the community finds this helpful.
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This should be a sticky (if people still call it that)
I wish this guy would come back around, he was a wealth of information
Good read, thanks for the info!
You can get all those tests and then some from private labs md. Check out this link.
http://www.eroids.com/forum/general/general-talk/total-test-ranges-with-...
In fact this is my go to test before during and after cycle. It tells me everything I need to know for a basic test cycle. I usually add in a prostate test and a prolactine if I am doing a 19 nor.
thanks for the info!!
You are welcome.
I just did bloods with the labsmd.com outfit. I like the fact the their test level readings don't max out at 1500 on the hormone panel for females.
Whynot, what have you found to be the best group of blood tests to purchase to get the results you have listed? is their a test or two that would include all of these things?
Also, Have you found that B12 uptake is affected by steroid use?
I cannot really make a recommendation on lab tests that would group all of those under one. If you went to a healthcare professional they would be able to order all of those tests for you.
Having said this, based on your needs for checking the success of your PCT you could probably just get away with a female panel from privatelabsmd.
http://www.privatemdlabs.com/lp/Female_Hormone_Testing.php
Low testosterone is known to cause vitamin B12 deficiencies. So there is definitely a correlation, so to answer your question absolutely AAS will affect B12 uptake.
What if there are no blood labs where you live?
http://www.eroids.com/forum/steroids-qa/steroid-cycles/blood-work-bible-...
That's a great link to have in this post. It complements it well. Thank you.
+1
In most places AAS is probably more scarce than bloodlabs........if you can manage to get some AAS think outside the box and get blood work done.
You can travel for blood work outside of where you live.
Make friends with the local doctor that will supervise you.
Certain places have mail away services.
Those are some ideas, if others have other ideas please chime in.
Thanks WhyNot, as always fantastic post, fav'ed & +1'ed
Thanks for the Acknowledgment.
Good one. Gonna be one of my faves. +1 if I could.
Thanks.
AnonSticky perhaps? Great post thanks
Give them a vote if you find it helpful.PermalinkThanks for the acknowledgment.
I found the answer to my own question, here's a link to medical jargon and acronyms in case anyone else needs it.
http://www.newportnaturalhealth.com/2012/08/a-guide-to-understanding-blo...
Very helpful, is the wording above how it will show up on the paperwork or will it be abbreviated or turned into some odd medical jargon.
Yes and no. Some of these are groups of tests (like the metabolic panel) others are specific tests for specific things (like testosterone).
I know it may seem daunting and overwhelming but you will get the hang of it fairly quickly. Some of the tests are quite expensive and are unnecessary to run every time (unless you can afford to, more information is always better).
So let's say you order from a private lab. For example Female Hormone Testing,(<===Click me) So there you have a list of the things you would get in that panel, the CBC is a group of tests and Estradiol is a test for a particular.
If you have any questions just ask.
haha I guess I should have clicked the link then replied. Thanks
I was just going through my blood work for the last 8 years(I got sucked in lol), I'm lucky enough to have it all online. The stuff I had done last week covered most of that list, but I will have to have some specific labs done. I'd rather not do to my Dr, he would ask too many questions so do you just go to a random lab?
In that link you will find everything you need......... but it gets expensive outside of the doctor's office with no insurance......... just keep that in mind..... If you can afford it it's definitely worth it.
I will actually ask my general doctor to see if he has all these tests in my medical file. He should have most of them when I was younger since I have gone to him for years.
He was the first one to worn me about having to be on TRT my labs testosterone levels came back lower and lower when he was doing blood work and my LH levels were at a low 1.6 and my Htpa was not kicking up LH production with low normal testosterone Levels.
I wish I would of been on top of it when I was younger. A year later started to get all the low test symptoms, man was that a bad year. Very good post.
Thank you for the acknowledgment.
AnonI think 25 would be the key age to get blood work done because thats when the endocrine system is "just about" fully mature.
DHEA is only going to come into play with older individuals
Pregnenolone and Prolactin are 2 separate tests about $70 a pop - from what I've seen around here budget wise i'd say opt for a Prolactin test the first time granted you haven't used a 19nor and in the future do Pregnenolone since it is imperative in controlling prolactin.
female hormone panel will cover the CBC, Hormones etc for a good price
Thryoid panel is a one time thing unless implementing HGH or signs of deficiency/excess occurs: cold or warm body temps for one.
GH/IGF is something everyone should establish as a baseline.. more so, IGF because serum doesn't mean much in comparison. IGF, especially in older men will tell them if possibly adapting a HRT protocol would be beneficial and what they stand to gain.
25(OH) D tests and other vitamin tests are something i'd only consider at an older age or disposable income. Most of us- unless you're some vegan freak, get plenty multi vitamin.
AnonMy Noookah! You make some great points. The age and timing of tests in particular. Though I'd say the moment one decides to venture into AAS blood tests are mandatory. But in general I'd say the majority of the population under utilizes regular blood testing.
Some really good points thanks for chiming in. Let me explain why I wrote what I wrote.
There's people that don't mature until 26. The reason I picked 24 was that your somewhat mature enough (endo wise) and I think it's important to get that snapshot before ANY AAS usage. And asking kids to wait an extra year is like asking them to wait 10 years.
"DHEA is only going to come into play with older individuals" this is true but I designed this for everyone. And it can start coming into play for some individuals as early as 30 years old.
"female hormone panel will cover the CBC, Hormones etc for a good price" Totally agree with this but I did not want to include it as I felt the other tests are important and people would use it as an excuse to skimp.
"Thryoid panel is a one time thing unless implementing HGH or signs of deficiency/excess occurs: cold or warm body temps for one." Not true. Even with testosterone administration your thyroid panels will get affected.
"25(OH) D tests and other vitamin tests are something i'd only consider at an older age or disposable income. Most of us- unless you're some vegan freak, get plenty multi vitamin." Let's use vitamin D deficiency as an example. There's a lot of debate right now about whether it's a deficiency or actually a sign of disease that is causing low vitamin D readings (Right now it's in the chicken or the egg status as far as research goes). That's why that was incorporated.
I recently got shingles. So I went to the doctor for blood work and found out that I was Vitamin D deficient. Level was 19. So I'm on 5,000 iu's a day of D3 for the next two months and 2,000 for a month to bring my levels up. Everything else checked out. So hopefully mine was just a deficiency.
BOOOM! There you go! You found something unrelated and are working to correct it. You know Vitamin D deficiency can effect test levels Especially D3?
I know the D3 is a hormone
Anonmy DHEA comment was because i'd say the 80% of the people on this board are <30 (from what I've seen) -maybe the old heads are just silent killers lol
my comment on the hormone panel was because, like I said, the vast majority of people don't have $1500 to run all these tests before, during and after cycle.. in a perfect world, yes, they should - but, this goes back to the same posts we read about people being done with a cycle still waiting to get their PCT they should have had on hand before they started. Ignorance is bliss
ill bite on the thyroid thing, I suppose estrogen and AAS effects TBG so that would lower or raise free bioavailability.
Vitamin D test is about $100 alone.. I see your point, but I could argue why they could "in a perfect world" order 30 other blood tests.
If you know where to look the tests seem to be getting more economical. I get labs pulled at a local TRT clinic, full panel, all test included for around $100.. These clinics seem to be popping up all over the place... I'm not on TRT but they seems to be happy to consult me every 6 months to see if I qualify for their TRT program because that is were they make the $$$$...
And since they administer cyp, adex etc on site they seem to know exactly what to look for even when I pull labs on cycle... I'm not smart enough to self-diagnose.
Great post @WhyNot!
Anonif you're getting ALL of those specialty tests such as prog/prolactin etc than you're getting one hell of a deal.. if you're just getting a comprehensive hormone/CBC panel - not so much
Thank you. Maybe you can write a post on what kind of tests you can get for $100 and where and how. It would greatly complement what I did.
If you do end up doing that list all of the tests.
Thanks for chiming in. All valid.
My point was to include everything I thought was relevant.
Both your points and my points are a double-edged sword when it comes to expenses. I totally agree with what you're saying but that's like guys that want to cycle and can't afford an AI or PCT.
I look at AAS as a luxury good not a necessity good. That's like wanting to buy a Ferrari but you can't afford the maintenance on it to do a tuneup.
BuckyDentureoh youd be suprised at just how many fools cant aford the maintenance.
You know a lot of guys that have Ferrari's that can't afford the maintenance? That is a pretty niche circle you run in. LOL
BuckyDenture.
Anontouché, brother