Dr.SportsMedIN said:

ApoB is the more informative number and it is cheap.

Agreed, and hsCRP is worth reading alongside them. The inflammatory-marker fall is often the most striking change on a panel and it is consistent with the cardiovascular outcome data.

Worth separating that from the lipid panel, which this thread keeps folding into the same question. They behave differently and the advice does not transfer.

mike_nyc said:

Agreed, and reference ranges are laboratory-specific.

This is exactly what I could not find anywhere else.

Dr.SportsMedIN said:

ApoB is the more informative number and it is cheap.

Careful with treating an unchanged LDL-C as a failure. If ApoB and triglycerides both fell, the particle picture improved regardless of what the calculated LDL says.

Worth separating that from the lipid panel, which this thread keeps folding into the same question. They behave differently and the advice does not transfer.

Correct me if the detail matters more than I have assumed.

LipidDoc_ATL said:

My prescriber ordered three tests and this board recommends about twenty, and I would like to know which of those two lists is right.

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.

Moderator note: reminder that nothing in this thread is medical advice, and that clinical claims need a source. Thread quality here is what the rules are for. Keep it up.