Dr.SurgeonPGH 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 Dr.SurgeonPGH 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.

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

SaraMom3 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.

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

DebRD_ATL 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:

How often to repeat it, because quarterly seems to be the convention and I cannot find the reasoning?

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.