wei_SG said:

The single most useful discipline is bringing the whole panel to a clinician rather than one flagged value.

Shot day Thursday report relevant to baseline bloodwork:

Week 36. Currently on 1.7mg. Down 62 lbs from starting weight of 274 lbs.

This week's observations: Energy levels excellent, zero nausea.

Labs due next week — looking forward to seeing the metabolic panel. I'll post results in the Lab Results section when they come in.

Following on from hyun_seoul — and this may be the naive question:

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

NicoleRaleigh said:

Shot day Thursday report relevant to baseline bloodwork: Week 36.

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.

OP back with an update, since a thread like this is useless without one.

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

Dr.Martinez said:

PSA: get baseline labs BEFORE starting baseline bloodwork therapy.

Agreed, and reference ranges are laboratory-specific. Comparing your number to somebody else's range, or to a screenshot from another country, is how people convince themselves something is wrong.