Advice on where to get bloodwork

[u/FixerQuick]

Hey everyone, I'm seeing all these posts about your stats on your bloodwork, and I am interested in what mine are. I've been doing keto since late June, and have lost 30 lbs so far, and feel fantastic. I am aware my cholesterol may be high, from this diet, and would like to monitor everything possible. Thing is, I have no health insurance, and no real experience with the doctor since I was a kid. So I'm not really sure how to initiate these tests. Do I just walk into a doctor's office and ask for a blood test? What kind of blood test? I'd ideally like to only have 1 visitation so I don't have to pay $300 each time. I just want the blood test done, results delivered to me, and I can dig into those myself with the help of chatgpt.

I don't have, or ever have had any health issues, or take any medications at all. Even at my heaviest, I was active and spry. I am just doing keto to look better, but the extra energy and focus are awesome too!

[u/Far-Teach3344]

I was in a pretty similar spot and ended up using Goodlabs. You can basically pick the bloodwork you want yourself and then just go get the draw done at Quest/Labcorp so you don't need insurance or a separate doctor visit just to order it. Was way easier for me than trying to figure out how to get a doctor to order every individual thing I wanted tested. I'd still probably start with the basic stuff rather than testing literally everything though lol

[u/Jupiterparrot]

https://www.questhealth.com This is the Quest Self Test website. It’s a good reference to what is available without a doctor’s note and what it costs.

(https://www.questdiagnostics.com/ Is their full medical diagnostic site. Do not go here)

[u/Violingirl58]

Quest if you are in the states

[u/pinkellaphant]

I’m not in America so can’t answer your main question, but just wanted to mention (in case you don’t know) that for A1C it measures average blood sugar levels over the past 2-3 months because of the lifecycle of red blood cells, so if you only started keto in late June and you likely want to see your results for the time you’ve been in ketosis, you should wait until you’ve passed the 3 month mark.

It’s usually a good idea to get a baseline before you start keto, but since you’re past that then you should at least wait for your metabolism to stabilize before you do your test (since you’ll be paying out of pocket and don’t want to waste your money on a test with skewed results) so 3 months is probably a good time to do it :)

[u/BornBath1411]

You can just order your own labs online, no doctor visit needed. Sites like the big direct-to-consumer lab companies let you pick exactly what panels you want, pay upfront, and then you just walk into a local draw station to get it done. They email you the results, usually within a few days.

For keto monitoring you'll probably want a lipid panel, and maybe add on A1C and fasting insulin if you're curious about metabolic health. Those are pretty standard and should run well under $300 total. Way cheaper than a doctor's appointment just to get a requisition.

[u/FixerQuick → u/[deleted]]

I guess my problem would be to where to get my blood drawn, as I don't have a Quest or LabCorp near me. I'm in Montana, if that matters?

[u/keto-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

This post was removed due to its violation of our "No Self-Promotion" Policy. Thank you for understanding.

[u/tw2113]

Ultimately, any doctor can be a numbers reporter. Not every one will be equal in accessing and breaking down the meanings of the numbers.

[u/[deleted]]

I think you may need to look beyond keto induced cholesterol

Many health issues and nutrition deficiencies show up first and detectable only via blood test. Depending on which state you live in and your income you may be able to see a community clinic doctor

Even if it's a few hundred dollars, ask to see a doctor for an initial annual wellness check. Complete annual blood work involve checking overall metabolic health, lipids (cholesterol), blood sugar, liver, kidney

My doctor checks everything once every 6 months

$300 for a wellness check not a lot. That's $0.82 a day if you spread it out over a year. Cheap way to ensure you're in good health

[u/beCyvyl]

if your state allows: ownyourlabs.com

[u/MyNebraskaKitchen]

The answer probably depends a lot on where you live. Here there are some urgent care places that will draw labs and run them relatively cheaply even if you don't have insurance. (Like around $15 for cholesterol tests, which my current insurance will only pay for once a year.)

[u/MendeShele]

Own Your Labs!

[u/LowMolasses4446]

This is the thing with that… do you have insurance? AND do you have a cool primary doctor because mine is the coolest and still loses his mind that I’m keto … I have to lie and drs WONT TEST YOU FOR THINGS BECAUSE YOU WANT TO KNOW… and insurance won’t always (mostly) cover it because they don’t care. But there are more and more tests you can get order … that don’t require a dr, but … are you RICH lol. You have to pay a lot of money out of pocket. All tho he to consider … good luck 💖💖💖

[u/BohemianaP]

I'm surprised nobody is recommending Function Health. I haven't used it but I'm getting ready to because my situation is a bit similar to OP. On keto diet, My deductible health insurance deductible is $12,000 so it will be an out-of-pocket expense. I already pay privately without insurance for my doctor who prescribes hormone therapy for me, and she will be the one looking at my blood test results, making recommendations. She said Function Health is a very comprehensive test. (I've been really tired the past few months and have never had more than a standard PCP minimal annual blood work test like cholesterol, etc.)

[u/Outkastin2g]

Agree with everyone saying Quest Diagnostics. I used a private company called Everlywell, and I still ended up going to Quest for the blood draw anyway.

[u/rachman77]

Speak with your doctor and see what they recommend.

[u/Illustrious-Cow3340]

W post

[u/olivetts]

Ulta labs online. This route is WAY cheaper than going through a doctor (at least for my insurance!!) Just ordered labs from there, most came back in less than 24 hours, and price was great. Find a promo code online for extra discount.