From 310 to 198 in 15 months — detailed timeline with labs

Dr.KarenChen said:

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

Pushing back on Dr.KarenChen 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.

FitDadDave 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.

Shot day Wednesday report relevant to baseline bloodwork:

Week 21. Currently on 15mg. Down 87 lbs from starting weight of 299 lbs.

This week's observations: Mild fatigue day 1-2 post-injection, then fine.

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

Dr.SportsMedIN 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.

Following on from EndoResFellow — 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?

Closing the loop on my own question.

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