What is recommended here, Labcorp or Quest ?
I told my endo that I think I will be going to Labcorp, I heard here someone saying they are more accurate (?)
Do people go to Quest because it has more coverage?
I interested in the full panel proposed by Mew. Will it cost me an arm?
thx
My advice would be to not do any exam at all and just observe the signs your body is sending to you. Since there are people with pfs who have normal hormonal values, and most people who are on trt/clomid/nolva do not experience any benefit, we could day that there is something else which is malfunctioning in our bodies and not hormones theirselfes. Therefore stepping into extreme testing will give you no advantage, in contrary it will make you frustrated to hear doctors say to you that you are likely ok.
Trial and error is the way to go man. Firstly try methylation supplements and if you can chech your methylation panel values.
Iodine is a good supplement for sluggish thyroid. If tour body temp is somewaht low and you experience bloating, numb hands, fatigue etc then you most likely need it.
Also look for any breast tissue which wasnt there and fat deposits in women areas of the body, this means your estrogen got out of hand and it needa testing.
But if you insist on doing bloodwork i would recommend the following:
Test/free test
E2
Shbg
Thyroid
Androstenedione
3adiolg
Dht
Sdhea
17-oh progesterone
Cortisol
Acth
Liver tests
Generic blood test
Cholesterol
My endo told me he is willing to prescribe the tests Mew has on the FAQ page (all of them) but he will not be responsible for the costs (and he had other disclaimers as expected).
I live in the US and most likely will do them at Quest Diagnostics. Since the doctor is unlikely to write a letter to the insurance for the less traditional tests can I just get a sense of HOW MUCH THIS MIGHT COST ME?
Are we talking hundreds or thousands?
THANKS — I really hope this will be posted, I would like to hear from you before I do the test. I had an earlier question about whether I chose Labcorp or Quest but was not approved…
My suggestion is to call your insurance company and ask them for some feedback based on your direct plan. While my insurance covers all of the tests ordered by my doctors, I occasionally see how much the insurance company has to reimburse and it is sometimes $100-$200 for a single measurement.
I do not believe that LabCorp or Quest is necessarily more ‘accurate’ than the other, but I do know that some insurance companies partner with only one of the labs and if you go to the other you will have to pay the entire bill out of pocket. I would also definitely suggest going for the tests at least initially. If you are lucky you will have some clear hormone or thyroid deficiency that can be treated a lot more easily than PFS.