Inexpensive Lab Tests

[EH]

As far as I know, LifeExtension does most of their tests through LabCorp.  Peak and I are working on putting together a list of online lab tests/providers which offer the best deals.  There is no single online site that offers the best deals.  Each site has it's bargains and it's ripoffs unfortunately.  I have done too much research into this because I have a sort of OCD for value.

Here is a quick list that I made of common test panels... if anyone has found better deals please chime in.

LEF (membership req'd $5 per month)
$137  Amino Acid Panel (great deal as it is $600+ through your doctor without health insurance)
$33    SHBG
$75    Male Basic Hormone (T+free, E2, PSA, DHEA-S)
$28    Zinc, serum
$47    Copper, serum

HealthOneLabs
$59   Thyroid Profile Plus (TSH, FTI, T3 uptake, T3, T4, free T3, free T4)

PrivateMDLabs
$69   Anemia Profile (Iron serum, TIBC, ferritin, B12, folate, CBC, reticulocyte count)

WalkInLab
$84   Wellness Profile #3 (only during December when 50% off, contains all basic tests plus HbA1c, vit D, CRP)
$24   Gluten
$39   Ammonia
$57   Dihydrotestosterone (only March when 20% off all tests)
$37   Prolactin (only March when 20% off all tests)
$135 Hormone #1 Women, contains E2, Pg, T + free, Cortisol, FSH, LH, DHEAS (only order in March when 20% off, men can order this too)
$71   Vitamin A, E, Beta-Carotene (only order in March when 20% off)
$29   Insulin

AnyLabTestNow
$79   VAP  ($69 with a $10 off coupon on local lab site)

[EH]

Peyt, I have done a boatload of tests over the last couple of years, partially out of scientific curiosity and partially out of personal health concerns.  I have done all of the tests above.  If you are having sleep problems and require pharma for anxiety and whatnot, then getting some lab tests done would be wise.  You can either try to go through your doctor (hard to get everything you want), or order them yourself then show your doctor the results.

The initial tests I would do for any male who thinks they have hormone issues would be

HealthOneLabs
$59   Thyroid Profile Plus (TSH, FTI, T3 uptake, T3, T4, free T3, free T4)

LEF (membership req'd $5 per month)
$75    Male Basic Hormone (T+free, E2, PSA, DHEA-S)

WalkInLab
$84   Wellness Profile #3 (only during December when 50% off, contains all basic tests plus HbA1c, vit D, CRP)

These 3 panels will give you insight into various integral body functions, and can get you started down the path toward identifying problems.  I know Peak is working on a sort of "How to" guide for people new to the site.

[Peyt]

Thanks so much EH! 

[Sam]

Walkin labs has the best prices on Pregnenolone and DHT and request a test has the best price for reverse t3 last time I checked

[EH]

Thanks, Sam.  Just checked out Requestatest.com and I see that ferritin is a pretty decent single test price at $29.  Most of the other tests that I recognize are unfortunately overpriced (like most all the lab order websites).  I haven't price checked reverse T3 before though so I'm not strong on that particular one.  I do know that the founder of one of the major alternative testing labs recently told me he doesn't like rT3 assays because they are lacking specificity/accuracy due to poor antibodies used in the assays.  As such, he doesn't trust rT3, and does not offer it to his customers.  This is just his word, I have done no research into it.

As an aside, I really wish these labs would roll pregnenolone, DHT, SHBG, and some others into testing packages so we could get more value.  When you have to add single tests it gets prohibitively expensive.

[Sam]

Agree,

I've sent those exact comments to lef and walkin labs.   Sadly these testing outfits do not have truly optimized hormone packages for me.

They should really offer packages like

1). Baseline HPTA hormone testing
2) ongoing TRT testing package

Etc

[PeakT]

Guys,

EH graciously let me carve out the most critical info from the above and put it on a page:

http://www.peaktestosterone.com/Cheapest_Testosterone_Tests_For_Men

Over the next few days I will give that a prominent position on my front page as I want men to be able to get testing done when a) their tests are not covered by insurance, b) their doctors are ignorant on certain hormonal issues and/or c) the doctors are reluctant to order the test due to insurance issues or the fact it's not the "standard of care."

Also, my wife got deals comparable to the above by going through a naturopathic school.  I'm not sure how the naturopaths got such good prices but the tests were very reasonable.

One last thing: 

If anyone else comes across any good deals on testing, please let me know. 

[dwilcox]

I utilize PrivateMDLabs $59 Hormone Test panel quite a bit.  It includes:

Estradiol, Serum
Luteinizing Hormone (LH)
Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH)
Testosterone, Serum
Complete Blood Count (CBC)
Comprehensive Metabolic Profile

There's usually a 15% off coupon so it makes it $50 for the above tests.  Tests are done by LabCorp.

[dwilcox]

Oh, and 1 year free membership to LEF

http://www.drmitchshow.com/store/c/44-Membership

I'm not CHEAP, I'm GREEN

Ok, I'm just CHEAP

[PeakT]

I utilize PrivateMDLabs $59 Hormone Test panel quite a bit.  It includes:

Estradiol, Serum
Luteinizing Hormone (LH)
Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH)
Testosterone, Serum
Complete Blood Count (CBC)
Comprehensive Metabolic Profile

There's usually a 15% off coupon so it makes it $50 for the above tests.  Tests are done by LabCorp.

Where do you get the coupon?

Also, what did you mean by "green"?  That went over my head...

Gonna put the above on the page...

[dwilcox]

They have a 15% off coupon every month - here's this months.

Save 15% off of your total purchase amount at Private MD Labs from now until November 30, 2013.
Use coupon code sdf6hs4 at checkout

Once you use them, they email you a weekly newsletter (which comes out twice a week!) that has this month's code.  You can also do an internet search and find them.

The Hormone Panel I mentioned is listed as "Female Hormone Testing" (http://www.privatemdlabs.com/lp/Female_Hormone_Testing.php).  You can order it as a Male, just when you check out, make sure you choose Male from the Gender drop down box so you get the correct Reference Ranges.  Private MD actually mentions this on the website cause quite a few men order the test.

I also will mention that Private MD is fast.  Once you place an order with them, you get the request paper in about 1 hour.  Once you have the blood draw at labcorp, you usually get the results next day.  I've also used LEF, but found their response time much slower.  Not sure why since they both use LabCorp.

[EH]

I utilize PrivateMDLabs $59 Hormone Test panel quite a bit.  It includes:

Estradiol, Serum
Luteinizing Hormone (LH)
Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH)
Testosterone, Serum
Complete Blood Count (CBC)
Comprehensive Metabolic Profile

There's usually a 15% off coupon so it makes it $50 for the above tests.  Tests are done by LabCorp.

Yes, that is a good value.  I get those 15% off coupons every week as well.  This test panel doesn't include free testosterone, but as I have said elsewhere I have my doubts about free testosterone as a reliable test. 

You can use that 15% coupon for the anemia test profile, which makes it about $58 total, a great deal for iron with TIBC, ferritin, vitamin B12, folate, reticulocyte count, and CBC.

Thanks Dwilcox.

[dwilcox]

This test panel doesn't include free testosterone, but as I have said elsewhere I have my doubts about free testosterone as a reliable test.

Since albumin, and total T are included in the $59 panel, I've added SHBG in the past and calculated free T.  Not sure if this is a more accurate method, but from what you're saying on the accuracy of the other tests, it can't be too much worse.

[Sam]

I think Free T correlates so well with SHBG your money is better spent monitoring your SHBG if you have to choose.

Total T and SHBG tell me what I need to know 99% of the time.  I only look at Free T now as a novelty.

[PeakT]

I think Free T correlates so well with SHBG your money is better spent monitoring your SHBG if you have to choose.

Total T and SHBG tell me what I need to know 99% of the time.  I only look at Free T now as a novelty.

True.  If you're albumin goes haywire, you've got a lot bigger problems to worry about...