Bloodtests for T

[Greg]

Gizzy

I'd suggest you give Dr Curtis (I presume that's who you're seeing privately) a call and ask him or his secretary - they'll be able to tell you for sure what blood tests you'll need. Much better to do that than have ones that someone on a message board's doctor does for them, and then discover it's not the same ones that YOUR doctor requires!

I was quoting the info I was given by Dr Curtis.

[Lachlann]

My endo didn't ask for blood tests. Should I be concerned? He said I shouldn't need to because my hormone levels should be normal. He's putting me on estrogen and progesterone blockers while I take my T. He was highly recommended by a support group where I am.

I always noticed that everyone talks about getting blood tests first before getting prescribed, and it makes sense. Maybe he put me on a low dose.

[Adio]

A little late to the party, but these are the initial tests my endo ordered:

CBC with differential, Platelet count, Comprehensive metabolic panel, Vitamin D, TSH, Cholesterol, Triglyeride, HDL, LDL, HDL/Cholesterol Ratio, and Total Cholesterol/HDL Ratio

The 3-month tests ordered are:
CBC, Comprehensive metabolic panel, and Testosterone, total

I'm fairly certain that's what the 6-month and 1-year tests are as well.

My endo didn't ask for blood tests. Should I be concerned? He said I shouldn't need to because my hormone levels should be normal. He's putting me on estrogen and progesterone blockers while I take my T. He was highly recommended by a support group where I am.

I always noticed that everyone talks about getting blood tests first before getting prescribed, and it makes sense. Maybe he put me on a low dose.

I would be considered if my endo didn't ask for any blood work before giving my hormones, but that's just me.  Turns out my vitamin D count was dangerously low and I needed a prescription for it.  If it hadn't been caught, putting me on T could have seriously effected my bones. Thankfully everything else was within normal range.  Do you know if he plans to do follow up blood work?

[Lachlann]

He said he wanted follow up blood work, but he wanted to see me 5 months afterward. I know I'm not allowed to say the dosage here, but it seems pretty big for starting.

[Adio]

He said he wanted follow up blood work, but he wanted to see me 5 months afterward. I know I'm not allowed to say the dosage here, but it seems pretty big for starting.

If you think it's high, you can ask him what he normally prescribes although he might not tell you.  You mentioned that the support group you go to recommended him.  Would it be possible to ask them if the no initial blood work, dosage, etc is typical of this doc?

[Lachlann]

If you think it's high, you can ask him what he normally prescribes although he might not tell you.  You mentioned that the support group you go to recommended him.  Would it be possible to ask them if the no initial blood work, dosage, etc is typical of this doc?

I suppose I could do that.

I also got my blood taken recently, and nothing came back that was out of place. So maybe my family doctor forwarded that, who knows. I'll ask when I go in to get the shot.

[Radar]

I also got my blood taken recently, and nothing came back that was out of place. So maybe my family doctor forwarded that, who knows.

Did you ask your GP to do that? If you're in the US and didn't give permission they couldn't do that due to HIPPA laws.

[Lachlann]

Did you ask your GP to do that? If you're in the US and didn't give permission they couldn't do that due to HIPPA laws.

I'm in Canada. Maybe he didn't forward it.

[Radar]

I'm in Canada. Maybe he didn't forward it.

I'm not sure if Canada has HIPPA laws or not.

[tekla]

HIPPA is an American Law, and despite our efforts to have everyone on earth obey our laws, so far, they don't extend past our borders.

[Radar]

...and despite our efforts to have everyone on earth obey our laws...

Which, many times, is a good thing. Other countries not having U.S. laws or standards I mean.

/political statement

[Lachlann]

Which, many times, is a good thing. Other countries not having U.S. laws or standards I mean.

/political statement

Depends on the country that you're drawing a comparison to.

Canada is a pretty private country as is. Either way it's better not to  guess, although my friend and I might have figured out why he gave me what he did. Still going to bring it up though.

[Quicksand]

I just got a call that made me want to post in here and stress the importance of getting bloodwork done frequently when you're on T.  I waited six months to get my first post-T bloodwork done, and my testosterone is TWICE what it should be.  My cholesterol has gone up 100 points, and the excess T has apparently messed up my liver pretty badly.  If I had gotten bloodwork done sooner, I could've minimized the negative effects, and I'll probably have to stop T for a while now to let everything go down.  Ah well, just a word of warning...