Blood Work Sanity Check

[thejumpingsheep]

Im new to all this stuff and im at the point where I want to learn what to track. Im 47 and have never done any gear. I get some tests from my doctor every year, including Comprehensive Metabolic, Vitamin D, CBC w/diff, TSH, T4 Free, and Lipid Panel.

From my days of reading, I think I should also track Testosterone, Estradiol E2, and IGF and/or HGH. So 1st question as related to IGF vs HGH. As I understand it, IGF is influenced by HGH but also includes other factors.

1 - So why do most posts on here get IGF tested instead of the HGH level? Is IGF a better indicator of something?

And next:

2 - Am I missing any other critical things that I should keep track of?

Thanks in advance.

 

[DonLigero]

Im new to all this stuff and im at the point where I want to learn what to track. Im 47 and have never done any gear. I get some tests from my doctor every year, including Comprehensive Metabolic, Vitamin D, CBC w/diff, TSH, T4 Free, and Lipid Panel.

From my days of reading, I think I should also track Testosterone, Estradiol E2, and IGF and/or HGH. So 1st question as related to IGF vs HGH. As I understand it, IGF is influenced by HGH but also includes other factors.

1 - So why do most posts on here get IGF tested instead of the HGH level? Is IGF a better indicator of something?

And next:

2 - Am I missing any other critical things that I should keep track of?

Thanks in advance.

So many variables and I am still learning more almost daily. You say you have never done any gear. Have you recently started or about to start?

At 47, I am guessing you are not worried about fertility so you do not necessarily need to worry about measuring LH and FSH. Also, if you are on Test, it will basically take your LH and FSH to zero.

Do you know baseline hormone levels (Total T, Free T and E2)?

If running gear, and taking any orals, then you would need to monitor some of the inflammatory markers especially liver and kidney function. Also most orals wreak havoc on lipids. Some people get huge changes in lipids in just a few weeks with some orals.

Depending on what you are going for, SHBG and Albumin measurements can be valuable. These both have big impacts on your free T.

On you second question, my understanding (I am no authority) is that measuring GH level is such a moving target. Like measuring blood glucose, it is a snapshot in time that can change tremendously over just a few hours (GH pulses throughout the day). IGF-1 is more of a baseline average over time. So like BG is NOW versus HbA1C is your blood sugar measurement over 2-3 months.