Blood Test Pros

[notherhalo]

Im a 31 year old dude who never got a test to have vitamin, test, etc levels checked

 

Should I just go to one of those first results on google, which it seems for a few hundred dollars they give me a printout I take to quest diagnotics and they middle-man?

my health insurance is HMO, and my company will lose way more than $400 if I take a day off work - so wasting a day to see GP and then getting a recommendation for a blood test another day, doesnt seem worth it

 

whats the best method to get a good panel?

[nate]

Most health insurance companies will pay for it.  You can call them and ask for the blood test, but they will still send the results to the doctor.

[Blarg]

You should be able to contact you medical center referral service and ask for your General Practitioner to approve the test. Most medical centers do testing early in the morning so you won't miss work.

The results can be phoned to you or even emailed or if you have a Follow My Health account it will show up with all of the numbers for how you did.

[Tank]

yep, i have an HMO and i have to have a doctor's order to get bloodwork done (i also go to quest diagnostics for all my lab work). the doc will fill out a an order or referral or whatever it's called. you take that to the lab and give it to the receptionist and they'll call you back when they're ready.

 

the nice thing about quest is they have an app, and it allows you to make appointments up to a few weeks ahead of time. it'll save you a bunch of time to schedule a time as they tend to have PLENTY of walk-ups. since it appears time is a concern, you can schedule for any time of the day (i usually schedule for late afternoons so it doesn't interfere with work).

[gotbeer]

Is there a reason why you want to get a blood test?  Usually your doctor can order blood tests depending on your risk. 

 

Also some of these blood test places are open on weekends.  But in most cases, if you see your doc in the morning, you can get the tests the same day.  Just remember that some tests require fasting. 

[Jason]

I know my lab is open on weekends so I show up there on Saturday at 7:00 while everyone is still eating their pancakes

[Schildog]

See if your HMO covers CVS minute clinic

[mrwicked]

i do a full physical and blood panel once a year purely because insurance covers it, the worker chicks are hot, there is good food in downtown palo alto or nearby on stanford campus, and its just good to be on top of things.

 

don't skip taking care of yourself because your work will lose money on a day you're off.

 

but you don't need an entire day anyways. physical doesn't take very long, and a blood panel takes 20 mins (you usually have to fast for it the morning of).

[Vegas Halo Fan]

I have an HMO, and I have yet to pay out of pocket for any kind of blood test. Some testing centers even have late hours or are open 24/7, so you wouldn't have to miss work time. The last time I had a draw done, I left the doctor's office, went downstairs and had the draw done, never left the building.

 

Ask if any of the tests are fasting. If so, you will need to have had nothing to eat or drink in the previous eight hours.

Edited April 30, 2016 by Vegas Halo Fan

[notherhalo]

Thanks for the tips guys, if I didn't own the company I would probably care less about losing money for it, but as long as I can knock it out in a morning I'll try the HMO route.

As for why, I guess it's something worth checking on, especially as nowadays I don't recover and have terrible drinking habits. Is there a place one should take the results for evaluation after or are the levels common sense enough?

[Blarg]

Don't you have a regular physician assigned by your health care provider?

Edited April 30, 2016 by notti

[gotbeer]

Thanks for the tips guys, if I didn't own the company I would probably care less about losing money for it, but as long as I can knock it out in a morning I'll try the HMO route.

As for why, I guess it's something worth checking on, especially as nowadays I don't recover and have terrible drinking habits. Is there a place one should take the results for evaluation after or are the levels common sense enough?

 

Usually they will give you the results, and say whether anything is unusual or not.  For instance, this is partially my the chart they sent me on my last test for whatever they ordered.

 

Component.......................................Standard Range................Your Value.....Flag

WBC ...............................................3.8 - 10.8 Thousand/uL .....5.2  

RBC ................................................4.20 - 5.80 Million/uL ........5.18  

HEMOGLOBIN, ADULT .....................13.2 - 17.1 g/dL ...............15.3  

HCT .................................................38.5 - 50.0 % ..................47.6  

MEAN CORPUSCULAR VOLUME .....80.0 - 100.0 fL .................92.0  

MCH ................................................27.0 - 33.0 pg .................29.6

 

Have no idea what any of it means.  But everything is in the middle of the acceptable range so it can't be all that bad right?  And if anything was unusual, then there would be a flag.

Edited April 30, 2016 by gotbeer

[notherhalo]

Don't you have a regular physician assigned by your health care provider?

Yes, but I've never met him

[Blarg]

Doesn't matter, he should call you with results and what they mean.

[Tank]

I would also strongly recommend you get him to issue you a referral so that your insurance covers this instead of you having to pay a couple hundred out of your own pocket.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

Usually they will give you the results, and say whether anything is unusual or not.  For instance, this is partially my the chart they sent me on my last test for whatever they ordered.

 

Component.......................................Standard Range................Your Value.....Flag

WBC ...............................................3.8 - 10.8 Thousand/uL .....5.2  

RBC ................................................4.20 - 5.80 Million/uL ........5.18  

HEMOGLOBIN, ADULT .....................13.2 - 17.1 g/dL ...............15.3  

HCT .................................................38.5 - 50.0 % ..................47.6  

MEAN CORPUSCULAR VOLUME .....80.0 - 100.0 fL .................92.0  

MCH ................................................27.0 - 33.0 pg .................29.6

 

Have no idea what any of it means.  But everything is in the middle of the acceptable range so it can't be all that bad right?  And if anything was unusual, then there would be a flag.

 

WBC - white blood cells. If you have an infection, the count will be high. If it's low, could be a sign of leukemia, would require further testing.

 

RBC - red blood cells. Low count means that you're anemic. Speaks to the blood's ability to carry oxygen to the tissues.

 

Hemoglobin - the molecule in red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs and carbon dioxide back.

 

Hematocrit (HCT) - The proportion of your blood that is composed of red cells.

 

The others are lesser-known tests that some labs include as part of a CBC (complete blood count).

[Lou]

nother, the Quest I frequent opens at 5:00am. No reason to miss work. But, don't ever go there without an appointment. The normal weight time at mine is 45-60 minutes.

Also, as Nate stated, you can call your provider and see if they'll issue a referral so you don't have to see a dr first.

I think you're overestimating exactly how long these things take. The Follow My Health and YQuest apps are a must.

You can also use the time you waste on AW to get it done.

Edited May 2, 2016 by Lou

[Lou]

Usually they will give you the results, and say whether anything is unusual or not.  For instance, this is partially my the chart they sent me on my last test for whatever they ordered.

 

Component.......................................Standard Range................Your Value.....Flag

WBC ...............................................3.8 - 10.8 Thousand/uL .....5.2  

RBC ................................................4.20 - 5.80 Million/uL ........5.18  

HEMOGLOBIN, ADULT .....................13.2 - 17.1 g/dL ...............15.3  

HCT .................................................38.5 - 50.0 % ..................47.6  

MEAN CORPUSCULAR VOLUME .....80.0 - 100.0 fL .................92.0  

MCH ................................................27.0 - 33.0 pg .................29.6

 

Have no idea what any of it means.  But everything is in the middle of the acceptable range so it can't be all that bad right?  And if anything was unusual, then there would be a flag.

They also list everything that is out of range, nother.

[Lou]

http://www.questdiagnostics.com/dms/Documents/Insurance-Lists/Wisconsin.pdf

[Blarg]

nother, the Quest I frequent opens at 5:00am. No reason to miss work. But, don't ever go there without an appointment. The normal weight time at mine is 45-60 minutes.

Also, as Nate stated, you can call your provider and see if they'll issue a referral so you don't have to see a dr first.

I think you're overestimating exactly how long these things take. The Follow My Health and YQuest apps are a must.

You can also use the time you waste on AW to get it done.

 

The one problem I have with Follow My Health is every hospital or med center is on a separate account. I now have five different log ins and passwords because each requires something different for each. You would think that you could get it all through one log in since they all go through Follow My Health.  

[Vegas Halo Fan]

Most physicians include as a minimum a complete blood count and blood chemistry panel as part of the annual physical.