The bloodwork checklist: which markers, which assay, when to draw
Ordering the right markers is the easy half. The half that decides whether a panel is worth drawing is what you specify when you order it — the assay, the timing, and the context that has to be written down beside the number.
Why a checklist rather than a panel
Most bloodwork advice for this audience is a list of marker names. A list of names is not enough, and the reason is that several of the most-ordered markers here can be measured in more than one way, and the ways disagree. Order "estradiol" without saying which assay and a laboratory will run the cheap one, which is not valid at the concentrations men run. Order "free testosterone" without saying which and you may get a direct immunoassay, which is the least reliable of the three procedures that share the name. Neither result is wrong, exactly — they are answers to a question you did not mean to ask.
The same goes for context. A cortisol without a draw time, an IGF-1 without an age, a glucose without knowing whether the person had eaten: each is a number that cannot be interpreted, and none of them looks broken on the report. The app stores those alongside the value for that reason, and the tables below are its own rules, published rather than described.
Markers where you have to specify the assay
These are the ones where the method changes the answer enough to change what you would do about it. Ask for the method by name when you order, and record which you got — a trend that silently switches method is measuring the switch as much as measuring you.
| Marker | Methods the app tracks | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Total Testosterone | Immunoassay · LC/MS-MS | Immunoassay and LC/MS-MS diverge materially at low concentrations. A trend that switches method is partly measuring the switch. |
| Free Testosterone | Direct immunoassay · Equilibrium dialysis · Calculated (from SHBG) | Direct immunoassay, calculated and equilibrium dialysis are three different procedures. The calculated value also inherits whatever the SHBG assay did. |
| Estradiol | Standard immunoassay · Sensitive / ultrasensitive · LC/MS-MS | A standard immunoassay is not valid at the concentrations men run — it reads high, and unpredictably. Sensitive or LC/MS-MS is the one to ask for. |
| LDL Cholesterol | Calculated (Friedewald) · Calculated (Martin-Hopkins) · Direct measurement | Most LDL is calculated, not measured. Friedewald is unreliable at high triglycerides; Martin-Hopkins and direct assays behave differently there. |
| Bioavailable Testosterone | Calculated (from SHBG) · Equilibrium dialysis | Usually calculated from total testosterone, SHBG and albumin, so it carries the error in all three. |
| LDL Particle Number | NMR · Ion mobility | NMR and ion mobility particle counts are not interchangeable. Changing platform changes the number without anything changing in you. |
Results that need context recorded beside them
Each of these is uninterpretable without the second piece of information in the middle column, and each of them is routinely reported without it.
| Marker | Record this too | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Cortisol AM | Time of the draw | Follows a diurnal rhythm steep enough that the clock time of the draw changes what the number means. |
| IGF-1 | Your age | The reference interval is age-banded. A raw value with no age attached cannot be interpreted. |
| Fasting Insulin | Fasted or not | A non-fasted draw measures the meal. Without the fasting state recorded, the result is not comparable to anything. |
| Fasting Glucose | Fasted or not | A non-fasted draw measures the meal. Without the fasting state recorded, the result is not comparable to anything. |
| Cortisol PM | Time of the draw | Follows a diurnal rhythm steep enough that the clock time of the draw changes what the number means. |
| IGFBP-3 | Your age | The reference interval is age-banded. A raw value with no age attached cannot be interpreted. |
| PSA | Your age | The reference interval is age-banded. A raw value with no age attached cannot be interpreted. |
Values that must never be converted
Most units convert with a factor. A few do not, and the app refuses those rather than approximating them — which is worth knowing, because conversion tables for exactly these exist online and are confidently wrong.
| Marker | Unit refused | Why there is no valid conversion |
|---|---|---|
| Lp(a) | mg/dL | nmol/L and mg/dL are NOT interconvertible — particle size varies. Store the reported unit. Never convert. Never trend across units. |
| Neutrophils, Lymphocytes, Monocytes, Eosinophils, Basophils | K/uL, x10E3/uL, 10*9/L | A percentage of white cells and an absolute count per litre are different quantities. Converting one to the other needs the total white count, so the app refuses rather than guessing it. |
| Neutrophils (Absolute), Lymphocytes (Absolute) | % | The same refusal in the other direction: an absolute count is not a percentage. |
Established clinical use The Lp(a) case is the one people meet most often. Mass in mg/dL and particle count in nmol/L are not two scales for the same quantity, because the apo(a) protein varies in size between individuals — so a factor that is right for one person is wrong for another. A value converted with a rule of thumb is not a measurement of anything. The Lp(a) page covers what to do instead.
When to draw, and how often
Taken from the monitoring notes on the app's own protocol templates. They are a starting point for a conversation with whoever manages your therapy, not a schedule to adopt from a web page — the right interval depends on what you are taking, how long you have been taking it and what your last panel showed.
| Protocol shape | What the template records |
|---|---|
| TRT Starter Protocol | Baseline before starting. Recheck Total T, Free T, E2, SHBG, Hematocrit, PSA at 6-8 weeks. Titrate based on results. |
| Injury Recovery Protocol | No specific labs required. Optional: inflammatory markers (CRP, ESR) to track progress. |
| Anti-Aging GH Protocol | IGF-1 at baseline and every 3 months. Fasting glucose. Target IGF-1 in upper third of normal range. |
| Body Recomposition Stack | Baseline, 6-8 weeks, end of cycle. Add IGF-1, HbA1c, fasting glucose for GLP-1 monitoring. |
| Comprehensive Longevity Protocol | Comprehensive annual panel: hormones, IGF-1, inflammatory markers (CRP, IL-6), DHEA-S, thyroid, metabolic, DEXA scan. |
| Aggressive Fat Loss | HbA1c, fasting glucose, lipids, liver enzymes, body composition monthly for first 3 months. |
| Standard PCT Protocol | Total T, LH, FSH, E2 at end of PCT and 4 weeks post-PCT. Goal: T returning toward baseline, LH/FSH rising. |
Off-label or community practice Two timing rules are worth stating separately because they invalidate a result rather than merely weakening it. Draw hormones in the morning, consistently, and consistently relative to your injection schedule — a trough and a peak are both "your level" and they are not comparable to each other. And when you are looking for recovery of your own production after stopping, wait out the ester first, or you are measuring the drug rather than yourself. The LH and FSH page covers that in detail.
Every marker the app tracks
All 100 of them, by panel group. Linked where a reference page exists; the rest are logged, unit-converted and flagged in the app just the same.
- Chemistry Amylase · Bicarbonate · Calcium · Chloride · Creatine Kinase · Lipase · Magnesium · Phosphorus · Potassium · Sodium · Uric Acid
- Complete blood count Basophils · Eosinophils · Hematocrit · Hemoglobin · Lymphocytes · Lymphocytes (Absolute) · MCH · MCHC · MCV · Monocytes · MPV · Neutrophils · Neutrophils (Absolute) · Platelets · RBC · RDW · WBC
- Growth axis IGF-1 · IGFBP-3
- Hormones Aldosterone · Androstenedione · Bioavailable Testosterone · Cortisol AM · Cortisol PM · DHEA-S · DHT · Estradiol · Estrone E1 · Free Testosterone · FSH · LH · Pregnenolone · Progesterone · Prolactin · PTH · SHBG · Total Testosterone
- Inflammation ESR · Fibrinogen · Homocysteine · hs-CRP
- Kidney BUN · Creatinine · Cystatin C · eGFR
- Lipids ApoA1 · ApoB · HDL Cholesterol · LDL Cholesterol · LDL Particle Number · Lp(a) · Non-HDL Cholesterol · Omega-3 Index · Small LDL Particles · Total Cholesterol · Triglycerides
- Liver A/G Ratio · Albumin · Alk Phosphatase · ALT · AST · Direct Bilirubin · GGT · Globulin · LDH · Total Bilirubin · Total Protein
- Metabolic C-Peptide · Fasting Glucose · Fasting Insulin · HbA1c
- Prostate PSA
- Thyroid Free T3 · Free T4 · Reverse T3 · Thyroglobulin Antibodies · Total T3 · Total T4 · TPO Antibodies · TSH
- Vitamins and minerals Ferritin · Folate · Iron · Iron Saturation · TIBC · Transferrin · Vitamin B12 · Vitamin D · Zinc
Questions people actually ask
What is the minimum useful panel on testosterone therapy?
The app's own TRT template records total testosterone, free testosterone, estradiol on a sensitive assay, SHBG, hematocrit and PSA, drawn at baseline and rechecked at six to eight weeks. That is a reasonable starting shape rather than a recommendation — what belongs on your panel depends on your history and what you are taking, and the person to settle it with is whoever prescribes for you.
My lab will not run the assay I asked for. Now what?
Use what you can get, keep using the same one so the trend is internally consistent, and record which assay produced each value. A standard-immunoassay estradiol read as though it were a sensitive result is the error worth avoiding; the same number read as what it is remains useful.
How often is too often?
Testing more frequently than the thing you are watching can change is how people end up reacting to noise. Hormones after a protocol change need weeks to settle; a marker like Lp(a) is largely genetic and stable, so a single measurement generally settles it for good. The intervals in the table above reflect that difference.
Should I fast for all of it?
Only glucose and insulin genuinely require it, and the app marks fasting status as context those two cannot be read without. Fasting for a full panel does no harm and makes results comparable, which is why most people default to it — but a non-fasted estradiol is not a spoiled result.
The app records each of these with the unit, the reference interval your report printed and the assay method beside it — which is what makes a trend mean anything a year later.
Log your bloodworkThis calculator does the arithmetic you typed and nothing else. It does not know what is actually in your vial, whether the label is accurate, or anything about you. Confirm the vial strength and the diluent volume on your own label before you draw, and take dosing decisions to a qualified provider.