The Bloodwork you should be getting at LEAST once Yearly!
As a doctor of nursing practice with over 16 years of medical experience plus added training in integrative and functional medicine, herbal medicine, and fertility awareness it is SO frustrating to me to see how little is done in the western medical setting to support people's optimal health and wellness. We do minimal screening and continue to focus on the "sick" model of care instead of preventing and/or reversing disease and dis-ease.
We need to do better!
Below is basic panel of bloodwork that I include for all clients at least once yearly (more frequently if things are abnormally) because I see these as CRUCIAL for understanding our overall health status. I strongly encourage you to work with a holistic or functional practitioner that will not only order these labs but will help you interpret them and make diet, lifestyle, mindset, herb and supplement support recommendations from a FUNCTIONAL aka OPTIMIZED lens. If you can't find this and are looking for support, I welcome you to contact me about my Body Harmony program where I offer functional labs + custom recommendations.
Here are my top 6 recommended labs / lab panels:
- CBC to look for anemia, inflection blood disorders
- Complete metabolic panel to look at kidney, liver, and electrolyte functiong
- Cholesterol to see if you have adequate and healthy levels of fat for hormone production
- Full thyroid panel (TSH, free T4, free T3, reverse T3) and thryoid antibodies to understand the full thyroid functioning
- Vitamin D to look for deficiency
- A1C and insulin to look at blood sugar status and insulin resistance, prediabetes/diabetes
Again, these are baseline BASIC labs that should be given! If you have specific medical conditions or symptoms then you should be getting additional workup and support. Additional labs that may be added on depending on your symptoms or history are endless. I strongly encourage you to work with a holistically minded provider for custom recommendations for you. Here are some common additional labs I order with the reasons:
- Iron, B12, folate, magnesium to assess for nutrient deficiencies
- CRP and homocysteine for inflammation
- Free and total testosterone if PCOS is in question
- AMH when wanting to look at ovarian/egg reserves
- FSH, LH, estradiol, progesterone to add to the picture of cycle charts and more detailed hormone testing with the DUTCH sex and adrenal hormone test when hormonal issues are in question
- GIMAP gut microbiome testing when any hormone, gut, thyroid, or more systemic symptoms are going on. The gut is tied to EVERYTHING and addressing gut health often improves our overall health substantially
- Food inflammation and sensitivity testing if someone has multiple sensitivies, inflammation, or leaky gut
- I have full access to labcorp + functional testing. Labs are added on based on what I see clinically relevant
Go in to your medical care informed, advocate for yourself and your optimal health. If you're not getting the care you deserve, go elsewhere. Period. You deserve a provider that sees and hears you!
If you'd like to discuss working privately with me for deeper workup and holistic support, I invite you to check out my Body Harmony program where I offer functional labs + custom recommendations or to set up a FREE 30minute clarity call to learn more about what it looks like to work with me.
To you and your OPTIMIZED health,
Dr. Mona
