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I'm having my annual physical on Friday. What bloodwork should I ask for in addition to Vit. D and B, bloodwork for inflammation, lipids etc.?

thisiswater wrote:I'm having my annual physical on Friday. What bloodwork should I ask for in addition to Vit. D and B, bloodwork for inflammation, lipids etc.?

I suggest you request a BMP with Calcium. It would be helpful to know your serum calcium level.

Calcium cannot be absorbed from your diet (in the intestine) without adequate vitamin D. If your body cannot absorb enough calcium from your diet, your body will increase production of the parathyroid hormone, which will take calcium from your bones (which leads to osteoporosis eventually).

Therefore, I suggest you also request the PTH (Parathyroid Hormone) test.

Comprehensive blood work (age appropriate) should be completed - your doctor should know what you need done.

thisiswater wrote:I'm having my annual physical on Friday. What bloodwork should I ask for in addition to Vit. D and B, bloodwork for inflammation, lipids etc.?

I would suggest that a full B12 analysis includes homocysteine, red blood cell folate and methylmalonic acid in addition to serum B12. It's only by evaluating the additional metabolites that you can really determine how well your body is utilizing the B12 you do have.

In addition, you also want to get a copy of your test results rather than just being told that you're ok. For example, B12 is best between 500-1000 pg/mL even though the standard laboratory range often goes down to 200 pg/mL which is much too low.

Thanks everyone My appointment was moved to mid-November so I have time to get these done. I think my pcp knows what tests I need but she's not a neurologist so I figure it doesn't hurt to ask.