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Should bloodwork
come first?

Almost every protocol this site documents acts on a system you can measure. Starting one without a baseline means you cannot tell what it did, and you may be treating the wrong thing. This asks six questions and tells you whether a panel should come before anything else.

1. Are you considering testosterone, a GLP-1, a peptide or any hormone protocol in the next few months?
2. Have you had a full panel (hormones, metabolic, lipids, liver, kidney, thyroid, blood count) in the past 12 months?
3. Do you have symptoms you cannot explain (fatigue, weight change, low libido, poor sleep, mood change)?
4. Are you over 35?
5. Is there a family history of heart disease, diabetes or thyroid disease?
6. Are you currently taking any hormone, GLP-1 or peptide without recent bloodwork?

BLOODWORK FIRST?

—answer all six
Score—
Compare panels on one rubric: bloodwork and longevity providers ↗ · OneTwenty ↗

How it’s scored

Score: Q1 yes +2 · Q2 basic +1, none +2 · Q3 yes +1 · Q4 yes +1 · Q5 yes +1 · Q6 yes +3 0–1 a baseline is still useful · 2–4 get a panel before deciding · 5+ get a panel now

Assumptions and limits

  • A routing guide, not a clinical instrument. It is deliberately biased toward testing, because the cost of an unnecessary panel is low and the cost of treating blind is not.
  • A useful baseline for hormone or metabolic decisions typically includes total and free testosterone or estradiol and FSH, SHBG, LH, TSH and free T4, fasting glucose and insulin, HbA1c, a full lipid panel with ApoB, liver and kidney function, a complete blood count, ferritin, vitamin D and PSA where relevant.
Read this first This tool does arithmetic on numbers you enter, or scores answers you give. It is not a diagnosis, a prescription or a treatment recommendation. Take the result to a licensed clinician.

The instrument behind this quiz

  1. Bhasin S, Brito JP, Cunningham GR, et al.. Testosterone Therapy in Men With Hypogonadism: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline.J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2018.PubMed 29562364 · doi:10.1210/jc.2018-00229
  2. Salter CA, Mulhall JP. Guideline of guidelines: testosterone therapy for testosterone deficiency.BJU Int 2019.PubMed 31420972 · doi:10.1111/bju.14899
  3. Bhasin S, Cunningham GR, Hayes FJ, et al.. Testosterone therapy in men with androgen deficiency syndromes: an Endocrine Society clinical practice guideline.J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2010.PubMed 20525905 · doi:10.1210/jc.2009-2354
  4. Bhasin S, Cunningham GR, Hayes FJ, et al.. Testosterone therapy in adult men with androgen deficiency syndromes: an endocrine society clinical practice guideline.J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2006.PubMed 16720669 · doi:10.1210/jc.2005-2847
  5. Dubin JM, Jesse E, Fantus RJ, et al.. Guideline-Discordant Care Among Direct-to-Consumer Testosterone Therapy Platforms.JAMA Intern Med 2022.PubMed 36469030 · doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2022.4928
  6. Morgentaler A. Commentary: Guideline for male testosterone therapy: a clinician's perspective.J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2007.PubMed 17284642 · doi:10.1210/jc.2006-2629

Literature retrieved from PubMed on October 18, 2026, favouring human studies and reviews. Numbered markers in the text show which paper supports which statement; uncited entries are background reading.

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