June 2014 July 2015 Testosterone- 802 Testosterone- 421 HbA1c- 5.3 HbA1c- 5.7 HS CRP- 0.9 HS CRP- 2.6 Let’s face it: we live in the information age. You can find out pretty much anything by searching for it on the internet. There has also been a massive shift toward data driven decisions. I see it first hand in my business when I look at our website analytics. We even see it with things like Wodify as athletes start tracking all their workouts, strength numbers, training sessions and making training changes based off actionable data. Think of this blood panel like a snapshot of what’s happening internally. As part of the initial testing phase to work out the kinks, my wife and I both went through the process to get blood drawn and see how long it would take to get our results back. When I got my results back, I was shocked! Last June, as part of my transition out of Army, I requested some blood panel work from my Physician Assistant. I wanted to start doing a more in-depth panel of blood tests yearly just to see where I stood and to gauge my nutrition/training based off that. For me, I used that as my initial data to compare this lastest to. Here are the tests that were grossly different: A good number more tests were performed besides these three but these were the ones that had the most noticeable changes. What does this even mean? In the past year my testosterone production had decreased by 50%. Testosterone is very important for recovery, building muscle, maintaining a lean body and many more very important tasks. According to a 1996 study by Vermeluen et. al, the average testosterone levels for someone my age (30 years old) is 617. To make matters worse, in the same study he found that the average testosterone levels of males age 75-84 was 471. Talk about kicking me while I was down! This basically shows me that there’s a decent chance my 90 year old grandfather and I have the same testosterone production at this time. Next is the change in HbA1c. This is a marker of average blood sugar levels over the past 3 months. Most of you have probably heard of diabetes. It’s basically a disorder of high blood sugar levels in the body. It can either be genetic type I or developed type II. The range for HbA1c is pretty clear. Anything below 5.7 is normal, between 5.7 and 6.4 is prediabetic and over 6.4 is full blown diabetes. My number is elevated quite a bit and it technically puts me in the prediabetic range. Lastly, was the change in my HS CRP. This is a marker of global inflammation in the body. To be clear, inflammation is not a great thing to have in the body. Increased values on this test in particular have been drawn to increased risks for cancer, heart attacks, neurologic disorders and type II diabetes. My HS CRP was elevated compared to where it was a year ago going from 0.9 to 2.6. Now, when you see these big changes in values your physician should ask you a few things. First, did you do some crazy workout that day or the day before? Did you go out with your friends the night before, end up at the Clermont Lounge and down PBRs all night? Have you had a week of really bad sleep before this test cluster? All of these things are important to know because it can give us false values. By the way, my answer to all these questions was no. Here’s what all this means. In the past year my health, internally at least, has slowly been trending in the wrong direction. So how did all this start to go wrong? I would have to attribute it to a number of factors. First, I started a business. For any of you that have ever started a business I probably need no further explanation. For those of you that haven’t, it’s the most difficult and stress-inducing thing anyone could ever do. Not only that, but I teach for another group (MobilityWOD) and in the past 12 months, I’ve accumulated about 70,000 miles on an airplane. I also have two small kids under the age of 4 and I typically sleep an average of 5-6 hours a night.
It’s not all bad news though. Mom, if you’re reading this don’t freak out and call an ambulance for me! I’m glad I did these tests because I had been feeling fatigued and like I was recovering poorly from my training sessions for about the past 6 months. Now I have some quantifiable data to help me make changes and retest to see what’s working. Changes will be made and I will retest in about 1-3 months. All of these markers are reversible with some supplementation changes and behavior modification. I’ll write up a follow up post once I’ve done my blood testing again. It’s time to make some changes! -Dr. Danny, PT, DPT
13 Comments
Toya Smith
8/7/2015 08:11:28 am
Good stuff Danny! I'm very interested in doing the test. Both of my parents are diabetes and my mom had a stroke last year!! How much does something like this cost?
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8/7/2015 09:43:40 am
Hey Toya, thanks for reading. We should have everything finalized with these tests in the next week or two. The entire panel will be between $250-300.
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Tim
8/7/2015 09:21:10 am
If you haven't read or listened to Wheat Belly or Grain Brain I would highly recommend doing so. I would be interested in what you do to get these numbers where you would like them, but use them as a reference and treat the person not just the numbers
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8/7/2015 09:50:09 am
Hey Tim, thanks for reading! Yes those are some good reference books. I also like Brain Maker which is the same author as Grain Brain. You're absolutely right, these are just numbers. There is an art and science to looking at blood panels and figuring out exactly where the problem is stemming from. Too often physicians just look at the reference range and not the whole picture.
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Tim
8/7/2015 12:30:37 pm
I'm with you on improving sleep. I like what Navy Seal Dr. Parsely has to say about sleep. I tried his sleep cocktail, but it wasn't for me. If you think you might want to try it, I can ship you the remaining packets that I have. Good luck and I look forward to reading about your improvement. 8/8/2015 01:33:02 am
I do like Dr. Parsely's philosophy, he's obviously a really smart guy. I take some of what he has in his product already. I'm going to give it another month or so and then retest. If I'm still showing signs of sleep debt I'll definitely order some. Danny, this is the nail in the head for me. I have been wanting to get a blood panel test for the past year but have not had the motivation to take action on it. This may seem like a silly question, but how, and where do I go about doing this? Do I just call my doctor and tell him I want to get my blood tested to make sure my test levels are good? Is there an online site you are aware of that I can send samples to? Cheers
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8/9/2015 05:25:21 am
Hey John,
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Sean Grady
3/30/2017 04:17:27 pm
I have been getting blood work regularly for several years. I have had my doctors do it and I have gone to Labcorps to have it done. You can make an appointment online and pay upfront. My clinic also uses them.
Ben
3/30/2017 10:15:57 am
Nice work Danny! Im encouraged to do the same.
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Robert
3/30/2017 12:41:47 pm
Danny, good stuff and besides the very reversible results, I hope all is well. My sister in law Becky can't say enough good things about you. You have helped her knee considerably. Need to do this bliss screen as well. Keep me posted in the where and how. Thanks bud
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Joel Salinas
4/27/2018 04:04:44 pm
Hi Danny - just noticing this thread. I am very interested in getting this blood panel and also looking for recommendations for primary physicians in Atlanta that are in tune with the latest in nutrition and physical optimization.
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