I should have done this sooner, but I have finally begun to analyze my medical situation to understand where I stand, what factors I should be investigating, and to establish a baseline for future change.
There are a multitude of options for people who want to begin this process, but I chose to go with SelfDecode.com. After a great deal of research, I felt like SelfDecode provided the nicest reports for the least cost. I am able to upload the last 12 years of lab results from my primary care physician, and SelfDecode analyzes the results, points out sub-optimal results, and makes recommendations for further tests and dietary changes.
So this is what my normal lab results look like when I go in for my annual checkup:
When you get your lab results back for your annual checkup, your doctor has probably one minute out of a 15 minutes session to go through them with you. So he only has time to point out anything that might be life-threatening. Your doctor doesn’t have time to explain what each marker means, look at sub-optimal results, or discuss how to improve much of anything (unless it helps avoid a heart attack, stroke, or cancer).
That is why the lab results provide the Range column on the right. As long as the results are within this range, the doctor probably won’t go over it with you. But that range does not point out what your optimal range should be. And unless you have doggedly pushed your doctor to look at every blood marker related to energy, he or she probably wouldn’t piece together a series of sub-optimal, energy-related, blood markers into a pattern of fatigue.
Here is what SelfDecode showed me for my hemoglobin:
Notice my results are in the acceptable range (for my primary care physician) but is sub-optimal according to SelfDecode. I appreciate that information.
I also appreciate that I can upload my last 12 years of lab results, rather than order a bunch of new tests, to get an idea of how my health has been going downhill. This saves me time, money, and blood.
This has been my first step to setting the stage for self-experimentation. I will write more about how the results have turned out, what SelfDecode recommends, and what I choose to self-experiment with next.
I have also ordered the DNA kit from SelfDecode and a gut and microbiome test from Viome.com. I will post on those results when I receive them.
1 Comment