Question about a blood test

[xplicit]

I was wondering what exactly can be found in a basic blood test that a hospital does. What illnesses does it show like diabetes, HIV,etc? Does it show anything about test levels too?

[viper]

what kind of test....there are about 100 different kinds...
a basic lab test will consist of electrolyes, rbc values, glucose....
tests levels are run independent and have to be specified...
a western blot test is used for hiv and also is independent and must be specified .....

never claimed to be able to spell..thats why my hand writing is so messy..LOL.......whats up TNT , thanks for the corection bro..

[xplicit]

I guess a basic blood test nothing specific. What can be found in a basic test

[xplicit]

Can a basic blood test hint or give any indications that you may sick or have an illness, i guess thats my question

If say i took a basic blood test and everything checked out fine, does that mean im clean and have no illnesses or dieses?

[viper]

a simple blood test will detect neutrophil type levels....
neutrophil levels elevated are a good sign that you have some type of infection....
it will also show white blood cells which also elevate with infection...
platelets will also be on the panel and elevate with certain types of cancer, but not a specific test for cancer...
you would have to have something like an rpr test to detect any social diseases...

[viper]

bro....if you list your results or e-mail them to me...i will tell you what they mean...and if i see any problems.....

[TNT]

Originally posted by xplicit
I was wondering what exactly can be found in a basic blood test that a hospital does. What illnesses does it show like diabetes, HIV,etc? Does it show anything about test levels too?

There re, inded, hundreds of different blood tests available. The basic building block of lab work, however, is the CBC - Complete Blood Count, which will give only a general indication of your health. It is not "disease specific" - that is, if your physician wants to check a for a specific condition, he or she would order a specific test.

For diabetes, the general test is an FBS (Fasting Blood Sugar). If it indicates a high level, the doctor will then order a Hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C), which gives an indication of your glucose levels over a period of weeks-to-months rather than at a single moment. The doctor would likely also order a GTT (Glucose Tolerance Test), in which you drink a high-glucose liquid (usually in soda pop form), then have blood samples drawn 30, 60, and 120 minutes after drinking it.

For HIV, the standard test isn't the Western Blot (note, not the Western Block - sorry, Viper!*), but the EIA (Enzyme Immunoassay, also called the ELISA). If, and only if, the EIA comes up positive, a Western Blot is done on the same blood sample to confirm the results.

As for test levels, the lab test for that is (drum roll...) the testosterone test (tah-dah!), specifically the Total Testosterone test. There are other tests that will measure ancillary levels such as free and weakly binding testosterone, as well as related hormone deficiencies that might contribute to a low test level (these include prolactin, follicle stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and sex globulin binding hormone). Some physicians, especially those in the growing anti-aging field, place more of an emphasis on free test measurements, but the truth is that almost all physicians will base their prescribing practices on the Total Testosterone count, not the free testosterone count.

Finally, if you are doing AS at all, there are two other tests that should concern you: The CMP (Comprehensive Metabolic Panel), a combination of the Basic Metabolic Panel and the Hepatic Panel, which indicate how your liver and kidneys are functioning; and the PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen), which obviously shows how your prostate is doing (an important one, since the use of test can affect the prostate). Just as important as the PSA is the DRE (Digital Rectal Exam) - yes, that means the doctor sticking his or her finger up your butt. I know that the mere notion of that freaks out most guys, but it is one of the most important tests you can have done during a general exam, since it's often the first indicator of prostate cancer (the most common type of cancer in men) or benign prostate enlargement, both of which can be caused or aggravated by AS use. (Take my word for it - ten years ago, our family doctor stuck his finger up my dad's butt and detected an enlargement which turned out to be prostate cancer. That early detection and treatment allowed him to be alive and cancer-free today.)
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* Don't interpret this as a dig. Viper is one of the most knowledgable guys on the board when it comes to medical and lab-related issues.