Comprehensive Blood Tests

[saor]

I'd like to get a few blood tests done and am not sure who offers this kind of service in SA. What I'm after, amongst others, is:

Male Panel Blood Test:

This test includes the following:

Chemistry Panel (Metabolic panel with lipids)
Complete Blood Count (CBC)
Free Testosterone
Total Testosterone
DHEA - Sulfate
Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA)
Estradiol
Homocysteine
C-reactive protein (High sensitivity)
TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone)
Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy
Hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C)

Nutrient Panel Blood Test:

This panel measures a combination of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, offering an evaluation of nutrients that could be impacting your mental and physical well-being. Components of the panel include:

Vitamin B12
Folate
Vitamin D 25-hydroxy
Vitamin A
Vitamin C
Selenium
Zinc
CoQ10
RBC magnesium

^^^ These are just a few of the tests available from US-based LEF.
Or these from wellnessfx

These kinds of tests seem to be quite readily available in the US via private companies. I'm not really interested in the usual cholesterol & blood pressure tests that doctors routinely prescribe. I'd like to dig in deeper into my own health and instead of relying on my subjective sense of things I'd like to get some actual data.

Any local places?

 

[poffle]

I would think you could go do it at Lancet labs, i think you need a referral from a doc to be able to do it though, you cant just rock up and ask.

 

[pezulu]

Any of the Pathology labs should be able to do it for you.
Ampath, PathCare and Lancet are the prominent ones in the Cape Town area.

Go to your GP, and ask him to request the tests for you.
Medical Aid will pay for some of them, but others you will need to fork out yourself.

 

[midnightcaller]

I had to do some annual medical checks.
I went to ampath and lancet and asked for a quote. They gave me a price based on an agreement between discovery and the lab.
Here is a side by side comparison.


Here is the cash price from lancet

 

[HavocXphere]

And what did you learn from that midnight?

 

[midnightcaller]

And what did you learn from that midnight?

I had time today to ask for quotes. Normally, I won't ask. I just trust what me GP asks me to do. The reality is tha I have to pay for these tests out of my pocket. Medical aid won't pay for this because I am on a hospital plan.

Lancet cheaper by R87 for the same set of tests.
Use the rates negotiated by the medical aid companies as opposed to paying cash.


I was hoping this may help other myBB members.

I wonder if there are other labs that can do the same tests at a cheaper price.

Actually , didn't learn much from the exercise.

 

[dunkyd]

I would think you could go do it at Lancet labs, i think you need a referral from a doc to be able to do it though, you cant just rock up and ask.

You can just rock up. My family and I do it regulary. No doc involved. I sit down with nurse and tick off the form as we add up costs and decide what's important…PSA etc

 

[saor]

I was hoping this may help other myBB members.

Thanks for the info. Pathcare seemed to offer a wider range of tests last time I looked but I'll go check out Lancet again. Will probably go for a few tests in Jan.

 

[dunkyd]

Don't forget to save all results. Very handy to have a reference to compare to/against.

 

[HavocXphere]

You can just rock up. My family and I do it regulary. No doc involved. I sit down with nurse and tick off the form as we add up costs and decide what's important…PSA etc

Small path lab I'm guessing? Lancet was reluctant to reveal my blood type without it going through a doc. Other time I asked them to add an extra test on top of what the doc ordered...denied.

 

[Magandroid]

Certain tests like HIV have to go thru a doctor but most tests you can request directly. I have been to the Pathcare depot several times before for some regular testing. The one at Kingsbury hospital is especially helpful. Have to say I haven't compared pricing with the other labs though as Pathcare is the pathology lab that my GP referred me to previously.