Blood Tests In Canada - Anyone Done Before?

[YourUniverse]

Hey,

Looking to get bloodwork done to get a specific handle on my health as a picture. Ive seen the following passed around as recommended tests:

Prolactin
Parathyroid
TSH
Whole blood serotonin
CO2
Lactic Acid
Free fatty acids (NEFA)
Vit D
Histamine

Question - has anyone gotten these tests done in Canada? Is there a recommended lab that does a good job, or offers a more reasonable price?

Thanks!

 

[mrchibbs]

I'm looking for a non-prescription service in Canada as well...I've stumbled upon this website: https://bloodtestscanada.com/
Apparently it fits the bill. Will investigate and report back!

If anybody else finds a place, please link it here!

Have a good one

 

[Taotatoes]

Following for future reference.

 

[Dan W]

There's also True Health Labs, but you're required to arrange your own blood draw.

 

[Luckytype]

@jamies33 would you be willing to ask whatever place you decide to go with if you have to be Canadian resident to order the tests?

It would be a life saver if its not required

 

[YourUniverse]

Sure, if/when I decide to, but I may not anymore - I created this thread a while ago, I feel like I have things more under control now, but I'll keep you in mind for sure

 

[Luckytype]

I didnt even see the date, my bad

 

[mrchibbs]

Hey Jamie33, what happened between Nov and now that made you feel more comfortable about not needing tests, just curious!

 

[mrchibbs]

There's also True Health Labs, but you're required to arrange your own blood draw.

Hey Thanks Dan, do you have experience with True Health Labs in Canada?

 

[Dan W]

I don't, sorry.

 

[YourUniverse]

Hey Jamie33, what happened between Nov and now that made you feel more comfortable about not needing tests, just curious!

Well sir, really its been quite an eventful period.

I stumbled upon this forum at my wits end with stuttering, I googled "Ray Peat stutter" and the main thread that popped up was so interesting, the ideas so intriguing, that I learned about Ray further. The main idea in the thread was "get better thyroid function", which is the base of everything this forum is about, so I jumped in (stuttering is something like ~70% improved in this time period btw, Ray is a genius).

I struggled with weight, mainly from not understanding the effects of PUFA, a history of peanut and almond butters, potato chips, soybean oil salad dressings, french fries and burgers, and etc. In a frenzy to lose weight, I got pulled into a vegan diet - my girlfriend at the time and I watched What The Health, and since previous efforts had been so frustrating and futile, I jumped in (and hey, I save animals now, too. Sweet).

So I came to Peating with weight issues, anxiety, general low-level insomnia, some moodiness and irritability, chronic whole-body tension, and some low grade depression. Looking back, my hair was slowly falling out, my scalp itchy, dandruff - basically, I wasn't healthy, and what I thought WAS healthy was only making me less so.

Since then, every single one of those things has improved, lol. I made this thread because I felt so overwhelmed with all the information, it was all so foreign to me, and I didn't know where to begin. I figured labs would be a good base point.

The keys for me, so far, at this moment, in my context (now with the fine print out of the way...) have been:
a) donating blood, and avoiding iron-fortified foods, like breads/cereals/pastas. Have coffee with iron containing foods, like liver.
b) eating lots of liver, or at least, getting lots of vitamin A, although admittedly, vitamin A supplements did not do much for me. I yawn non-stop because of this in conjunction with (e), which indicates favourable androgen status.
c) avoiding opiate foods (cow dairy, wheat, soy), unless paired with coffee (or wheat with pineapple). Lattes, or pineapple pizza, for example.
d) getting lots of calcium. I had been getting under 600mg of daily calcium for probably a year before finding Peat, while eating copious legumes.
e) diaphragmatic belly breathing. I have a tendency to suck in my gut, but this just makes me more tense, I feel like it raises base cortisol. Learning to breathe through my stomach took some conscious thought at the beginning, but it is TREMENDOUSLY potent. I yawn all day - I see this as a good thing, coming from being a tense ball of nerves, lol.
f) getting used to a large amount of caffeine/coffee. Coffee used to make me nervous and tense, now it calms me down. It must have to do with liver function.
g) having a good night-time routine. Some tea with salt and honey, some light stretching, some decent fiction - gucci.

Yeah, thats a decent summary, sorry for length, but my favourite topic is myself of course!!

My diet these days is roughly ~250 carb, ~65 fat, ~135 protein monday-thursday, with weekends being more relaxed. I tend to lose weight during the week, and gain some back after the weekend.

Shoutout to @theLaw for getting me on the right track. You are awesome, sir.

 

[YourUniverse]

Oh, also - h) aspirin when I feel estrogenic, like when I feel aggressive, combative, or really irritable for what rationally seems like no reason or out of nowhere. I have about 1 standard tablet per day, sometimes 2.

And i) sugars like fruit, milk, and honey over starches.

 

[mrchibbs]

Wow! That's awesome man I'm really happy for you. I have too tried to reconcile a Peat type approach with veganism. (I'd love to be vegan but it's proving hard to be both vegan and fix my health woes. )A good night time routine is really great to have (salt in tea though?), it's only when you get a really gooood night of sleep that you realize the low quality of your sleep patterns to begin with. I'm obviously tackling a lot of the aspects you mention, with reasonable success so far. I'm still going to get some tests, cause I've had a weird hormonal profile since my early 20s. (Mid 20s now)

David

Well sir, really its been quite an eventful period.

I stumbled upon this forum at my wits end with stuttering, I googled "Ray Peat stutter" and the main thread that popped up was so interesting, the ideas so intriguing, that I learned about Ray further. The main idea in the thread was "get better thyroid function", which is the base of everything this forum is about, so I jumped in (stuttering is something like ~70% improved in this time period btw, Ray is a genius).

I struggled with weight, mainly from not understanding the effects of PUFA, a history of peanut and almond butters, potato chips, soybean oil salad dressings, french fries and burgers, and etc. In a frenzy to lose weight, I got pulled into a vegan diet - my girlfriend at the time and I watched What The Health, and since previous efforts had been so frustrating and futile, I jumped in (and hey, I save animals now, too. Sweet).

So I came to Peating with weight issues, anxiety, general low-level insomnia, some moodiness and irritability, chronic whole-body tension, and some low grade depression. Looking back, my hair was slowly falling out, my scalp itchy, dandruff - basically, I wasn't healthy, and what I thought WAS healthy was only making me less so.

Since then, every single one of those things has improved, lol. I made this thread because I felt so overwhelmed with all the information, it was all so foreign to me, and I didn't know where to begin. I figured labs would be a good base point.

The keys for me, so far, at this moment, in my context (now with the fine print out of the way...) have been:
a) donating blood, and avoiding iron-fortified foods, like breads/cereals/pastas. Have coffee with iron containing foods, like liver.
b) eating lots of liver, or at least, getting lots of vitamin A, although admittedly, vitamin A supplements did not do much for me. I yawn non-stop because of this in conjunction with (e), which indicates favourable androgen status.
c) avoiding opiate foods (cow dairy, wheat, soy), unless paired with coffee (or wheat with pineapple). Lattes, or pineapple pizza, for example.
d) getting lots of calcium. I had been getting under 600mg of daily calcium for probably a year before finding Peat, while eating copious legumes.
e) diaphragmatic belly breathing. I have a tendency to suck in my gut, but this just makes me more tense, I feel like it raises base cortisol. Learning to breathe through my stomach took some conscious thought at the beginning, but it is TREMENDOUSLY potent. I yawn all day - I see this as a good thing, coming from being a tense ball of nerves, lol.
f) getting used to a large amount of caffeine/coffee. Coffee used to make me nervous and tense, now it calms me down. It must have to do with liver function.
g) having a good night-time routine. Some tea with salt and honey, some light stretching, some decent fiction - gucci.

Yeah, thats a decent summary, sorry for length, but my favourite topic is myself of course!!

My diet these days is roughly ~250 carb, ~65 fat, ~135 protein monday-thursday, with weekends being more relaxed. I tend to lose weight during the week, and gain some back after the weekend.

Shoutout to @theLaw for getting me on the right track. You are awesome, sir.

 

[SneezeStar]

I live in canada.

I sometimes use a physician for bloodwork.

Just used blue horizon medicals on the weekend for bloodwork, Total Testosterone checked. Positive experience.

 

[mrchibbs]

Yeah blue horizon medicals seems to be the way to go. They're having some issues in Quebec at the moment, but their cust0mer service assured me that I should be able to order whatever blood tests I want in a couple of weeks. I'll definitely report back once I've tried it myself.

About your physician, do you just straight up ask for blood tests? Because sometimes they're not at all willing?

 

[SneezeStar]

You usually have to provide justification to a physician for hormonal blood work..ie am excessively fatigued, weight gain etc I want my tsh checked. Or my nipples are sore I want androgens and estrogen checked.

If am just taking a supplement that is supposed to raise testosterone that is not justifiable so i private test. I also might want to test every 30 or 40 days so again I go private.

 

[mrchibbs]

Finding an open-minded physician is the best solution.
Turns out after I found my doctor last summer, and explained my situation and why I wanted to get blood tests she was happy to do it. Real simple.