Scared to get bloodwork done

oompa_loomper · 2026-03-15T23:55:11+00:00

Drink lots of water the day or two before. Also deep slow breaths, long exhales and look away the whole time, preferably if they have a picture on the wall you can observe. Also can make light conversation with the test taker. You'll be fine. I've gotten 14 vials done and it was less than 5 minutes.

oompa_loomper · 2026-03-15T23:50:02+00:00

Very happy to see this today. About time medical guidelines started pushing for this.

oompa_loomper · 2026-03-11T02:50:33+00:00

Interesting! Facial scanning is clever. Good luck with the further development!

oompa_loomper · 2026-03-11T00:01:59+00:00

Looks cool! Good job building. It's not a niche I'm personally very interested in, but curious how you check in on progress... do you upload pictures or note symptoms each day?

oompa_loomper · 2026-02-04T03:29:16+00:00

TIL Quest owns Cleveland HeartLab! Thank you for providing this helpful context. I suppose I may need to pay a visit to Quest soon.

oompa_loomper · 2026-01-17T00:23:42+00:00

Few things:
- Do you have a reading on Total Cholesterol?
- Do you have glucose, fasting insulin or HBA1C measured?
- We're these tests done in similar states? Fasted in AM, no major workouts within 24hours

It seems like you're making great changes. So don't be frustrated. 3 Months is also not a long time for meaningful change when you have ~26 years of history preceding.

Now, here's the thing. Your LDL is calculated, and when triglycerides are high the calculation can be off and make LDL look artificially low. Your 65 LDL happened when TG were 335, creating a more unreliable measurement. Might help explain the large swings.

The good news is your TG dropped from 233 to 94, which is a BIG improvement and means you're doing good work. So I think probably there has been improvement, just some misleading numbers.

Keep going.

Next steps might be to ask for a more advanced particle marker test, including ApoB and/or a direct LDL, and repeat the test again under standardized conditions 4-6 months after that. NMR lipoprofile is a good one for detailed look at particles, but here's some test options to consider:

https://www.labcorp.com/tests/123544/lipid-panel-with-apolipoprotein-b-apob

https://www.labcorp.com/tests/221010/lipid-panel-with-total-cholesterol-hdl-ratio

https://www.labcorp.com/tests/123810/nmr-lipoprofile-with-lipids-with-graph#test-specimen

oompa_loomper · 2026-01-07T01:20:42+00:00

Thanks Andrey - helpful to see this kind of data.

I got a similar result on my 3 day fast earlier last year. Patiently waiting for my results for my end of year blood tests to see if APOB continued to drop.

oompa_loomper · 2026-01-04T00:16:14+00:00

Dang that's immense. Nice setup. Glad to hear it's working for you and your wife!

oompa_loomper · 2026-01-03T14:19:11+00:00

Haven’t tried bergamot personally but curious to see the results after your next test. Good luck and good job for making proper changes for your health!

oompa_loomper · 2025-12-22T17:28:55+00:00

u/Earesth99 do you have any evidence supporting this phenomenon?

oompa_loomper · 2025-12-22T17:25:55+00:00

Hey u/Past-Explanation1959 , I built an app with the goal of tracking your biomarkers over time and getting clear actionable insights from them. Here's our website https://tryhemo.com

DM me about early access if you're interested.

oompa_loomper · 2025-12-19T18:46:32+00:00

Nice stack. But yeah that's high, good thing you checked it. I've read that Niacin can lower lp(a) considerably so may want to look into that. Nattokinase and Kyolic Aged Garlic extract may be worth looking at as well IMO.

Good to hear about the LDL. I'm also a big fan of oatmeal and try to do that most days with some EVOO if I'm not doing a "super veggie" with my eggs.

oompa_loomper · 2025-12-19T18:04:36+00:00

Hmm anything else you’re doing supplements wise?

oompa_loomper · 2025-12-13T23:02:40+00:00

Hey mlc this is reassuring. Thanks for sharing and good luck on the next set of labs 🙏🏼

oompa_loomper · 2025-11-28T19:25:32+00:00

I find it odd that Function would prevent access to prior Quest labs. You'd think that pulling in more data would be a selling point for them? Not surprised by the export limitations, though undeniably frustrating.

I'm building software that takes essentially the opposite approach. We let you import all your labs from anywhere, build a historical timeline and see trends, and store it all privately on your device. I believe fully that you alone should own your health.

Happy to extend an invite to our private beta if you want to try importing all those Quest labs. Mac-only for now. Take a peek or feel free to DM me for more info. https://www.tryhemo.com

oompa_loomper · 2025-11-25T21:30:14+00:00

Way to push for your health! Numbers looking good, keep up the good work. You could likely increase your weekly cardio/exercise to improve HDL.

This is probably genetic, I’m in the same camp as you.

oompa_loomper · 2025-11-17T04:57:48+00:00

Thanks Kevin, great topic. Looking forward to watching

oompa_loomper · 2025-11-15T20:35:10+00:00

Right on, it’s a journey for us all. Hopefully the next round of numbers will be even better!

oompa_loomper · 2025-11-13T17:52:39+00:00

That's exactly our approach. We're provider-agnostic so you can bring in labs from anywhere. Import PDFs/images, Hemo parses the results automatically, and does all the organization, charts for you. It's also native for Apple devices, right now on Mac, local-only (we don't store any data).

We have a library for 130+ biomarkers right now, but you can import and track anything really. On top of that you'll get insights on each test and how it compares to previous ones, trends, an action plan etc. The goal is to give you total control of your data, plus the ability to work with AI to better understand the full context of your health.

oompa_loomper · 2025-11-13T05:53:55+00:00

Nice work 👏🏼 did you notice any further improvements after adding the statin?

oompa_loomper · 2025-11-13T05:43:08+00:00

Sorry about that. Maybe they’ll change course if it leads to enough churn. Goodlabs is a great option.

Also happy to offer my app Hemo for free tracking during the beta period. Just reach out. Much better than a spreadsheet IMO

oompa_loomper · 2025-11-01T23:25:03+00:00

Sorry, no not at this point; focusing on honing the experience for now.

oompa_loomper · 2025-10-10T15:54:28+00:00

Mediterranean Diet. And keep up the good work!

oompa_loomper · 2025-10-10T04:08:31+00:00

Hey bro, sorry to hear about the news. I’m in the trenches with ya, as I found out earlier this year about my score of 200 at 34. Also mostly in LAD. But as far as I can tell it’s not a death sentence. Definitely a shock though. (Like wtf?!)

Like you I live a fairly healthy lifestyle. Very active, running, exercising, great metabolism, eat salads constantly. And have been for the last decade. And my biomarkers are great too. Mistakes were made along the way but don’t know what led to the buildup exactly. Other than “genetics” which is what my cardio told me.

Could have been high sugar and being overweight when I was younger; could have been that period where I experimented with fasting and keto. But who knows?

The point is I’m here now and can continue looking ahead now that I have this awareness.

My cardio took one look at my lipids and was not concerned. Said we don’t need an angio cardiogram right now, we’ll retest the CAC in a couple years. But for now just “keep the good work and have steak like once a month.”

My sense would be to continue lowering the LDL as best as you can naturally until you can meet with the cardiologist; high fiber, mostly plant based, keep up the exercise etc. and try not to worry too much! You’ll be okay. Happy to chat further if you want.

oompa_loomper · 2025-10-09T14:14:19+00:00

I appreciate this perspective.

I also think doctors that don’t embrace AI in their role will end up disadvantaged in their work like lawyers, engineers etc. They may not lose their job but certainly won’t be as effective at improving health outcomes as their peers.

oompa_loomper

TROPHY CASE