Do I need bloodwork before starting a GLP-1?
Yes. A baseline panel catches the conditions that change the plan — thyroid disease, kidney impairment, an unrecognised blood-sugar problem — and gives you something to compare against later. Without it you cannot tell whether your metabolic health improved or only your weight fell.
What it rules out
Thyroid function matters because untreated hypothyroidism produces many of the same complaints that send people looking for weight-loss medication, and treating it is a different intervention. Kidney function matters because dehydration from gastrointestinal side effects is harder on compromised kidneys.
A personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or MEN2 is a contraindication for this class of drug. A history of pancreatitis, significant gallbladder disease or gastroparesis all change the calculation. None of that is visible without asking and testing.
What it measures
HbA1c and fasting insulin for where your metabolic health actually sits — a normal fasting glucose with high fasting insulin is a common and informative pattern. A full lipid panel. Liver enzymes, which frequently improve as fatty liver resolves. Kidney markers. A complete blood count.
Thyroid function, vitamin D and iron studies round it out, and hormone markers where they are relevant to you.
Why the follow-up panel matters more
Weight on a scale is one number and a poor one. Re-testing at three and six months tells you whether insulin resistance improved, whether lipids moved, whether liver enzymes normalised. Those are the changes that determine whether this was worth doing.
Our practice draws the panel on site and accepts outside labs under three months old.
General information, not medical advice, and not a substitute for seeing a clinician who can assess you. Cryohealthcare Marina del Rey is a wellness practice; our treatments are not medical treatments and do not treat medical disease. We do not sell peptides or prescription medication from this website.
Talk to someone
Get the answer for your situation, not the general one.
A physician consultation and a comprehensive biomarker panel at 4256 Lincoln Blvd, Marina del Rey, CA 90292. Outside labs accepted if they are under three months old.