Testing is the only way to know the condition of your body and mind. There are tests available for virtually any human body function. Most people never get the tests they need, though, or they get the test when they are already well down the path to disease or disfunction.
Your primary care provider will test for problems if you report symptoms. They will also test basic body functions if you’re conscientious about getting in for your regular physical exams. If you have a long-term doctor-patient relationship, they may even notice changes and preemptively run additional tests. Unfortunately, they have constraints on what they are allowed to check, based on what you tell them and what your insurance company is willing to pay.
You see, your doctor is not in charge of your health care. You are. Your doctor is marginally in charge of your sick care, that is, when you’re sick your doctor is allowed to, within limits governed by your insurance company, try to determine the problem. If a test is new, experimental, or even outside what your insurance company determines as “normal” your PCP probably won’t be allowed to order it. If you want to test levels of blood markers or vitamin and mineral levels for optimum health, the tests that will tell you whether you’re healthy, rather than just letting you know you’re “not sick”, your PCP is not likely to be able to order those tests, as they won’t be covered by your insurance.
Here is an interesting phenomenon about medical testing. It is a LOT less expensive if you pay for it than it is if your insurance company pays for it (assuming they will authorize the test to begin with). A recent example: a full metabolic panel with hormones cost over $2,000 for the insurance company. The self-pay cost was less than $500. And the costs for testing are coming down for self-pay customers. There are now a number of start-up and independent (that is, independent from the normal testing centers “everybody” uses) labs that will run the tests but don’t accept insurance payments. Some insurance companies will allow you to use these labs, and submit a claim. That may be the best of both worlds going forward. More on that in a later, follow-up post.
Listed below are some tests I believe every man should have done, and links to the companies that offer them, along with an explanation of each and why I believe they are important.