ExcelMale
Menu
Home
What's new
Latest activity
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
Latest activity
Videos
Lab Tests
Doctor Finder
Buy Books
About Us
Men’s Health Coaching
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Navigation
Install the app
Install
More options
Contact us
Close Menu
Forums
Testosterone Replacement, Low T, HCG, & Beyond
Blood Test Discussion
Quest Lab values from DiscountedLabs.com just not adding up
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="drpub2112" data-source="post: 231961" data-attributes="member: 42634"><p>So I'm pretty new to this TRT thing and I'm still getting my arms around some of the discussion here. From what I've gathered:</p><p></p><p>1) LC/MS is the most accurate method for testing Total Testosterone</p><p>2) Equilibrium Dialysis method is the gold standard for testing Free Testosterone.</p><p></p><p>I've done a fair amount of testing, apparently using less reliable methods, so I ordered the Quest Total and Free Testosterone from discountlabs.com using the methods listed above. In comparison to my TT from LabCorp using RIA method, I dropped from 1008 ng/dL to 756 ng/dL. I'm assuming that the Quest value of 756 would be the more accurate because it was done using LC/MS.</p><p></p><p>The FT (EQ Dialysis) came in at 169 pg/ml with a range of 35-155.</p><p></p><p>Here is the gist of my confusion.</p><p></p><p>My understanding is that the TT and FT are ordered together as a set because the Dialysis FT test arrives at a percentage and then applies that value to the TT value (and is then multiplied by 10 to get pg/ml).</p><p></p><p>The reference range for the TT (LC/MS) is 250 - 1100 ng/dL.</p><p>The reference range for the FT (Dialysis) is 3.5 - 15.5 ng/dL. (35-155 pg/ml)</p><p></p><p>That means that if someone has a TT of 1100, then the top of their FT range is 1.4%. This seems completely implausible. 1.4% free is lousy.</p><p></p><p>My result are :</p><p></p><p>TT - 756 ng/dL (250 - 1100 ng/dL)</p><p>FT - 16.9 ng/dL (2.2%) (3.5 - 15.5 ng/dL)</p><p></p><p>So according to them, I'm near the middle of the range for TT and well above the top of their range for FT @2.23% unbound?</p><p></p><p>The FT and the percentage are completely plausible, especially since online FT calculators all put me at ~2.2% free. The issue is with the lab's range. If EQ Dialysis is the gold standard for measuring FT, and healthy men have at or above 2% free T, then the stated range on the lab test is completely impossible and unreliable. The only thing it can do is make people think their FT is super high when it's not.</p><p></p><p>Am I missing something here???</p><p></p><p>I just want to understand if EQ dialysis and Vermeulen Calc both put me @ ~17 ng/dL (2.2%) free, am I really just mediocre FT compared to optimized (20-30 ng/dL), or am I supraphysiological 17 ng/dL, according to Quest's proprietary sampling? Should I believe the percentage or the range?</p><p></p><p>It's particularly confusing because my LabCorp Total T (RIA) test of 1008 ng/dL calculates to 23.5 ng/dL = 2.33 %. If that's the case, then I'm probably more dialed in than I think I am.</p><p></p><p>Thanks for any help. I know you guys see a lot of repeated questions here. Would love it if this stuff was standardized. Imagine if cholesterol and blood sugar labs were this screwed up!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="drpub2112, post: 231961, member: 42634"] So I'm pretty new to this TRT thing and I'm still getting my arms around some of the discussion here. From what I've gathered: 1) LC/MS is the most accurate method for testing Total Testosterone 2) Equilibrium Dialysis method is the gold standard for testing Free Testosterone. I've done a fair amount of testing, apparently using less reliable methods, so I ordered the Quest Total and Free Testosterone from discountlabs.com using the methods listed above. In comparison to my TT from LabCorp using RIA method, I dropped from 1008 ng/dL to 756 ng/dL. I'm assuming that the Quest value of 756 would be the more accurate because it was done using LC/MS. The FT (EQ Dialysis) came in at 169 pg/ml with a range of 35-155. Here is the gist of my confusion. My understanding is that the TT and FT are ordered together as a set because the Dialysis FT test arrives at a percentage and then applies that value to the TT value (and is then multiplied by 10 to get pg/ml). The reference range for the TT (LC/MS) is 250 - 1100 ng/dL. The reference range for the FT (Dialysis) is 3.5 - 15.5 ng/dL. (35-155 pg/ml) That means that if someone has a TT of 1100, then the top of their FT range is 1.4%. This seems completely implausible. 1.4% free is lousy. My result are : TT - 756 ng/dL (250 - 1100 ng/dL) FT - 16.9 ng/dL (2.2%) (3.5 - 15.5 ng/dL) So according to them, I'm near the middle of the range for TT and well above the top of their range for FT @2.23% unbound? The FT and the percentage are completely plausible, especially since online FT calculators all put me at ~2.2% free. The issue is with the lab's range. If EQ Dialysis is the gold standard for measuring FT, and healthy men have at or above 2% free T, then the stated range on the lab test is completely impossible and unreliable. The only thing it can do is make people think their FT is super high when it's not. Am I missing something here??? I just want to understand if EQ dialysis and Vermeulen Calc both put me @ ~17 ng/dL (2.2%) free, am I really just mediocre FT compared to optimized (20-30 ng/dL), or am I supraphysiological 17 ng/dL, according to Quest's proprietary sampling? Should I believe the percentage or the range? It's particularly confusing because my LabCorp Total T (RIA) test of 1008 ng/dL calculates to 23.5 ng/dL = 2.33 %. If that's the case, then I'm probably more dialed in than I think I am. Thanks for any help. I know you guys see a lot of repeated questions here. Would love it if this stuff was standardized. Imagine if cholesterol and blood sugar labs were this screwed up! [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Share this page
Facebook
Twitter
Reddit
Pinterest
Tumblr
WhatsApp
Email
Share
Link
Sponsors
Forums
Testosterone Replacement, Low T, HCG, & Beyond
Blood Test Discussion
Quest Lab values from DiscountedLabs.com just not adding up
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
Accept
Learn more…
Top