Annual Tests-Medical

Doing an annual blood work is a good idea for athletes. Here is a helpful list if you are looking to have testing.

Basic Annual tests for athletes:

• Lipid Panel (cholesterol)

• Thyroid Panel

• CBC (red/white blood cell panels)

• Vitamin B

• Vitamin D

• Iron/ferritin panel

• Optional DEXA Scan for body composition profile

• Testosterone (yes, even for women)- be wary of medical professionals over prescribing testosterone and be educated on WADA and TUE.

• Cardiac Screening -Also a good idea to have a pre-participation for unsuspected heart conditions

Advanced Annual Tests:

Hematology Panel Hematology Panel

Reticulocyte Count Reticulocyte Count

Ferritin Ferritin

TSH + out of Range Values

Testosterone

DHEA’S

Creatinine

AST

Sodium & Potassium

Calcium

Magnesium

Uric Acid

Immunoglobulins (IIGS)

Urinalysis (UMAC and UMICII

Also having a saliva cortisol test is a good idea for the more serious athletes pushing their boundaries for a long time.

****Testing ferritin is important. For an elite athlete normal values are 18-370.

Serum ferritin is the storage form of iron.  Ferritin is iron that is used to make new red blood cells. Serum Ferritin is the best index of an athlete's iron status.  It is a very good measure of "iron depletion" (Stage 1 anemia) and "iron deficient non-anemia" (stage 2 anemia).

If you test low the recommend is that you begin increasing your iron intake for 6 weeks. Be sure to clear this with your doctor and follow the protocol they recommend for you.

Ensure that your diet includes sources of heme- (only meat, best absorbed) and non-heme (meat and vegetables, poorly absorbed) iron.  

Your doctor may recommend you begin use of Advanced Ferrochel (ferous bis-glycinate with vit. C) at a dose of 27 mg chelated iron/day  (here is a link to the exact one that is recommended by USA Olympic Training Center docs http://www.vitacost.com/source-naturals-advanced-ferrochel-iron )

Repeat ferritin and CBC in 2 months.