Tests before treatment: what they show and what they cost

Before menopause care, a GLP-1, testosterone or NAD+: what a lab test can show, what it can’t, what guidelines list and prescribers commonly order, and what each test costs today.

A lab result informs a clinician’s decision; on its own it does not name a condition. This page is not medical advice.

Menopause and perimenopause

What a hormone test can and cannot show while periods are changing.

What a test shows, and what it can’t

What a test can showHelps confirm at 40–45 with symptoms

An FSH result can help confirm menopause in some groups: NICE suggests considering it only at ages 40 to 45 with symptoms and cycle changes, or under 40 when menopause is suspected. A TSH result can check the thyroid, whose symptoms can overlap.

Source: NICE NG23, Menopause: identification and management, recommendations 1.3.1 to 1.3.6.

What it can’t showOne result can’t confirm perimenopause

One result cannot confirm perimenopause. FSH swings between the menopausal range and the younger range in the late transition, so a single normal value can mislead. At 45 and over with recent hot flashes and cycle changes, NICE identifies perimenopause from symptoms without lab tests, and says not to use estradiol, AMH or inhibin to identify it. An FSH test is not used on combined hormonal contraception.

Sources: NICE NG23, Menopause: identification and management, recommendations 1.3.1 to 1.3.6; STRAW+10: staging reproductive aging, executive summary, Menopause 2012 (PMID 22343510) (opens in new tab); NIH NICHD: How do healthcare providers diagnose menopause? (opens in new tab).

What the tests cost, checked Oct 24, 2026

Mito Health prices shown are non-member prices at its lowest-priced partner lab (members pay less: $9 a month or $99 a year); other partner labs charge more, as each row says. Every lab visit adds a draw fee of $9.50 to $15 by lab, once per visit, counted here at $15; a lab order fee may apply, itemized at checkout.

Walk-In Lab: every order adds a $6 physician fee; not sold in NY, NJ or RI, and in AZ, MA and MD only some of its labs can be used (walkinlab.com, read Oct 24, 2026).

empowerDX kits: the price includes the physician order and shipping both ways.

Everlywell’s lab-draw tests: “Not available in NY, NJ, RI, AZ, OK, MA, or PA.”

Everlywell’s test pages also name a $15 clinician review fee on each request (or its Lab Pass membership, $15 a month or $150 a year, in its place); they do not say whether the listed price already includes it.

Everlywell links open its home page, not the test’s page: search for the test there.

HealthLabs.com does not sell to NY, NJ, RI, MD, ND or HI (its own how-it-works page, read Oct 18, 2026).

Oova’s program with us is pending, so it has no link here; its price is from its own shop page.

Prices are each seller’s own list price on the date above, before any coupon. Read on: Everlywell, FSH + LH (opens in new tab); Oova, Oova perimenopause kit (opens in new tab); Everlywell, Perimenopause Check (opens in new tab).

Online programs that include labs in the price

Prices checked Oct 18, 2026
  • Hone Health$213 a month

    Labs every 3 months

From our compare dataset: each program’s published price, read on its own site. A lab panel in the price can replace ordering your own; ask which tests it covers. Compare every online women’s HRT program.

GLP-1 medicines for weight

The labs prescribers commonly order before starting, and what the label itself asks for.

What a test shows, and what it can’t

What a test can showBaseline sugar, lipids, liver, kidneys

A baseline: where blood sugar, cholesterol, liver and kidney numbers stand before treatment, so later results have something to compare against.

Source: ADA, Screening, Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Staging of Obesity in Adults: Standards of Care in Overweight and Obesity 2026, BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care (PMID 42242835), table 3 (opens in new tab).

What it can’t showThe label requires no test to start

No lab result decides whether a GLP-1 is right for you, and the Wegovy label requires none before the first dose. The label says routine calcitonin tests or thyroid ultrasounds are of uncertain value for catching medullary thyroid cancer early. Its thyroid warning turns on a history question instead: no personal or family history of medullary thyroid cancer or MEN 2.

Source: Wegovy prescribing information (DailyMed) (opens in new tab).

What prescribers commonly order

The ADA’s 2026 obesity standards list, as reasonable for many people at the first evaluation:

  • HbA1c, to screen for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes
  • A lipid profile (total, LDL and HDL cholesterol, triglycerides)
  • AST, ALT and a platelet count, to calculate a liver fibrosis score (FIB-4)
  • Creatinine and eGFR (kidney function)
  • TSH only with symptoms of an underactive thyroid

Source: ADA, Screening, Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Staging of Obesity in Adults: Standards of Care in Overweight and Obesity 2026, BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care (PMID 42242835), table 3 (opens in new tab).

What the tests cost, checked Oct 24, 2026

Mito Health prices shown are non-member prices at its lowest-priced partner lab (members pay less: $9 a month or $99 a year); other partner labs charge more, as each row says. Every lab visit adds a draw fee of $9.50 to $15 by lab, once per visit, counted here at $15; a lab order fee may apply, itemized at checkout.

Walk-In Lab: every order adds a $6 physician fee; not sold in NY, NJ or RI, and in AZ, MA and MD only some of its labs can be used (walkinlab.com, read Oct 24, 2026).

empowerDX kits: the price includes the physician order and shipping both ways.

Everlywell’s lab-draw tests: “Not available in NY, NJ, RI, AZ, OK, MA, or PA.”

Everlywell’s at-home kits: “Ships to every state except New York.”

Everlywell’s test pages also name a $15 clinician review fee on each request (or its Lab Pass membership, $15 a month or $150 a year, in its place); they do not say whether the listed price already includes it.

Everlywell links open its home page, not the test’s page: search for the test there.

HealthLabs.com does not sell to NY, NJ, RI, MD, ND or HI (its own how-it-works page, read Oct 18, 2026).

Prices are each seller’s own list price on the date above, before any coupon. Read on: Everlywell, HbA1c Test (opens in new tab); Everlywell, Metabolic & GLP-1 Monitoring Panel (opens in new tab).

Online programs that include labs in the price

Prices checked Oct 18, 2026
  • MEDGmFrom $299 a month

    Lab work and a metabolic report · Listed, not ranked

From our compare dataset: each program’s published price, read on its own site. A lab panel in the price can replace ordering your own; ask which tests it covers. Compare every online GLP-1 program.

Testosterone therapy (TRT)

Morning testosterone measured twice, then a blood count and PSA.

What a test shows, and what it can’t

What a test can showTwo low morning results, with symptoms

Two low morning results with symptoms are what both guidelines use to identify low testosterone; the AUA uses 300 ng/dL as a reasonable cutoff. The blood count and PSA give a baseline for the checks repeated on treatment.

Sources: AUA guideline: evaluation and management of testosterone deficiency, J Urol 2018 (PMID 29601923) (opens in new tab); Endocrine Society guideline: testosterone therapy in men with hypogonadism, JCEM 2018 (PMID 29562364) (opens in new tab).

What it can’t showOne result can’t show low testosterone

One result, or an afternoon result, cannot show low testosterone: levels are highest in the morning and vary from day to day, which is why both guidelines repeat the test. A number alone is not a reason to treat without symptoms.

Sources: Endocrine Society guideline: testosterone therapy in men with hypogonadism, JCEM 2018 (PMID 29562364) (opens in new tab); AUA guideline: evaluation and management of testosterone deficiency, J Urol 2018 (PMID 29601923) (opens in new tab).

What the guidelines list

Before treatment, the AUA and the Endocrine Society guidelines ask for:

  • Two early-morning total testosterone tests on separate days
  • Free testosterone when total testosterone is borderline (Endocrine Society)
  • LH, to look for the cause
  • Hemoglobin and hematocrit (below 50% before starting, per the AUA)
  • A PSA in men over 40 (AUA)

Sources: AUA guideline: evaluation and management of testosterone deficiency, J Urol 2018 (PMID 29601923) (opens in new tab); Endocrine Society guideline: testosterone therapy in men with hypogonadism, JCEM 2018 (PMID 29562364) (opens in new tab).

What the tests cost, checked Oct 24, 2026

Mito Health prices shown are non-member prices at its lowest-priced partner lab (members pay less: $9 a month or $99 a year); other partner labs charge more, as each row says. Every lab visit adds a draw fee of $9.50 to $15 by lab, once per visit, counted here at $15; a lab order fee may apply, itemized at checkout.

Walk-In Lab: every order adds a $6 physician fee; not sold in NY, NJ or RI, and in AZ, MA and MD only some of its labs can be used (walkinlab.com, read Oct 24, 2026).

empowerDX kits: the price includes the physician order and shipping both ways.

Everlywell’s lab-draw tests: “Not available in NY, NJ, RI, AZ, OK, MA, or PA.”

Everlywell’s test pages also name a $15 clinician review fee on each request (or its Lab Pass membership, $15 a month or $150 a year, in its place); they do not say whether the listed price already includes it.

Everlywell links open its home page, not the test’s page: search for the test there.

HealthLabs.com does not sell to NY, NJ, RI, MD, ND or HI (its own how-it-works page, read Oct 18, 2026).

Prices are each seller’s own list price on the date above, before any coupon. Read on: Everlywell, Testosterone Panel (opens in new tab).

Online programs that include labs in the price

Prices checked Oct 18, 2026
  • MangoRxFrom $149 a month

    A lab panel before the consult (medication is billed separately)

  • ARSYNL Rx$169 a month

    Follow-up labs

  • Hone HealthFrom $183 a month

    Labs every 3 months

  • Rex MDFrom $250 a month

    Follow-up labs at 3 months, then every 6 months

  • DudeMeds$345 for 12 weeks

    Its Core TRT lab panel (16 biomarkers)

From our compare dataset: each program’s published price, read on its own site. A lab panel in the price can replace ordering your own; ask which tests it covers. Compare every online TRT program.

NAD+

What an at-home NAD+ test measures.

What a test shows, and what it can’t

What a test can showNAD+ inside red blood cells, in μM

Jinfiniti’s test measures NAD+ inside your red blood cells, in micromoles per liter (μM), from a finger prick at home; results come about a week after the lab receives the sample. Tested before a product and again on it, it shows whether the number moves.

Source: Jinfiniti: Intracellular NAD+ Test (opens in new tab).

What it can’t showNo guideline sets a treatment cutoff

A level does not name a condition: no clinical guideline sets a treatment threshold for NAD+, and it is not established that raising the number improves health. A level measured inside cells and one measured in plasma are not interchangeable.

Source: Jinfiniti: Intracellular NAD+ Test (opens in new tab).

What the tests cost, checked Oct 24, 2026

Jinfiniti’s page: “Free shipping above $200.00”; it does not state shipping below that. Its bundles and membership are not compared here.

Prices are each seller’s own list price on the date above, before any coupon. Read on: Jinfiniti, Intracellular NAD+ Test (opens in new tab).

Questions this page answers

Questions

4 answers
Can a blood test tell if I’m in perimenopause?

Not on its own. FSH swings during the transition, so one normal result can mislead. At 45 and over with recent hot flashes and cycle changes, NICE identifies perimenopause from symptoms without lab tests; it suggests considering FSH only at 40 to 45 with symptoms or under 40. A test can still check the thyroid (TSH).

What labs do you need before a GLP-1?

The Wegovy label requires none before the first dose. Prescribers commonly order a baseline: the ADA’s 2026 obesity standards list HbA1c, a lipid profile, AST, ALT and platelets (for a liver fibrosis score) and creatinine with eGFR, plus TSH only with thyroid symptoms. At HealthLabs.com an HbA1c and a lipid panel are $29 each (Oct 24, 2026).

Which tests come before testosterone therapy?

Two early-morning total testosterone tests on separate days, LH, hemoglobin and hematocrit, and a PSA in men over 40, per the AUA; the Endocrine Society adds free testosterone when total is borderline.

What does an at-home NAD+ test measure?

Jinfiniti’s test measures NAD+ inside red blood cells, in μM, from a finger prick; $198 for one test (Oct 24, 2026). No guideline sets a treatment threshold for NAD+.

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Educational only. Not medical advice. Some links earn us a commission: kymatahealth.com/affiliate-disclosure.