Blood Drug Testing

What do general blood tests actually test for?

If you go to your GP regarding a health issue and they request a whole range of blood tests for you as noone knows whats going on, what are they generally for? I know thyroid and liver were included, but I don't know what else? I am going back to my GP in a few days but just thought I would pose the question here in the mean time as I would like to do some of my own research. Would they test hormone levels?

Public Comments

1. They're called routine blood tests. They will test your red, white blood cells and your platelets. The red cells carry oxygen to the whole body, the white cells are for fighting infection. If your anemic then it could be because your white blood cell is low. Then your platelets are how your blood clots if your cut. If your platelets are low you can bleed longer. The white cell count will also tell them if you have some type of cancer if it's low. Like leukemia. And they test your blood sugar. To make sure you don't have diabetes. The only time a doctor will test for other cancers is if you came in and complain of certain symptoms that would cause them to be concerned. Or you've reached the age of 50 when they want you to have a colon test. Blood tests can also test for other things (e.g STDs, drug usage, lupas,pregnancy etc etc)
2. it depends on what your complaint is, I work for an internal med dr. so when you ask that it is not enough information. There are thousands of different blood tests that can be done, so when someone asks can they check everything or what do they check for? that is too broad of a question, need to know more, alot more
3. Usually they routinely test for Complete Blood Cell count (CBC) for red blood cells, white blood cells, Hemoglobin--they are looking for anemia or anything that might stick out and a metabolic panel (electrolyes, glucose and liver enzymes) These are good indicators of your general health. Hormones are expensive tests and insurance usually won't pay for them unless something in your clinical survey indicates that you should be tested for them.
4. I would say no, they wouldn't generally be testing you for hormone levels (if you mean hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, they will test for thyroid hormone, like you mentioned). Usually they will do a complete blood count, looking for anemias, unusual amounts of platelets, WBCs (white blood cells), RBCs (red blood cells), etc. I assume when you say liver, that they did also a complete metabolic panel - which tests your liver enzymes (to look for any liver damage which could be due to alcohol, drugs, or a liver disease such as hepatitis), kidney function (BUN - blood urea nitrogen and creatinine), electrolytes (like sodium, potassium, chloride, etc.), and acid/base balance of your blood. It also may check for your blood glucose level (to see if you have diabetes or prediabetes) and blood proteins (such as albumin) to see if you are malnourished/deficient.