Did You Know You Can Order Your Own Blood Work? Here’s How!
- Jun 18, 2025
- 6 min read
Updated: Jul 26, 2025
If you’ve ever left a doctor’s appointment feeling dismissed or like they weren’t interested in getting to the bottom of why you’re not feeling great, you’re not alone. One of the most common questions I get is, “How do I get the right labs run if my doctor won’t order them?”
Good news: in most U.S. states, you can order your own bloodwork without going through a doctor. And yes, it’s completely legal and safe when you use a reputable lab service.
Here’s how it works (and why it’s often a more affordable option).
Why Order Your Own Labs?
More control: You don't have to beg your doctor to run more than just TSH.
Better pricing: Cash-pay lab panels are often way cheaper than going through insurance.
Use your HSA/FSA: Most lab services (including the one I use) accept health savings and flex spending accounts.
No surprise bills: You’ll know exactly what you’re paying upfront. No unexpected $300 charges for one lab showing up six weeks later.
No doctor visit needed: Save your time, frustration, and copay
In the US, I use and recommend Ulta Labs, which partners with Quest Diagnostics to offer high-quality testing at a fraction of the cost of going through insurance. They also usually offer 20% off your first purchase, so look for that!
Outside the U.S.? I did a little digging for you.
Now, just to be clear: I’m based in the U.S., so I don’t know the ins and outs of ordering labs in every country. I didn’t want to leave y’all hanging, so I did do some research and found a few services that might be worth checking out. I can’t personally vouch for them since I haven’t used them myself, but I wanted to give you a starting point. If you’re outside the U.S. and looking for testing options, scroll down and see what’s available in your area (and definitely do your own digging to confirm what works for you).
Private testing services like Nuffield Health and Medichecks let you order blood work online and visit a local clinic for the draw in the UK.
Home-collection kits such as Thriva, Blue Horizon Blood Tests, and LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor also ship across the UK, with Royal Mail or domestic sampling options. You may not be able to order every marker, but you can at least get some baseline bloodwork done.
If you're in Canada and frustrated by limited lab access through your doctor, there are ways to order your own testing. Services like Blood Tests Canada, Maple (telehealth), and select home testing kits (like ZRT Labs) let you run many of the same labs, sometimes with a bit of workaround. While the process takes a little more effort, it’s possible, (and yes, I work with Canadians too! Supplements and specialty tests are trickier, but manageable). I may be able to order some tests for Canadian residents, so reach out if you are running into dead ends.
In Spain and other EU countries, local laboratories may offer private self-requested testing
Globally, platforms like Request A Test, Quest Health, DirectLabs, and Private MD Labs may allow you to order U.S.-based testing and use your country’s draw sites (in Canada/Australia too)
Which Labs Should You Order?
Here are a few panels I often recommend depending on your symptoms or goals:
🔹 Thyroid Health
Most doctors only run TSH, which is like checking your gas tank by glancing at the speedometer. You need the full picture to really understand your thyroid.
Recommended panel:
TSH
Free T3
Free T4
Reverse T3
Thyroid Peroxidase (TPO) antibodies
Thyroglobulin antibodies
Optional - These can offer deeper insight, especially if symptoms don’t match your labs, if you're on hormone replacement therapy or birth control, pregnant, or if liver function is in question, add on:
Thyroxine-Binding Globulin (TBG)
Total T3 and Total T4
🔹 Iron Status
If you’re experiencing fatigue, hair loss, and cold hands and feet, iron may be part of the puzzle.
Recommended panel:
Ferritin
Iron
Total Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC)
% Saturation
CBC (to check red blood cells)
Copper
Ceruloplasmin
🔹 Histamine Intolerance or MCAS Clues
There’s no single lab that can diagnose histamine intolerance or MCAS, but we can gather useful clues by looking at patterns in bloodwork.
Recommended panel:
Zinc
Copper
CBC
CMP
Total IgE
Optional (not recommended due to expense and limited applicability):
Plasma Histamine – reflects histamine at the time of the blood draw, but levels fluctuate and it’s hard to interpret in isolation, plus histamine degrades if the sample isn’t stored and transported correctly
Tryptase – useful for ruling out mastocytosis, but not always elevated in MCAS
Rather than ordering plasma histamine or tryptase, functional testing is often more reliable and ends up being less expensive. I use a blood spot test that can directly measure DAO and histamine (plus the leaky gut marker zonulin). Please reach out if you're interested in ordering one.
With histamine issues, I also like to check hormone levels, as these can really affect histamine in the body, so refer to that section for the hormone tests to run.
Grab my free histamine & hormone guide if you want to learn more about how they interact
🔹 Mysterious Fatigue or Burnout
When nothing feels right and you’ve tried everything, it helps to cast a wider net.
Recommended panel:
CBC
CMP (includes glucose)
Vitamin D (25-Hydroxyvitamin D)
B12 and Folate
Ferritin
Homocysteine
High-sensitivity CRP
HbA1c
Fasting insulin
Full thyroid panel (if it hasn’t already been run)
Full iron panel (if it hasn’t already been run)
*Cortisol (AM blood draw)
This combination looks for signs of inflammation, blood sugar dysregulation, and key nutrient deficiencies involved in energy production.
*Cortisol blood testing isn’t the best way to assess adrenal function overall, but it can still be helpful. A morning cortisol level gives you a basic idea of whether your body is even making cortisol, which can help rule out more serious conditions like Addison’s or Cushing’s disease. We can use functional testing to look at a complete picture of what your cortisol is doing throughout the day and how your body is using it.
🔹 Nutrient Status
Not all nutrients are able to be measured in routine bloodwork accurately, but we can get an idea about some of them.
Recommended panel:
Magnesium RBC
Zinc
Copper
B12 and Folate
Vitamin D (25-Hydroxyvitamin D)
Iodine RBC
Omega-3 Index (or EPA/DHA panel)
🔹 Perimenopause Hormone Panel
Hormones can shift wildly in your 30s, 40s, and early 50s, often before periods fully stop. Testing can help clarify what’s behind your symptoms.
Recommended panel:
Estradiol
Progesterone
Testosterone (free + total)
DHEA-S
SHBG
Complete Thyroid Panel (if not already done)
Optional:
FSH and LH – These can offer clues if you’re unsure whether symptoms are due to perimenopause, PCOS, or something else. Just keep in mind that hormone levels fluctuate a lot in this phase of life, so one test isn’t always definitive.
🔹 General Health Maintenance
Great if you want a full-body snapshot once or twice a year.
Recommended panel:
CBC
CMP
Lipid Panel
Full Thyroid Panel
HbA1c
Insulin
Ferritin
Vitamin D (25-Hydroxyvitamin D)
CRP (inflammation)
What to Do with Your Results?
So you ordered your own labs. You’ve got your results. You feel like a rockstar for taking charge of your health.
But then you realize, if your doctor didn’t think they were worth running, they may not be the most helpful in interpreting them (and tbh, they'll probably just say "looks normal.")
That’s where I come in. I offer functional blood chemistry analysis that goes beyond “normal vs. flagged.” I look at optimal ranges, patterns, and connections between systems. I can help you see what your labs are actually telling you, and how they relate to the symptoms you've been dealing with for way too long.
Whether you're dealing with thyroid issues, hormone chaos, histamine reactions, or mystery fatigue, we can figure out together what's going on and what to do next.
Here’s How We Can Work Together:
Functional Lab Test Interpretation – Send me your bloodwork and I’ll walk you through what matters, what’s missing, and what to consider next.
Not sure where to start? Book a Clarity Call or fill out a contact form and we’ll talk through your symptoms, goals, and which labs (or next steps) make the most sense.
Back to Balance Program – My signature course shows you how to apply all this knowledge, build your healing roadmap, and finally get headed towards health. Here's a quick video walkthrough so you can see exactly what's included:
If you haven't gotten it yet, you can grab my free Thyroid Lab Guide here.
TL;DR
You don’t have to wait for your doctor to run the right labs.
You can order them yourself.
Click here to use Ulta Labs and get access to testing (often HSA/FSA eligible, too). And if you need help interpreting what you find? That’s my specialty!
Disclaimer: I do not diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure any disease or condition. Nothing I share with my clients is intended to substitute for the advice, treatment or diagnosis of a qualified licensed physician. I may not make any medical diagnoses or claim, nor substitute for your personal physician’s care. It is my role to partner with you to provide ongoing support and accountability in an opt-in model of self-care and any changes should be done under the supervision of a licensed physician.
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