Checking my vitamin and mineral levels

First off, sorry if there’s already a thread like this... I couldn't seem to find one.
Does anyone know where I can get my vitamin and mineral levels checked through actual blood work? I really don't want to mess around with any of those handheld devices—I've heard the readings are wildly inaccurate and honestly just total garbage... if you'll excuse the language.
I'm based in Indianapolis, so if there's a private clinic chain—maybe something like Mayo Clinic or similar—that offers this, please let me know! It's pretty urgent because I've been dealing with some major health issues, yet all my previous tests have come back perfectly "normal." There's a strong chance I might have some Vitamin A toxicity, which is why I need a full panel of vitamins and minerals...
Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone... I’m hoping someone might have some insight here... is this actually a thing you can do? My doctor told me it wasn't possible—but I know these types of tests exist, and I even read somewhere about a mom who had her child's vitamin and mineral levels pulled directly from their blood... she was writing in English, so I assume she was based in the States. I didn't mention that I'm more than willing to make the trip to New York City if there isn't anything like this available near my neck of the woods... please, if anyone knows anything at all—even just a tiny bit of info—I would be so incredibly grateful...

http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/hair-analysis...255&Itemid=168... they perform hair follicle testing over there

I’m pretty sure Madison Square Garden handles that, specifically the location over by Retfala nov near the Warner Music Group offices. They deal with all sorts of stuff—I think I read somewhere that they even extract vitamins and minerals. You should try giving them a call and asking; if you find out what they actually do and what the damage is, please post it here. I'm curious too, but I just can't bring myself to pick up the phone and call them myself.

Thomas Thompson12 said:First off, sorry if there’s already a thread like this... I couldn't seem to find one.
Does anyone know where I can get my vitamin and mineral levels checked through actual blood work? I really don't want to mess around with any of those handheld devices—I've heard the readings are wildly inaccurate and honestly just total garbage... if you'll excuse the language.
I'm based in Indianapolis, so if there's a private clinic chain—maybe something like Mayo Clinic or similar—that offers this, please let me know! It's pretty urgent because I've been dealing with some major health issues, yet all my previous tests have come back perfectly "normal." There's a strong chance I might have some Vitamin A toxicity, which is why I need a full panel of vitamins and minerals...
Thanks in advance!

Man, look at that bolded part above... those claims just don't make any sense at all. Just take a breath and give us a little more detail, okay? Like, which doctor did you see, what exactly did they tell you, and where on earth did this idea about "vitamin poisoning" even come from?

I’ve been wondering about this too.
I've actually started taking a variety of vitamins based on my neurologist's recommendation.

It makes me wonder, though—how can I tell if I'm overdoing it, or if all these supplements might actually be doing more harm than good?
Don't worry, I did ask! I'm not the type to just blindly follow advice without checking first. The answer I got was basically to take them for a set period, like three months, and then take a break before starting again.

Right now, my regimen includes Neurobion (B complex), Vitamin C, Vitamin D, calcium, and some Omega-3s from flaxseed oil.

If you’re someone who takes multivitamins, there’s really no need to worry—the doses are just too low to cause any kind of vitamin toxicity... I actually took Accutane for a few days once and had a terrible reaction to it. Now I’m dealing with all these symptoms that feel like vitamin A poisoning—since Accutane is basically a massive dose of vitamin A—though maybe it isn't even hypervitaminosis, just something worse... It turns out I’m incredibly sensitive to that medication and ended up with some awful side effects... so now I'm trying to eliminate things one by one to figure out what exactly went wrong in my system.
I think that healer gets their "status" from using some kind of device... but honestly, I don't buy into that stuff... I just want a solid, old-fashioned blood test. I'll pay whatever it takes.

I had my full vitamin and mineral panel done at Mount Sinai in New York City. They took quite a bit of blood, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do 😁.. I just had to wait forever for the results, but it was fine...
they never seem to have enough reagents on hand -.-

Frank Booth9 said:I had my full vitamin and mineral panel done at Mount Sinai in New York City. They took quite a bit of blood, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do 😁.. I just had to wait forever for the results, but it was fine...
they never seem to have enough reagents on hand -.-

How did you even manage to get a referral for those specific tests?

restlesspanther1 said:How did you even manage to get a referral for those specific tests?

The specialist wanted a more extensive panel done... it wasn't just vitamins and minerals, there was a lot more to it. My primary care doctor wrote the referral, then I had to head over to the lab myself to get everything ordered. Didn't have to wait long. That's pretty much it.

Frank Booth9 said:The specialist wanted a more extensive panel done... it wasn't just vitamins and minerals, there was a lot more to it. My primary care doctor wrote the referral, then I had to head over to the lab myself to get everything ordered. Didn't have to wait long. That's pretty much it.

Which kind of specialist asked for those (not asking for a name, just the field—like an immunologist, cardiologist, etc.)?

melloworca6 said:Which kind of specialist asked for those (not asking for a name, just the field—like an immunologist, cardiologist, etc.)?

I get what you mean.😁
Gastroenterologist.

Frank Booth9 said:I get what you mean.😁
Gastroenterologist.

So basically, I have to see a gastroenterologist first just to get a referral sent over... yeah, that's what I need, thanks for the heads up.😁

Frank Booth9 said:I get what you mean.😁
Gastroenterologist.

Did they tell you to get every single vitamin and mineral checked, or just specific ones? And were we talking standard blood work or some specialized testing?

I'll try to squeeze this out of my immunologist. Hopefully, I can make it happen. 😬

You don't even need a specialist referral first... anyone can order these tests. Honestly, I think even a primary care doctor could do it. My gastroenterologist was the one who sent me because nobody could figure out what was wrong with me—they figured nothing was missing—but it turned out my Vitamin D levels were just really low. That was it.

What other kind of blood test is there? 😁 It’s just standard blood work, though they took a ton from me. 😢 The only thing is, they wrap the tube for the Vitamin A test in foil since it's light-sensitive.

I had to get all of this done: CBC with reticulocytes, iron studies, ferritin, total protein with serum protein electrophoresis and immunoelectrophoresis, bilirubin, AST, ALT, GGT, LDH, CK, ALP, Ca, P, Mg, Na, K, Cl, Zn, vitamin A, vit. D, vit. B12, Vit. B6, folic acid, cholesterol, TG, HDL, LDL, glucose, HbA1c, ESR, fibrinogen, ALP, TV, tTG... My GP forgot to write half of it down, so I ended up spending a lot of time at the hospital getting extra stuff checked while I was there. 😁

Good luck getting those referrals. 😁

My bad, I think I phrased that poorly 🤣, I meant to ask if it was just a standard blood panel.

Man, that’s intense. They really went to town on you with those needles. 👍 I’ll probably have to nag my doctor for a bit; maybe she'll finally write me a referral. If she plays hardball, I'll just go bother an immunologist instead.

I guess that's one upside to having health that's completely trashed—at least you can still wheedle your way into getting insurance coverage for tests. 😁

melloworca6 said:My bad, I think I phrased that poorly 🤣, I meant to ask if it was just a standard blood panel.

Man, that’s intense. They really went to town on you with those needles. 👍 I’ll probably have to nag my doctor for a bit; maybe she'll finally write me a referral. If she plays hardball, I'll just go bother an immunologist instead.

I guess that's one upside to having health that's completely trashed—at least you can still wheedle your way into getting insurance coverage for tests. 😁

Yeah, except everyone waits forever. I had all mine drawn at the start of August and I'm still waiting on a few results... o.O
Yeah, tell me about it... I'm terrified of needles. Honestly. I thought those 6 or 7 tubes they took were everything, but I was wrong. 😁
My primary care doc is awful. Doesn't hand out referrals easily, and when he does, he messes up the paperwork. I end up going back ten times for the same thing.
So, what's bothering you regarding your vitamin and mineral levels?

I’m used to having 6 or 7 vials of blood drawn at once, and yeah, I can handle waiting two or three months for lab results. 🙂

I have hypothyroidism—my thyroid hormone levels are low—and since that can trigger deficiencies in certain vitamins and minerals, I really need to get them checked out. Lately, my cramps have been absolutely brutal, so I want to rule out whether magnesium, potassium, or calcium is the culprit.

I deal with some immune system issues too, so these cramps could be a symptom of that, but I need to clear the vitamin and mineral stuff first. I honestly thought you could only get those specific tests done privately, so this is great news. Now I’m going to pester my doctor until they test everything on my list. 😁

melloworca6 said:I’m used to having 6 or 7 vials of blood drawn at once, and yeah, I can handle waiting two or three months for lab results. 🙂

I have hypothyroidism—my thyroid hormone levels are low—and since that can trigger deficiencies in certain vitamins and minerals, I really need to get them checked out. Lately, my cramps have been absolutely brutal, so I want to rule out whether magnesium, potassium, or calcium is the culprit.

I deal with some immune system issues too, so these cramps could be a symptom of that, but I need to clear the vitamin and mineral stuff first. I honestly thought you could only get those specific tests done privately, so this is great news. Now I’m going to pester my doctor until they test everything on my list. 😁

Try to get a single referral so they can just draw it all at once..

I haven't, but I've gotten used to it since I get everything done at the local clinic... they never have the reagents ready anyway xD
Good luck then 😁
Are you taking any antispasmodics to ease the cramps?

It doesn't really hit me like that normally, but whenever I try to move suddenly—like reaching for something on a high shelf—that's when the cramp strikes.

And if you ask me, antispasmodics are meant for a different kind of issue altogether. They're for smooth muscle spasms, like what you deal with during kidney stones, gallbladder issues, menstrual cramps, or intestinal spasms.