Six panels many clinicians order
with GLP-1 therapy.
GLP-1 medicines affect blood sugar, the liver, the kidneys, blood fats and the heart and blood vessels, so routine labs check each of them.
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Comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP)
Checks 14 substances in your blood and is one of the most common panels on GLP-1 therapy.
- ALT and AST: liver enzymes, which often fall as liver fat falls on GLP-1 therapy
- BUN and creatinine: kidney function, worth watching with rapid weight loss or dehydration
- Fasting glucose: blood sugar after an overnight fast
- Electrolytes: sodium, potassium and CO₂, which can shift with eating less or vomiting
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Lipid panel
Cholesterol and triglycerides. Triglycerides often change first with weight loss.
- LDL cholesterol: the main cholesterol measure used to estimate cardiovascular risk
- HDL cholesterol: may rise modestly with weight loss
- Triglycerides: fats in the blood that often fall early on GLP-1 therapy
- Total cholesterol: the sum of the cholesterol fractions
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Thyroid tests
Long-acting GLP-1 medicines carry an FDA boxed warning for thyroid C-cell tumors, based on rodent studies, and should not be taken with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or MEN 2. The labels describe routine calcitonin or ultrasound monitoring as of uncertain value.
- TSH: the usual first test of thyroid function
- Free T4: the level of active thyroid hormone
- Calcitonin: a C-cell marker some clinicians check at baseline
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Inflammation markers and pancreatic enzymes
hs-CRP often falls on GLP-1 therapy. In SELECT it fell before major weight loss, and fell even in participants who did not lose weight.1
- hs-CRP: how much of one protein the liver releases when inflammation is active somewhere
- ESR: how fast red blood cells settle, a slow-moving general inflammation test
- Lipase and amylase: pancreatic enzymes checked when pancreatitis is suspected, such as with severe abdominal pain; mild rises without symptoms are common on GLP-1 medicines
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Complete blood count (CBC)
Checks for anemia, infection and blood disorders. Anemia can appear when food intake falls during rapid weight loss.
- Hemoglobin and hematocrit: red blood cells and their oxygen-carrying protein
- White blood cell count: how many immune cells are circulating, by type
- Platelet count: the cells that help blood clot
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HbA1c and fasting insulin
Not part of the panels above, and often ordered alongside them.
- HbA1c: average blood sugar over roughly the past 2–3 months
- Fasting insulin: can show changes in insulin resistance before fasting glucose changes
hs-CRP measures one protein.
Your inflammation system has many parts.
The most common inflammation test is hs-CRP, which measures a protein your liver releases when inflammation is active somewhere in your body. It is well established and inexpensive, and doctors rely on it.
It rises for many reasons and shifts with age, weight and smoking. It shows how much of that protein is in your blood, but it wasn’t designed to show which parts of your inflammation system are active, or whether the signals that end a response are at work. A blood count gives cell numbers without describing what the cells are doing.
The Inflammation Compass reads which genes your immune cells are using, from the signals that start a response to the signals that end it. Your report shows six readings, three for each half, each placed against a reference group of people whose blood was measured the same way. From your second sample, it shows which readings moved and by how much.
Semaglutide and tirzepatide
are different drugs with shared warnings.
- Semaglutide Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus
- Acts on GLP-1 receptors only. It slows stomach emptying, reduces appetite and increases insulin release when blood sugar is high.
- Tirzepatide Mounjaro, Zepbound
- Acts on both GLP-1 and GIP receptors and produced greater average weight loss than semaglutide in trials, which can make gallbladder symptoms, hydration and glucose worth closer attention.
- Shared warnings
- Both labels carry the boxed thyroid C-cell tumor warning and warnings for pancreatitis, gallbladder disease and kidney injury from dehydration. Clinicians review thyroid history before either is started.
The Inflammation Compass reads your immune cells, not the medication, so it works the same way on either drug. It doesn’t measure drug levels.
What it
can't tell you.
The Inflammation Compass doesn’t replace any of the panels above. It shows what changed in your readings and by how much, not why, and it doesn’t show whether a medication is working or is safe. It doesn’t diagnose, rule out or predict any disease.
Which labs you need, and decisions about starting, adjusting or stopping a medication, stay with your prescriber.
Frequently asked questions
What blood tests are usually ordered with Ozempic?
Which labs you need is your prescriber’s decision. Many order a comprehensive metabolic panel for liver and kidney function, a lipid panel, a complete blood count and sometimes hs-CRP, plus HbA1c if you have diabetes. Before you start, clinicians ask about personal and family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma and MEN 2 because of the FDA boxed warning.
How often should I get blood work on semaglutide?
There is no single required schedule. Many clinicians check labs at baseline, again during the first months of dose increases, and every 3–6 months once the dose is stable. If you add the Inflammation Compass, your first sample starts your personal baseline, and later samples can be timed around the same changes.
Do I need a thyroid test on GLP-1 medication?
It depends on your history. Long-acting GLP-1 medicines, including Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound, carry an FDA boxed warning about thyroid C-cell tumors seen in rodent studies; whether this applies to people has not been established. They should not be taken with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN 2). The labels describe routine calcitonin or thyroid ultrasound monitoring as of uncertain value, though some clinicians check calcitonin at baseline. TSH and free T4 check general thyroid function and don’t screen for C-cell tumors.
What’s the difference between monitoring for Ozempic and Mounjaro?
The core panels apply to both, and both carry the same boxed thyroid warning and labeled warnings for pancreatitis, gallbladder disease and kidney injury from dehydration. Ozempic (semaglutide) acts on GLP-1 receptors. Mounjaro (tirzepatide) acts on both GLP-1 and GIP receptors and produced greater average weight loss in trials, which can make gallbladder symptoms, hydration and glucose worth closer attention.
How is RNA testing different from regular blood work?
Regular blood work measures what is circulating, such as a protein, an enzyme or a cell count. The Inflammation Compass reads which genes your immune cells were using when your sample was taken, from the signals that start a response to the signals that end it, and reports six readings. It adds to the labs your prescriber orders and doesn’t replace them.
Read more
about GLP-1 therapy.
- When to give a sample
A suggested cadence: a baseline, then samples around dose changes, maintenance or a taper.
- GLP-1 biomarkers
What hs-CRP, blood counts and other routine markers measure, and what each can’t show.
- What RNA adds
How reading which genes your immune cells are using differs from a routine blood test.
Bring your clinician a detailed read of your inflammation response.
Every result is explained. Your first sample starts your personal baseline, to read beside the panels your prescriber orders.