The first appointment: what we measure and why

The first appointment is ninety minutes. About sixty of those are conversation. Here is the order it happens in.

History first

We start with why you came. Then family history in detail — first-degree relatives, ages at diagnosis, causes of death where known. This section takes longer than people expect and it changes what we measure more than anything else in the appointment.

Then medication, supplements, prior results if you have them, sleep, training, alcohol, and work pattern. We ask about all of it because several of the markers we are about to draw are sensitive to at least one.

Then the draw

Six tubes, fasted, usually under five minutes. Samples go to the Zug laboratory the following morning and results return in five to seven working days. Nothing is interpreted over the phone.

Then the agreement

Before you leave, we write down what the panel is for: what decision each group of markers could change, and what we will do if a value comes back outside the range. This is the part most easily skipped and the part that prevents a result becoming an anxiety with no plan attached to it.

What does not happen

No treatment is prescribed at the first appointment, and nothing is sold. If you are in the middle of an acute illness, we will reschedule the draw rather than measure inflammation you already know about.