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GLP-1 Lab Guide

Pre-visit lab checklist

Choose where you are in GLP-1 therapy and tick the conditions that apply. The tool builds a printable checklist of labs to ask about, questions for the visit, tests the labels say are not routine, and the symptoms that would change the plan. Every line cites the FDA label or guideline it comes from. No diagnoses, no scores, no doses.

By FormBlends editorial teamAssumptions checked September 4, 2026Runs in your browser; nothing is sent to a server

Your situation

You are being evaluated or have a first visit booked.

Tick anything that applies

Each one adds the labs or questions that the labels or guidelines attach to it. Nothing is stored.

Checklist for your visit (10 items)

Prepared 2026-09-04 for before a first prescription. Take it to the visit and ask; your prescriber decides what to order.

  1. Labs to ask about

    • Hemoglobin A1c, and a fasting glucose if one has not been done recently

      Establishes where glucose sits before therapy. The diagnostic cut points are under 5.7%, 5.7% to 6.4% and 6.5% or higher.

      Source: MedlinePlus: A1C test | Read more

    • Lipid panel (total, LDL, HDL, triglycerides)

      A baseline to compare against later. The ADA Standards include a lipid profile in the initial evaluation for people with diabetes.

      Source: American Diabetes Association, Standards of Care in Diabetes 2026 | Read more

    • Comprehensive metabolic panel: creatinine with eGFR, electrolytes, ALT and AST

      Kidney and liver function before starting give the numbers to compare against if you later become dehydrated or unwell.

      Source: American Diabetes Association, Standards of Care in Diabetes 2026 | Read more

    • Complete blood count, if your prescriber orders a baseline panel

      Not required by any GLP-1 label. A baseline hemoglobin matters later because anemia can distort A1c.

      Source: MedlinePlus: CBC blood test | Read more

  2. Questions for the visit

  3. Tests that are not routine (so you are not surprised when they are not ordered)

  4. Symptoms that change the plan (labs or imaging are done when these appear)

This is a list of things to ask about, built from the FDA labels for the approved products and from published guidelines. It is not a diagnosis, an order set or medical advice. Reference ranges vary by laboratory and interpretation belongs to your clinician. Compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide are not FDA approved and are not interchangeable with the brand products the labels describe.

Formulashown in full, nothing hidden
checklist = stage items (baseline labs before therapy; renal function and symptom watch while starting; repeat intervals later)
          + one block per ticked condition (diabetes -> A1c on the ADA schedule; kidney or GI symptoms -> creatinine, eGFR, electrolytes; ...)
          + always: calcitonin and lipase listed as NOT routine, with the label sentence that says so
          + always: the pancreatitis and gallbladder symptom lines from the labels
duplicates collapse to one item; no weights, no score, no verdict

Every line on the output traces to one source you can open. Ticking a box never produces a diagnosis; it adds the questions that source attaches to that situation.

Assumptions, checked September 4, 2026

  • Label statements come from the Wegovy (revised June 2026), Ozempic (June 2026), Zepbound and Mounjaro (September 2026) prescribing information on DailyMed, read on the date above.
  • ADA intervals (A1c twice a year at goal or quarterly otherwise, annual eGFR and urine albumin in type 2 diabetes, periodic B12 on metformin, lipids after a statin change and then yearly) are from the Standards of Care in Diabetes 2026.
  • KDIGO 2024 defines the eGFR and albuminuria categories used in the kidney items. The Endocrine Society 2024 guideline is the source for vitamin D testing not being routine.
  • The checklist assumes an adult in the United States prescribed semaglutide or tirzepatide. It does not cover liraglutide, dulaglutide, exenatide or pediatric use.

This calculator is an arithmetic aid for medication a licensed prescriber has already prescribed. It does not recommend a dose. Confirm any result with your prescriber or pharmacist before use.

Sources

  1. Wegovy (semaglutide) prescribing information, DailyMed set id ee06186f-2aa3-4990-a760-757579d8f77b (boxed warning, sections 5.1 to 5.5, 8.3)
  2. Zepbound (tirzepatide) prescribing information, DailyMed set id 487cd7e7-434c-4925-99fa-aa80b1cc776b (sections 5.1 to 5.8, 6.1, 7.2, 8.3)
  3. Ozempic (semaglutide) prescribing information, DailyMed set id adec4fd2-6858-4c99-91d4-531f5f2a2d79
  4. American Diabetes Association, Standards of Care in Diabetes 2026
  5. KDIGO 2024 Clinical Practice Guideline for the Evaluation and Management of CKD. PubMed 38490803
  6. Endocrine Society, Vitamin D for the Prevention of Disease, 2024. PubMed 38828931
  7. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, Vitamin B12 fact sheet for health professionals
  8. FDA: FDA's concerns with unapproved GLP-1 drugs used for weight loss

Read before you use it

Guides for this calculator

Pre-therapy lab checklist: what is usually drawn before a first GLP-1 prescription, and where each item comes from

A one-page baseline list for semaglutide or tirzepatide: the tests most prescribers order, the tests the labels specifically do not ask for, the questions that matter more than any lab, and a printable checklist builder that adapts to your stage and conditions.

Updated September 4, 2026

Educational, not medical advice. Read the medical disclaimer.