The four tests to repeat on every peptide cycle
The short answer
Peptide Essentials Panel bundles 4 tests — IGF-1 (Insulin-like Growth Factor), Comprehensive Metabolic Panel and Lipid Panel plus 1 more — for $89.99 plus one $6 lab processing fee (about $22.50 per test). Fast 8–12 hours before the draw; results post in 1–3 business days. Physician-authorized with no doctor's visit or insurance needed; one draw at Quest or Labcorp.
Other Labs
Starting at $183
+ lab fees
TestWell
$89.99
+ $6 lab processing fee
The Peptide Essentials Panel is the recheck set for peptide therapy: the four tests clinicians ask for at baseline, again 4–6 weeks into a growth-hormone-releasing protocol (CJC-1295, ipamorelin, sermorelin, tesamorelin and similar), and then every 8–12 weeks while it continues. IGF-1 is the primary response marker — it reflects growth-hormone output over the preceding days and is the number most protocols are titrated against. The comprehensive metabolic panel watches glucose (GH-axis peptides can raise fasting glucose), kidney function and liver enzymes. The lipid panel tracks the cholesterol and triglyceride changes some protocols produce. The CBC with differential screens blood counts and inflammation. It is deliberately smaller than the 19-test Peptide Therapy Monitoring Panel: that panel is the full baseline with hormones, thyroid, iron and vitamins; this one is what you repeat. Draw fasting, in the morning, and — if you inject — at trough, before the next dose, so results are comparable from cycle to cycle.
Baseline and recheck monitoring for peptide therapy at the cadence protocols actually run — IGF-1 for the growth-hormone-axis response (the primary efficacy marker for CJC-1295, ipamorelin, sermorelin, tesamorelin and MK-677), CMP for fasting glucose, kidney function and liver enzymes, a lipid panel for cholesterol and triglyceride shifts, and CBC with differential for blood counts and inflammation. Measures the body's response to a protocol, not the contents of a vial.
People already on a growth-hormone-releasing peptide who need the 8–12-week recheck without repeating the full 19-test baseline; anyone who has ordered IGF-1 alone and wants the safety markers alongside it; and prescribers or coaches who want a consistent, comparable set from cycle to cycle. Start with the Peptide Therapy Monitoring Panel if you have never had a baseline. Not a substitute for a prescriber — abnormal results are a prompt to involve a clinician.
Sample Type
Blood draw
Fasting
Required
Results In
1–3 business days
Biomarkers
33 across 4 tests
4 individual tests · 33 biomarkers measured — each test linked so you can learn more.
Fast for 8–12 hours (water is fine). Morning draw preferred. If you inject peptides, draw at trough — before the next dose — so IGF-1 is comparable from cycle to cycle. Stop biotin supplements 2–3 days before the draw.
What can throw off this result
Physician-reviewed “Before your test” pages — what each factor does, for how long, and what to do about it.
A Peptide Essentials Panel costs $89.99 at TestWell — $95.99 all-in when ordered alone, because the $6 lab processing fee is charged once per order, with no draw fee or physician fee added. With insurance, what you pay depends on your deductible and your plan's negotiated rate; TestWell's price is fixed before the draw and is HSA/FSA-eligible.
| Where you order | Price | One test, all-in | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| TestWell (drawn at Quest or Labcorp) | $89.99 | $95.99 | Includes the one $6 lab processing fee, charged once per order |
Competitor prices are read from the linked public pages and re-checked regularly; the labs' sites may add taxes or change prices without notice.
Compare more: Quest Diagnostics price list · Labcorp price list · Quest vs Labcorp · Lab test price checker
Essentials is the four-test recheck set — IGF-1, CMP, lipid panel and CBC with differential — for repeating every 8–12 weeks on a protocol. The 19-test Peptide Therapy Monitoring Panel is the full baseline: it adds thyroid, testosterone with SHBG, estradiol, DHEA-S, cortisol, iron, B12, vitamin D, A1c, insulin and hs-CRP. Many people run the full panel once, then Essentials on the cycle.
Most protocols check at baseline, again 4–6 weeks after starting a growth-hormone-releasing peptide, then every 8–12 weeks while it continues. The quarterly plan matches that cadence and takes 10% off each draw — see the peptide therapy bloodwork guide for the full schedule.
Yes — 8–12 hours, water only, for the glucose and lipid results. Draw in the morning and, if you inject, at trough (before the next dose) so IGF-1 is comparable from one cycle to the next.
IGF-1 tells you whether the protocol is doing anything to the growth-hormone axis; it says nothing about glucose, liver, kidneys, lipids or blood counts — the places GH-axis peptides can cause problems. If you are only going to run one test, IGF-1 is the one, but the four together are what a clinician would ask for before continuing a cycle.
$89.99 at Quest, Labcorp or BioReference, plus one $6 lab processing fee per order. That is about 17% less than ordering the four tests separately and roughly half of Quest Direct's list prices for the same tests. HSA/FSA eligible, no doctor's visit needed.
Peptide Essentials Panel results are typically ready in 1–3 business days after your draw at Quest or Labcorp. TestWell emails you the moment they post, and your results dashboard shows each marker against its reference range with a plain-English explanation.
Keto and high-protein diets, smoking and nicotine and peptides and GLP-1s can change a Peptide Essentials Panel result without anything being wrong. Keto and high-protein diets can raise LDL Cholesterol and HDL Cholesterol and 2 more markers on this test and can lower Triglycerides, Sodium and Glucose — recheck with ApoB; discuss cardiovascular risk rather than dismissing the rise as 'diet noise'. Smoking and nicotine can raise RBC and WBC and 2 more markers on this test and can lower HDL Cholesterol — tell the clinician; a high hematocrit in a smoker is usually smoking, not polycythemia. Peptides and GLP-1s can lower Glucose and can raise BUN and IGF-1 — expected treatment effect — A1c is the monitoring marker, not a reason to stop. Each factor is covered on our physician-reviewed "Before your test" pages; when one applies, the fix is usually to remove it and retest.
Order the Peptide Essentials Panel online from TestWell for $89.99 (plus a $6 per-order lab processing fee) — no doctor's visit, referral or insurance needed. A licensed physician authorizes the order, then you walk into any Quest or Labcorp patient service center near you for the draw (the lab locator on our site lists the closest ones by ZIP code), and results arrive in 1–3 business days.
Related guide
Peptide Therapy Bloodwork: What to Test for Safety and Results
Starting at $183 at other labs
TestWell Price
$89.99
+ $6 lab processing fee at checkout
No insurance needed · HIPAA compliant
Get Peptide Therapy Monitoring Panel
19 tests — 15 more than this panel — for $170.00 more
Individual tests that complement this panel
Peptide Essentials Panel
$89.99