Talking20 DIY tests

Quantified Self General Health
1

I came across Talking20’s Indiegogo campaign today:

http://www.indiegogo.com/talking20

They offer a DIY at home kit for taking a bit of blood, which you mail to them and they measure 5 biomarkers:

Vit D3
Testosterone
Estradiol
Total Cholesterol
Progesterone

This is not as much as you might get in say WellnessFX, or the like, but the prices they are offering are incredibly low, and you get to avoid a lab visit.

They also say that they will mail the tests internationally, which would be huge for those of us living in parts of the world where patient-empowered medicine isn’t really accepted yet.

Before I go ahead and purchase some tests, I was wondering if anyone out there knows of any other competitor DIY blood test services that would be worth considering?

2

In the US, I would check out Accesa Labs (accesalabs.com) for DIY testing, they have just about every flavor and some of their tests use the same blood spot cards that Talking20 will use.

3

I purchased Talking20’s intro kit and sent my blood samples several weeks ago. As soon as I receive the results, I will post review on my blog www.measuredme.com

As for the other services, a couple of months ago I wrote a review of InsideTracker’s DIY plan: http://measuredme.com/2012/09/my-inside-tracker-diy-plan-review-html. Since I do not have any results from Talking20 yet, I can’t fully compare both services (especially with regard to feedback), but so far I can tell the following:

  • Talking20 is actually more of a DIY service, because you take blood samples yourself (using the lancet provided by them) as opposed to InsideTracker (you have to go to the lab or invite a lab specialist to your house);
  • Talking20 is way cheaper (12 dollars, including shipping, vs. around 300 dollars for the blood tests for InsideTracker, if not covered by your medical insurance)

Hope this helps!

k.

4

Thanks for the responses. All I can find through the accesa website is testing that must be done in a lab. Prices seem pretty good for that, but are not competitive with talking20.

With talking20 and now the 23andme price slashed to $99, its going to be a quantified holiday!

5

At least the tests in the ZRT Labs section of the Accesa site are at home blood spot and saliva tests.

6

Thanks Justin. That expands the repertoire for DIY at home testing.

7

Is anyone able to comment on how difficult it might be to locate indicators and/or equipment for primitive testing of your own samples? I can’t seem to find out whether or not these methods are proprietary or if they’re commonly known and could be applied by someone with a strong science background.

I’m sure each metric would have its own method and challenges but if anything is known about any one particular biometric measurement I would be very interest to learn more.

The cost barrier to entry is pretty high if you’re looking for any useful amount of data points. So far the only options I see are the companies noted here or paying a lab to do them which is simply not economical.