# GP Conversation Script — Dr Friel **Goal**: Get the full retest panel ordered, collaboratively, without Dr Friel feeling steamrolled. You've done this once already in January — this visit is framed as **progress monitoring**, not "longevity wellness shopping." --- ## Opening (30 seconds) > "Hi Dr Friel, thanks for seeing me. The reason I'm back is to do a **3-month retest** of the panel you ordered in January. Since that result came through, I've made specific dietary and supplement changes targeting the markers that were off, and I'd like to see whether they're working. I've brought a one-pager that lists exactly what I'm asking for and why." > > *(Hand over the PDF.)* **Why this opening works**: It anchors on *his* previous decision, frames you as a compliant patient monitoring a treatment plan, and gives him a printed document to follow instead of a verbal checklist. --- ## Core framing to come back to if he pushes back > "The January bloods showed my **ApoB was 1.12**, which is above longevity target. You and I didn't start a statin — we agreed I'd try diet first. For that decision to be valid, I need to measure whether the diet is actually working. If ApoB has dropped, we stay the course. If it hasn't, we have the data to talk about next steps." Three sentences that reframe every test on the list as **'measuring an agreed intervention'**, not wellness shopping. --- ## Key tests to advocate for (if he hesitates) ### ApoB, lipids, hs-CRP > "ApoB is the one I'm most concerned about — that's the direct marker of my cardiovascular risk and the thing I've been working on. Can we do ApoB and the full lipid panel, and specifically the **high-sensitivity CRP** this time rather than the standard assay?" ### Homocysteine + B12 + folate > "Homocysteine came back at 10 last time — above the optimal 8. I started a methylated B-complex in February specifically to address that. I'd like to retest it, and also check **B12 and folate** at the same time so we know the supplement is being absorbed properly." ### Vitamin D > "I realised after January that we never actually measured my **Vitamin D**. I want a baseline before I decide whether to increase my dose. It was on my list last time but didn't get ordered — can we include it this time?" ### Ferritin + Iron > "I'm training 6 days a week — surfing, MTB, functional strength — and I've never had iron studies done. **Ferritin and iron studies** would give me a baseline for that training load." ### PSA > "I'm 51 — I'd like a **PSA baseline** on file. First one." ### Fasting requirements > "For the insulin and glucose — I'll come in **fasted first thing in the morning**. The January sample was drawn at 2pm which meant the insulin reference range didn't technically apply." --- ## Likely objections and how to handle them ### "Medicare won't cover all of these" > "Understood — I'm **happy to pay privately** for anything not covered. Just let me know which ones and I'll pay at the lab. I'd rather have the complete picture than compromise on cost." ### "That's a lot of tests" > "I know. It's the same panel you ordered me in January, plus the six items from my original list that weren't ordered last time. I'm planning to retest every 3 months for the next year while I've got active interventions running — I want to do it properly or not at all." ### "Why hs-CRP specifically?" > "The standard CRP assay has a reference of <5 mg/L — mine was 0.4, which looks fine, but I'm tracking against the longevity target of <1.0 and I need the higher-sensitivity assay to actually see movement in that range." ### "Free T3/Free T4 if TSH is normal?" > "My SHBG was 76, which is above reference. Thyroid function can affect SHBG even with a normal TSH, so I'd like to see the full thyroid picture at least once while SHBG is elevated." ### "Why are you monitoring this so closely?" > "I've got two kids, I'm 51, and my total cholesterol has gone 4.3 → 4.2 → 5.0 → 6.1 over seven years. That trajectory matters to me, and the whole point of catching it now is to not be having a different conversation in ten years." *(That last line is powerful — use it if he's being dismissive.)* --- ## Two non-blood-test items to raise at the end Save these for the end so you don't dilute the blood test conversation: ### CAC scan > "One thing I wanted to raise separately — given the cholesterol trend and the ApoB result, I'd like to get a **one-time coronary artery calcium scan** to quantify what's actually there in the arteries. It would help us decide whether diet alone is enough or whether we need to have a statin conversation. Can you refer me?" ### APOE genotype > "And the other thing — is it possible to get **APOE genotype** through pathology? It's a one-off genetic test that would inform my long-term cardiovascular and cognitive risk planning." --- ## Closing > "Thanks for taking the time to go through this with me. I really appreciate that you're willing to work with me on monitoring this properly. I'll book the bloods for a fasted morning appointment and come back and see you once the results are in." **Why this closing works**: Thanks him, reinforces the collaborative framing, and pre-commits to a follow-up appointment (which justifies the comprehensive panel — you're not just shopping tests, you're coming back to discuss). --- ## Tone notes - **You are not asking permission, you are collaborating on a monitoring plan.** That's a different posture. - **Don't apologise** for the length of the list — you've already acknowledged it's comprehensive, and the PDF speaks for itself. - **Use "we" framing** — "we agreed", "we decided", "can we include". It pulls him onto your team. - **Never mention Bryan Johnson by name.** Peter Attia is fine (he's a physician). Attia carries clinical credibility; Blueprint does not. - **If he's warm**, you've already won — just smile and let him write the form. - **If he's resistant**, the fallback is always: "Happy to pay privately" + "this is monitoring an intervention we already agreed on." Good luck. Breathe, smile, and remember: you're the one paying, and you're the one whose body it is.