BLOOD TESTING
Chances are that you have an insurance plan which dictates which blood tests are “medically necessary”. Because allopathic medicine and the insurance system are set up to look only for pathology, tests that assess general physiological function in absence of clear evidence of pathology are usually considered to be unnecessary. Sometimes, the tests your insurance company will authorize are simply not comprehensive enough to determine what is really going on. We order the tests we need to look for sub-clinical functional disorders, rather than ordering tests simply to confirm the presence of disease. While this may cost you more money in the short run, it provides significantly more information which we can use to find the root of your complaints rather than providing a band-aid solution. Blood work is ordered through Quest Diagnostics.
DRIED URINE TESTING COMPREHENSIVE HORMONES (DUTCH)
Urine is used to evaluating the nuances that may not show in blood work- how many times have you heard “blood work normal” yet you have every sign and symptom that clearly shows you are not functioning normally. Urine testing is convenient, non-invasive, and inexpensive, which allows for needed multiple tests over an extended period of time to design individual healing programs.
Hormone Metabolite Assessment:
This test measures estrogen, DHEA, testosterone, progesterone, and their metabolites. Serum and saliva testing cannot offer an extensive overview of sex hormone metabolites. How the body is processing and metabolizing estrogens and androgens is important in making sound clinical decisions. Estrogen metabolites show a fuller picture of estrogen status and can help reduce risks for estrogen-related cancers by optimizing metabolism.
Advanced Adrenal Assessment:
A complete overview of adrenal hormones includes DHEA, cortisol and cortisol metabolites. To fully understand HPA-Axis cortisol should be tested throughout the day to assess the diurnal pattern. Only this test includes all of these parameters merging the diurnal free cortisol pattern seen typically in saliva with the cortisol metabolism picture and DHEAS.
Comprehensive Hormone Profile:
By combining the Hormone Metabolite Assessment and the Advanced Adrenal Assessment a comprehensive overview of sex and adrenal hormones is achieved to get to the bottom of a patient’s complex hormone-related health issues.
DUTCH Sample Collection is easier:
• No blood draw
• No 24-hour urine collection
• No spitting into tubes
• 4 simple dried urine samples
• Collect conveniently at home
DUTCH Testing is more comprehensive:
• Metabolism of Cortisol
• Metabolism of Progesterone, Testosterone, and Estrogen
• Diurnal pattern of free Cortisol
• Accurate and precise testing methods (LC-MS/MS GC-MS/MS)
•Adrenal Panel If you are having dramatic mood shifts, chronic stress and related health issues, low immunity, skin problems, lack of vitality and energy, muscle and joint pain, hypoglycemia, common digestive disturbances, migraine headaches, osteoporosis, sleep disturbances, poor memory, low sex drive, low body temperature, thyroid issues
•Female Hormone Panel We will use this test to assist us with fertility and/or severe PMS. This test takes a month to perform- you are monitoring your hormonal health with 11 samples over 28-32 days. This gives us a far clearer picture of what your hormones are doing every day of your cycle.
•Post-Menopause Panel If you are having bleeding irregularities, dryness, hot flashes/sweats, insomnia, headaches, mood changes, depression, osteoporosis, altered fat and carbohydrate metabolism, elevated blood pressure, gallbladder issues.
•Male Hormone Panel If you are having andropause symptoms, impaired libido, ED, baldness, thinning, fat accumulation around the waist, change in sleeping habits, lack of enthusiasm, increased cholesterol, nervousness, depression, inability to lose weight, or simply not feeling yourself.
COMPREHENSIVE STOOL ANALYSIS – Doctors Data
If you are having chronic and vague GI symptoms –frequent bloating, gas, cramping, diarrhea, and constipation, travel within the U.S. and overseas, close living quarters, children in daycare.
This comprehensive profile helps pinpoint the causes of gastrointestinal symptoms and chronic systemic conditions and measures key markers of digestion, absorption, and inflammation. Using growth-based culture, the standard of practice in clinical microbiology, as well as sensitive biochemical assays and microscopy, this thorough profile evaluates the status of beneficial and pathogenic microorganisms including aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, yeast, and parasites. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing to prescriptive and natural agents is also performed for appropriate bacterial and fungal species at no additional charge. It also includes a 3-day collection of Parasitology.
GLUTEN TESTING – Cyrex Labs
Recent research indicates that immune sensitivity to gluten is exceedingly common, present in 30-60% of all Americans. Although these reactions can cause malnutrition, growth failure in children, osteoporosis, many autoimmune diseases (including colitis, diabetes, arthritis, and many others), most of the affected individuals are unaware they have it because there have been no sensitive tests capable of diagnosis.
Researchers have proven that 50% of patients diagnosed with Celiac disease do not respond to the one protein being assessed in the conventional tests, instead they react to one or more of the other gluten proteins that are not measured in those conventional tests. Additionally, more labs are switching to only offering deamidated gliadin because it is more sensitive for Celiac disease.
Unfortunately, the larger percentage of the population, Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitive patients, has been shown to be more reactive to native gliadin. At Cyrex Labs we measure both native and deamidated gliadin along with other gluten family proteins, the opioid peptides from both gluten and wheat, the lectin portion of wheat and wheat as a whole. Because not every person’s gluten reactivity manifests as Celiac disease, Cyrex Labs measures antibodies to multiple transglutaminases to capture those patients whose gluten reactivity manifests as skin disorders or neurological complaints. For more information: Gluten Facts