I thought it would be educational for you to know and understand some of the really amazing specialty tests that we offer as a true functional medicine provider. These tests go above and beyond your traditional blood work or stool tests that can be obtained by local labs. Sadly, the main reason traditional physicians don’t order these is because they are not covered by insurance. I’m sure you will see why these tests are so important and realize that you have to take control of your own health!
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Stool analysis testing: We use several different companies and do tests like the GI Map. These tests not only screen for what I call the big, bad uglies that perhaps you ate on your tainted spinach but it looks for the bacteria that are supposed to be there in your gut, which ones have overgrown now causing SIBO (small intestine bowel overgrowth), yeast, parasites, how you digest your food, inflammation markers and so much more. What makes this type of testing even more uinque is they use DNA technology so for example with parasites they can isolate the DNA a parasite is shedding to identify it rather than having to actually catch the organism (like traditional labs)!
Saliva hormone testing: The best way to check your hormones especially when on topical hormone therapy is with saliva testing. In addition, it is the only true way to see how your stress system is responding by checking four different levels throughout the day of your cortisol! We can get insurance to cover some saliva testing especially when looking for Cushing’s syndrome but most are cash pay.
Neurotransmitter testing: Feeling wired but tired, anxious, depressed? Then looking at your neurotransmitters can be important. With this type of testing, you can see serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, GABA, glutamate and PEA levels which can all help guide which supplements to take to target these areas and if the medication you are taking is working.
Mold testing: This is super important if you have worked or lived in a space with known mold as once these toxins get into your body they don’t just leave because you have left that space! This is a simple urine test you do at home and it will tell you if you have the toxins from the top five problematic species. It will NOT tell you when or where you were exposed.
Lyme testing: I know, you were tested for lyme before and it was negative. Or was it? Like I have said in previous newsletters, this is very hard to test for tick-borne illnesses so several different specialty tests need to be looked at to really answer the question if you have a tick borne component! If you have any autoimmune issue this may be a very important test for you.
Mitochondrial health: you may have read about mitochondria and that these cells are the powerhouse of your bodies’ energy. You can test how the mitochondria are functioning along with how your body is using your nutrients, if you have a decreased ability to detox, your amino acid balance, your omega balance and they offer a sneak peek at your oxidative stress burden, mineral status and heavy metals.
Oral health: With a simple saliva test you can see if you have HPV in your mouth that is active as well as bacteria that can be a cause of Alzheimers, colon cancer and so much more! This is one of my favorite tests as it often leads down a path of identifying a bad root canal or other failed dental work which is always a suspect for persistent inflammation and we know that persistent inflammation is an underlying cause of heart disease, cancer and dementia to name a few!
Heavy metals: This can be tested in a few ways using urine or hair depending on what you are looking for and timeline of exposure.
Circulating Tumor cells: This blood test can tell if you have circulating tumor cells and then give you supplement and chemosensitivity recommendations based on YOUR tumor. Programs are then built around these results to help optimize your supplements.
Nutritional analysis: We have tests that can look at numerous nutrient levels to see if you have deficiencies. When people are on long-term medications even something as simple as a blood pressure medication, we know that certain nutrients may be “robbed” by the medication. It is important to stay on these medications, so we figure out which nutrients are deficient and then replete them by using this test.
Beyond hormone testing: If you are having symptoms that are definitely hormonally driven but having trouble figuring it out, a 30 day hormone test should be done. During that 30 day period, you will collect 11 different salivary samples so we can see what exactly is happening with your estrogen, progesterone and even testosterone if needed and correlate it with your symptoms.
We can also do testing to see how you are breaking down your hormones and if there are imbalances with that process which is a key to cancer prevention especially the breakdown byproducts of estrogen. Many tests offer this type of analysis like the DUTCH test and this is considered when determining the best test for you.
Food sensitivity testing: I think this is my all time favorite test because I have seen lives change from eliminating the foods on this test report. Your allergist will do the standard IgE testing with either skin prick or blood. However, I have found the IgG system to be the main culprit for many symptoms like joint pain, rings being too tight in the morning but fine later, headaches, fatigue, any type of gut issue from bloating to gas to esophageal spasms to IBS (diarrhea or constipation) and more!
Be your own advocate for your health and if you are having issues then let’s keep looking!
To your health,
Laura
