Testing and Diagnostics - Amazon S3

[Pages:3]Testing and Diagnostics

Testing is a process, and the approach will vary based on your symptoms and health markers. You want to think like a detective. Tests can be expensive and many of them aren't covered by insurance, so it's not recommended to do a full battery of tests right off the bat.

FREE Self-assessments (Your detective work should begin at home.)

?Candida Saliva Test ?HCL (challenge) test ?pH testing of urine and saliva ?Constipation, gas, diarrhea, bloating (Use a food journal to identify patterns.) ?Pulse and temperature tests ?Temperature and pulse tests for thyroid (also gives an indication of what cortisol might be when it's tested) ?Food sensitivities ? one of the most effective ways to do this is by eliminating a single trigger food (gluten, dairy, soy,

corn, sugar, eggs, or nightshade vegetables) for two weeks and then reintroduce one at a time. ?How are your sleep patterns? This gives you an indication of hormonal health. ?How is your energy throughout the day? Indication of hormonal health, B12 levels, and protein synthesis ?How do you handle stress? Indication of HPA axis ?Do you have allergies or asthma? Consider an IgE allergen (blood) test to determine environmental allergens or IgG

blood test to determine food sensitivities. ?Do you have headaches or migraines? Consider looking at the liver first if so.

Mainstream Testing (You can most likely get these through an Allopathic/Western doctor.)

You may choose to start with your primary Western doctor for initial testing if your health insurance is somewhat restrictive (like an HMO). You will need to make a strong case about your symptoms, demonstrate that you`ve done your research, and let them know that you want to find the root cause of your issues. Otherwise, they could potentially default to a diagnosis that describes your symptoms ? like IBS ? and recommend medicine to fix the symptom. If they do not support your desire to find the root cause of your problems, then seek out a functional medicine doctor who can be your true partner in wellness.

Comprehensive blood panel

?Lipid panel ? Total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, Triglycerides ?Ask for the LDL particle size test. A Western doctor might not do this, but it's important to know if you have small particle LDL (dangerous type) or big LDL. ?CBC ?Vitamin D levels (D2, D3) ?Vitamin B levels ?Calcium ?Iodine ?Fasting blood sugar ?Hormones, Estrogen, Testosterone

Thyroid ? allopathic doctors will usually only test for TSH, T3, T4.

?Ask for Free T3 and Free T4, but they may push back. ?Whenever possible (and definitely if there are any red flags in the TSH hormone including under- or over-active), you'll

want see a functional medicine doctor to test TPO (thyroid peroxidase) and thyroglobulin antibodies.

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Parasites and Pathogens ? h. Pylori and other pathogens.

?The typical signs of having a parasite are bloating, gas after you eat (especially raw foods; it's basically the inability to digest raw foods), insomnia, depression, and acne; and, all other lab tests come back normal.

?H. Pylori can be tested 3 ways ? stool, breath, or blood tests. It's ideal to do 2 of the 3 tests, not just one (because it is a sneaky critter and the test results aren't always accurate.) So, one breath and stool test, or a blood test and stool test to rule it out.

?If you have h. Pylori, you'll want to take antibiotics to get rid of it. And anybody that you might be kissing should also take the antibiotics because it's passed back and forth through saliva.

?BioHealth's Stool Test #401H is the GI Pathogen Screen w/ h. Pylori ($267) or Biohealth GI Pathogen Screen #401 without h. pylori ($172)

?You will collect stool samples at home over a period of 6 days. The lab kit requests that you only collect samples for 3 days, but we prefer that you collect for 6 days for optimal results by putting a small sample in vial #1 on day #1, and then on day #4, add another small sample to vial #1. Repeat this procedure for days #2 and #5, and for days #3 and #6.

Celiac Testing (Only pursue this test if you suspect you might have it.)

?This is at least a two-part process, and the doctor might eventually refer you to a gastroenterologist. ?Celiac is an auto-immune condition, so there are a few health markers you can look at, but there isn't a definitive YES/NO test. ?Sometimes the blood tests will not deliver clear results because they are checking for antibodies, i.e., your body's response to gluten in the system. ?For the blood test to register a positive result, you cannot be totally gluten-free. The doctor might tell you to eat a lot of gluten, but that's crazy because it can damage your intestines. You should be fine having a small piece of gluten-containing food for 2 days before. (Just enough to get those antibodies charged up so they register on the test.)

Celiac Part 1 = Initial blood work to check for antibodies common in celiac disease, such as: ?Anti tissue transglutaminase antibodies (tTG) ?Anti endomysial antibodies (EMA) ?Anti gliadin antibodies (AGA)

Genova and Pharmasan both run these labs, but so do many other lab companies.

Celiac Part 2 = If you get a positive result for the antibody tests, the doctor might recommend an intestinal biopsy to check villi/intestinal damage.

Celiac Part 3 = If the blood work returns negative results (indicating low potential for celiac), you can do stool tests with a functional doctor, to explore gluten intolerance and other food sensitivities. You may potentially be diagnosed with non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Many if not, most people are sensitive to gluten.

MTHFR genetic mutation

?The MTHFR mutation inhibits methylation ? i.e., the body has trouble converting inactive forms of folate and B12 to the active forms, which can adversely affect neurological and cardiovascular systems as well as be responsible for (multiple) miscarraiges. This can result in high homocysteine (increased risk for heart disease), low glutathione (makes you more susceptible to stress and toxin buildup), low SAM-e (can increase depression), etc.

?Some potential markers for this mutation are mental dysfunction (anxiety, depression, irritability, mood swings), infertility/miscarriages, Down Syndrome, MS, Autism, Alzheimer's, epilepsy, Parkinson's, schizophrenia, family history of heart attack or stroke, and more.

?Spectracell Labs ? they screen for both C677T and A1298C. Quest also does it. ?$150 test + local blood draw. Any doctor can run it.

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More Testing (Will need a functional medicine doctor or naturopath to go deeper.)

Adrenals

?Biohealth 4pt. saliva test (there are many different variations). I recommend the 201 and 205 plus melatonin to gauge sleep and human growth hormone (and HPA axis health). ?Include Secretory IgA to test the lining of the gut.

Food Sensitivity Testing

?IgG blood tests or IgA stool testing (Cyrex Labs or Biohealth Diagnostics) ?Lab companies: Cyrex, Genova, ImmunoLabs, Alcat, and potentially Direct Labs

Heavy Metal Toxicity

?Request a hair analysis test or a heavy metal blood test. ?It's important to check for heavy metals if you have candida that will not go away

SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth)

?Hydrogen breath test, Metabolic Solutions ~$100 OR a urine organic acids test ?Most Western doctors don't acknowledge or fully understand SIBO yet, but naturopaths are aware of it, and there is increasing awareness among holistic health communities. ?The markers are similar to a parasite, and you typically have one of two types: either extreme diarrhea or constipation. ?Chris Kresser recommends natural antimicrobials (cat's claw, wormwood, goldenseal, pau d'arco, olive leaf extract, garlic, barberry, oregano oil, and Oregon grape), lauricidin, biofilm disruptors, D-lactate-free probiotics, saccharomyces boulardii, and soil-based organisms such as Prescript-Assist. Please see his article on SIBO. ?Another popular and seemingly effective protocol to kill it off once and for all ? per many forum discussions ? includes an expensive antibiotic called rifaxamin along with one year of a highly restrictive Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD). Foods are reintroduced slowly and gradually.

Mucosal Barrier Test/Intestinal Permeability (Test for Leaky Gut)

?This may not be a very useful thing to test at the outset, because there's usually something else causing the leaky gut. However, this test can be very helpful to gauge the success of the treatment or to decide to rebuild your intestinal mucosoa as a way to strengthen the immune system. ?It's typically a saliva test to assess the integrity of the gut's mucosal barrier, dysbiosis, leaky gut, malabsorption of nutrients, intestinal permeability, etc. ?Read more about the mucosal barrier testing here. ?You can also get a blood test for lactulose and mannitol sugars.

Depression (anxiety, hyperactivity, lack of focus or motor kills, or wanting to get off of anti-anxiety or anti-depression meds)

?Test the neurotransmitters (metabolites in the urine are tested, not the actual neurotransmitters) to see which neurotranmistters you are deficient or overactive in. Some we tested are dopamine, serotonin, GABA, PEA, epinephrine, norepinephrine, glycine, 5HIAA, DOPAC, glutamate, and histamine.

?Also be sure to screen for the MTHFR mutation if you have a long history of depression or negative thoughts that feel non-circumstantial.

Insomnia

?4pt cortisol panel and melatonin panel run by Biohealth (any of our referral partners can do this for you long-distance) so they can start diving into the intricacies of your HPA axis and have a look at the neurotransmitters in your brain to see what is actually happening. ?Also parasites are active at night and can cause sleep issues for many.

ADD/ADHD

?Urine sample to look at brain chemistry to try to find the cause. See above information on testing neurotransmitters.

?2013 The Whole Journey, Inc. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate, distribute, train from, or create derivative works from without permission. ?

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