Hello from beautiful, sunny San Diego, where I am attending the 10th annual Integrative Medicine for Mental Health conference. I'm already learning so much and am inspired to bring new (to me) information back to my patients in Sheboygan. We have so much more information in the last few years that can help diagnose and treat many people more effectively than using pharmaceutical "solutions" alone.
If you have chronic fatigue, depression, anxiety, OCD (as well as tics and Tourette's) ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, anorexia, borderline personality disorder, Alzheimer's disease or Mild Cognitive Impairment, and even schizophrenia, there IS hope! Many people suffering with these entities have previously unknown root causes that we can now identify and treat successfully. Organic Acid Testing (OAT) is the first step that I have been missing in my practice, and I'm a little ashamed it took me so long to get on board with it. This test looks at metabolic metabolites in one's urine and can identify or suggest such disparate Clostridium overgrowth, mitochondrial dysfunction, toxin (glyphosate, insecticides, etc.) and/or mold exposure. This will often lead to actionable information. Occasionally, it will indicate further testing is needed for toxin or mold exposures. All these are available from Great Plains Laboratory (GPL), and I am going to begin using this resource for patients who are agreeable to it.
This is where I need your help (and fast). The testing itself is fairly straightforward (it is merely a urine sample that gets mailed to their laboratory--no blood draw is needed! The testing is not cheap (although, I think most people will find the information gained is definitely worth the price) if one pays out of pocket, and insurance coverage is variable. Furthermore, the way GPL does their billing can get confusing. There are basically three options for getting this done:
One can decide to pay out of pocket directly to GPL: cost is $309
I can order kits for patients to pay out of pocket to me: cost is $249, but I have to order them here at the conference to get this deal. I am already going to buy two at my own expense for people close to me who I know will benefit from this.
One can order through GPL and ask to have it submitted to insurance, paying $200 deposit up front. After GPL submits a bill for $399 to insurance, the patient is responsible for whatever is not covered. This is the confusing option. If one chooses this option and insurance covers only $100, you would still owe GPL $99. If insurance covers $300, one would be refunded $101.
If you are a patient and would like to start down this path, please call your insurance company today (Friday) and ask them how much of the OAT they will cover. Please get back to me before Sunday, because it will affect how many kits I order here at the conference.
N.B. The OAT can indicate likely environmental toxin and mold exposure in general. GPL also has specific tests for those that are available for additional costs, which is less if ordered at the same time as the OAT. These tests are NOT reimbursed by insurance (yet). I would only start with either of these two other tests if you have good reason to believe you definitely have either.
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