Advanced Lab Testing Services
At AustinMD, we have a unique expertise in traditional advanced medicine, as well as integrative and functional medicine testing. Functional Medicine takes a proactive approach, utilizing the best preventive advanced lab markers. We employ new technologies and biochemical markers that identify indicators of disease risk much earlier.
The results of these state-of-the-art tests allow our highly trained staff to design the most effective treatment plan to prevent disease or to alleviate disease progression more effectively if it has begun. These tests reveal the “root cause” of disease and dysfunction in the body.
Tests We Use for Advanced Laboratory Services:
A Functional, Comprehensive Approach to Cardiometabolic Health
We take a preventative approach to Cardiovascular Disease and Type 2 Diabetes (Cardiometabolic Disease) and utilize the cutting edge science of Cleveland Heart Lab and Boston Heart Lab for Advanced Cardiometabolic Testing. Some of these tests may be covered by Medicare and Insurance.
At AustinMD we go beyond basic cholesterol, triglyceride, and glucose testing that merely identify disease progression at an advanced stage. For example, by the time your fasting glucose is elevated, it is estimated that approximately 60% or more of the insulin-producing cells on your pancreas are already destroyed. This approach has not lowered the rate of cardiometabolic disease. In fact, more and more Americans are diagnosed each year and at increasingly younger ages. Heart Disease remains the number one killer of Americans.
The Advanced Cardiometabolic Testing we use identifies early warning signs and root causes for cardiometabolic disease such as inflammation, insulin resistance and indices that reveal how cholesterol and blood fats are being transported throughout your bloodstream. These Advanced Testing measurements reveal early warning signs of cardiometabolic disease long before traditional markers such as elevations in fasting blood sugar would occur. This allows our expert team to develop a personalized preventative wellness plan to address abnormalities that could lead to more serious health conditions if left untreated. These advanced tests show early warning signs and abnormalities as early as 10-15 years prior to when conventional labs would show advanced stages of dysfunction and disease.
A Functional, Comprehensive Approach to Gut Health
GI-MAP
GI-MAP stands for Gastrointestinal Microbial Assay Plus, and it’s a test to identify the microbes in a stool sample to high degrees of accuracy. We might order this test as part of your advanced lab testing when we want to better understand your guy health, testing for bacteria like H. pylori, candida, and potentially parasites that might be affecting your overall health.
This test goes beyond normal blood labs by measuring both microbial and non-microbial factors, such as certain immune system and digestive proteins that are considered good markers for overall digestive function and GI health. These indicators can point us in the direction of inflammatory bowel disease or Leaky Gut Syndrome.
Symptoms that might warrant a GI-MAP analysis include concerns about:
- Acid reflux
- Brain fog
- Allergies
- Gastritis
- Crohn’s disease
- Mood disorders
- Weight loss issues
BiomeFX
Another important part of our advanced laboratories is the tests provided by BiomeFX. This stool test also focuses on the GI tract but offers a wider picture of your gut microbiome. This at-home test identifies the amount of 10 keystone species present in your gut microbiome as well as over 30 potential pathogens or viral factors. It identifies microbial relationships and a full analysis of over 20 functions of the microbiome. This comprehensive report gives our providers the necessary information to design protocols to support your specific gut functions using nourishing dietary practices, supplement protocols and lifestyle recommendations.
After reviewing your personalized results with you, our team can help you adjust your lifestyle according to the results of this and other quality testing services to help you find relief from the symptoms of a non-optimized GI tract.
Cyrex-Food Sensitivity Testing
Cyrex Food Sensitivity Testing is the gold standard in the testing industry for many reasons. First of all, Cyrex is the only lab that tests foods the way they are actually eaten-raw, cooked and modified. Other labs are testing raw food proteins and not all foods are eaten raw, such as chicken for example. Cyrex runs all tests in duplicate for diligent quality control and to assure accuracy of results. In addition, Cyrex adjusts the range of reactivity for each specific food item to prevent false negative and false positive results.
A Functional, Comprehensive Approach to Hormone Health
ZRT Cortisol and Hormone Testing
Hormones regulate nearly every aspect of our body, and a few play critical roles in how we feel during our everyday routines. An imbalance of cortisol, for example, can cause all kinds of symptoms such as insomnia, anxiety, diet cravings, and low immune response. Understanding your cortisol levels, therefore, is crucial to obtaining a holistic, functional picture of your health.
As leaders in the adrenal hormone testing space, ZRT Laboratory offers cortisol testing to identify whether you have normal cortisol levels, elevated ones, or diminished levels. Any of these can be causing or exacerbating health issues you might be experiencing. This is why we take a functional approach to understand your whole mind-body system before recommending an appropriate treatment plan.
A Functional, Comprehensive Approach to Optimizing your Nutrient Status
The NutrEval test by Genova Labs is one of our favorite tests at AustinMD. It is a comprehensive functional and nutritional assessment test that identifies root causes of dysfunction and clinical imbalances that inhibit you from achieving your optimal health. It does this by looking at numerous nutrients and biomarkers that give us insight into your digestive function, toxic exposures, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial function.
Mitochondria are the energy factories inside nearly every cell in our bodies. Critical to look at the efficiency of these energy factories that depend on nutrients to create the energy and vitality we need.
The NutrEval assesses your “functional nutritional needs” based on not just your blood level of a nutrient, but what is going on inside your cells and mitochondria in regard to your need for that nutrient. A Functional Analysis identifies the cellular needs for nutrients by taking into account the numerous biochemical pathways that are dependent upon a specific nutrient. As opposed to a serum blood level of a nutrient, that may not be a reliable measure of your actual nutrient status and nutrient need.
The NutrEval Test measures all aspects of your nutrient status, nutrients in your plasma, intracellular levels, and a functional assessment of your nutrient needs. So, this test leaves no stone unturned when identifying your nutrient needs. This profile assesses numerous metabolic pathways and synthesizes this complex biochemistry into personalized treatment recommendations designed to assist with management of symptoms related to nutritional deficiencies. Nutritional deficiencies can manifest in many ways ranging from lack of energy, brain fog, and GI issues just to name a few. The NutrEval Test is covered by Traditional Medicare in most cases.
Blood labs
Finally, we also take health insurance from many major insurance companies to run the standard blood labs and help you understand what we see in the results. Typical labs measure blood glucose levels, cholesterol levels, red blood cell count, and more. These can be customized based on your concerns to help us more clearly identify the root cause of your health problems and help make an even better treatment plan for you.
You have access to more knowledge about your health and body than you know with our advanced health resources at AustinMD. Our tests are simple, some of which can even be done at home, and offer great insights into your overall health in a way that many care providers don’t take the time to check out. Call or contact us online to learn more about our advanced laboratory services today.
You can now view our pricing online!
What to Expect
Are you a Candidate?
If you are considering participating in a specific program at AustinMD Aesthetics & Wellness, but still have more questions, please don’t hesitate to Contact us. Our Functional Medicine team will be happy to answer your questions or give you more information on any of our programs.
Functional Medicine FAQ
Please review the frequently asked questions below. If you don’t find the answer to your question, feel free to contact our patient coordinator via email and set up a FREE discovery consultation.
At your initial consultation, you will be given an opportunity to discuss your personal health goals with Dr. Roy or his Functional Medicine certified nurse practitioner. This is an opportunity for you and our team to identify if you are a good candidate for our services.
Expect the consultation to last for 60-75 minutes. If you are a good candidate for our care, we will go over the test kits and some paperwork to get you started. We value your time and do our best to provide a timely service.
The initial consultation appointment is $350 to see Dr. Jenny, NP and $400 to see Dr. Roy. It’s important for you to complete the consent forms and any questionnaires assigned, 48 hours prior to your visit. This allows the providers to develop the best plan for you and utilize the appointment time efficiently to answer your questions. During that visit, the functional testing needs will be determined and any additional testing kit costs will be shared with you. An In-Body scan and a 60-minute Functional Medicine dietician appointment is also included with this consultation, which can be scheduled after you receive your test results.
All testing that we do is known as functional lab testing. Functional lab testing helps us evaluate your health at a cellular level and this testing is different from traditional testing because it helps evaluate the root causes of your symptoms instead of just diagnosing you with a condition. This testing is done through your stool, saliva and or blood often times we provide you with the kits and many of the samples can actually be collected from the comfort of your home or the local lab. Each lab test provides us with details of clinical data and insight into your cellular function and we want to make sure that you fully understand your lab results and that you can easily share them with your health care team if necessary.
Once we get your lab results back and review them for your mineral nutrient needs we will recommend a personalized supplement program. Our recommendations will include only the highest quality products to create more predictable outcomes. By doing the right testing to start with we can ensure that you’re taking the right supplements for the right length of time. All supplements and remedies are included in our Creating a Healthier You program.
Depending on your health issues, some supplements may be taken on a temporary basis and others may be taken on a more permanent basis.
Although food is the best medicine, supplementation supports the lifestyle changes and fills in any genetic weakness.
To determine a client’s treatment, Dr. Roy and his staff will review your entire medical history. You may want to request copies of your medical files to share with him.
Your medical files and treatments are held in the strictest of confidence; all correspondence is handled through our secure patient portal.
We believe in education in bringing about improved wellness and teaching others about the importance of diet, exercise, hormones and stress relief.
We do not accept any form of medical insurance or Medicare. We do encourage you to use your insurance for lab work, however some tests may not be covered. You may also use pre-tax dollars from a Health Savings Account (HSA) or Care Credit to pay for your consultations and supplements used for specific health problems.
To provide you with the most affordable care possible AustinMD has made special arrangements with all of our lab vendors to provide our patients with direct lab pricing. This ensures that you’ll get the lowest price possible and all lab testing that you receive. Some tests with some insurance companies will cover a large portion of the test. On average, you should budget $500-$1500.
A Health Savings Account (HSA) enables you to pay for medical expenses on a tax-free or pre-taxed basis. For more information and to see if you qualify, you will need to speak with your medical insurance provider.
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