Organic Acids Test - false results?

[dannybex]

Well I would not call SelfHacked's website conventional medicine. It's pretty alternative. So if SelfHacked is calling the OAT a scam, it's not looking good for that test.

SelfHacked very carefully worded their article by saying "Many skeptics say that OAT is a scam. It will set you back around $250 or more, and you will likely not be any better off for doing it", but if you scroll further down their page, they talk about which markers are reliable, etc., on six separate pages.

Of course the vast majority of people won't need an OAT test, but we ain't the 'vast majority'. We're a tiny minority whose disease happens to be made up of many of the issues (gut, mitochondrial, methylation, etc) that an OAT can at least begin to address.

I had one done in September 2018, and as of a month ago, it may have just saved my life. While two doctors missed it (as did I), an acupuncturist I saw last month noted that my c. difficile marker was just two points away from being officially 'High'. And that was two years ago.

Finally, I have an explanation for 19 months of diarrhea (80% of the time) and the resultant malabsorption, inflammation, and weight loss. (I had a stool test done in July of last year which came back clean. Little did I know then that the stool test has a 20% false negative rate.)

Anyway, I started s. boulardii and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG 3 weeks ago, and my diarrhea stopped in 2-3 days.

 

[Hip]

I had one done in September 2018, and as of a month ago, it may have just saved my life. While two doctors missed it (as did I), an acupuncturist I saw last month noted that my c. difficile marker was just two points away from being officially 'High'. And that was two years ago.

Very interesting. I did not know the OAT could detect individual bacteria.

For me, when I consider paying for test, I always look for whether it can provide actionable information that can lead to improved health.

So if you take an OAT and it tells you you have oxidative stress for example, that's not really telling you much, since we know oxidative stress is an issue in ME/CFS; and it's not really providing much actionable information.

Whereas when you found out that you had likely Clostridium difficile infection, that's a good piece of actionable information.

 

[Learner1]

For me, when I consider paying for test, I always look for whether it can provide actionable information that can lead to improved health.

So if you take an OAT

The OAT provided tremendously actionable information. It is, hands down, the best test for finding oxalate problems, which then require a low oxalate diet and supplements to help deal with the oxalates, to gradually bind them, and then rid the body of them to reverse the many insidious problems that sharp oxalate crystals caused throughout the body.

It shows deficiencies of various B vitamins, glutathione, and vitamin C.

It can show if you have a candida problem in your gut, for which you can then take Diflucan and Nystatin and an anti-candida diet.

It can highlight certain mitochondrial problems, which there can be actions taken to improve mitochondrial function.

It is a very useful test, and is covered by many insurance here in the US, which speaks to how well it is accepted in the medical community.