ALCAT test

[Marnica]

I am inetersted in this test for DS. I have looked into it a bit and found conflicting info. (Isn't that the way with everything??) Some say it's a scam, some say it's great. I am interested in people' personal experiences if they have done this test.

Was it helpful?
Did your insurance cover it?
Did the results conflict with other test results you have gotten?

TIA

[kjbrown92]

I'll tell you my experience with it. DS (almost 10yo) was off dairy since birth, then off soy at 8 months. Then back on them again and off and on, etc. Two years ago, he was off dairy, soy, potatoes, peas, and green beans. My DD2 (5yo) was on about 20 foods from 14 months until 3 years. I got the ALCAT test for him first to "test" it because I "knew" what he was intolerant to. So I only got 50 foods (even though the lady at the company said it was better to get more foods considering his age). And it said he was intolerant to most of them. So I thought, "must be a scam. I'll just prove them wrong and have DS go off all the foods and see what happens." No snoring. No mouth breathing. No nightmares. No trantrums. Calm kid. Where he used to stare at the ceiling for 2 hours before going to sleep, wanting to be retucked a dozen times, he was instead falling asleep within 10 minutes. He was no longer the clingy, needy child that I thought he was. So I got an additional 100 foods tested for him, and we've been rotating ever since. DD2 I got 200 foods tested. And she lost some of the foods she'd been on for the previous 18 months, but she gained a lot back. Each of them had one false negative (potato for DS, corn for DD2, though DS lost corn after having a lot of it because I didn't rotate it). According to the lady, you should be on the food within 6 months of the test to be accurate. DS hadn't had milk in 18 months and he still tested as severe. Soy had been the same length of time and it only tested as mild, though I know it's severe for him. It was not covered by insurance for us (though our ped wrote a prescription for it hoping to help). So for us, it was hugely helpful.

[waluso]

We had an IgG test done 1 1/2 years ago and it was not helpful at all. About 30 foods tested positive and when I took all those foods out, DD still had significant reactions. I ended up on a TED long-term. In January of this year I decided to try Alcat. It came up with very different results than the IgG test. I still have not fully tested it by cutting out everything because I am afraid to add in ones that tested positive on the IgG test, and if I cut them all out I have nothing left to eat! I have cut out all the severe and moderate intolerances. The hardest one for me is olives, which came up as mild and I can't find another oil I like to use regularly and that isn't bad in some way. I am planning to come up with a plan to cut out everything that came up on Alcat and see how it goes. So I can't really say yet whether it was helpful.

Alcat was covered by my insurance, which is one of the reasons I did it. Although they double charged me for my copay (I paid, then my insurance company send them another check out of my HSA) and I still haven't received a refund. Reminds me that I need to follow up on that.

[Marnica]

Hmmmm sounds promising. I would like to try and do this...if at least some of it is covered by my insurance, I am in the process of trying to find out.

Kathy - I suppose you would know about any false negatives ie the tests says it is ok, but when LO eats that, they have a obvious reaction. What about false positives?? I guess I don't get the whole rotation thing either.

we've been rotating ever since. DD2 I got 200 foods tested. And she lost some of the foods she'd been on for the previous 18 months, but she gained a lot back. Each of them had one false negative (potato for DS, corn for DD2, though DS lost corn after having a lot of it because I didn't rotate it).

not quite following this??

[kjbrown92]

Originally Posted by Marnica

Hmmmm sounds promising. I would like to try and do this...if at least some of it is covered by my insurance, I am in the process of trying to find out.

Kathy - I suppose you would know about any false negatives ie the tests says it is ok, but when LO eats that, they have a obvious reaction. What about false positives?? I guess I don't get the whole rotation thing either.

Well you could test them each out (the positives) but then what's the point of taking the test? Since when I removed things, they got better, I'm assuming that the positives were accurate. And when I've tried to add things back in, some things pass, some things fail (so they really were positive).

not quite following this??

DD2 was down to 20 foods when she was 14 months old (as a result of ED I did with her). At 3yo, I had her tested for 200 foods with ALCAT. She was positive to some of the things that she'd been eating the whole time (maybe because she had too much?) but had outgrown some of the earlier ones that had been positive before (so we got to add a bunch of foods).

When you get 150 foods or more tested, they give you a rotation diet to follow. For instance you can have beef on day 1, chicken on day 2, pork on day 3, and salmon on day 4. Then you can have chicken again. You can have it as much as you want on that day, but you can't have it again until the 4th day. It's to prevent getting more intolerances when you're on a restricted diet. I let DS have corn as much as he wanted, because it was green/safe, and he ended up losing it (he was having stomachaches every day until I removed it).

When they give you the rotation diet, they give you all your greens (safe), and your yellows (mild intolerance). You start with the greens only, for 6 months. Then you can add in the yellows one at a time, and if they pass, add them back into the rotation. They're just basically showing you were they go in the rotation (or you can use a food family chart). It's been almost 2 years since we've been on the rotation. And we've added foods back in for both of the kids. No red/severe foods though. But DS and DD2 have both gotten some orange/moderate ones back, and a bunch of yellow/mild ones back.

[Marnica]

Originally Posted by kjbrown92

Well you could test them each out (the positives) but then what's the point of taking the test? Since when I removed things, they got better, I'm assuming that the positives were accurate. And when I've tried to add things back in, some things pass, some things fail (so they really were positive).



DD2 was down to 20 foods when she was 14 months old (as a result of ED I did with her). At 3yo, I had her tested for 200 foods with ALCAT. She was positive to some of the things that she'd been eating the whole time (maybe because she had too much?) but had outgrown some of the earlier ones that had been positive before (so we got to add a bunch of foods).

When you get 150 foods or more tested, they give you a rotation diet to follow. For instance you can have beef on day 1, chicken on day 2, pork on day 3, and salmon on day 4. Then you can have chicken again. You can have it as much as you want on that day, but you can't have it again until the 4th day. It's to prevent getting more intolerances when you're on a restricted diet. I let DS have corn as much as he wanted, because it was green/safe, and he ended up losing it (he was having stomachaches every day until I removed it).

When they give you the rotation diet, they give you all your greens (safe), and your yellows (mild intolerance). You start with the greens only, for 6 months. Then you can add in the yellows one at a time, and if they pass, add them back into the rotation. They're just basically showing you were they go in the rotation (or you can use a food family chart). It's been almost 2 years since we've been on the rotation. And we've added foods back in for both of the kids. No red/severe foods though. But DS and DD2 have both gotten some orange/moderate ones back, and a bunch of yellow/mild ones back.

Got it! Thank you...still waiting to hear about my insurance. If it's not covered I may only be able to do one of the 50 or 100 food panels. Id like to do the 200 one with the additives and such, butthat's about 800 bucks!

[mom61508]

Originally Posted by Marnica

Got it! Thank you...still waiting to hear about my insurance. If it's not covered I may only be able to do one of the 50 or 100 food panels. Id like to do the 200 one with the additives and such, butthat's about 800 bucks!

Do share where you found the cost of these please

[waluso]

By the way, I recall finding some online dr site after I ordered my test that gave a discount from the prices Alcat charges directly. I don't know how that works with insurance but you may want to search the internet for the best prices. I just did a quick search and found this one: http://www.holistichelp.net/alcat-test.html.

[kjbrown92]

I did 150 for DS and 200 for DD2, and I think it was like $400 and $500 (I used pre-tax HSA money to pay for it). A while ago I got a discount code but I haven't seen one lately.

[Marnica]

Originally Posted by waluso

By the way, I recall finding some online dr site after I ordered my test that gave a discount from the prices Alcat charges directly. I don't know how that works with insurance but you may want to search the internet for the best prices. I just did a quick search and found this one: http://www.holistichelp.net/alcat-test.html.

Yep...here is another site http://www.nutritionallyyours.net/st...index&cPath=66

You order through them (there is a medical person usually an ND or something that signs off for insurance that is affliated with the site. You need a practitiners signature to go through insurance.)

[CrunchyChristianMama]

We just had this test done a week ago and are seeing some things get better already from eliminating all her severe and moderate intolerances and most of her milds.