How to Do a UTI Test: DNA Next Generation with MicroGen DX, Aperiomics & RTL Genomics
Did you have a urinary tract infection, and then it stopped responding to antibiotics? Did your UTI stop culturing positive, and all your urine lab tests say that your cultures are negative? Or were you written off as having interstitial cystitis and left to live in years of pain with no medical help? Maybe you were told you were hysterical, or that it was all in your head?
But.... what if there is a chance that maybe, just maybe, you have a deeply embedded UTI or a chronic UTI? Or something else like yeast, fungus, parasite or virus is causing you UTI-like symptoms and bladder pain?
There are higher technology methods to find the root cause of your bladder problem and help you find the correct diagnosis. This was able to rule out interstitial cystitis for me, because it discovered that I had a low count e-coli UTI. Once I found that out, I started targeting at my e-coli. I didn't use my Elmiron, Topiaz, Mybetriq, Gabapentin medication prescriptions and eventually was able to get out of my wheelchair (I was wheelchair-bound for severe bladder pain) because I'm slowly healing. I wouldn't have been able to start this healing process if I didn't find out I had a low-grade UTI. However, I'm far from recovered as I am still on this journey of hopefully getting fully cured one day.
For those who are new to my blog, here is a quick recap: I had a UTI (urinary tract infection). It responded well to antibiotics at first, but when it stopped responding to antibiotics, cultures
started showing that my urine was "negative for infection" even though I still had all the symptoms
of a UTI. Deep down inside, I still felt like I had a UTI, and I was sure it was still something related
to the UTI or that there was a lingering UTI. I did over 10 standard urine lab tests and all kept
saying I had no infection. It was starting to lead to the prognosis of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction, Interstitial Cystitis and Bladder Pain Syndrome. The word "intermittent catheter" started to be mentioned when I looked at the notes exchanged between a drop-in doctor and my Vancouver-based urologist. I knew this was not how my life story was meant to progress, so I researched for a method that could find me the answer. In the end, DNA next generation sequencing urine test found my low-grade pathogens (e-coli) in my urine, so I did have a low urinary tract infection, that was missed by standard urine tests. You can read about it in my old posts if you are new to this blog. And yes, I have been recovering, without the need for catheter and bladder pain medications, which you can read about in my old posts.
Your urine infection could be missed by standard tests:
Standard urine tests are outdated, and you can find out all about how UTI testing works and how it fails, on the website at Chronic UTI Australia. On that page, they talk about how urinary dipstick tests and urine cultures are outdated and only pick up certain pathogens, or require a certain number of pathogens to say you have an infection. I urge you to read that link if you want to know why your urinary tract infection was missed (or you suspect it was missed).
DNA Next Generation Urine Tests - Who are They and How to Do Them:
To find out if you have a low-lying UTI, or an embedded UTI, that was missed by standard urine lab cultures, Chronic UTI Australia outlines a few DNA Molecular lab companies that you can test your urine with. I have already done it with MicroGenDX and Aperiomics which you can find in my old posts on how I did it, how much I paid, and how it looks like. You can see their contact info and fees listed on the right hand side of my blog as well. To find out how these are done, please call the labs with your questions instead of emailing me, plus I already detail so much on my old posts, so all my answers are there if you read through them carefully. For all your inquiries, call the companies directly instead. You do not need to travel to the US to do them. They can send you the kits to your GP, naturopath or to your home for you to do them. Then you express-ship the urine back to the companies. They either have a solution that keeps the urine stable, or use vaccuum-sealed vials, so your urine will not expire even if you are shipping over a few days. Here is their information:
DNA MOLECULAR LABS (UNITED STATES)
MicroGen Dx (formerly PathoGenius Laboratory) provides Next-Gen Sequencing for urine testing and is located in Texas, USA. This lab accepts samples from international self-requests (ie you can order your own test). The website states:
“Recurrent or chronic UTIs are sometimes the result of more than just a single infectious organism. Urine culture is biased towards a single infectious organism based on CFU (colony-forming unit) count, possibly leading to inappropriate therapy. Some problematic organisms are not readily grown in culture which may lead to incorrect treatment or non-treatment. The advantage of NGS is the ability to test and detect multiple organisms simultaneously, including those that may not grow readily in culture. And if the patient is currently on antibiotic therapy or has a recent history of antibiotic therapy, detection of pathogens by NGS is not impacted by the presence of antibiotics.”
www.microgendx.com
You will need a doctor, urologist, or naturopath to sign a requisition form to them. If your GP refuses to, just ask MicroGenDX who in their database has a doctor in your area who has signed their patients on with them.
Fee: $200 USD per kit
RTLGenomics is a sister-lab to MicroGen Dx focused on research services. It is not a clinical laboratory and does not offer diagnostic services. However, through its clinical research programme they will accept self-referral urine samples from internationals who are not working with a US practitioner. You will receive a clinical report for research purposes, but RTLGenomics does not provide this data as clinical diagnostics. Patients have said it is important to work with an experienced practitioner to interpret these tests results.
www.rtlgenomics.com
I have never done this one, so I don't know how it works.
Fee: I don't know
Aperiomics Inc offers Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) with ‘deep shot-gun metagenomic sequencing’. Their technology uses 100 percent of the DNA, opposed to NGS 16S that uses .001% of the DNA. Their UTI test identifies all known bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites that have been genetically sequenced. This lab accepts samples from international self-requests.
www.aperiomics.com
You may or may not need a doctor, urologist, or naturopath to sign a requisition form to them. If your GP refuses to, just ask Aperiomics who in their database has a doctor in your area who has signed their patients on with them. That's how I found my Vancouver BC naturopath to sign mine for me. Someone else told me that if you were not in the US, you don't need a doctor or naturopath or urologist to sign the form to them, so give them a call and ask.
Fee: $750 - 950 USD per kit
But.... what if there is a chance that maybe, just maybe, you have a deeply embedded UTI or a chronic UTI? Or something else like yeast, fungus, parasite or virus is causing you UTI-like symptoms and bladder pain?
There are higher technology methods to find the root cause of your bladder problem and help you find the correct diagnosis. This was able to rule out interstitial cystitis for me, because it discovered that I had a low count e-coli UTI. Once I found that out, I started targeting at my e-coli. I didn't use my Elmiron, Topiaz, Mybetriq, Gabapentin medication prescriptions and eventually was able to get out of my wheelchair (I was wheelchair-bound for severe bladder pain) because I'm slowly healing. I wouldn't have been able to start this healing process if I didn't find out I had a low-grade UTI. However, I'm far from recovered as I am still on this journey of hopefully getting fully cured one day.
For those who are new to my blog, here is a quick recap: I had a UTI (urinary tract infection). It responded well to antibiotics at first, but when it stopped responding to antibiotics, cultures
started showing that my urine was "negative for infection" even though I still had all the symptoms
of a UTI. Deep down inside, I still felt like I had a UTI, and I was sure it was still something related
to the UTI or that there was a lingering UTI. I did over 10 standard urine lab tests and all kept
saying I had no infection. It was starting to lead to the prognosis of Pelvic Floor Dysfunction, Interstitial Cystitis and Bladder Pain Syndrome. The word "intermittent catheter" started to be mentioned when I looked at the notes exchanged between a drop-in doctor and my Vancouver-based urologist. I knew this was not how my life story was meant to progress, so I researched for a method that could find me the answer. In the end, DNA next generation sequencing urine test found my low-grade pathogens (e-coli) in my urine, so I did have a low urinary tract infection, that was missed by standard urine tests. You can read about it in my old posts if you are new to this blog. And yes, I have been recovering, without the need for catheter and bladder pain medications, which you can read about in my old posts.
Your urine infection could be missed by standard tests:
Standard urine tests are outdated, and you can find out all about how UTI testing works and how it fails, on the website at Chronic UTI Australia. On that page, they talk about how urinary dipstick tests and urine cultures are outdated and only pick up certain pathogens, or require a certain number of pathogens to say you have an infection. I urge you to read that link if you want to know why your urinary tract infection was missed (or you suspect it was missed).
DNA Next Generation Urine Tests - Who are They and How to Do Them:
To find out if you have a low-lying UTI, or an embedded UTI, that was missed by standard urine lab cultures, Chronic UTI Australia outlines a few DNA Molecular lab companies that you can test your urine with. I have already done it with MicroGenDX and Aperiomics which you can find in my old posts on how I did it, how much I paid, and how it looks like. You can see their contact info and fees listed on the right hand side of my blog as well. To find out how these are done, please call the labs with your questions instead of emailing me, plus I already detail so much on my old posts, so all my answers are there if you read through them carefully. For all your inquiries, call the companies directly instead. You do not need to travel to the US to do them. They can send you the kits to your GP, naturopath or to your home for you to do them. Then you express-ship the urine back to the companies. They either have a solution that keeps the urine stable, or use vaccuum-sealed vials, so your urine will not expire even if you are shipping over a few days. Here is their information:
DNA MOLECULAR LABS (UNITED STATES)
MicroGen Dx (formerly PathoGenius Laboratory) provides Next-Gen Sequencing for urine testing and is located in Texas, USA. This lab accepts samples from international self-requests (ie you can order your own test). The website states:
“Recurrent or chronic UTIs are sometimes the result of more than just a single infectious organism. Urine culture is biased towards a single infectious organism based on CFU (colony-forming unit) count, possibly leading to inappropriate therapy. Some problematic organisms are not readily grown in culture which may lead to incorrect treatment or non-treatment. The advantage of NGS is the ability to test and detect multiple organisms simultaneously, including those that may not grow readily in culture. And if the patient is currently on antibiotic therapy or has a recent history of antibiotic therapy, detection of pathogens by NGS is not impacted by the presence of antibiotics.”
www.microgendx.com
You will need a doctor, urologist, or naturopath to sign a requisition form to them. If your GP refuses to, just ask MicroGenDX who in their database has a doctor in your area who has signed their patients on with them.
Fee: $200 USD per kit
RTLGenomics is a sister-lab to MicroGen Dx focused on research services. It is not a clinical laboratory and does not offer diagnostic services. However, through its clinical research programme they will accept self-referral urine samples from internationals who are not working with a US practitioner. You will receive a clinical report for research purposes, but RTLGenomics does not provide this data as clinical diagnostics. Patients have said it is important to work with an experienced practitioner to interpret these tests results.
www.rtlgenomics.com
I have never done this one, so I don't know how it works.
Fee: I don't know
Aperiomics Inc offers Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) with ‘deep shot-gun metagenomic sequencing’. Their technology uses 100 percent of the DNA, opposed to NGS 16S that uses .001% of the DNA. Their UTI test identifies all known bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites that have been genetically sequenced. This lab accepts samples from international self-requests.
www.aperiomics.com
You may or may not need a doctor, urologist, or naturopath to sign a requisition form to them. If your GP refuses to, just ask Aperiomics who in their database has a doctor in your area who has signed their patients on with them. That's how I found my Vancouver BC naturopath to sign mine for me. Someone else told me that if you were not in the US, you don't need a doctor or naturopath or urologist to sign the form to them, so give them a call and ask.
Fee: $750 - 950 USD per kit