Congratulations! You’re about to take the next step in your healthcare. By identifying and eliminating the foods that you react to, you can finally feel relief and overall better health caused by these pesky foods. For more information on how to identify food allergies and what havoc they can have on the body, read Dr. Marzell’s Food Allergy Book Here.
Please note that the food allergy testing is not processed through insurance. This is an out of pocket investment that is paid straight to the lab, not our office. The lab test results are processed through Meridian Valley Lab. Meridian Valley Lab uses a type of testing called ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) which is highly reproducible. This type of testing checks your blood for antibodies that your body may be making to specific foods. Their tests focus on detecting delayed type hypersensitivities (IgG4 antibodies). Foods that may be problematic for you may result in higher levels of these antibodies in your blood. By identifying and eliminating the foods that you react to, you may experience new levels of vitality and optimism as well as eliminate symptoms that may have been plaguing you for all these years.
Step 1: Pick a Food Allergy Panel
There are three panels below to choose from. Once you’ve picked a panel, the fun part begins! For the next 10 days, you can and should eat anything you want. Especially the foods you believe might be triggers for you. This helps the test pick up on your reactions as they have been recently ingested. (Please note: during these 10 days do not take any antihistamines – it will interfere with the results)
Food Panel 1:
This is a blood serum test that tests for 95 common foods. The cost to the patient is $177.65. Below is a list of the foods this tests for.
Food Panel 2:
This is a blood serum test that tests for 95 common foods. The cost to the patient is $298.30. Below is a list of the foods this tests for. (This panel includes the 96 foods above plus the additional foods below.)
Food Panel 3:
This is a blood serum test that tests for 95 common foods. The cost to the patient is $417.16. Below is a list of the foods this tests for. (This panel includes all 190 foods above plus the additional inhalants below.)
Step 2: Make a Plan & Start Eating
Step 2: Once you’ve picked a panel, decide when your 10 day eating extravaganza begins and ends. As a gentle reminder, please do not take any antihistamines during these 10 days until you have your blood drawn. Give Drea a call, let her know what panel you want and she can help you schedule out your 10 days.
Otherwise, this is the fun part! Stick to your regular eating habits so that we can test for those foods and make adjustments as needed. Also add in eating the foods your body craves and the ones you suspect you’re sensitive to. You get to eat whatever you want!
Step 4: Get Your Blood Drawn
All you need to do is book an in-person visit and we will take care of the rest! As we are offering blood draws on Tuesdays, it would be helpful to begin your 10 days on a date that would end on a Tuesday. For example, starting on a Saturday or Sunday and then coming in 10 days later, ending on the following Tuesday. If you would like help making a plan, call Drea. She can absolutely help.
Dr. Marzell will do the blood draw in our office and the fee for that is $45.00. We will fill out all the paperwork, spin the blood and ship it for you to the lab. Once the results are received, we will call you to set up an appointment to review your results.
Step 3: Review the Results
When you get your blood drawn, it takes 10-12 business days for the lab to send us the results. Once we receive them, we will call you to set up a Telehealth appointment to review your results. Dr. Marzell will discuss with you the findings and help you navigate your diet moving forward. That’s it! 🙂
To recap here are the steps: Choose what food panel you want, eat various foods for 10 days (without any use of antihistamines), come in and get your blood drawn and then book an appointment to go over the results. We are here to talk you through this process. When you call our office to let us know what food panel you want, Drea can help you make a plan.
For Patients That Are Not Local To The Office:
If you are not local to our Lake Oswego, OR clinic, please visit: https://www.anylabtestnow.com/ to find a laboratory near you to do the blood draw. They will draw your blood, spin it and mail out the package for you per the requisition in the box. (We have been told that Quest and LabCorp will not work with these food allergy kits.)
