Microgendx testing

[ChiangMaiThai]

Is anyone in Thailand doing Microgendx testing on urine and prostate fluid? Seems like people are getting major results in the US where cultures show negative and Microgendx shows that actually there is an infection.

[xylophone]

Thanks for the "heads-up" on this and it is about time a more specific test(s) was introduced as it has been known for years in the medical profession that the old tests and cultures were "poor" at best, in uncovering other "bugs" where UTIs were concerned.

 

Don't know if anywhere in Thailand offers this, but apparently the US company will accept samples sent to them via courier express, which take under a week to arrive there.

 

 

[ChiangMaiThai]

I just came across this myself. Wondering if FedEx / UPS will accept my bodily fluids for export. Have sent them an inquiry. It seems ordering the kits from outside the US means you obviously don't have a request from a US doctor so they won't provide you with the list of antibiotics / antifungals that may help your case. I guess one would have to take the results to an open minded doc in Thailand and hope they can prescribe the right drugs?

[xylophone]

2 minutes ago, ChiangMaiThai said:

I just came across this myself. Wondering if FedEx / UPS will accept my bodily fluids for export. Have sent them an inquiry. It seems ordering the kits from outside the US means you obviously don't have a request from a US doctor so they won't provide you with the list of antibiotics / antifungals that may help your case. I guess one would have to take the results to an open minded doc in Thailand and hope they can prescribe the right drugs?

Once the actual "bug" is identified, then matching it with a particular antibiotic/antifungal shouldn't be too hard for doctors here, and even if it is something which is rarely identified or understood by Thai doctors, then the Internet would be a great source of knowledge for such things.

 

Before, the problem was in identifying every pathogen in the tests which were done, because they were not accurate or sufficient to cover all bases.

 

Please post the responses from the couriers as it would be interesting to know for future use/info.

[Sheryl]

Not the case that knowing the pathogen is enough to know what antibiotic as resistance can vary.

 

However from what I gather this test can also determine if certain genes for resistance are present. And the reports come with antibiotic recommendation.

 

I am doubtful if they would sell the klcollection kit to a non-physician ditto perform test wirhout physician request.

 

Don't know anywhere doing this in Thailand.

 

 

[ChiangMaiThai]

52 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Not the case that knowing the pathogen is enough to know what antibiotic as resistance can vary.

 

However from what I gather this test can also determine if certain genes for resistance are present. And the reports come with antibiotic recommendation.

 

I am doubtful if they would sell the klcollection kit to a non-physician ditto perform test wirhout physician request.

 

Don't know anywhere doing this in Thailand.

 

Quote

They ship the kits everywhere outside Africa and China without a doctor's request. But they won't provide the list of antibiotics unless it's shipped from within the US with a doctor's request. However, they can put you in touch with a doc by phone who can help you interpret the results. DHL replied you can ship urine if you have a corporate account with approved payment. Not sure what that means, but I imagine FedEx and UPS have similar rules. Guess I'll have to get a corporate account.

 

[Sheryl]

The doctor has to have an account with them and be able to log on to their portal.

 

Before spending any money make sure you can find one in Thailand (I am doubtful there is any) or if outside Thailand that the doctor is willing to do this for ypu long distance 

[ChiangMaiThai]

Yeah it's a bit of a headache doing it from here. Assuming you can get your own urine out of the country, you then have to pay extra to talk to a doc that they recommend who will look at your results and give you recommendations. I also seriously doubt they are doing it here, but have sent inquiries to the major hospitals. In the end, all totally worth it if they can find a pathogen that regular cultures have missed for 20+ years...

 

Edit: Heard back from doc in Singapore. Not available there yet.

Edit 2: Bangkok Hospital doesn't have it

Edited November 18, 2019 by ChiangMaiThai

[xylophone]

21 hours ago, Sheryl said:

However from what I gather this test can also determine if certain genes for resistance are present.

That was my understanding.

[xylophone]

20 hours ago, ChiangMaiThai said:

In the end, all totally worth it if they can find a pathogen that regular cultures have missed for 20+ years...

Yes, I concur with that statement having suffered from something similar for decades.

 

Indeed at one time I was desperate for a cure to what was constantly being referred to as prostatitis, which kept returning irrespective of what drugs I was given, although this despite visiting the top urologists in the UK, New Zealand and Australia.

 

In desperation I found a clinic in the Philippines that was focusing on this and which would inject different sorts of antibiotics directly into the prostate (sounds awful I know) and I also got to converse with an older guy from Singapore, who was seeking a cure for his son for exactly the same thing, and this because his son was driven to the point of suicide because of this ongoing condition.

 

This older guy put me onto similar cases and it was then that I realised that I wasn't alone out there and also realised that this condition has been around for years and that no real cure had been found for it, although this clinic did boast a 70% success rate.

 

I never did go and managed to put up with the pain and inconvenience for years, with the help of painkillers etc.

 

Another poster on the forum who suffered likewise, put me onto an old drug called fosfomycin, and strangely enough I had recently read a couple of detailed reports on this, whereby they were extolling the virtues of this old drug because it did have the propensity to penetrate the prostate and also to disrupt any biofilm (can also be in the bladder as well) which may have been present protecting the bacteria, so enabling the antibiotic to work much more effectively than any others have done in the past for me.

 

So far, fingers crossed, I have taken this drug once a day for three days and have been free of symptoms ever since – – going on a month now, which is highly unusual for me.

 

PM me if you want more details.

[ChiangMaiThai]

Hi xylophone. I'm sorry you have dealt with symptoms for so long, but that is great that fosfomycin is working for you. It's a hell of a thing to know you have something wrong and have doctors tell you that you must be imagining it because they can't figure it out. Also a real life lesson to watch doctors basically dismiss you rather than work with you to explore every last avenue. 

 

I will PM you shortly. 

 

As for microgendx, they don't actually provide a phone consultation with a doctor to discuss the results (they had said in an interview online that they did). So best bet if you are trying to do this from outside the US is to fins an open minded Thai doctor to sign the lab request form that microgendx sends. That way you will receive the list of potential antimicrobials with your results. 

 

microgendx isn't available anywhere in Thailand or Singapore. I tried all the big hospitals.

 

UPS refuses to ship urine.

FedEx - sends you in circles trying to get an answer

DHL - says it's possible if you are sending as a company registered with them

 

I find it amusing that I don't have the right to send my own urine out of Thailand. Anyway, I will find a way.

 

 

 

[ChiangMaiThai]

For anyone else following along, DHL will allow you to send your urine if you state that it is not infected and you're sending it to a lab for a general health check up. Also have to guarantee it's packed in a leak proof container. There is still the question of a doctor in Thailand being willing to sign the request form so that microgendx will provide a list of the best antibiotics with the results. 

 

So far it seems the Thai doctors don't want to put their name on anything. One Urologist I saw many times told me categorically 'no, i will not sign'. Samitivej told me that they would not sign anything for a lab that was not associated with them and they welcomed me to come to their lab. I explained their lab doesn't offer this test and they went quiet.

 

I don't know if they are worried about being liable or what. It's bizarre to me for a profession that is supposedly about helping people.

[Sheryl]

I suggest you go see Dr. Nick Walters at Mission Hospital. He's an American  internist and will at least understand the issue and what you want to do, may be able to help both with the request and subsequent treatment

 

http://mission-hospital.org/en/find-doctor.html

 

 

 

[ChiangMaiThai]

Thank you Sheryl. I will do that. Below sums up the attitude of Thai doctors. First let me set the stage. The doc at this particular hospital can see a giant file on me for these symptoms going back to 1998. Instead of saying, 'yes I'd love to help in whatever way I can', I get this:

 

DNA sequence for "microbiota" is now in the investigational study. This mean we do not know whether bacteria detected from this test is the real cause of patient symptoms or not.
 

[Somtummm]

 

Quote

UPS refuses to ship urine.

FedEx - sends you in circles trying to get an answer

DHL - says it's possible if you are sending as a company registered with them

 

I find it amusing that I don't have the right to send my own urine out of Thailand. Anyway, I will find a way.

Don’t understand this. From what I read on the internet about this service, your urine goes into a little sample container that is packed in an anonymous box with a pre-printed return sticker that you order together with the kit. People just hand it over to the next FedEx office. I can’t imagine FedEx opening the box later to check what’s inside and then even decide to not send it. I know at least one guy who did it here in Thailand this way. 

Edited January 10, 2020 by Somtummm