[A] patient had Functional Medicine type testing a few years ago, [and] now complains of multiple health issues and that food restrictions are made of more sensitive foods. What is a good time to retest [for] food sensitivities and stool testing? She is a 69-year-old, [who was] told she had no yeast, no parasites, some other food sensitivities, but now [has] immune dysfunction. [She] can’t fight off colds or flus, and is upset that she’s been unable to keep weight off despite avoiding sensitive foods. Also, [she] doesn’t believe she needs more testing, [and] had all that done not too long [ago]. [She’s] frustrated that she isn’t better.

Yes. These are challenging situations. It’s hard when someone comes to you that’s been working with another practitioner, especially if you don’t have any details on what testing has been done. Sometimes, patients are resistant to getting new testing even when you can make a good case for that new retesting. Sometimes, it’s true that there are none of these other issues and someone still has food sensitivities. Sometimes, there are other issues in the testing that [has] been done, obviously, but doesn’t address that. But if it’s been a few years, I think it’s definitely not a bad idea to do some retesting, and if not, then, like I said, there’s still a lot that can be done by trying different dietary approaches. We talk about some of those in the curriculum that can be helpful for GI issues even in the absence of testing.