Specialty Testing Guide › GI-MAP Gut Testing
The GI-MAP is collected at home from a single stool sample. You pass stool into a collection tray, spoon small amounts from several spots into a vial of preservative liquid, fill out the request form, and ship the kit back to the lab with the prepaid return label.
The whole collection takes a few minutes.1 The details below follow Diagnostic Solutions Laboratory's published patient instructions. Anything specific to how YoungerMeMD handles your kit, such as how it reaches you or whether to pause a medicine, comes from your clinician, so ask our team.
Key takeaways
- Read every instruction and check the vial's expiration date before you start.
- Keep taking prescription medicines unless the clinician who ordered the test tells you otherwise.
- The lab must receive the sample within 10 days, and refrigeration buys time if you cannot ship the same day.
- Missing paperwork, date or payment details delay testing, so complete the form fully.
Before you start
Open the box and lay everything out. The lab's kit list includes a kit box, a test request form, a collection tray, a specimen vial, two gloves, a zip-closure specimen bag, an absorbent pad, a FedEx Clinical Pak mailer and a shipping label.2 If something is missing, the lab's customer service line is printed on the instructions; the absorbent pad can be replaced with a paper towel.
Check the expiration date on the vial. The lab explains that the preservative in the vial loses effectiveness over time, and a sample received in an expired vial may be discarded.3 If your kit has expired, ask our team or the lab for a replacement before collecting.
Medicines, supplements and diet
The lab's own guidance is to keep taking your medications unless your provider directs otherwise, and its collection sheet says not to stop prescription drugs without your physician's direction.32 It also notes that your provider may give extra instructions, including diet changes, depending on the testing.
The clinic has not published a standard list of things to pause before a GI-MAP. That includes antibiotics, antifungals, probiotics, acid-reducing medicines and herbal products. Ask our team before you collect, and never stop a prescribed medicine on your own to prepare for a test.
Step by step collection
- Label the vial. Write your name, date of birth and the collection date on the vial label.
- Empty your bladder first if you can. The lab asks you to avoid mixing urine with the stool sample.
- Put on the gloves and pass stool into the collection tray.
- Fill the vial. Using the spoon attached to the cap, take stool from at least four different areas of the sample and add it until the level is above the red fill line. Do not overfill; the cap should close without spilling.
- Keep the pink liquid. Do not pour it out. Mix the stool into it with the spoon, close the cap tightly and shake hard for 30 seconds.
- Clean up. If anything spilled, rinse the outside of the closed vial with water only.
The vial liquid is a preservative, so keep it away from skin and eyes. The lab's instructions say to flush eyes with water for 15 minutes if it splashes, wash skin with soap and water, and contact a physician if any is swallowed. Keep the kit out of reach of children.
Fill out the test request form completely, including the collection date. The lab says incomplete patient information delays testing and that the payment section must be completed for the sample to be processed. How that section should be completed for a kit ordered through YoungerMeMD is something to confirm with our team before you seal the box.
Put the form in the document pocket of the specimen bag, place the vial in the bag and seal it, put the bag in the kit box, and place the box in the Clinical Pak mailer with the shipping label on the marked area.
Shipping and timing
The lab requires the sample to arrive within 10 days of collection. If you cannot ship on the day you collect, refrigerate the vial and ship as soon as possible, preferably within 3 days.2 A sample collected over a weekend should be refrigerated and sent on Monday.
Within the US the kit comes with a prepaid two-business-day return label. You can schedule a free FedEx pickup by phone, or drop the box at a FedEx Office or a FedEx drop box that is collected the same or next day. Stool kits can ship on a Friday.3 Keep the tracking number from the return label.
Turnaround time for your results is not something the clinic has published. Ask our team when to expect them and how your results visit will be scheduled.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Not enough stool in the vial, which can leave the lab unable to run the test.
- Pouring out the preservative liquid.
- Forgetting the collection date on the vial or the form.
- Leaving the sample at room temperature for days before shipping.
- Collecting during an acute illness with fever or bloody diarrhea instead of calling your doctor.
Ordering and questions
The GI-MAP is a $404 add-on chosen at checkout with your assessment on our payment page, after which your visit is in person in Conshohocken or by telehealth if you are located in Pennsylvania. For the full cost picture, see GI-MAP cost in Pennsylvania. Questions about your kit, medicines or timing? Contact our team or call (215) 892-1230.
Frequently asked questions
Should I stop probiotics before a GI-MAP?
There is no published clinic rule. Ask our team before collecting, and do not stop any prescription medicine without your clinician's direction.
Can I collect on a Saturday?
Yes. Refrigerate the sealed vial and ship it on Monday so it reaches the lab within 10 days of collection.
What if I sealed the bag and forgot the form?
The lab says you can reopen it, add the form and tape it closed securely before shipping.
Can I collect while I have diarrhea?
Ask your clinician first. If diarrhea is severe, bloody or comes with fever, see a doctor promptly rather than waiting on a specialty test.
Related reading
This article is for general education and is not medical advice. Decisions about testing and treatment should be made with your clinician. If you have severe symptoms, call 911. For a suspected poisoning, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222.
