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. Through YoungerMeMD, the office orders the test and the kit ships to your home. You pay the clinic $404, and the billing section of the lab form is already marked to bill the clinic. The clinic also asks you to pause some medicines and supplements before you collect, listed below.
Key takeaways
- Read every instruction and check the vial's expiration date before you start.
- Some medicines and supplements are paused for 48 hours to 4 weeks first, but a prescription is only paused with the prescriber's agreement.
- Collect on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday and send the kit by FedEx that same day.
- Missing paperwork or dates delay testing, so complete the form fully; the billing section already names the clinic, so you do not pay the lab.
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 does give extra instructions for the GI-MAP. Count each pause back from the day you collect:
- 2 to 4 weeks: antibiotics and antiparasitic medicines, counted from your final dose.
- 2 weeks: acid reducers and bismuth, such as omeprazole (Prilosec), Nexium, Prevacid and Pepto-Bismol; herbal antimicrobials and gut cleanses, such as oregano oil, berberine and silver; and probiotics, unless your provider told you to keep taking them.
- 48 hours: digestive enzymes, antacids and laxatives, such as Tums, Pepcid, Beano and stool softeners.
Always check with the clinician who prescribed a medicine before you pause it, and never stop a prescription on your own to prepare for a test. If your prescriber says to keep taking something, follow that advice and tell your clinician what you took and when, since these products can change what the test finds.
Step by step collection
- Pick the right day. Collect Monday through Thursday only, never on a weekend or holiday. Do not collect during your period; wait until your cycle is completely over, since blood can alter the results.
- Label the vial. Write your name, date of birth and the collection date on the vial label.
- Keep the sample clean. Empty your bladder first if you can, and use the collection materials in your kit so that toilet water, urine and cleaning chemicals never touch the stool.
- 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. On a kit ordered through YoungerMeMD, the billing section is already marked to bill the clinic, so you do not add payment details or pay the lab.
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 clinic's rule is simple: collect Monday through Thursday and ship by FedEx the same day. Do not collect or ship on weekends or holidays. The lab requires the sample to arrive within 10 days of collection, so if something stops you shipping on the day you collect, refrigerate the vial, ship on the next weekday and let our team know.2
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. Keep the tracking number from the return label.
Kits take a few days to reach the lab. The lab's estimate is 7 to 10 business days from when it receives your sample. Ask our team 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.
- Collecting on a weekend or holiday, or 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?
Yes, for 2 weeks before you collect, unless your provider told you to keep taking them. Mention every supplement to your clinician, and do not stop any prescription medicine without your prescriber's direction.
Can I collect on a Saturday?
No. The clinic asks you to collect Monday through Thursday only and ship by FedEx the same day, so the sample is never held over a weekend or holiday.
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.
