Hi Georgene! I have done the ALCAT tests not because it was recommended by the Brizman's it was a decision I made on my own. After over 2.5 years in treatment I was really suffering from strong reactions to food which restricted my food and was fearful of eating. It's not the right decision for everyone, but I decided to spend the money. I found there were foods I was eating pretty often that I was severely intolerant to, and foods I also never thought of eating or had already pegged as things I was also very intolerant to. It has helped really avoid these very severe reactive foods, and find a few other foods ok'd by Dr. B to try. The goal of treatment and of the ALCAT is to eventually add these foods back in. It's not supposed to be a forever. I would say if you haven't been in treatment a long time and aren't having huge reactions to food I may wait a while to see if things smooth out on there own. Some insurance companies will cover the ALCAT, but mine did not. I wouldn't say I have not seen a huge reduction in pain and symptoms over all by doing this this test and making the adjustments, but really helped me pin point which foods were really causing unnecessary pain and inflammatory response. Hope that helps a little.

Hello Georgene,
 
Cprince offers up great advice. I have been a patient of Dr. Boaz Brizman since the end of this past January.  I had this testing done last fall.  My test results indicated I was intolerant of a lot of things, including milk products, gluten, red meat and eggs.  I stayed off these items for 3 months and my IC did not get any better. I did however, feel better in other ways  - my anxiety went down, as did feelings of nausea and bloating. I also had more energy. I then saw Dr. Brizman, he was uninterested in these results.  He suggested I do list 1.  For the last 2 months, I have had red meat everyday and it hasn't aggravated my IC. The test also indicated I was intolerant of rice which I have been eating twice a day without issue.  I haven't eaten anything else however that I was labelled intolerant of.  Back when I got my results, I was glad I did the tests as they confirmed that diet was  playing  a role in my misery.  (my urologist insisted food did not affect my health issues) I also liked having a framework to work within.  Being off those foods for 3 months prepared me for List 1 so adapting to that diet was easy.  If you are not yet a patient of Dr. Brizman, you might want to spring for the tests.  If you aren't a patient however, I would encourage you to become one.  I spent a lot of money last fall working with a natural path that got me no where ( well, actually she got me to feeling worse in the IC department).  In hindesight, I should have spent that money seeing Dr. Brizman back then as I would be farther along in treatment now and I feel that all the stuff the natural path had me on was aggravating me or unhelpful.    If you are a new patient of Dr. Brizman, I wouldn't spend the cash on these tests right now as through your interactions with him/her, you will likely find a diet that works. Also, if you just haven't had your appointment yet, I would hold off on these tests as I believe the Brizmans won't be that interested in the results.  In the situation Cprice lays out, it makes complete sense to have the tests.  Also, if you opt to have the test, I would get both panels done.  Good Luck!