getting a herpeselect ELISA done in toronto, canada

so it looks like both large labs that offer typespecific testing in canada - lifelabs and gamma-dynacare - only offer focus' immunoblot test. i understand that this test has the same false positive issues that surround the ELISA, but it doesn't offer a numeric guideline to aid in interpretation of the results, so i'd rather not have it done if there's any possible alternative. does anyone know of any lab offering the focus ELISA in toronto? or of a tstd.org lab in buffalo, NY, the only place in america i can affordably reach in a day?

[kirmal]

i should say getstdtested.com, rather. tstd.org's herpes testing costs $250, way more than i can afford, to say nothing of the cost of getting to buffalo.

[gracefromHHP]

the $250 testing at tstd is for the whole shebang of std testing. you have to call them to specifically request just herpes igg testing.   Last I knew they were charging about $100 for it.

[kirmal]

odd - their site says that the 'complete std panel with hiv by antibody' is $349, and the herpes test alone is $249. do you think this is 'foreigner pricing' haha

[gracefromHHP]

looks like that's different billing in NY than a few other states :(    didn't check that location on their website specifically when I posted - sorry.

[kirmal]

so NY has a hundred dollar std test tax? that's absurd. but i guess a lot surrounding this disease and its testing is absurd.

it's odd, really - from what i can tell the probability of a false positive is roughly the same as the probability that i've contracted it in the worst case scenario, so i wonder if it's worth getting tested at all, with no symptoms or anything, particularly with the personal expense i'll have to incur.

returning to my original question -- anyone have any success getting the ELISA in toronto?

[gracefromHHP]

NY has different rules about how you can get medical tests done. In other states you can bypass  a lot of the fees by self ordering from online places - evidently NY has different rules about it so I'm guessing you are probably paying a medical provider fee or something also there.  

I know folks have gotten type specific tests with numeric results in canada in the past. No idea if the labs that offer it have changed what they are offering or not.  I have enough problems keeping up on the tests in the US let alone Canada too - so many tests to keep track of :(

[kirmal]

for any torontonians reading this - warnex labs in montreal does do ELISA typing, but their partner in ontario is gamma-dynacare who they say 'always offers the immunoblot, which is the test of choice'. so maybe the false positive issues that surround the elisa don't surround the immunoblot?? who knows. but warnex does offer it and gamma-dynacare has told me that they do offer EIA testing; i'm waiting to verify if the EIA they offer is type-specific and not the general HSV EIA that public health covers.

[gracefromHHP]

still the same issues unfortunately.  

[ksantama]

I just had tests performed by life labs, Apparantly there is one covered by OHIP, however the test done for HSV2 is not. I had to pay to have that one done. I asked if I will recieve results for both and she assured me that because the doctor requested testing for both HSV1 and HSV2 that I would. But I guess this isn't the test I wanted done?  To my understanding an IGG type specific test is an immunoblot test.

[gracefromHHP]

it's my understanding that the test covered in canada is the non-type specific test.  you have to pay out of pocket for type specific testing unless ordered by a gyn or infectious disease doctor.

[kirmal]

if you paid for it it's type specific. the one covered by OHIP is a non type-specific ELISA. it will tell you if you have hsv1 or hsv2, it just won't tell you which is which.

[kirmal]

what walk-in clinic did you go to to get the requisition? i totally posted this in another thread too so sorry for threadbombing but just in case i can't get one out of my GP i'd like to know my options.