Pyroluria urine test UK and Europe
Order guidelines and laboratory info
- Payment and ordering - You do not need a doctor’s referral to order the test, you can order the test on your own accord. If you are ordering for someone else please include their name at checkout. If you are ordering more than one of this particular test then please include the other name/s in the notes section at the final checkout screen. There are no age restrictions but the individual needs to be able to collect a valid sample, if you are unsure then please contact mindovermetal. Payment is made via PayPal, you will need to accept the cookie notification for the mindovermetal website at the bottom of the screen to be able to checkout via PayPal. You can pay via your PayPal account or if you do not have a PayPal account you can use your credit or debit card. After you have entered in your payment details via PayPal you will then be taken back to the order screen on the mindovermetal website, please then select ‘complete order’ in the ‘review and submit order’ section to completely confirm the order/payment. Once you have paid for the test you will receive a confirmation receipt email, if you do not receive the receipt email then please contact mindovermetal so one can be sent to you via email. If you are ordering the test outside of the UK and within Europe, there will be a £7 delivery fee of your overall order and not per test. The delivery fee is included in the price of the test for residents in the UK.
- Test kit delivery - The test kit is sent directly to your address. Test kits ordered before 3pm Monday to Friday will be sent out the same day. Test kits ordered after 3pm Monday to Thursday will be sent out the following day morning time. Test kits ordered after 3pm Friday and over the course of the weekend will not be sent out till Monday morning the following week. The time frame for receiving the test kit is 1 - 3 days within the UK and 2 - 7 days outside of the UK and within Europe, the delivery time frame will depend on which country you are ordering from. If you do not receive your test kit within the time frame then please contact mindovermetal.
- Testing laboratory - Biolab Medical Unit. They are based in the West End of London and they specialise in nutritional and environmental medicine by providing laboratory tests. Biolab is open Monday - Friday 9am - 5.30pm, they do not send test kits and results over the course of the weekend. For their website please click here. Please contact mindovermetal and not the laboratory if you have any issues with your test order or result.
- Test preparations/instructions - A mid stream urine sample collected at random. At one time it was thought that as kryptopyrroles are produced in response to oxidative stress than samples collected later in the day are likely to have higher levels, but Biolab have conducted quite a large trial assessing any difference between early morning and late afternoon samples and found no statistically different results. Please also see info on freezing and zinc and B6 supplements below.
- Sample collection/sending - You can collect the sample at home, there is no need to collect the sample in a clinical environment. The test kit comes with instructions on how to collect the sample and with the relevant packaging and preserving substance for you to send the sample back to the laboratory (address details included). Once the sample has been collected you need to post the kit back to Biolab. Normal postal charges will apply (usually large letter rates if in the UK). It is advised to send the sample at the start of the week so that the laboratory receives it during the same working week (Biolab is closed at the weekend). The test does not expire and can be used at any time. Please note: Although Biolab have stated on their website that the sample needs to reach the laboratory within 48 hours, the sample is fine in transit for a maximum of 5 days. This has been confirmed by Biolab and this will suit test orders from outside of the UK and any delayed samples in transit within the UK.
- Freezing - Some laboratories and testing services for pyroluria advise that the sample must be sent frozen until it reaches the lab, this is not the case with Biolab - ''There’s no harm in freezing krypto-pyrrole samples if a patient prefers to do that, but we have looked at this closely and samples left on the lab bench at ambient temperature do not decrease their kryptopyrrole value over a period of 5-10 days. Sensitivity to light and adding ascorbic acid to the sample (covered if patients use our test kits) are more important in terms of kryptopyrrole preservation. Some people are so concerned about this they even send the samples on dry-ice to us from outside of the UK, but if we leave the samples at ambient temperature and re-test a week later the results are the same. Some other labs measure slightly different compounds (HPL etc) to diagnose pyroluria and it is possible that these compounds are more temperature sensitive.'' If you would still like to send the sample frozen and make your own personal arrangements then this is fine.
- Zinc and vitamin B6 supplements - Vitamin B6 and zinc supplements can lower kryptopyrrole urine levels in as little as 2 - 3 weeks and can give an untrue reading of natural urine levels (pyroluria induced or normal). If you are currently taking vitamin B6 and zinc supplements then you have two options. Option 1 - You can stop taking these supplements and achieve a more accurate result but you would need to wait at least 4 weeks before collecting the sample. You may experience mental and physical symptoms if you do stop supplement use so please bear this in mind. Option 2 - You can collect the sample whilst taking zinc and vitamin B6 but you may not get a true reading of the level of kryptopyrroles that your body produces. Kryptopyrrole urine levels can still show up above the reference range whilst taking zinc and vitamin B6 and positive results can be produced but there is still the potential for untrue readings. Please note: Biolab have stated on their website that it is not necessary to stop any form of supplements before collecting the sample. This is because it would take a considerable amount of time (at least 4 weeks or so) for any kind of response to happen in kryptopyrrole urine levels and there is the risk of experiencing mental and physical health symptoms (this is why mindovermetal have stated this with regards to option one). Mindovermetal have had previous patients test positive for pyroluria but then test negative 3 - 4 weeks later after starting a zinc and vitamin B6 supplement regime, this is why mindovermetal want people to achieve the most accurate result possible.
- Refunds - Refunds are only possible if the test kit is unused and no sample has been sent to Biolab. Refunds can only be processed within 60 days after ordering the test. If a refund is required then please contact mindovermetal.
- Results - The test result is sent directly to you from mindovermetal and not from Biolab. The result is sent to the email that you provide when you place your order, it will be sent as a downloadable document. The test result will come with a summary of your result reading. The test result is simple to understand and shows if you are above, below or within certain reference ranges. If there is anything you do not understand and unsure of in your test result then please contact mindovermetal by replying via the results email.
- Result turnaround time - The time frame for receiving your test result is 3 - 4 working days from the first day that it reaches the laboratory for processing. Please make a note of the date you send the sample and if you do not receive your results within this time frame then please contact mindovermetal.
- Kryptopyrrole or HPL/HPU - There is some confusion about wherever or not Kryptopyrroles or HPL/HPU should be measured to diagnose pyroluria. More info about this can be found in the downloadable info document below. If you have any questions then please contact mindovermetal.
| Kryptopyrroles urine test info |
- Example report - Please click below to download.
| Kryptopyrrole urine test example |
- Support and treatment programme - Email support is included in the price of the test. If you test positive for pyroluria then you will receive a treatment programme which is included in the price of the test. You will also receive practitioner support via email.
- For any issues regarding your test order please contact mindovermetal at – orders@mindovermetal.co.uk, Whatsapp is also available via the mindovermetal contact number. You can also call if need be and if you have more of an urgent issue.
Description from Biolab
Measurement of urine kryptopyrroles may be indicated in subjects with central nervous system problems where the clinician suspects a deficiency of trace elements or vitamins. “Pyroluria” (the syndrome that accompanies urinary excretion of kryptopyrroles) is a disorder in which haemoglobin synthesis is upregulated as a consequence of deficiencies of these micronutrients; unusual by-products of haemoglobin intermediates subsequently appear in the urine. In this respect it is similar to the various porphyria syndromes, especially the acquired porphyrinurias. Pyroluria is, however, especially associated with psychiatric symptoms such as schizophrenia. The term “Kryptopyrrole” was coined to describe substances derived from haemoglobin precursors identified in the urine of some psychiatric patients.
Measurement of urine kryptopyrroles may be indicated in subjects with central nervous system problems where the clinician suspects a deficiency of trace elements or vitamins. “Pyroluria” (the syndrome that accompanies urinary excretion of kryptopyrroles) is a disorder in which haemoglobin synthesis is upregulated as a consequence of deficiencies of these micronutrients; unusual by-products of haemoglobin intermediates subsequently appear in the urine. In this respect it is similar to the various porphyria syndromes, especially the acquired porphyrinurias. Pyroluria is, however, especially associated with psychiatric symptoms such as schizophrenia. The term “Kryptopyrrole” was coined to describe substances derived from haemoglobin precursors identified in the urine of some psychiatric patients.
