Patient Information

You can book a breath test without a doctor’s referral. If you are referring yourself for a breath test, and are unsure which breath test you need, use the table below as a guide:

Lactose Breath Test  (to test for lactose intolerance)	Recommended for all IBS patients.  Recommended for patients who suspect they get symptoms from eating dairy foods such as milk, yoghurt, soft white cheese, ice cream
Fructose Breath Test (to test for fructose intolerance)	Recommended for all IBS patients.  Recommended for patients who suspect they get symptoms from eating foods such as fruit (eg apples, pears, mangos), vegetables, honey and high fructose corn syrup.
Sorbitol Breath test	Recommended for patients who suspect they get symptoms from eating stone fruits and artificially sweetened mints/chewing gum.
Sucrose Breath Test	This is a rare form of malabsorption and should be considered only if other sugar malabsorption and small bowel bacterial overgrowth have been excluded.   This is intended primarily for children.
Xylitol	Recommended for patients who experience IBS-type symptoms and regularly consume “Diet” and “Sugar Free” foods and beverages including artificially sweetened gum and mints.”
Methane Breath Test	This is included free in your hydrogen breath test

Choosing can be difficult. If you’re unsure, consider seeking advice from an Accredited Practicing Dietitian

The first two sugars – Lactulose plus one other sugar is charged at $149.00 with subsequent tests for individual sugars charged at $89.00 per sugar.

Pensioners and Health Care Card Holders will receive a $10.00 discount on each test.

C13 Breath Tests for H. pylori are bulk-billed for patients with a doctors referral and a valid medicare card. Private tests for those without a referral and/or a valid medicare card cost $99.

4 Weeks before the test

• No antibiotics. Please do not stop any antibiotic treatment without the approval of your treating doctor.
• No Colonoscopy or Barium Meal Enema procedures

One day before each test

Do not consume:

• Any wheat products- bread, pasta, bran, cereals, whole grain products
• Any food lactose containing foods – cheese, yoghurt, ice cream, chocolate, milk (lactose free milk/rice/almond/coconut milk are fine to drink)
• Oats
• Onions
• Garlic
• Legumes (lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans, chickpeas
• Peas
• Cabbage
• Canned fruit
• Fruit juice
• Dried fruit
• Honey
• Alcohol
• Sports drinks
• Soft drinks
• Corn
• No laxatives
• No Fibre supplements (E.g Metamucil)

Please see our suggested Meal Plan for what you can eat in the 24 hours leading up to your test

FAST from 9pm the night before.

This means nothing to eat or drink except plain water. You can continue to drink small amounts of plain water prior to starting your test

Morning of your test:

No smoking

Continue to fast

For your convenience, we have assembled a Dietitian-approved meal plan for the 24 hours prior to your test.  This diet is designed to optimise the accuracy of the test while keeping you satisfied. Owing to lack of fiber and other nutrients this is not a long-term diet and should not be used on an ongoing basis.  Long term diets should be designed specifically for you, taking your health needs into consideration.

If you have diabetes, you should consider seeing a dietitian to obtain tailored advice for the preparation period.  We strongly recommend you monitor your blood sugars closely during the 24 hours prior to your test to minimise the chance of significant high or low blood sugars.

We always recommend seeing an Accredited Practising Dietitian for dietary advice.

The menu below lists options for each meal; choose one option per meal and supplement if necessary with snacks from the provided list.

Breakfast Options

• Breakfast Burrito- white, gluten-free wrap with egg (poached/boiled/lightly fried) with bacon and tomato (fresh/grilled)
• Vanilla-flavoured or Natural lactose-free yoghurt and one serve of fruit (one of: passionfruit, banana, rockmelon, pineapple, strawberries, raspberries or kiwifruit)
• Corn flakes or rice bubbles with your choice of either lactose-free, rice, almond, coconut milk
• White gluten-free bread with  peanut butter

Lunch Options:

• Sandwich with white gluten-free bread with choice of protein (ham/chicken/fish/egg) and lettuce/cucumber (no skin)/tomato
• Sushi roll (white rice) or rice paper roll or sashimi
• Stirfry with choice of protein (meat/fish/chicken/pork/unflavoured tofu) with white rice or rice noodles. No onion or garlic. (eg Pad Thai, Pad Kee Mao)
• Toasted sandwich: white, gluten-free bread with ham, tomato and lactose-free cheese
• Spring Pasta Salad: gluten-free pasta with olive oil, black olives, fresh tomato, basil and capers with your choice of protein (tuna/chicken/egg)

Dinner Options:

• Grilled Fish with a salad of peeled cucumber and tomato (no lettuce)
• BBQ/Roast chicken (no stuffing) with roast peeled vegetables (pumpkin/eggplant/carrot/zucchini)
• Steak with peeled cucumber and tomato salad (no lettuce).

• Fruit – passionfruit, banana, rockmelon, pineapple, strawberries, raspberries, or kiwifruit (No more than two serves of fruit in total over 24 hours)
• White rice cakes (plain) with peanut butter/Vegemite/boiled egg
• Nuts – cashews, macadamia

Drinks:

• Water, tea/coffee with lactose-free/rice/almond/coconut milk.
• No soft drinks, juices, coconut water or artificially-sweetened drinks.