Yes it is worth it. I had it done. I just had a basic one done through psychiatrist. Insurance didn't cover it but I only had to pay $25 co-pay through the lab that does the testing, Genomind(co pay was based on my salary, not my husbands, yay lol). I've since done a 23amdMe and waiting on results. It's more detailed and can help a nutritionalist or medical professional versed in genetics help a person even more with supplements etc. I paid $139 for it on a daily deal site of all places.
It helps them know which meds your specific genetics will likely respond/not respond to. This will greatly eliminate the medicine merry go around many ppl have had to endure.
Example- it says SSRI's are a no go for me. I didn't need the test to tell me that- I had bad reactions to a couple of them (worse than what I presented with going into the Dr)!!! Just that tells me the test is valid. It also tells you not just what antidepressants you can/can't metabolize but also antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, benzos, pain medications (including OTC like Tylenol and Advil). I've never taken Valium but it says it's a no go for me- interesting!
I'm using it now as a map to restore nutrition bc it also revealed I have a compound heterozygous MTHFR gene mutation. Sounds scary but MTHFR gene mutations are quite common and are treated via supplements and nutrition/lifestyle. Some diseases like autoimmune as one example, are being put into remission just from balancing nutrition. Depression and anxiety fall into this as well bc often MTHFR's like myself have minor nutritional deficiencies, can't metabolize folic acid (alllllll of our dang breads and cereals are fortified with it since 1998
).
Bc many don't metabolize it, it gets the other B vitamins and other nutrients deficient.
It's a vast topic and I'm no expert but I do see it as becoming quite common and am thankful that it can at least be a great guide to minimize trial and error when it comes to medications, as well as providing a blueprint to our underlying health so we can address nutrition/lifestyle to either help current illness &/or prevent future illness.
One thing I will say- bc of the finding of my MTHFR gene mutation, they gave me Deplin (prescript
ion folate food). It was not a good experience. Probably bc I was already on an SSRI (Viibryd), which the gene test said no for me, the Deplin blasted my serotonin levels and it wasn't fun. Since researching, I've found you should never start with that high of a dose, much smaller like 200 MCG folate & work up vs 15 MG in Deplin. i asked why they treat in such a high dose and they said that's the dose the big study was done on people with depression and it worked for many of them.
Bottom line- Get it done- it's worth every penny.
Post Edited (lesweet1971) : 7/18/2016 7:25:12 AM (GMT-6)