1. < Depression & Anxiety

Experience with genetic testing to find the best anti-depressant

Posted by Sallie @sallie, Mar 17, 2018

My psychiatrist has suggested genetic testing to find the best anti-depressant for me. Has anyone tried this?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Depression & Anxiety Support Group.

Parus | @parus | May 11, 2018
In reply to @gman007 "@ainsleigh @parus, I have a new psychiatrist and she intends to do a cheek swab on..." + (show)
@gman007

@ainsleigh @parus, I have a new psychiatrist and she intends to do a cheek swab on my next visit. The med she started me on just hoping to give me some relief from the twists and turns of my last two (nothing malicious, just a newbie and a very old one) may not be the right one for me as we discovered after taking it for a week, but it may just be a little early to know. She also said that it would help with titration of dosage because she will learn some things about my metabolic rate and not only with what she prescribes but also the pain medications I take. I will report back when I have some results, but I expect that to be a few weeks. Peace to you both, Gary

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@gman007 Hoping for some success with your new medication.

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ainsleigh | @ainsleigh | May 11, 2018
In reply to @gman007 "@ainsleigh @parus, I have a new psychiatrist and she intends to do a cheek swab on..." + (show)
@gman007

@ainsleigh @parus, I have a new psychiatrist and she intends to do a cheek swab on my next visit. The med she started me on just hoping to give me some relief from the twists and turns of my last two (nothing malicious, just a newbie and a very old one) may not be the right one for me as we discovered after taking it for a week, but it may just be a little early to know. She also said that it would help with titration of dosage because she will learn some things about my metabolic rate and not only with what she prescribes but also the pain medications I take. I will report back when I have some results, but I expect that to be a few weeks. Peace to you both, Gary

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Thanks Gary.Much appreciated.
Ainsleigh

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Kelly, Alumna Mentor | @kdubois | Jun 10, 2018
In reply to @lisalucier "Hello, @ainsleigh -- we've had members talk about this topic, and I'd love for you to..." + (show)
@lisalucier

Hello, @ainsleigh -- we've had members talk about this topic, and I'd love for you to meet some of them. Please meet @kdubois, a volunteer mentor here on Connect who has some experience with genetic testing related to drug metabolism. @jimhd and @gailb, also volunteer mentors, may have some thoughts on testing in this arena. @seeker619 has also talked about this and may have some thoughts for you.

@ainsleigh -- are you considering doing genetic testing to find an appropriate medication for depression and anxiety?

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Hi @ainsleigh, in addition to myself, we had Mayo perform pharmacogenomic testing on my youngest daughter last January. She suffers from anxiety and social phobia, and knowing that I have so many drug polymophisms, we needed to know whether or not medications are an option for her. Turns out that she did inherit most of my drug metabolism polymorphisms, so meds are NOT an option for her, and it was nice to figure that out before a drug regimen was started.

Instead, per Mayo's suggestion, she is seeing a therapist at home for cognitive behavioral therapy, and we are returning to Mayo in July so she can attend their week-long teen anxiety clinic. During this week, my older daughter also has her first appointments for initial evaluation by Mayo, and she will get her first pharmacogemics testing performed.

It stinks that medications are not an option for us, but there are other sources of help out there. From my personal experience, I know that these medications will make a person ill if genetics play a role in their metabolization.

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ainsleigh | @ainsleigh | Jun 10, 2018
In reply to @lisalucier "Hello, @ainsleigh -- we've had members talk about this topic, and I'd love for you to..." + (show)
@lisalucier

Hello, @ainsleigh -- we've had members talk about this topic, and I'd love for you to meet some of them. Please meet @kdubois, a volunteer mentor here on Connect who has some experience with genetic testing related to drug metabolism. @jimhd and @gailb, also volunteer mentors, may have some thoughts on testing in this arena. @seeker619 has also talked about this and may have some thoughts for you.

@ainsleigh -- are you considering doing genetic testing to find an appropriate medication for depression and anxiety?

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Hi Kelly-Thanks for your post. I am so sorry that meds are not an option for your daughter but yes it is better to know. My Grandson is in the process of having the genetic test so of course we are hoping for a good result. It sounds like you may have a family predisposition for mental health issues and I fear we may too. Recently my Granddaughter has been having serious anxiety problems too. (They are not siblings.) What with my own history of those same things I fear what genes I may have handed down!
Anyway I wish you all the luck in the world and hope you will let us know how things go.
Ainsleigh

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Gary, Alumni Mentor | @gman007 | Jun 10, 2018
In reply to @parus "In reference to this genetic testing...Can anyone tell me if it is all it is cracked..." + (show)
@parus

In reference to this genetic testing...Can anyone tell me if it is all it is cracked up to be. I can see where there could be benefits as well as disasters. With these type of things I will admit I am highly skeptical. Will also admit I do not know anyone having had thus. I live in the realm of poverty and not by choice-stuff happens. The thought of living the remaining days of life in the depression I am experiencing and anyone having read any prior posts do know that medications and I do not work well together. I even have dreadful side-effects to thyroid medications. I have no choice but to take the medication or risk permanent damage. I can say the side-effects to this are dreadful and the thought of introducing another antidepressant scares me-BIG TIME.
Does genetic testing test for this type of thing?
I am not against antidepressants because the life I am living is challenging and discouraging.
@ainsleigh Thank you for asking about this. I will admit I am a skeptical person and also interested in hearing what others have to say-as in, personal experiences.

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Hi@parus. I had my cheek swabbed two weeks ago and will see my psychiatrist in three weeks for the reading of the leaves. My understanding is that there are a few specific enzymes that determine how one metabolizes anti-depressants. The presence of these enzymes, or absence, do not point to one specific drug, but does offer guidance to the potential for one or more to be effective and also guidance regarding those that in all likelihood would not be effective. The other aspect of managing medications is the clues the doctor will get toward how one's metabolism (again, specific enzymes present or not) will relate to a particular anti-depressant. The major guide here is what dosage will be most effective. If you metabolize a drug quickly, you will need a larger dose and vice versa. I have discovered that there are some meds that actuate at lower dosages better than at higher and that is generally true of certain meds, regardless of enzyme markers. I am approaching with as open a mind as possible because as you say, getting no relief for my anxiety/depression is not a very pleasant fact to look forward to.
Peace, Gary

REPLY
liz223 | @liz223 | Jun 10, 2018
In reply to @parus "In reference to this genetic testing...Can anyone tell me if it is all it is cracked..." + (show)
@parus

In reference to this genetic testing...Can anyone tell me if it is all it is cracked up to be. I can see where there could be benefits as well as disasters. With these type of things I will admit I am highly skeptical. Will also admit I do not know anyone having had thus. I live in the realm of poverty and not by choice-stuff happens. The thought of living the remaining days of life in the depression I am experiencing and anyone having read any prior posts do know that medications and I do not work well together. I even have dreadful side-effects to thyroid medications. I have no choice but to take the medication or risk permanent damage. I can say the side-effects to this are dreadful and the thought of introducing another antidepressant scares me-BIG TIME.
Does genetic testing test for this type of thing?
I am not against antidepressants because the life I am living is challenging and discouraging.
@ainsleigh Thank you for asking about this. I will admit I am a skeptical person and also interested in hearing what others have to say-as in, personal experiences.

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Gary, I hope all works out well for you. 🙂

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grandmaR | @grandmar | Jun 15, 2018
In reply to @ainsleigh "I would be very interested to hear from anybody who has had genetic testing to help..." + (show)
@ainsleigh

I would be very interested to hear from anybody who has had genetic testing to help determine which meds may or may not help with
depression and anxiety and whether it has made a difference in their health.
Many thanks
Ainsleigh

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Hi
I just got this in my email.
I am giving you the link.
It talks about genetic testing and meds.
Hope it helps!
Ronnie (GRANDMAr)

https://www.healthgrades.com/right-care/depression/how-genetic-testing-could-improve-depression-and-anxiety-treatment?cid=63emHLN061318E&elq_mid=570&elq_cid=834841&utm_campaign=CN_HLN_18_06_13%20Ortho&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Eloqua
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cookie12 | @cookie12 | Sep 9, 2018
In reply to @ainsleigh "I would be very interested to hear from anybody who has had genetic testing to help..." + (show)
@ainsleigh

I would be very interested to hear from anybody who has had genetic testing to help determine which meds may or may not help with
depression and anxiety and whether it has made a difference in their health.
Many thanks
Ainsleigh

Jump to this post

During a visit, January of 2017, with my psychiatrist, he told me about the genetic testing thing and I told him I would rather not. He replied that it wouldn't cost me anything and Medicard would pay for it. I told him I still didn't want to do it, so we continued with our session. Nearing the end of the session he reached in a drawer, pulled out a swab and handed it to me and I didn't have a choice. The cost according to the EOB was thousands of dollars and it has never been mentioned by him again. I have no idea what the results were.

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1 reply
Lisa Lucier | @lisalucier | Sep 11, 2018
In reply to @cookie12 "During a visit, January of 2017, with my psychiatrist, he told me about the genetic testing..." + (show)
@cookie12

During a visit, January of 2017, with my psychiatrist, he told me about the genetic testing thing and I told him I would rather not. He replied that it wouldn't cost me anything and Medicard would pay for it. I told him I still didn't want to do it, so we continued with our session. Nearing the end of the session he reached in a drawer, pulled out a swab and handed it to me and I didn't have a choice. The cost according to the EOB was thousands of dollars and it has never been mentioned by him again. I have no idea what the results were.

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Hello, @cookie12, and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. That is a unique experience with genetic testing.

Would you want to contact your doctor's office to find out about your results at this point?

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