23 and Me - do you think there's any point?

[Wombat140]

I've heard a lot about the 23 and Me DNA test. I'm wondering whether it would be worthwhile for me?
My parents and I have tried all kinds of supplements and various antibiotics, etc. for my OCD over the years without noticeable success (see sig for details). So I suppose I'm wondering what we could do about anything the test revealed that we haven't tried already. On the other hand, maybe I've been taking the wrong things or in the wrong combinations? Guessing in the dark is so tiring. Has anyone else been in a similar situation, i.e. tried lots of supplements without success, and then got somewhere after using the 23andMe test?
Also, I'm thinking about taking the plunge and trying conventional psychiatric medications. Might the 23 and Me test give me any clues as to what I might respond badly to, or need a higher or lower dose? My symptoms are so bad already that there is not much margin for error.
I'm attracted to the idea because, with my needle phobia, it's almost the only test I can do!
I've seen $99 mentioned as the cost of the test, but the website I've found says £125, i.e. nearly $200. Can somebody give me a link to the website they're referring to?

Thanks very much,

Wombat140

[4Nikki]

Many are afraid to have the potential info about insurances getting a hold of your personal risks at some future date so the suggestion is to do it anonymous. not sure what search but here the link. https://www.23andme.com/

[LNN]

In the US, the cost is $99 for the first test, $79 for a second, third kit if ordered at the same time. The price oversees may be different. The site is https://www.23andme.com/

 

Will it be helpful? Depend on if the test reveals few or many issues. The test itself will give you 990,000 data points of raw data. As new research comes out on any disease, you can always go back to your raw data to see if you have a mutation on the part of the gene that the research examined. In terms of immediate practicality, there are now several sites that will run thru your raw data and give you an analysis of specific gene status. The most basic - and free except for a requested $10 donation - is www.geneticgenie.org. It looks at the genes involved in methylation and at the most common genes involved in detox. In that regard, it will help you know how your liver pathways process certain medications. If a pathway runs faster or slower than "normal" and you're taking a med that is processed thru that pathway, your doctor could increase or decrease your dosage based on the relative "speed" of your pathway. I'd think this would be helpful if you're considering a psychotropic drug where dosages are general and then you need to spend time increasing or decreasing to find your sweet spot - a process I'd imagine is very frustrating as you'd be playing with your moods. There's also www.livewello.com - I'm not sure of the cost but it's affordable.

 

Do understand the privacy policies and securities of any website you use and be comfortable with it. I know genetic genie says it immediately deletes your data but I have no way of confirming this. I know livewello retains your data - I don't know whether they promise to secure it or leave themselves the option of sharing your data for research. It's something to research.

 

As for methylation - 23andMe gives you the data to assess the 30+ genes involved in methylation, which plays a significant role in neurotransmitter production. You then use an app to give you a summary of your raw data. I've outlined the steps to do this in a thread (#18) pinned under "helpful threads" at the top of the forum page. There's als a link to a document that helps you interpret that data and understand what supplements help or hinder specific gene expressions.

 

For my family, it's been incredibly helpful. I was using NAC for a cough and couldn't understand why I was depressed. Then I had a routine physical that showed my liver enzymes were very elevated. I stopped the NAC and my depression lifted and my liver panel returned to normal. I later found I have a mutation on my CBS gene, which means I can't handle sulfur drugs well (NAC, milk thistle, alpha lipoic acid, tumeric, quercetin and glutathione are all high in sulfur) and I have a problem breaking down ammonia. So I now take and avoid certain supplements and foods based on that finding. My son has mutations that make him quick to anger and we've been able to tweak doses of certain vitamins to make a big difference in his temper. My daughter had bipolar mood swings that are gone now that she takes a methyl form of B9. It took the guess work out of things. I'd read an article that xyz was great for a certain problem but knowing my genes lets me know whether I'd have this "great" response or if I'd be one of those people that wouldn't do well - before I actually wasted money on a bottle of this great supplement.

 

However, I've also helped a few friends who ended up not having many mutations in their methylation cycle and we weren't able to make much headway in terms of OCD, anxiety, etc. The source of their roadblocks was somewhere outside the methylation cycle. But...they also ended up with raw data about many other phsyical processes - they could explore heart disease, alzheimer's, cancers...so I don't think it was a waste of money. It just didn't give them the same AHA that my family got in terms of mental health.

 

All this said, compared to the expense of wasted supplements that didn't work, months/years of dealing with emotinal distress, being able to know how your liver processes various things...IMO, it's well worth it.

[pr40]

on the psychiatric medication: yes, 23andMe results can specficically help you determine which kind is more likely to be effective but only IF you have specific genetic mutations.

on OCD -- well, I don't know that there are OCD genes as of yet. Perhaps when they discover those in the distant future. as LLM suggested, for the time being, help can be indirect via improved methylation, lowered inflammation.

i think it is increadibly useful info relative to cost even if you will not have direct ways of employing it.

Edited May 30, 2015 by pr40

[jan251]

We did the 23andme testing and have found it helpful. I did not use ds's full name, so in theory, it's anonymous. I plugged the raw 23andme data into genetic genie and found some useful info regarding methylation (we already knew he was compound heterozygous for mthfr) and for detox (he is slow in phase 2). Our doc recommended some supplements that theoretically should help.

 

In addition, as I read random medical articles, I sometimes come across mentions of genes. Last night I found an article mentioning this gene http://www.snpedia.com/index.php/Rs2391191 . Since my ds 's genes for that are AA, according to a few articles linked at snpedia he is at risk for developing various psychiatric conditions. I also came across an article indicating that NAC may be helpful for reducing a particular toxin, malondialdehyde, in mice with a similar genetic defect (at least as best I can figure)

 

http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v36/n11/full/npp2011109a.html ,

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3044191/ ,

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4423164/

 

(I'm not sure why these links aren't clickable?) There was another article in my chain of thoughts but I need to go back and find it - it was an article about the mice and malaria, which has relevance as we are dealing with babesia. Anyway, this is encouraging to me to try ramping up the NAC to higher and more consistent levels than we've tried in the past, especially since the 23andme results show that he's an undermethylator with no apparent CBS issues. (Does any of this make sense?) (I am looking at the question of whether NAC is contra-indicated by some of our artemisinin-related treatments).

Edited May 30, 2015 by jan251

[Elizabeth1]

I'm on this path right now and I think this test is worth doing if you can afford it. It comes with enough information to answer questions about many health concerns. More helpful if you have a Dr who understands it all. Aside from some genes in the methylation cycle, genome studies have identified other specific Genes associated with OCD ( OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER ) I found it in Livewello's Gene library when I searched: https://livewello.com/library/genes-associated-with-obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd-3013-6769-4330?author=demo

BTBD3 Gene and OCD: https://livewello.com/library/btbd3-gene?author=demo

Livewello's privacy is quite impressive especially since they allow users to remove their names from Gene reports and mark them as anonymous--

So, I'm still learning and gathering info but I have this link on my browser so I hope it helps you too: https://www.facebook.com/Livewello/notes

By no means personal genomics for health is not for the faint hearted LOL!

[Wombat140]

I'll do it! Just have to hope to goodness that I DO have methylation issues or something else that there are ways of dealing with. I've sent them an e-mail trying to clarify why it costs so much more here and whether that's correct. Thanks everyone for the replies.

 

 

By no means personal genomics for health is not for the faint hearted LOL!

I'm faint-hearted. With the state I'm in there are very few brain cells left for anything else. I'm probably just going to have to post some of my results for the great people on here to tell me what to do... those links should be useful though. Thanks again.

[Wombat140]

 

Many are afraid to have the potential info about insurances getting a hold of your personal risks at some future date so the suggestion is to do it anonymous. not sure what search but here the link. https://www.23andme.com/

how did you do that? given that you need to give a shipping address and my parents' names, at least, will be on any method of payment we use?