After the scariness of my last post, I am really glad to be sharing some good news. I mentioned in my last post that I had a pharmacogenomic test done and I have had long enough to make some changes. If you don’t know what that kind of test is, don’t worry because I didn’t know what it was either before I got it. The short summary is that they do a few quick cheek swabs and look at your DNA to predict how medications will work for you or might have undesired side effects.
My Results
The report contains sections for antidepressants, anxiolytics and hypnotics, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, stimulants, and non-stimulants. On top of that, it also includes genotypes and phenotypes which look at some different markers related to metabolization and other similar things. I was really impressed with how detailed the report was, but it was pretty hard for me to understand it without the help of my doctor.
Instead of going over all of the results in detail, I think I am going to focus more on what they meant to me since I think the exact results aren’t that interesting to anyone besides me. For each section, they listed which medications they were evaluating with notes for if I should use them as directed or if my genes showed an interaction (moderate to significant). If it has an interaction, it tells you if you would need a lower, higher dose, or if you are likely to get a side effect.
After looking at the results, I am so confused why it isn’t covered by insurance because it seems like it would have saved a lot of time and money. I say this because more than one drug was on the list as not being very effective for me and I had already tried them and learned that myself. And it would have at least helped with finding the right doses of the ones I am taking since even some of those had notes next to them. Looking over the results, my doctor was able to quickly make some decisions about my future doses and which meds we might switch to. Biggest roadblock though is just how long it takes to switch between the meds and the fact that I can’t make changes to more than one at a time without dealing with too many side effects.
First Big Finding
There was one big note that was very timely to get. Remember how in my last post I was saying how I suddenly was having a significant change in my mood and was dealing with suicidal ideation? Well, the drug that I had just started that week had a note that said I was very sensitive to it and that I wouldn’t need much of it. Most people tolerate it really well so we jumped straight to the normal effective dose, which for my body was like giving me a much larger dose.
What this means is that the whole thing could have gone much better if I had done this test before starting the new one. It is frustrating to me because the whole thing could have gone so much worse if my wife hadn’t been nearby during that bad week. I am betting that not everyone would get such a clear indicator on the drug they were specifically starting, but having it at the beginning of your health journey seems like it would help a ton.
Second Big Finding
Alright, so I bet you thought that the last one was big, but this second one is even bigger. See, there is a part of the test that I didn’t mention that is at the very end of the report. It tests your folic acid conversion and gives you a score of normal, reduced, or significantly reduced. And for me, it was marked as reduced! Whenever I do blood tests for my folic acid levels, I always score low. Up until now, my doctors would just tell me to eat more veggies and it should work itself out. The way my doctor explained it to me after we looked at the results of this test is that it doesn’t really matter how many veggies I eat because my body just can’t convert enough. In other words, I can only push a limited amount of folic acid through the conversion process each day!
So what does all this mean? Well, it means that I started taking a prescription-grade folic acid supplement which also affects how my body processes a bunch of my other medications. I am working with my doctor to make changes to my medications as my body builds up the correct levels of folic acid. And what does folic acid do for you? Turns out, a ton of things! It is one of those very important pieces of the puzzle for your body to function properly. The craziest part is that it might be part of my overall issue since it helps your nerves stay healthy.
Things Are Looking Up
Wouldn’t it be crazy if it was all because my body couldn’t process veggies fast enough? Time will tell if it was THE problem or just part of the problem. This week is my first appointment with a rheumatologist, so I will hopefully start to narrow down if and which autoimmune disease I might have. Overall, I am feeling very hopeful this week though. I think the new supplement is already helping and I feel better in general too. Excited to see where things go this week!