Chronic Pain Support Group
Physicians and professionalsdefine pain as chronic if it lasts longer than three to six months and is persistent. It's distinct from acute pain that is a direct result of injury or trauma. This support group is dedicated to those suffering from chronic pain. Discuss treatments that have worked for you, find advice for your specific experience, and find support. You're not...
Have you had genetic (aka, genomic, or DNA) testing? I have been reading posts on DS now for several months and I have not seen this type of test mentioned. For those of you that are not familiar with this type of test, it is test to check your genetics and enzymes to give your doctor(s) a better understanding on how your body will respond to medications (Rx and OTC). The results of the test points out areas that may be of concern, or dangerous, so your doctor can know in advance if a specific drug will cause issues and if the standard dosage will need to be changed (up or down) to get the correct results. The reports are really interesting and are gaining acceptance in the medical community, especially here in Houston the home of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
My pain doctor has had me take three such tests. He has allowed three different testing companies (that I know of) come into his office to randomly select his patients for testing. For this opportunity, the companies all agree to do the tests and provide the reports at no charge to the patient. (They do bill your insurance company, but their only payment is what they get from the insurance company, if any ($0 co-pay from the patient). The real costs of these tests appear to be in the $10,000 area.
I have received two of my reports so far and they are very interesting and helpful. For me, they show how my body/genotype/enzymes, metabolize each drug that I am taking (again, Rx and OTC), and show possible interactions that may be troublesome (this is very different than what you would normally get from your drug store).
The test is simple, just a cheek swab and thats it. You also provide a complete list of all medications that you are taking. My first report not only showed each of these medications, but has charts included to show how many other drugs will be metabolized by me if I was to start taking them in the future. I have given copies of these reports to all my doctors.
As an example, below is a link to the website of the first company to test me. I wish I had a sample report to post to show what I am talking about, but the only reports that I have are mine and I do not want these posted for obvious reasons.
Anyway, the main reason for this post was to raise awareness so that you can ask your doctor about it. I think they are well worth the effort. Funny thing, but you may have heard of a company called 23 and Me, which provided very similar reports directly to the consumer for a total cost of $99. For some reason they got the FDA upset and they now just provide ancestry information based on a cheek swab that you send them. Luckily, I got in before the FDA got their pants in a wad and received their full report, which is very similar to the $10,000 report (I think I know I the FDA got upset LOL, they know who butters their bread). In any case, if you are interested in tracing your ancestry based on your DNA, they do provide some interesting stuff (and I think they will work something out with the FDA so they can restart providing complete studies).
http://www.companiondxlab.com/
https://www.23andme.com/
My pain doctor has had me take three such tests. He has allowed three different testing companies (that I know of) come into his office to randomly select his patients for testing. For this opportunity, the companies all agree to do the tests and provide the reports at no charge to the patient. (They do bill your insurance company, but their only payment is what they get from the insurance company, if any ($0 co-pay from the patient). The real costs of these tests appear to be in the $10,000 area.
I have received two of my reports so far and they are very interesting and helpful. For me, they show how my body/genotype/enzymes, metabolize each drug that I am taking (again, Rx and OTC), and show possible interactions that may be troublesome (this is very different than what you would normally get from your drug store).
The test is simple, just a cheek swab and thats it. You also provide a complete list of all medications that you are taking. My first report not only showed each of these medications, but has charts included to show how many other drugs will be metabolized by me if I was to start taking them in the future. I have given copies of these reports to all my doctors.
As an example, below is a link to the website of the first company to test me. I wish I had a sample report to post to show what I am talking about, but the only reports that I have are mine and I do not want these posted for obvious reasons.
Anyway, the main reason for this post was to raise awareness so that you can ask your doctor about it. I think they are well worth the effort. Funny thing, but you may have heard of a company called 23 and Me, which provided very similar reports directly to the consumer for a total cost of $99. For some reason they got the FDA upset and they now just provide ancestry information based on a cheek swab that you send them. Luckily, I got in before the FDA got their pants in a wad and received their full report, which is very similar to the $10,000 report (I think I know I the FDA got upset LOL, they know who butters their bread). In any case, if you are interested in tracing your ancestry based on your DNA, they do provide some interesting stuff (and I think they will work something out with the FDA so they can restart providing complete studies).
http://www.companiondxlab.com/
https://www.23andme.com/
Aronia
Interesting !
grannyof3
I have had two different genetic tests. One showed that I will not get leg cramps from Statins, among other things. The other is to design a diet that will work well with my genetics. I haven't got the results from this one yet.
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