The genes that make up our bodies come from our parents. Genes can be inherited from either your mother or your father, and eventually, these genes will combine to form the strands that make up your own personal DNA. Your genes determine everything from the colour of your eyes to whether or not you are more likely to develop certain medical disorders.
To a large extent, how well you react to certain drugs is determined by your genes. What if you could utilize information about your unique DNA to locate the meds that work best for you without having to test out several medications and wait to see if you would have favourable results or unpleasant side effects?
With pharmacogenetics, we can determine how safe and effective your drugs are in meeting the specific requirements of your health care.
Medications whose effects vary depending on your family history
You may benefit from DNA food testing if you are getting ready to start a new medicine, if you have noticed side effects or ineffectiveness related to your present medications, or if you are planning to take a new prescription shortly.
The efficacy of certain drugs might differ from person to person due to variables such as genetics. Additionally, genetics may frequently be used to predict whether or not you will have an adverse reaction to a prescription or suffer undesirable side effects after beginning to use a particular drug.
Only certain drugs affect genetic predispositions. Pharmacogenetic testing is something that we could recommend to you if we believe that certain drugs, such as the following:
- Antidepressants
- Antipsychotics
- Medications used to treat epilepsy
- Medications for attention deficit disorder
- Medications that thin the blood, such as Plavix and Warfarin
- Medications that include opioids
Your genetic makeup could also provide helpful information that helps us choose the appropriate amount of medicine for you. In contrast to thorough genetic testing, pharmacogenetic testing analyzes how you could react to a particular treatment.
The process of pharmacogenetic testing is explained.
During pharmacogenetic testing, various regions of your DNA are analyzed to look for particular genes. For the purpose of gathering information about your genetics, we collect samples of your blood and saliva. In most cases, we can complete your sample collection within five minutes. Testing with blood poses a little danger, but testing with saliva poses no risk.
To be ready for the pharmacogenetic testing, there isn’t much you need to do. If you are providing a saliva sample, abstain from having anything to eat or drink or smoking for the thirty minutes following your scheduled appointment.
When we get the results of your lab work back, we will be able to change your prescription strategy based on those results. If you were taking your medicine at the time of the test, we will be able to utilize the data to calibrate the amount that you should be taking more accurately.
Conclusion
Finding the proper medicine and dose to treat your mental health symptoms while avoiding side effects that might affect your quality of life can be a problem. Finding the appropriate medication and dosage can be challenging.
Thanks to pharmacogenetic testing, you may save yourself a lot of time and worry by not having to deal with therapies that don’t work, which can eliminate a lot of the guesswork.
