Genetic Testing and MTHFR

drgracend
Message 1 of 2 , May 8 10:02 PM
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Greetings,

I am wondering what companies and tools are being used for genetic testing in our profession. I see a large population base with depression, anxiety, insomnia and fatigue. Currently I use Pharmasan labs for neurotransmitter testing and when I see low catecholamines and serotonin I like to follow up with MTHFR testing. I also watch for high folic acid and vitamin B12. I know there are many other reasons to run the MTHFR DNA test but this is where I use it the most. My concern is that insurance often does not pick up this testing and I don't want my patient to pay Quest labs over $450 for it. So, then I started to test with Genomind for a mood based genetic profile including MTHFR which insurance has been covering well for most patients. My biggest issue is how to test inexpensively for the uninsured patient or for lack of insurance coverage. I am also interested in learning about other useful genetic markers to broaden the support I can offer my patients. I went to sign up with 23 and me but it appears to only offer raw genetic material. Can anyone share with me what they are finding most effective with low income patients in mind. Thank you all so much for any suggests.

Wishing you and your family the best of health,

Dr. Holly Oliver

Centralia, WA




Anne Van Couvering
Message 2 of 2 , May 9 7:39 AM
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Holly -

check out Genecept Genomind assay - very very useful for SNPs surrounding mental illness and does a nice report; also talks about which pharmaceuticals are more or less likely to be helpful for a particular patient in terms of their SNPs.

Currently it's free if they have insurance (except medicaid/medicare) but I don't know how long that will continue.

Anne

Anne Van Couvering, ND, LMT, CNS
Watermill, NY