Below are some of the factors that can contribute to how well a medication works:
Age
Weight
Other medications (prescription and over-the-counter)
Medical conditions
Smoking
Alcohol
GENETICS
Genetic testing can help you and provider make more informed decisions about which medications you should and should not take.
Your test results could show that a medication may be ineffective for you.
Why waste your time and money taking a medication that won't work?
Your test results could show that a medication may be harmful for you to take.
Why would you want to take a medication that could do you more harm than good?
A study was recently conducted at several Veterans Affairs medical centers with the goal to determine whether pharmacogenomic testing affects the selection of antidepressant medication and if that testing could lead to better clinical outcomes for those with major depressive disorder.
"In the control arm of the randomized clinical trial of 1,944 patients with major depressive disorder, about 20% of those started on an antidepressant began a medication with a significant drug–gene interaction" -Loren Bonner
This means that the patient was given a medication to treat their depression but the patient had a variation in their DNA that affected the response to the medication.
The medication may have been broken down to quickly and eliminated from the body before it had a chance to work.
The medication may have been broken down too slowly and stayed in the body too long and lead to adverse effects.
What if those interactions could be decreased or avoided with a cheek swab DNA test (pharmacogenomic test)?
Would you be interested?
Sometimes it can take months or years for people to find the right medication to help with their depression symptoms.
“With pharmacogenomics testing, this trial showed we can get better, faster results for [major depressive disorder]. For these patients, more quickly reaching remission can be paramount,” said Thomas Smith, PharmD.
Do you want to continue struggling to find the medication that works for you?
Click the button below to learn more about the genetic testing (pharmacogenomics) process that can help you with your medications.
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