Bluebell
Senior Member
- Messages
- 392
A quick summary if the rest of my post is too long!
1. Looking for interpretations and suggestions regarding my 23andme genetic results.
Particularly how these alleles would work together to affect my methylation cycle and other processes.
2. Looking for suggestions about which blood/urine lab tests to order now, before I begin any new supplement / nutrition program.
I am limited to tests I can order myself without a doctor's intervention.
My budget for this is modest.
3. Looking for suggestions about supplement and dietary treatments to implement.
Types, timing.
============
Introduction
Hi - I've been lurking on Phoenix Rising for the last few months, dipping in and out of various topics, learning information, preparing to do the 23andme test etc. This is my first post.
I am trying to figure out what is going on with my health - some problems I've had a lifetime, others for the past 20 or 10 or 2 years... so many of them are potentially related to methylation issues, and with the help of others' knowledge and experiences that are generously shared on forums like this, I'm finally putting some of the larger picture together.
I am unemployed, and I have no doctor, health insurance, nor understanding people I can really talk to about any of this, so I am trying hard to get up to speed on these issues by myself.
I have one and a half (can't forget the abandoned half, ha ha... sob) advanced degrees (non-medical, non-"hard science") so I am used to doing research, compiling information, and piecing together puzzles, but not in these subject areas. Ninth grade biology was a looong time ago!
I got my 23andme results back a few days ago. The first thing I rushed to check was my MTHFR status, because that's the first related issue I became aware of earlier this year (which eventually led me to find this discussion forum). I am compound heterozygous for the 2 main ones, apparently the second-worst combination result that a person can have regarding those 2, and I was so relieved to find this out that I couldn't sleep that night out of excitement. It helps to get independent confirmation of why and how certain things might be happening to one physically/mentally, things that others sometimes don't take seriously, or fully grasp the effects of.
Because I don't have much money to spend and live in an area that is light on alternative practitioners, I have not gone the Yasko route or sought out other medical advice (beyond one big health issue I had about 5 months ago, before I started looking into this subject, and which the mainstream doctor I consulted hardly helped me with), so basically I am trying to do this D-I-Y, and I will have to go the cheap-and-cheerful method for the foreseeable future.
Although I am new here, I am hoping that I can get some pointers and advice about my 23andme results. At one time or other over the past few months, I've read all of the historical threads in this subforum. I have also looked at Yasko's free online publications, perused the Ben Lynch site, watched Rich van K's Scandinavian powerpoint presentation, etc. I have tried to locate and note the info that might relate to my situation, but the deeper knowledge that many here seem to have of how particular genetic variations work together in concert, and how they should be addressed as an interlocking system, is way beyond my current level of understanding.
Thank you for any light that you can shed on my specific situation.
========
23andme Results
These are the relevant alleles that are not "normal"/wildtype
(plus my VDR Taq, which is the majority result so I have designated it at -/-, but that's considered a risk by Yasko and apparently should be accounted for in terms of treatment, so I've included it here).
I have attached a pdf of my results, but can't figure out how to make that chart immediately visible in my post. Here is the info without formatting:
reds
ACAT1-02 AA +/+
BHMT 02 TT +/+
BHMT 04 CC +/+
BHMT 08 TT +/+
MAO A TT +/+
VDR Taq AA -/- (Yasko's +/+)
yellows
CBS A360A (C1080T) AG +/-
COMT H62H CT +/-
COMT V158M AG +/-
MTHFR A1298C (E429A) GT +/-
MTHFR C677T (A222V) AG +/-
MTRR A66G (A919G) AG +/-
MTRR A664A AG +/-
=========
Lab tests
I am planning to get lab testing in the next few days. I have been waiting to figure out which lab tests to get until I knew my genetic results from 23andme.
For the last 6 weeks, I have stopped all supplements because I wanted to have as "unadulterated" blood/urine test results as possible. My energy and concentration have been flagging even more without the vitamins, minerals, fish oil, etc., but I think getting the artificial folic acid and cobalamin etc. out of my system has been a help. (The last 2 weeks, I've also avoided all foods that are fortified with artificial folic acid.)
I have not had any lab tests for a couple of years. There are several issues I've already had trouble with that I know I need to have a thorough look at, such as a full thyroid panel and full iron panel. One test that I will definitely get is a relatively full celiac panel for $180, because 23andme said I was 3 times more likely than the general population to have celiac (I think 2.7% out of 100), plus I have a first cousin who was diagnosed with it over 10 years ago and 23andme's report about celiac disease says having a first cousin with it brings one's odds down to 1-in-33.
As I've been reading up on these issues prior to knowing my own genetic results, I've made note of the lab tests that have been recommended to other people, but there are so many (over 100) that have been mentioned, and some of them are really expensive, plus I've found negotiating the offerings of sites like privatemdlabs and labsdirect to be anything but straightforward.
The combo panels are good and are a better value (like "female anti-aging" or "hormone overview" or whatever), but there are so many different ones, and every one of the combo panels invariably leaves out several crucial tests that cost $49-$99 each, so I've made a spreadsheet to try to see which combination will be the least expensive option overall. I was hoping to get most of the important things done for less than $500, but my least-worst-price combo of tests right now is hovering around $800, and that doesn't even take into account the cost of some of the things that seem to be pretty important which I have a question mark beside on my spreadsheet, like "amino acids", "minerals", etc.
I would really appreciate hearing which lab tests people here think should have highest priority for my genetic picture!
1. Looking for interpretations and suggestions regarding my 23andme genetic results.
Particularly how these alleles would work together to affect my methylation cycle and other processes.
2. Looking for suggestions about which blood/urine lab tests to order now, before I begin any new supplement / nutrition program.
I am limited to tests I can order myself without a doctor's intervention.
My budget for this is modest.
3. Looking for suggestions about supplement and dietary treatments to implement.
Types, timing.
============
Introduction
Hi - I've been lurking on Phoenix Rising for the last few months, dipping in and out of various topics, learning information, preparing to do the 23andme test etc. This is my first post.
I am trying to figure out what is going on with my health - some problems I've had a lifetime, others for the past 20 or 10 or 2 years... so many of them are potentially related to methylation issues, and with the help of others' knowledge and experiences that are generously shared on forums like this, I'm finally putting some of the larger picture together.
I am unemployed, and I have no doctor, health insurance, nor understanding people I can really talk to about any of this, so I am trying hard to get up to speed on these issues by myself.
I have one and a half (can't forget the abandoned half, ha ha... sob) advanced degrees (non-medical, non-"hard science") so I am used to doing research, compiling information, and piecing together puzzles, but not in these subject areas. Ninth grade biology was a looong time ago!
I got my 23andme results back a few days ago. The first thing I rushed to check was my MTHFR status, because that's the first related issue I became aware of earlier this year (which eventually led me to find this discussion forum). I am compound heterozygous for the 2 main ones, apparently the second-worst combination result that a person can have regarding those 2, and I was so relieved to find this out that I couldn't sleep that night out of excitement. It helps to get independent confirmation of why and how certain things might be happening to one physically/mentally, things that others sometimes don't take seriously, or fully grasp the effects of.
Because I don't have much money to spend and live in an area that is light on alternative practitioners, I have not gone the Yasko route or sought out other medical advice (beyond one big health issue I had about 5 months ago, before I started looking into this subject, and which the mainstream doctor I consulted hardly helped me with), so basically I am trying to do this D-I-Y, and I will have to go the cheap-and-cheerful method for the foreseeable future.
Although I am new here, I am hoping that I can get some pointers and advice about my 23andme results. At one time or other over the past few months, I've read all of the historical threads in this subforum. I have also looked at Yasko's free online publications, perused the Ben Lynch site, watched Rich van K's Scandinavian powerpoint presentation, etc. I have tried to locate and note the info that might relate to my situation, but the deeper knowledge that many here seem to have of how particular genetic variations work together in concert, and how they should be addressed as an interlocking system, is way beyond my current level of understanding.
Thank you for any light that you can shed on my specific situation.
========
23andme Results
These are the relevant alleles that are not "normal"/wildtype
(plus my VDR Taq, which is the majority result so I have designated it at -/-, but that's considered a risk by Yasko and apparently should be accounted for in terms of treatment, so I've included it here).
I have attached a pdf of my results, but can't figure out how to make that chart immediately visible in my post. Here is the info without formatting:
reds
ACAT1-02 AA +/+
BHMT 02 TT +/+
BHMT 04 CC +/+
BHMT 08 TT +/+
MAO A TT +/+
VDR Taq AA -/- (Yasko's +/+)
yellows
CBS A360A (C1080T) AG +/-
COMT H62H CT +/-
COMT V158M AG +/-
MTHFR A1298C (E429A) GT +/-
MTHFR C677T (A222V) AG +/-
MTRR A66G (A919G) AG +/-
MTRR A664A AG +/-
=========
Lab tests
I am planning to get lab testing in the next few days. I have been waiting to figure out which lab tests to get until I knew my genetic results from 23andme.
For the last 6 weeks, I have stopped all supplements because I wanted to have as "unadulterated" blood/urine test results as possible. My energy and concentration have been flagging even more without the vitamins, minerals, fish oil, etc., but I think getting the artificial folic acid and cobalamin etc. out of my system has been a help. (The last 2 weeks, I've also avoided all foods that are fortified with artificial folic acid.)
I have not had any lab tests for a couple of years. There are several issues I've already had trouble with that I know I need to have a thorough look at, such as a full thyroid panel and full iron panel. One test that I will definitely get is a relatively full celiac panel for $180, because 23andme said I was 3 times more likely than the general population to have celiac (I think 2.7% out of 100), plus I have a first cousin who was diagnosed with it over 10 years ago and 23andme's report about celiac disease says having a first cousin with it brings one's odds down to 1-in-33.
As I've been reading up on these issues prior to knowing my own genetic results, I've made note of the lab tests that have been recommended to other people, but there are so many (over 100) that have been mentioned, and some of them are really expensive, plus I've found negotiating the offerings of sites like privatemdlabs and labsdirect to be anything but straightforward.
The combo panels are good and are a better value (like "female anti-aging" or "hormone overview" or whatever), but there are so many different ones, and every one of the combo panels invariably leaves out several crucial tests that cost $49-$99 each, so I've made a spreadsheet to try to see which combination will be the least expensive option overall. I was hoping to get most of the important things done for less than $500, but my least-worst-price combo of tests right now is hovering around $800, and that doesn't even take into account the cost of some of the things that seem to be pretty important which I have a question mark beside on my spreadsheet, like "amino acids", "minerals", etc.
I would really appreciate hearing which lab tests people here think should have highest priority for my genetic picture!