DNA testing?

[AZK]

Anyone here had their DNA tested? My daughter gave a 23 And Me kit for Christmas. It is labelled for Health and Ancestry. She had ordered one for herself and got me one too. She is slim and eats a very healthy diet but is frustrated that her cholesterol is high. The assumption is that it is due to some genetic factors, so she wants to find out and thought I might want to do the same. My sister had a DNA test done when they first came out as she has several chronic health problems too. The ancestry part is secondary, I guess. We can trace our family tree back several generations, so I really wouldn't expect any surprises there. If you have had one done, did you get any useful information?

 

[Danesa]

My kids game me an Ancestry Kit last Christmas (2017) and they also got one. Its interesting to see how alike & different the results have been.

 

[nightshadow]

My DH and I were tempted to buy these for ourselves but there have been several reports out lately that these do-it-yourself DNA testing kits are not very accurate. How disappointing!

 

[AZK]

My DH and I were tempted to buy these for ourselves but there have been several reports out lately that these do-it-yourself DNA testing kits are not very accurate. How disappointing!

I read an article last fall that discussed the major kits, I think there were 3, and why one might get different results depending on which kit you used. Something about the different algorithms each company used and which part of your DNA their particular methods focused on. It sounded very logical, but it could have just been a bunch of baloney.

 

[faerywings]

My IL's had done their's through Ancestry a couple of years ago and it was really neat to see the results. For Christmas last year, they got kits for their other son (my DH will not do it b/c of privacy concerns since once they have your DNA you basically sign away your rights to it) and his DD, and me and my son. My DD wanted to get hers done too and got a kit for her birthday.
I know my oral history- my great- and grandparents were Italian immigrants at the turn if the 20th century. My DNA showed that 88% is from Southern Italy and the remainder from the surrounding areas which tracks with the oral history.
What fascinated me was comparing my kids' DNA results. My DS looks/acts much more like my DH and his side of the family and his DNA was closer to my IL's than mine. My DD is a mini-me- and resembles my mom's side of the family strongly. Her DNA was much closer to mine.

The 23 and Me health profile is interesting to me since so many Lyme patients, such as my family, who are not able to get better or only moderately better after years of treatment have a MTHFR gene mutation. The 23 and Me can be used to look for that but since we had the Ancestry kits given to us, we might never know if that is what our issue is.

Fascinating stuff!

 

[VickiStegall]

I want to do this. I've had 2 dna tests done for health reasons


MTHFR - problems with detoxing and b vitamins - tested due to multiple health issues

BRCA - breast cancer. Mostly got that one done for my sister's benefit since I already had the cancer. Luckily for her it was negative.


Since learning about the MTHFR gene and what it does, I'm super interested to see what other variations I might have.

 

[faerywings]

I had BRCA done since I was under 45 when Dxd. Thankfully, I was neg on that too. Huge relief for Caitlyn's sake.


I call the MTHFR gene an expletive (sound it out!) ound:

 

[Madi]

I would not do that. no special reason, just don't see any advantage in it.
But I would love to see someone sending in the same DNA twice, and see if it would give the same result!

 

[AZK]

My sister, who has multiple health problems, says she has tested positive for the MTHFR gene mutation. I'm curious to see how I test on that one. She says it is a big factor for her health but from what I have read, up to 50% of the population has one of the gene variants and go their whole lives with no ill effects. I'm sure the reality is somewhere in between.

 

[VickiStegall]

I lived 30+ years of my life with no ill effects whatsoever. I think the key with these gene variations is that "something" happens and it gets triggered and all of a sudden you're affected.


We have 3 things that we believe could have turned mine on:


- Parasite (diagnosed by Dr but improperly treated)
- Tick infestation - Chris, was reminded of this recently
- Mold exposure


And, yes, I call that MTHFR the same as you Chris.

 

[faerywings]

As Vicki said, there are a variety of chronic illnesses and autoimmune disorders that can lay dormant until something triggers it and then the whole darn body goes :boom:

For me, I was most likely infected with Lyme and other tick-borne infections in the 1990s. I was mostly asymptomatic until my first pregnancy. After my second, I never truly snapped back in any way, mentally and physically. I had test after test, but it wasn't until my husband was finally Dx'd with Lyme that we considered that for me. Since then, I have been treated for Lyme, TBI's, RA since 2008. I have been off of abx for 6 months since then and I am supplementing like heck with herbal protocols. I would love to know if the MTHFR gene has contributed to this. I really believe that it has to be an underlying problem for people with autoimmune issues.

I think that for the majority of people, their bodies are capable of handling itself properly. But then something happens and some of those people's bodies cannot cope. The gene mutation, in my "not a Dr." opinion, adds to that complication.

Does any of that make sense?

 

[VickiStegall]

I think it's pretty well established that the MTHFR gene does contribute to this as it interferes with our body's ability to detox itself. The whole filtering process pretty much shuts down so we just continue getting more and more sick.