My psychiatrist wants me to get the DNA test to check which medications I metabolise best.
I just phoned the pathology accounts department to get a quote. They came back with an approximation of somewhere around $500 to $600.
Since my pdoc has only said it would be “ideal” to have and that he “might” refer to it in future if I run into trouble with my meds, I’ve decided I’m not going to have it.
HRRNG! That’s expensive!! I was thinking about doing that test eventually myself but yikes 
I’m getting my genotype sequenced as part of a research project for free. They’re going to send me my raw genetic data and then I’m going to have it interpreted. I wonder if it would be cheaper to check if I already have everything sequenced.
My psychiatrist wants me to get the DNA test to check which medications I metabolise best.
I don’t believe these tests are in any way accurate. I’m surprised to see your psychiatrist placing such faith in them. So maybe I’m wrong. (but I’m not 
)
I had my DNA tested, and my psychiatrist and me were very disappointed. It was a big waste of money. The medications they said were good for me, I had already been on, and they did not work out for me. My Pdoc said he would never recommend it to another patient, because it was so expensive and of no help.
Hot Dang! I was right!
It’s still in it’s infancy, so a good psychiatrist should be able to make a educated guess!
They put me on Zyprexa because I was under weight.
Thanks everyone. I didn’t realise it was still in it’s infancy. I’d hate to spend up to $600 which I don’t have to be told invega is probably the best medicine for me (which is what I’m already on) or worse, one of the meds I’ve already tried and hated.
I’ve been pretty explicit in telling my pdoc and family (who all insist on new meds) that I’m only going to be compliant with invega and even that is a struggle sometimes.
I think i got it one time. Its the thing where they swab ur mouth and test to see what meds work better right? Its worthless. Dont do it. It helps nothing and is a waste of money. When i got mine it basically told me the meds that i was already taking were already good. It really isn’t that helpful
In Australia it’s a blood test.
Here in Australia we have the medicare system where most blood tests for common things like liver function etc, are free because they’re “bulk billed.” Which means that the cost of the blood test is covered by medicare entirely.
If I go to a GP I pay $60 for the consultation but I get something like $34 back from medicare instantly. When I see my psychiatrist I pay $180 and I get about $100 back from medicare instantly. It’s available to everyone from birth it’s not means tested, it’s just how our health care system works.
If I needed to go to hospital, I don’t have private health insurance so I would have to go to a public hospital and I wouldn’t pay a cent for it. It costs nothing, medicare covers the entire expense and I don’t have to do anything, there is not initial outlay, they just take the number from my card and bill medicare for the expense.
So there are things that aren’t covered by medicare. And the DNA blood test is one of them. So I would have to outlay the (say) $600 and I wouldn’t get any money back from medicare. It’s not rebate-able. So I really don’t want to do it. I don’t have $600 to spare.
With medication, we have the PBS system which stands for Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Most common medications are covered on the PBS which reduces the cost from hundreds of dollars for a script, to a maximum $36. My invega is on the PBS so I pay $36 each box I need, I need two (different mg) each month. Latuda has only just come on the the PBS so it wasn’t commonly prescribed because of the expense but now it will be.
You don’t get any money back from medicare for prescriptions because of the PBS. But private health insurance sometimes covers prescriptions (but you need top level health insurance for that and private health insurance is REALLY expensive.
I’d never heard of this until someone here mentioned it to me. In a way I’d like to try it as I’ve been on so many meds and never found anything that’s right for me, but the thought of someone having my DNA on record scares the hell out of me, so much as I’d like to try I don’t think I could.
That’s another thing that holds me back. The thought that my DNA will be discovered and help on a computer system available to any doctor, and that could easily be hacked by the department of agriculture and get them closer to uncovering the passcode for the crystals in my brain. Too risky.
Yeah, my worry is similar, I’d be really scared that certain parties would use the information to track and control me. I don’t like having blood or urine tests for the same reason.