Understanding How GeneSight® Testing Helps Us Tailor Your Mental Health Treatment

The medical field is constantly evolving, with more advanced diagnostic testing and personalized medicine on the rise. One way personalized medicine helps is through GeneSight® testing.

It's a test that allows doctors to see how your genes may react to certain medications, narrowing down the list of potential anxiety, depression, and ADHD medications. The result is the ability to tailor your treatment plan to your genetics.

At Pacific Phoenix Psychiatry & TMS, Dr. Elia R. Gonzalez-Rodriguez is excited to offer GeneSight testing for patients in the Salmon Creek, East Vancouver, and Steilacoom-Lakewood, Washington communities.

Dr. Gonzalez-Rodriguez offers various mental health treatments, including medications for conditions like anxiety, depression, and PTSD.

Understanding GeneSight testing

GeneSight testing is a way to determine precisely how your genes react to specific mental health medications. It isn’t a diagnostic tool for mental health disorders but a way to personalize your treatment plan.

The GeneSight test is simple and noninvasive, requiring only a cheek swab for the DNA sample. At the lab, trained technicians evaluate your DNA against various psychotropic medications to determine how you may react to them.

The results come in quickly and allow us to determine which medications work better than others for your genes and which have fewer side effects. This handy tool prevents you from trying multiple medications to find the one that's effective for various mental health disorders.

What happens during the test?

The best part about GeneSight testing is that you can do it from the comfort of your home. All it takes is a simple cheek swab that you send back to the lab for analysis.

During one of your initial appointments, we offer you the test either in the office or to take home, whichever is more comfortable for your needs. We swab the cheek in the office and send the sample to the lab.

You do the same thing at home, but you are responsible for sending the sample to the lab yourself. Either way, the sample gets to the lab for analysis.

The lab analysis takes about two days, after which they call us to provide the results. Once we evaluate your results, we will schedule a consultation to discuss personalized treatment options.

How GeneSight testing allows for specific treatment

The GeneSight test is an excellent tool that will enable us to rule out medications that won't work for your genetics. Although the test can't tell us exactly which drug is best for your needs, it gives us a better picture of how your genes interact with certain medications.

The test analyzes DNA to determine which medications interact with your genes. The genes we test are specific to how the body utilizes and metabolizes medications.

It also allows us to narrow down medications that won't work by showing specific drug-gene interactions that could point to ineffectiveness or enhanced risk of side effects. This information will enable us to rule out certain drugs that probably won't work for you.

GeneSight testing gives us great insight into how your body interacts with medications, allowing us to take a more personalized approach to treatment. This insight allows us to narrow down the medication options that will work best with your genetic makeup to avoid unwanted side effects or ineffective mental health management.

Contact our team today to schedule an appointment for GeneSight testing or request a consultation on the website. We service the greater Portland area, Salmon Creek, East Vancouver, and Steilacoom-Lakewood, Washington.