After Years Of Trying Different Medications, A Single Test Helped This Mom Emerge From Depression
Content warning: infant loss
“I didn’t want to do anything. I quit a wonderful job that I still miss. I got frustrated one day and just walked out.”
It was uncharacteristic of Amanda L. to walk out on a job, especially one she loved. But she wasn’t behaving like herself, and hadn’t been for a long time. In fact, Amanda would walk out on four jobs over an 18-month period. She would push away friends and family. She would stop doing the things she loved.
“I had postpartum depression after each child,” she says, “but the depression that consumed me after I lost my son was different.”
Amanda is a mom to a son and two daughters. She calls her two youngest children “rainbow babies” because her second-born tragically passed away from SIDS at just two and a half months old. After the loss of her son, she says she started to have a debilitating, recurring thought: If I lost my son so suddenly, I could lose any one of my loved ones at any time.
As her fear of further loss consumed her, Amanda stopped opening herself up to relationships and people. She pushed away friends and family, cutting ties for no reason at all as she retreated further and further into herself. She was living with her mom during this time, and their relationship deteriorated dramatically due to Amanda’s withdrawal. “She took care of my daughter,” Amanda remembers, “while I lay in bed.”
The Frustration Of Medication Trial And Error
Amanda’s primary care doctor diagnosed her with major depressive disorder. He prescribed an antidepressant that had worked for her mom, which helped for a bit and then stopped working. Amanda’s doctor would adjust the dosage, raising it or lowering it based on how she said she was feeling. Over the course of several years, Amanda tried multiple medications and differing dosages.
Her depression persisted though, and Amanda was beginning to lose hope that she would ever find a medication that would work for her. “You feel like you’re stuck living that way,” she remembers. “You wonder, what if there isn’t any medication that’s going to help me feel better?”
When Amanda’s doctor left the practice, she scheduled her next appointment with a nurse practitioner. After reviewing the notes from Amanda’s previous doctor and hearing her frustrations with medication trial and error, the nurse practitioner suggested that Amanda try something called the GeneSight test. “We could spend years trying to find medication that helps you,” Amanda recalls her saying.
The GeneSight Test
The GeneSight Psychotropic test is a test that analyzes how a person’s specific genes may affect the outcomes with medications often prescribed to treat depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions. The test offers clinicians a report detailing which medications may require dose adjustments, may be less likely to work, or may have an increased risk of side effects based on a patient’s DNA — it’s a tool to help clinicians make more informed decisions during the medication selection process.
Amanda was excited to hear about the GeneSight test, but also a little nervous. She remembers thinking, “What if the medication I previously tried is in my ‘Use as Directed’ column?” This column of the GeneSight report lists medications where Amanda’s genetic results would not be expected to change her outcomes with those medications. She worried she might end up right back at square one.
Amanda’s fears are not unusual. In a recent survey, the GeneSight® Mental Health Monitor found that 39% of those diagnosed with depression said they’re not confident their depression medications will work for them. Given how common it is to cycle through various medications and dosages before finding one that helps, Amanda’s fears were valid. Trial and error is an emotionally draining process.
But Amanda didn’t end up back at square one. When the nurse practitioner reviewed Amanda’s GeneSight test results with her, Amanda was surprised to find that there were medications in her “Use as Directed” column that she’d never even heard of. She said her mom also took the GeneSight test, and when they compared results, some of the medications in her mom’s “Use as Directed” category were in the categories where Amanda had moderate or significant gene-drug interactions.
“It reinforced for me that we all have unique DNA,” Amanda says. “What might work for your family member may not work for you.”
After two weeks of taking her new medication, Amanda began to notice changes in how she was feeling — she was being more affectionate, and she was wanting to get involved with her kids and other loved ones. She wanted to go to parks, play games, and hang out. She wanted to have relationships with people again. All of this had seemed impossible before.
“I felt good enough to smile again,” she says, “and not feel guilty about it.”
Amanda Lange plays with her daughter. After battling depression, she leaned on her family for support in seeking the help she needed to get back to feeling like herself.
As the months passed, Amanda slowly started to feel like a different person — and yet also more like herself than she’d felt in years.
“It’s not just me who notices the change,” Amanda says. “My friends and loved ones now say they haven’t seen me smile like this in years.” Amanda can tell her kids are happy to have their mom back, and she’s relieved to be rebuilding relationships that were damaged because of her depression. She says it’s a beautiful thing to be able to have her kids and husband hug her and to be able accept it, to know she’s loved and cared for.
Amanda wants anyone who is suffering with depression or feelings of hopelessness to know there is help available. “Reach out to someone and ask them to watch your kids while you go to the doctor,” she says. “Or even go to the doctor with you. The doctor has the tools to help you.”
More On The GeneSight Test
What does the test do, exactly?
Similar to how your fingerprint unlocks your phone, the GeneSight test unlocks your unique genetic “fingerprint.” Across the US, more than 1.5 million patients have taken the GeneSight test, which has been ordered by tens of thousands of healthcare providers. A healthcare provider considers many factors when prescribing a medication, and the GeneSight test offers a useful tool to help them make more informed decisions.
Why does your genetic profile matter?
Research has shown that up to 42% of individual differences in antidepressant response for major depressive disorder can be explained by genetic variation. Based on your genetic profile, your body may break down some medications more slowly than normal but other medications more quickly than normal. This means certain medications and dosages may work better for you than others.
How does the GeneSight testing process work?
- Your clinician places an order for the GeneSight test.*
- Your clinician collects a DNA sample by painlessly swabbing the inside of your cheek OR you can collect the sample at home using the GeneSight at Home patient collection kit.
- Your DNA sample is sent to the accredited GeneSight lab for analysis.
- After the lab receives the sample, your clinician will typically get test results in a few days.
- Your clinician then reviews the results with you.
The GeneSight test gives your healthcare provider an invaluable tool to give them insight into your individual genetic makeup and how your genes may impact how you metabolize or respond to certain medications.
* The GeneSight test must be ordered by and used only in consultation with a healthcare provider who can prescribe medications. As with all genetic tests, the GeneSight test results have limitations and do not constitute medical advice. Do not make any changes to your current medications or dosing without consulting your healthcare provider.
This article was originally published on November 1, 2021.
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