Getting back to A-O.K. started with my DNA
Jen Gathere (left) was suffering from multiple medical issues. “I was having breathing and heart problems as well as involuntary movements and tremors,” Jen explains. “But the more medications I took, the more symptoms I had.”
Dr. Emilie Rogg (right), Jen’s board-certified family physician, suggested she try Pharmacogenomic, or PGx, testing. The St. Vincent Health Genetics Institute offers state-of-the-art genetic testing that helps providers better understand how a person’s DNA impacts their response to medications.
Jen found the test to be so easy – just two cheek swabs. Two weeks later, Jen met with Dr. Rogg and Javier Villa, the Genetics Counselor for St. Vincent Genetics institute, to go over the test results. “It was really eye-opening,” Jen says. “I learned that my body metabolizes certain drugs in a way that produces severe side effects. For example, I was taking beta blocker for my heart, but it was metabolizing so quickly that it was causing my blood pressure to drop.
A New Path for Jen
Before PGx, Jen had tried more than 10 different medications. She couldn’t work and sometimes it was hard just to get out of bed. “Now I only have to take three medications regularly. I can’t thank the genetics team at St. Vincent Health enough. They’ve got me on the right path to improving my health!”
