Help, please. Just received 23andme results - Spoiler alert

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drae
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Help, please. Just received 23andme results - Spoiler alert

Post by drae »

I have been searching the forum and wiki, but can't seem to find info on what to do with the report to turn it into useful info. Help, please.

The top bit of info was I carry one copy of apoe4 and mentioned LOAD (which is what I thought I have the symptoms for). I am 67.

Drae
Drae -- floundering forward, everlasting beginner.
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JulieG: Sticking with it slowly.
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Re: Help, please. Just received 23andme results - Spoiler alert

Post by NF52 »

drae wrote:The top bit of info was I carry one copy of apoe4 and mentioned LOAD (which is what I thought I have the symptoms for). I am 67.
Hugs Drae,
The first thing to do with the report is: Take a deep breath, hold for 7 seconds and let it out. You're the same terrific person you were before you saw these results.
The second things to do is: Remind yourself--write it down in your favorite ink color!-- of all you have accomplished in the last few months! You are doing exactly what you need to do: taking charge, making thoughtful changes, monitoring how you feel.
The third thing is: Remember that genes are not destiny. They're not even the final script of the play! They are the first draft of a long-running play that's gone through decades of performances and improvements and been taken on the road and has a new cast of actors changing how those genes are expressed.

I'm going to be 66 in a few weeks and so I know that you and I have already shown that people our age can have great cognition, great problem-solving skills, great flexibility in how we handle stress in our lives--and we can change! Maybe not everything--otherwise I would swap my fine, thin hair for my sister's thick tresses--but we can influence a lot.

As far as reports and what to do with the data, you can check out the various reports from 23 & me. You can also go to Promethease and download the data, but I'll let the great Support Staff help with that. (I've done it, but probably won't explain it right.) But I wouldn't obsess over those individual SNPs.

The best estimates of the overall likelihood of a person with ApoE 3/4 to develop either Mild Cognitive impairment or dementia by age 85 is about 20-25%. That's a range, and there's lots of studies that show incidence is dropping as people have higher education, better access to health care, and more control of factors like high blood pressure, smoking and vascular damage.

We also know that the preclinical stage takes a long time--so nothing is going to happen to you tomorrow! You have time to think about what this all means, and what additional steps you want to take.

It's a journey, not a sprint, sweet Drae, and lots of us are here to support you. Now get some beauty sleep and people with much more wisdom than me will help out tomorrow!
4/4 and still an optimist!
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Re: Help, please. Just received 23andme results - Spoiler alert

Post by CAngelS »

drae wrote:The top bit of info was I carry one copy of apoe4 and mentioned LOAD (which is what I thought I have the symptoms for). I am 67.
NF52 wrote:It's a journey, not a sprint, sweet Drae, and lots of us are here to support you. Now get some beauty sleep and people with much more wisdom than me will help out tomorrow!
Yes! What NF52 said:)
Just joining in to send hugs & remind you that we're with you. <3

(I don't know you yet, but I've read your posts, and I'm a big fan already!)

p.s. Way to go stepping forward with testing! I did a search of my 23andme raw data to check for some of the biomarkers mentioned in the Wiki, including SNPs rs429358 and rs7412, which it sounds like you've already confirmed. I found more information here, too -- https://www.snpedia.com/index.php/APOE. Cheering you on!
"If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else?" (Matthew 5:47)
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drae
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Re: Help, please. Just received 23andme results - Spoiler alert

Post by drae »

NF52 wrote:
Hugs Drae
NF52, Thank you so much. That was a world class response. I read it over and over last evening and felt extremely blessed and well cared for. No wonder they made you a moderator! I know the news did hit me pretty hard although my mind keeps saying the gene doesn't matter. The fact that I have the precursors and symptoms is my real basis for action. I am so glad I started after reading the book and did not wait for the test results. I am so grateful I am much better after only 2 months, although not near back to where I would hope to be.

Now I am chomping at the bit to find out how to get the information out of these results. Is there someone I should ask?

Really, thank you so much. You made my night and it was a bit of a struggle night, even with Carolina playing in the ACC. =)

Drae
Last edited by drae on Sat Mar 10, 2018 9:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Drae -- floundering forward, everlasting beginner.
Poco a poco. it don't work if you don't do it.
JulieG: Sticking with it slowly.
G.K. Chesterton: Practice makes progress.
A thing worth doing well is worth doing badly at first.
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SusanJ
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Re: Help, please. Just received 23andme results - Spoiler alert

Post by SusanJ »

Drae, sending many hugs your way. It will likely be a roller coaster for a while, so just know the struggles will come and go.

Just remember that you're on a good path to finding your best health, and we'll be here to cheer you on.
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Re: Help, please. Just received 23andme results - Spoiler alert

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drae wrote: Now I am chomping at the bit to find out how to get the information out of these results. Is there someone I should ask?
Ok Drae,
I'll have a go at helping you get that info. Nothing worse than being ready to find something out and hearing "you have to wait..."
If you sign back in to 23 & me, you'll see a bar at the top with tabs for HOME REPORTS TOOLS RESEARCH.
Click on TOOLS. You'll either see a drop-down menu, with the last item being "raw data", and you can click on that.
[Or if you click on TOOLS and hold, the TOOLS menu page will open up and at the bottom right there will be a box that says RAW DATA, with a blue link to "browse your data"]
Either spot will take you to a screen titled Your Raw Data and a nifty little graphic of all the chromosomes. Above Your Raw Data are 2 choices; Browse or Download. You can choose to download the data, and they'll send you an email when a file is ready. Or you can browse for particular SNPs if you know what you want to look for (I only do that if I see an interesting post that says "SNP rs--------- is linked with some condition, risk or protective factor I'm curious about.)
I think what many people have been doing lately instead of downloading their data to themselves is to go to https://promethease.com/ and pay $ 10. to have them download the data from 23& me and prepare reports for you. If you go to the link I shared, you can scroll down and see sample reports before you decide whether to do this.
You might want to ask yourself these questions:
1. Do I already know enough to make the kinds of changes I feel good about making to improve my health, my well-being, and my ability to handle everything else that is important to me at this time?
2. What will be my reaction if I find that I have some small pieces of genetic data that might carry some risk of a different health condition, with no clear guidance on how big a risk, or how it might affect me at this point in my life?
3. What will be my reaction if I find that I have little risk for other health conditions that might have been in my family? Little risk doesn't mean no risk; will I be glad to have that news? Will it make me do anything differently?
4. Will I be going down endless "rabbit holes" searching for answers that are not yet clear about my personal genetic profile? Am I okay with the really early stages of scientific consensus on this information?

You can jump right in and get the information; you can decide to wait a while and see if it still seems important.
Just remember that almost no one will claim to be able to tell you what it all means!

Keep watching basketball--some things in life are worth savoring in the moment!

NF52
4/4 and still an optimist!
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Re: Help, please. Just received 23andme results - Spoiler alert

Post by ru442 »

Thanks NF52... I was going to slog through this for drae but you beat me to it!
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drae
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Re: Help, please. Just received 23andme results - Spoiler alert

Post by drae »

NF52 wrote: Ok Drae,
I'll have a go at helping you get that info.
NF52, thank you. I appreciate all the detail and the thoughtful questions. I am inclined to find out what I can and then deal with what I can, so I went for it. Then, instead of trying to wade through it, I hunted down and went and spent the afternoon with my (retired Army guy) son. Very pleasant.

I think I made the right choices on both fronts.

I'm very grateful for the help. I'll probably start posting pesky questions now about the new things I'm trying to read. =)

Drae
Drae -- floundering forward, everlasting beginner.
Poco a poco. it don't work if you don't do it.
JulieG: Sticking with it slowly.
G.K. Chesterton: Practice makes progress.
A thing worth doing well is worth doing badly at first.
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Re: Help, please. Just received 23andme results - Spoiler alert

Post by NF52 »

Sounds like you made great choices, Drae. Not surprised by that! Time with our kids (no matter their age or Army rank, they’re still our kids) is priceless.
And questions are never pesky—but folks smarter than I am will answer them!
4/4 and still an optimist!
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drae
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Re: Help, please. Just received 23andme results - Spoiler alert

Post by drae »

CAngelS wrote: Just joining in to send hugs & remind you that we're with you. <3
SusanJ wrote:Just remember that you're on a good path to finding your best health, and we'll be here to cheer you on.
Thank you so much CAngelS and Susan. I think this weekend, more than any other time, I understand more now how deeply meant and deeply needed your loving sentiments and reminders are.

Thanks to all here who support each other. This group is amazing.

Drae
Drae -- floundering forward, everlasting beginner.
Poco a poco. it don't work if you don't do it.
JulieG: Sticking with it slowly.
G.K. Chesterton: Practice makes progress.
A thing worth doing well is worth doing badly at first.
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