Just about everyone that frequents this forum has wondered what is the best pain med for them. After all, we are all different and what works for one, may not work for someone else. Well, there is a reason for this and it comes down to genetics. Just as there are other genetic testing to see how people metabolize certain medications, there is NOW one for specifically for pain meds!!

Two months ago at my regular pain mgmt appointment, my doctor asked if I wanted to be a participant in a study for this type of DNA genetic testing strictly for pain medications and how an individual will respond. I agreed. It was a simple saliva swab test and I got the results this past visit.

The test literally breaks down numerous drugs in many classes to see how you (personally) will respond to each class. It covers everything from all the anti-seizure meds (Neurontin, Lyrica etc), to anti-depressants used for pain mgmt (Cymbalta, Nortriptyline, etc), anti-depressants in general (SSRI's, SSRI's, Tricyclic's, etc), to Opioids (all classes), NSAIDS, (All classes). It also assesses your risk for addiction, and pain perception. It looks at metabolism of all these drugs and how likely you are to personally going to respond to each drug & class.

This information is designed to help physicians better prescribe the right medication for each individual without the guess-work and trial/error. Just think of the time saved by knowing the FIRST time whether a drug has the potential to help...instead of taking 3 months of small increases of Neurontin only to find out it doesn't work and then have to taper off slowly before trying the next drug. This is what you can possibly avoid. I have tried many different medications over the last 19 years (20 yrs next month) and oh how this information would have been SO helpful long ago. I now have a fairly good pain mgmt program, but the test results did confirm why some of medications I tried over the years gave me horrible side-effects or just didn't work at all for my pain. I also learned (should I need) what meds will best suit me in the future should I need to change my current program...without the guess-work.

The company that did my testing is called Proove Bioscience and can easily be found online. It was a study program, so all costs were covered and there was NO out of pocket for me. My understanding (from my pain mgmt doctor) is that MANY physicians are turning to these tools to help their patients get the best pain mgmt possible. So I would suggest you ask your physician about this program and whether you can get on board. It's simple, no cost, and very informative. I'd post the site, but I'm not sure about the rules for doing so on this forum...but easy enough to find them on your own, or to ask your doctor.

Hope this information is helpful. For those of you currently trying to find the right medication (and/or dose) please ask your doctor about this. One of the things I learned is not just what medication may/may not work, but also whether higher or lower doses of a certain drug may be necessary due to enzymes and metabolism specific to my DNA. Just good information all the way around!!