DNA Genetic Testing

[Zimmerchild]

So, for a very long time, I've been interested in my DNA or Genetic information, specifically for my ancestry but also for health. Recently I ordered an ancestry test through 23 and Me, later I plan on getting the health test done as well, the test arrived back at their facility to be processed and soon I should know my genetic information. I went with them due because they seem to have the best price for the features I'm looking for and they are doing studies on different diseases to help with finding cures, genetic links, treatments, etc. I couldn't afford both tests together at this time, which is why I'm not getting my health work up done, though I should, I have several lifelong illnesses that could have something to do with my DNA and my daughter has Autism. 

Has anyone else had their DNA tested? Why or why not? Were you surprised about the information? Who did you go through for your testing? Are you interested in being tested? Anything else you might want to talk about related to being tested and the results? Good experiences and bad, I want to hear about it. Things like this have always made me super excited and chatty, also, if you don't want to post on the forum about it but still want to talk with me about it, feel free to private message me.  Also, feel free to ask me any questions you like, I know I write and speak in an odd manner and I can leave people with questions, I do not mind.  

Hope everyone is having a good day!

[fiorellino]

Ooooo! I've always been interested in getting something like this done. I really should do more research about it. I've been genetically tested for specific markers, but never for multiple genetic markers at once. 

What is the difference between the health test and ancestry test? How long does it take until you get your results? Are you excited or nervous for your results? 

I'm always interested in how genetics plays a part in ones health and I enjoy medical stuff, so this is totally up my alley. I think it's exciting what you can learn from your genetics. 

Hope you have a great Thursday 

[Zimmerchild]

33 minutes ago, fiorellino said:

Ooooo! I've always been interested in getting something like this done. I really should do more research about it. I've been genetically tested for specific markers, but never for multiple genetic markers at once. 

What is the difference between the health test and ancestry test? How long does it take until you get your results? Are you excited or nervous for your results? 

I'm always interested in how genetics plays a part in ones health and I enjoy medical stuff, so this is totally up my alley. I think it's exciting what you can learn from your genetics. 

Hope you have a great Thursday 

 

 

The Ancestry test will show you where the area where you genetics are from, whether or not you have Neanderthal DNA if you are male you can get both paternal and maternal genetic info, females can only get the maternal information due to us not carrying the right chromosome. The health one will give some fun info about things like eye color, hair color, finger length, however, I like the carrier info they provide for things like cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, gracile syndrome, and a bunch more. I think they may be doing a study with people who have Lupus at the moment, they've also done one or have one ongoing for those with MS, the give discounts to people who come to their site for those test. 

My test is already in getting the DNA extracted, it takes about 6 to 8 weeks to get the results. I'm super excited to see what it says, my mum had her brother tested some time ago, so I know part of what the results are going to say.  I'll be happy to share my results when I get them in. 

If you don't mind sharing, what marker where you being tested for?

[ladycanary]

I sent out my Ancestry spit sample a few weeks ago and haven't heard anything back yet. I guess it takes much longer than they say it does. I'm getting the DNA test done because my mom lost her mother when she was eight and never knew her father, so the results could be interesting!

[Zimmerchild]

1 hour ago, ladycanary said:

I sent out my Ancestry spit sample a few weeks ago and haven't heard anything back yet. I guess it takes much longer than they say it does. I'm getting the DNA test done because my mom lost her mother when she was eight and never knew her father, so the results could be interesting!

 

I keep checking my kit status on the website, it's why I know what they are doing with it. Who did you go with to get it done? 

[charelan]

I'm actually quite interested in doing it as well but concerned about the idea of sending someone your genetic information. I'm probably being paranoid, but is there any fine print that allows them to do anything else with your samples? Or is the paperwork quite clear so they can't? As I said, I've always been interested but this question has held me back from ever actually checking it out.

[Delshnya]

 

                 I never heard of it. I feel curious about the ancestry test, but it sounds expensive...

[jellysundae]

Ancestry, and 23 and Me were plugging their tests as a gift option over Christmas here in the UK, I'd be interested to get that done but I've no idea how much it costs. So you're saying that I'd only get info on my mum's side of the family then? Shouldn't it be half price for women to get the test done then? lol.

I have MS, so it pleases me that the place you talked about gives people with MS a discount on the health test. My spit's already part of a test run by the NHS (UK National Health Service) to see if there is a DNA link to the disease, it's great that it's not just hospitals doing research though.

[Angeló]

in my country it is very expensive ... but of course i'd love to have it done ... 

however if i am ever to get married i and my bride are obligated to take a genetic test for diseases etc ... 

[Zimmerchild]

6 hours ago, charelan said:

I'm actually quite interested in doing it as well but concerned about the idea of sending someone your genetic information. I'm probably being paranoid, but is there any fine print that allows them to do anything else with your samples? Or is the paperwork quite clear so they can't? As I said, I've always been interested but this question has held me back from ever actually checking it out.

 

I elected to allow for my DNA info to be shared, however, they do have a lot of safety precautions in place for people who are worried about others getting the info, they don't even store your name with your sample, it's all coded and stored separately, and any additional studies that they do, you get to decide if you participate. I will admit, I'm not concerned about my information getting to anyone, so I wasn't all that worried about security, however, 23 and me are pretty big on making sure everyone feels secure when using their service, and they do go into great detail about how they keep even the electronic data under lock and key both physically and electronic security.  

4 hours ago, delshnya said:

 

                 I never heard of it. I feel curious about the ancestry test, but it sounds expensive...

 

With 23 and Me, for just the Ancestry part, it was $99 for both the Ancestry and the health wellness it's $199, and if you get them separate, the health wellness is $125. I don't know what the price is for people in other countries. 

1 hour ago, jellysundae said:

Ancestry, and 23 and Me were plugging their tests as a gift option over Christmas here in the UK, I'd be interested to get that done but I've no idea how much it costs. So you're saying that I'd only get info on my mum's side of the family then? Shouldn't it be half price for women to get the test done then? lol.

I have MS, so it pleases me that the place you talked about gives people with MS a discount on the health test. My spit's already part of a test run by the NHS (UK National Health Service) to see if there is a DNA link to the disease, it's great that it's not just hospitals doing research though.

 

I didn't get in on the deal, unfortunately, above I listed the prices for the U.S. 

I think I explained that bit about paternal and maternal a bit odd, I'll quote what it says on the site; 

Quote

More on: results for women.

The vast majority of our features, including the Ancestry Composition report and DNA Relatives tool, are based on autosomal DNA. Autosomal DNA is inherited from both parents, and women receive all these reports and tools.

While men can trace both their maternal haplogroup (from mitochondrial DNA) and their paternal haplogroup (through the Y chromosome passed down from their father), women can only trace their maternal haplogroup (through the mitochondrial DNA passed down from their mother). This is because the paternal haplogroup is traced through the Y chromosome, which women do not inherit.

Keep in mind that haplogroups are one small part of your ancestry analysis. If a male relative such as your father, brother, paternal uncle or paternal male cousin were genotyped, your own paternal haplogroup information could be inferred from any of them.

 

I hope that helps, I'm still learning all the language and terms, so I get mixed up at times. It doesn't help that I get super excited like a 5-year-old about stuff like this. lol

I don't know if they offer a discount to everyone on that all the time, I just know when they are doing a specific study group they will offer a discount, I came across them when the MS one was going on, I was checking to see if they had a Fibromyalgia one going on or one they were planning to do in the future, as MS and Fibromyalgia have similar symptoms. 

[charelan]

8 hours ago, Angeló said:

in my country it is very expensive ... but of course i'd love to have it done ... 

however if i am ever to get married i and my bride are obligated to take a genetic test for diseases etc ... 

This is really interesting!! What happens after the test if people have genetic diseases? 

Also, if you found the explanation about haplogroups confusing, here is how I would explain it in layman's terms:

You get 23 chromosomes from each parent. The 23rd chromosome is an X or a Y. A Y means you are a boy. So.. the paternal haplogroup is specifically the one line in your ancestry that was entirely male, leading up to your father. You can get information about your father's mother, your grandfather's mother etc.. but you can never get that father's-father's-father's-to infinity info unless a brother, dad, or uncle on your dad's side also submits a sample. It would be a fairly small bit of your DNA bc it's been 'watered-down' a little by each generation... It's a really cool subject!

[Angeló]

2 hours ago, charelan said:

This is really interesting!! What happens after the test if people have genetic diseases? 

i don't think i ever heard of anyone FORBIDDEN to get married but they warn them about having children ... the possible outcomes etc ... 

 

[deboratibi]

I'm really interested in having my DNA tested for both reasons. I remember checking out one of those websites several years ago and saw that they tested internationally, but at the time I couldn't afford it. About one year later, I had the money but then found out they weren't allowed to test international samples anymore (or at least not from my country, I can't remember specifically). I haven't checked again to see if this changed, but it doesn't matter anyway because I absolutely cannot afford it now - I have even less money than before, and dollars/pounds are much too expensive.
 

14 hours ago, Angeló said:

however if i am ever to get married i and my bride are obligated to take a genetic test for diseases etc ...

Wow, I never heard of that! That's quite interesting. That reminds me that my parents got tested before having me, because my older brother has a congenital disability and they wanted to know the chances of having a second child with that same condition. They found out it wasn't caused by genetics, but rather by folic acid deficiency during her pregnancy.

[Zimmerchild]

51 minutes ago, deboratibi said:

I'm really interested in having my DNA tested for both reasons. I remember checking out one of those websites several years ago and saw that they tested internationally, but at the time I couldn't afford it. About one year later, I had the money but then found out they weren't allowed to test international samples anymore (or at least not from my country, I can't remember specifically). I haven't checked again to see if this changed, but it doesn't matter anyway because I absolutely cannot afford it now - I have even less money than before, and dollars/pounds are much too expensive.
 

Wow, I never heard of that! That's quite interesting. That reminds me that my parents got tested before having me, because my older brother has a congenital disability and they wanted to know the chances of having a second child with that same condition. They found out it wasn't caused by genetics, but rather by folic acid deficiency during her pregnancy.

 

I had to wait until now to do it because I didn't have the money for it. I still want to get the health wellness test done, as my daughter has autism and, even though I don't intend to have any more children, I would like to see if there is something in my DNA that could have caused it or if I have other things in there that may relate to my own illnesses. Hopefully one day in the future you'll be able to, I know there is now more and more access to test like this.

[ladycanary]

On 3/16/2017 at 9:00 PM, Zimmerchild said:

I keep checking my kit status on the website, it's why I know what they are doing with it. Who did you go with to get it done? 

I got it done at Ancestry.com. I haven't checked the status in a while, guess I probably should!

[Zimmerchild]

8 hours ago, ladycanary said:

I got it done at Ancestry.com. I haven't checked the status in a while, guess I probably should!

Ah, I don't know how they do their results and such, my mum went through them when she had my uncle tested.  Hope you get some news on your results soon.

[tk421beth]

On 3/16/2017 at 2:46 PM, Zimmerchild said:

So, for a very long time, I've been interested in my DNA or Genetic information, specifically for my ancestry but also for health. Recently I ordered an ancestry test through 23 and Me, later I plan on getting the health test done as well, the test arrived back at their facility to be processed and soon I should know my genetic information. I went with them due because they seem to have the best price for the features I'm looking for and they are doing studies on different diseases to help with finding cures, genetic links, treatments, etc. I couldn't afford both tests together at this time, which is why I'm not getting my health work up done, though I should, I have several lifelong illnesses that could have something to do with my DNA and my daughter has Autism. 

Has anyone else had their DNA tested? Why or why not? Were you surprised about the information? Who did you go through for your testing? Are you interested in being tested? Anything else you might want to talk about related to being tested and the results? Good experiences and bad, I want to hear about it. Things like this have always made me super excited and chatty, also, if you don't want to post on the forum about it but still want to talk with me about it, feel free to private message me.  Also, feel free to ask me any questions you like, I know I write and speak in an odd manner and I can leave people with questions, I do not mind.  

Hope everyone is having a good day!

Good afternoon!

I'm excited to tell you my input about your topic...

Last year I got my DNA Ancestry done. My hubby bought the kit from Ancestry, and I cried when he presented it to me. It meant a lot to me to do it!

I was adopted when I was nine months old. I have no information in regards to my biological family at all. I've always wondered what am I? Spanish? English? French? Greek? Hmmm...

My Mom was excited when I sent my kit off, and I was thrilled to see what I will "be." I even posted the results on my Facebook page. Believe me, this was so exciting!

I do not know about my medical biological history, but maybe I can get that done later.

I am thrilled to know what I am now. I loooove St. Patrick's Day, and was thrilled of the Asian and Jewish info as well.

I guess I'm a mutt!

Here are my results:

REGION APPROXIMATE AMOUNT

Europe 97%

• Europe West 29%
• Ireland 25%
• Europe East 23%
• Italy/Greece 10%
• Trace Regions

   

•  

  10%
• Finland/Northwest Russia 4%
• Great Britain 2%
• European Jewish 2%
• Scandinavia 1%
• Iberian Peninsula < 1%

Pacific Islander 1%

• Trace Regions

   

•  

  1%
• Melanesia 1%

West Asia 2%

• Trace Regions

   

   

  I loooove St. Patrick's Day, and was thrilled of the Asian and Jewish info as well.

  I guess I'm a mutt

[Naamah D.]

I've never had it done because I know my ethnicity but I'm curious to see how high the risk is for cancer. It runs in one side of my family and I want to know because I want to take precautions to avoid a possible mastectomy. 

[Zimmerchild]

On 3/20/2017 at 2:33 PM, tk421beth said:

Good afternoon!

I'm excited to tell you my input about your topic...

Last year I got my DNA Ancestry done. My hubby bought the kit from Ancestry, and I cried when he presented it to me. It meant a lot to me to do it!

I was adopted when I was nine months old. I have no information in regards to my biological family at all. I've always wondered what am I? Spanish? English? French? Greek? Hmmm...

My Mom was excited when I sent my kit off, and I was thrilled to see what I will "be." I even posted the results on my Facebook page. Believe me, this was so exciting!

I do not know about my medical biological history, but maybe I can get that done later.

I am thrilled to know what I am now. I loooove St. Patrick's Day, and was thrilled of the Asian and Jewish info as well.

I guess I'm a mutt!

Here are my results:

REGION APPROXIMATE AMOUNT

Europe 97%

• Europe West 29%
• Ireland 25%
• Europe East 23%
• Italy/Greece 10%
• Trace Regions

   

•  

  10%
• Finland/Northwest Russia 4%
• Great Britain 2%
• European Jewish 2%
• Scandinavia 1%
• Iberian Peninsula < 1%

Pacific Islander 1%

• Trace Regions

   

•  

  1%
• Melanesia 1%

West Asia 2%

• Trace Regions

   

   

  I loooove St. Patrick's Day, and was thrilled of the Asian and Jewish info as well.

  I guess I'm a mutt

 

Oh wow, that is pretty neat to see. I'm super excited to see what I get.

On 3/24/2017 at 1:55 PM, Naamah said:

I've never had it done because I know my ethnicity but I'm curious to see how high the risk is for cancer. It runs in one side of my family and I want to know because I want to take precautions to avoid a possible mastectomy. 

 

I don't want to sound like a pain here, surprisingly enough, a lot people think they know their ethnicity or their mix and they are wrong. This is part of the reasoning behind my testing. I'm French according to my last name and what we can find historically my father's side of the family fled France during the French Revolution because we were on the chopping block (lol). Due to French history in regards to slavery, it's a possibility that I have some African ancestry, there are a few things in my own physical makeup that also suggest this. I also have written history documents that show my mother's line traced back to the Mayflower and further, but those documents could be missing members of the family. We can't find birth information for one of my ancestors, we think she was illegally adopted, this was on my mothers' fathers' side of the family. I can't remember if there is any historical documentation on his side or not, this one ancestor we were told is Native American, which further makes us wonder about the possibility of illegal adoption. Native American children used to be stolen if they looked white enough and "given" to white families to try and erase their culture. Also, in places like Central and South America and the Carribean Islands, the people in those places have a lot of European heritage and do not realize this, due to colonization.

Ummm...I think I'm just gonna stop rambling now. lol 

It is definitely a good idea to get it done for health risk, it is something I strongly encourage, as you never know, it could take a couple of generations for someone to actually get the illness to find out it's in the family line.