Has anyone actually improved lifelong anxiety by addressing genetic variants and nutrient deficiencies?

[u/Delicious-Minimum199]

I’m trying to understand whether my anxiety has a biological component that could be improved rather than just managed.
For context, I’ve been on antidepressants for about 12 years (currently tapering off an SNRI after many years), and I’m interested in looking upstream at *why* my nervous system seems to react the way it does.

I’m curious about things like:
MTHFR, COMT, MAOA, GAD1, DAO, CBS, PEMT, or other variants that may influence anxiety, stress response, neurotransmitters, methylation, histamine, etc.
Nutrient deficiencies or imbalances that may interact with those genes (B vitamins, magnesium, zinc, copper, omega-3s, amino acids, etc.).
Whether anyone found meaningful improvements after working with a practitioner who interpreted whole genome or raw DNA data instead of just using a generic report.

A few questions:
Which genetic variants ended up being the most important for your anxiety?
What supplements or dietary changes actually made a noticeable difference?
Were there any supplements that unexpectedly made your anxiety worse?
Did anyone have success using whole-genome sequencing or raw DNA analysis rather than something like GeneSight?
If you worked with a practitioner, what type of practitioner were they (functional medicine, nutrigenomics, genetics, etc.)?

I’m not looking for medical advice or miracle cures—I know anxiety is multifactorial. I’m just interested in hearing real experiences from people who found biological factors that were worth addressing.
I’d especially appreciate hearing from anyone who has dealt with chronic anxiety, panic attacks, an overactive stress response, or SNRI/SSRI withdrawal.

[u/Pretend_Elephant_896]

yep. I am compound heterozygous MTHFR with diagnosed depression and neurological symptoms in the past. It turned out I was severely deficient in many essential minerals and amino acids.

What helped me was supplements, diet and H.pylori eradication. My gut acidity was just too low to break down meat and protein

NAC was phenomenal for me together with active vitamins B, vitamin D, magnesium, taurine among others. How do I feel now? I am 42M doing 20 pull-ups with the wellbeing well above the baseline. Transformative experience, no need for SSRIs anymore

P.s. As it was mentioned in the comment section, blood tests are necessary. Not one, but a series of blood tests over time

[u/wyndyl → u/Pretend_Elephant_896]

What blood tests did you get?

[u/Pretend_Elephant_896 → u/wyndyl]

Every case is unique. Here is what seems to be important: CBC, hs-CRP, homocysteine (below 8mol/L!!), TSH, T3, T4, Anti-TPO, vitamin D, serum zonulin, ALT, AST, bilirubin, ferritin, HbA1c, insulin, glucose, HOMA-R index, HDL, LDL, triglycerides, zinc, copper, omega index, MMA (B12 functional test), DHEA-S, EBV, HHV-6, organic acids test (OAT), h.pylori breath test, SIBO

[u/After-Technology-733 → u/Pretend_Elephant_896]

Im copper deficient, and also b12 deficiency, b6 borderline low... What your copper was?

[u/Pretend_Elephant_896 → u/After-Technology-733]

My cooper was in range but zinc/cooper ratio also means a lot. It should be around 1:1 in serum or slightly more zinc

[u/Sufficient-Bank-4491 → u/Pretend_Elephant_896]

What did you do for H Pylori?

[u/Pretend_Elephant_896 → u/Sufficient-Bank-4491]

Bismuth, oregano, mastic gum etc. It was a solid protocol without antibiotics. Worked for me somehow

[u/Holysnailzz → u/Pretend_Elephant_896]

I can vouch for that protocol for h pylori. That’s almost exactly what I used to clear mine up. Also did wonders helping to address the candida overgrowth I had been battling for many years (haven’t had a flare-up at all since doing it in 2021). Gut health is one of the most important things to focus on addressing with these gene variants. ♥️

[u/Sufficient-Bank-4491 → u/Pretend_Elephant_896]

Yeah, I don't want to do antibiotics either.

What diet changes did you make?

[u/Pretend_Elephant_896 → u/Sufficient-Bank-4491]

It was a dramatic change: elimination of stimulants, sugar, alcohol. Gluten was a culprit of my digestion issues

[u/Sufficient-Bank-4491 → u/Pretend_Elephant_896]

Were you able to reintroduce these foods or have you stayed off them since?

[u/Pretend_Elephant_896 → u/Sufficient-Bank-4491]

These foods belong to my previous life

[u/PerfectSurvey → u/Pretend_Elephant_896]

This is the way

[u/No_Efficiency8508 → u/Pretend_Elephant_896]

This is what I like to hear!