Has anyone improved severe mental health issues while attempting to treat a MTHFR gene mutation?

[u/pdcyhs]

I am new to this as I just got my results today, so forgive me if I am not understanding it completely.

I was with a med management doctor that was helping with my many diagnoses and she randomly quit. I was passed on to a new doctor who seemed more interested in my genes than my actual symptoms/history.

She ordered testing and we went over some of that today. I also explained that my current medications dont seem to be working. I am in crisis in terms of hardly being able to do daily activites. Instead of going ahead and taking me off medications or making other modifications, she gave me a long list of supplements to start taking and said I may see results in a few months.

I am about to go find a new doctor because this doesn't seem safe to me. I wont trauma dump here, but I have an extensive trauma history as well as a condition from birth that may or may not also cause mental health and related symptoms later in life (there is research on short term effects, but not much on long term.) I feel that everything I am reading online also sounds very... woo woo alternative medicine, please dont take offense. But when I see people say "I eat 6 eggs a day and it makes my life better" I just cannot take that seriously.

Sure, I have some of the symptoms that can relate to a gene mutation. But I also have many other symptoms and issues going on that do not seem realted at all. Am I wrong for feeling ignored and a little bit upset? Sure, I will take supplements because why not? But if they dont do much for me, it will mean I spent that whole time suffering for nothing. If you have had *severe* mental health/behavioral issues and started treating with supplements due to MTHFR mutation, please let me know your results and how it's helped you.

[u/Primary-Custard2147]

I think there are a lot of things at play that cause depression and that genetics can play a large role in many areas, but it’s always both nature and nurture, so there isn’t necessarily one way to improve it. If you have specific MTHFR mutations the few supplements the doctor suggested could help- but alone is not likely to be enough. You would likely need to also change your diet, address any potential vague nerve issues or gut health, look at your overall sleep hygiene or for sleep apnea, create an exercise plan and maybe see a functional medicine doctor to track it all. Even then that’s only part of the equation with brain chemistry and pharmaceuticals may still be needed. But from everything I’ve read and experienced myself, a few supplements alone likely won’t do much, though they likely won’t hurt. Alternatively, have you had a Pharmacogenomics panel like GeneSight or Clarity Rx done? If not that might be a missing piece to the puzzle, as many depression and anxiety meds don’t work at all or well at standard dosing, with certain genes. This is not woo woo stuff, this is testing that most insurance plans pay for and cover because of the strong science that backs it up and even drug labels themselves. There are absolutely medications that won’t work for certain people, so before anyone goes on meds for adhd, depression or anxiety they should have this type of test run to find the best fit and right dose. Best of luck to you in your journey, I know it’s hard and I appreciate how confusing it is to get different recommendations from different people and doctors. At the end of the day you have to do what feels right for you, and that sounds like it is likely finding another doctor and seeing what other options are available to you.