Panorama Test Questions

flowerpower5838 · August 2015

Hello Ladies

At my appointment yesterday, my doctor let me know that she offers all patients the opportunity to have the Panorama blood test (or Harmony, Maternity21, etc. I know it's called a few different things). I am 27 (will be 28 this week) and a FTM. I didn't really think it was necessary? I don't have any kind of family history or anything that would suggest I be offered this test.

My husband was there and he is all for it (he'd want to know what to expect to prepare). I asked my doctor if the insurance would cover this (knowing the answer was no) and she said no, but through her office it is either $99 or $199. On one hand, we are trying to pinch every penny we can to make sure that we continue purging debt (student loans and car payment) until baby gets here, but on the other, 100-200 bucks really isn't much in the grand scheme of things. I am not sure of how accurate the testings are, but obviously the big draw for me would be learning the sex as we won't have the anatomy scan until 20 weeks and the potential for peace of mind.

What do you guys think - worth it or no?

skruhmin · August 2015

I wouldn't. If it comes back as any kind of risk for anything, it will most likely cause unnecessary anxiety - and they just show heightened risk, not that anything is 100% wrong.

PinkSunglasses16 · August 2015

It was offered at my appt yesterday too and she advised it was an unnecessary test for our situation. Young, no history of abnormalities etc. She also said that IF something pops up that its usually nothing and causes unneeded stress.

flowerpower5838 · August 2015

Thanks ladies. I was leaning towards skipping it specifically because I am already generally overstressed as it is.

FlipFlop1025 · August 2015

I'm in the same situation - no family history and young enough not to be high risk. The doctor explained at our apt yesterday that my age group has a higher chance of getting false positives, which will cause much unneeded stress.

I'm calling insurance today to see if the specific test is covered. I'm assuming it won't be. If it's not covered, we aren't getting the test.

ARogers26 · August 2015

There is a really good post about a false positive in Feb 16 board. I had the test due to family history but she brought up really good points. I would link, but I am on mobile.

Knottie1456889319 · August 2015

My Dr. said that this particular test has a lower accuracy rate the further you are away from 35 years old...I agreed that I would not like to have a false reason to worry. They dont even do it in their office unless you are over 35 but she did say I could do it somewhere else.

kynbar5 · August 2015

Awesome thread. I was curious about this too. I was thinking about it but we have 5 generally healthy children as it is so hopefully this one will follow suit

flowerpower5838 · August 2015

@lanatalia That is the exact impression I received from the f16 board and research in general. I am far too much of a worrier regardless of whether it was a real positive or a false positive.

Also, I specifically asked my doctor about the test being for women 35+ or women with family history and she was just adamant about offering it to everyone because of some anecdotal reasoning. I guess she has only received 3 positive test in the last 2-3 years and one of those was a 23 year old woman.

maelic · August 2015

I did it at 28 during my first pregnancy, after the anatomy scan showed that my daughter had a choroid plexus cyst in her brain, which can be a soft marker for trisomies. I wouldn't have done it otherwise and since we were team Green I asked them not to tell me the sex.

It was absolutely worth it for peace of mind, but the soft marker was the only reason I was worried in the first place.

lightrox · August 2015

I didn't with my first two but I was younger then now I'm 35 and my insurance covers it and it's been over 5 years since I was last pregnant and I had a miscarriage (blighted ovum) last year so my husband and I agreed to take the test but if I was under 35 I wouldn't have done it.

A+BinNYC · August 2015

I didn't do it with my first two kiddos - but I was under 35 at the time and the Panorama wasn't on the market then either. I felt confident enough with the answers we received from just doing the NT scan, plus the standard genetic carrier testing (CF, Tay-Sachs, etc.). I don't think I would've done it even if it was available at the time.

That said, I'm turning 36 in a few days and have had a previous triploid loss - so I'm in a much different place. I'm scheduled for the test next week and am glad I'm doing it. But again, mainly because my situation is now significantly different than before.

mrskimm09 · August 2015

I am doing it because we had a miscarriage previously and this will help us prepare if the baby does have something. The test is scheduled for 9/12.

FutureMrsCaesar · August 2015

I personally would do it if my Drs office offered it at that price, but that's because I know I would go on to further testing (CVS, amnio) if it came back positive. I'm not 35, will be 33 when I have this baby, so it would be OOP for us.

It sounds like you're pretty confident in your decision and I think you should go with your gut. During my first two pregnancies I was in my 20's and opted not to do any genetic testing beyond the CF, etc. As I've gotten older, my odds for things have gotten worse, I've seen a lot more things and have other little ones to consider, so now I do feel the need to have all the information and be as prepared as I possibly can. I think it's a natural progression, and if you feel comfortable not doing the test there's nothing wrong with that.

GOOCMEL · August 2015

I did mine today, but I'm 41. I also did the gender test with it.

MittenJennie · August 2015

I didn't for my first. I was 35 at time of delivery. But I did do it for this one - my blood was drawn on Wednesday. I will be 37 in September. We opted to know the sex too. I have a feeling it's a boy.

jcarder13 · August 2015

I did the Verifi test a few weeks ago because we wanted to know the gender early and I thought it would be good to know my recessive alleles. I'm not sure your doctor explained to you very well what exactly the genetic test do. They take your blood and from that determine if your DNA has the recessive genes for the genetic diseases. In that DNA they can also determine what sex chromosomes are in your body which tells you gender. The reason why these tests can't determine 100% if your baby has a chromosomal defect and why it determines chance is because for your baby to have those genetic defects both you and your partner have to be positive for those recessive chromosomes. If your test comes back with a positive marker for a recessive chromosomal disorder then your partner would also get tested to determine with certainty if those genes are indeed in your baby's DNA. Once you have the test done once you don't have to get it done again.

jess9802 · August 2015

jcarder13 said:

I did the Verifi test a few weeks ago because we wanted to know the gender early and I thought it would be good to know my recessive alleles. I'm not sure your doctor explained to you very well what exactly the genetic test do. They take your blood and from that determine if your DNA has the recessive genes for the genetic diseases. In that DNA they can also determine what sex chromosomes are in your body which tells you gender. The reason why these tests can't determine 100% if your baby has a chromosomal defect and why it determines chance is because for your baby to have those genetic defects both you and your partner have to be positive for those recessive chromosomes. If your test comes back with a positive marker for a recessive chromosomal disorder then your partner would also get tested to determine with certainty if those genes are indeed in your baby's DNA. Once you have the test done once you don't have to get it done again.

Verifi and the other NIPT tests are not testing your DNA to see if you have recessive genes. The NIPT or cell free DNA tests are actually looking at cell-free fetal DNA found in your blood and analyzing the frequency with which certain chromosomes appear in the sample. If a chromosome appears too frequently, it potentially indicates a defect thus warranting invasive diagnostic testing like CVS or amnio.

Torpedogirl · August 2015

This is exactly what my genetic counselor said. Of course along with a million other things.

jcarder13 · August 2015

jess9802 said:

jcarder13 said:

I did the Verifi test a few weeks ago because we wanted to know the gender early and I thought it would be good to know my recessive alleles. I'm not sure your doctor explained to you very well what exactly the genetic test do. They take your blood and from that determine if your DNA has the recessive genes for the genetic diseases. In that DNA they can also determine what sex chromosomes are in your body which tells you gender. The reason why these tests can't determine 100% if your baby has a chromosomal defect and why it determines chance is because for your baby to have those genetic defects both you and your partner have to be positive for those recessive chromosomes. If your test comes back with a positive marker for a recessive chromosomal disorder then your partner would also get tested to determine with certainty if those genes are indeed in your baby's DNA. Once you have the test done once you don't have to get it done again.

Verifi and the other NIPT tests are not testing your DNA to see if you have recessive genes. The NIPT or cell free DNA tests are actually looking at cell-free fetal DNA found in your blood and analyzing the frequency with which certain chromosomes appear in the sample. If a chromosome appears too frequently, it potentially indicates a defect thus warranting invasive diagnostic testing like CVS or amnio.

I guess I was the misinformed one then because this is what I was told at my appointment. Sorry if it caused confusion.

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