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What supplement can I take for my immune system that won't interfere with methylation?

veganmua

Senior Member
Messages
145
Location
London, UK
I'm on methylation supplements but I can't seem to get any improvement because I am always ill with colds, flu, ear infections, insane amounts of cold sores (all over my face at one point, not exaggerating it was awful).
I had a full blood count and the doctor said it was 'normal' and I was 'a bit run down'.
At the moment I have a terrible cold/cough and I'm feeling very weak. I can't walk far - my muscles hurt and I feel like I might fall down, especially with the intense dizziness I get upon standing.
This is everything I take -
Venlafaxine 375mg, divided into 2 doses morning and night.
Aciclovir (for the cold sores) morning and night.
Dianette contraceptive pill for PCOS.
Antibiotic ear drops for ear infection.

Supplements

Cytoplan Wholefood Multi - Mutivitamin & Mineral containing 6mcg methylcobalamin and 400mcg methylfolate.
Doctors Best Phosphatidyl serine
Lecithin
Opti3 Omega 3 EPA & DHA with added D3
Lithium Orotate
L lysine (to help prevent the cold sores)
Q10
D ribose
Magnesium Malate
Methylfolate 1600mcg
Methylcobalamin 2000mcg

I also drink echinacea tea and take echinacea tablets when I remember.

I'm thinking of going on low thiol diet and starting glisodin. Where can I get sulphate testing strips in the UK?

Thanks for reading, any suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated!
 

ahmo

Senior Member
Messages
4,805
Location
Northcoast NSW, Australia
It's worth looking into low dose naltrexone.

http://www.lowdosenaltrexone.org/index.htm

https://sites.google.com/site/dudleyslowdosenaltrexonesites/

http://forums.phoenixrising.me/index.php?threads/low-dose-naltrexone.292/

If any of these talks are still available, there's a wealth of information. In particular, many different practitioners state categorically that gluten is bad for everybody, that it creates inflammation in gut and brain. http://autoimmunesummit.com/

Dr. Parsons, in another summit, talked about candida. She attributed many many ongoing issues to hidden candida.
She also mentioned that echincea, and a variety of other things, should never be used for long long times.. Her talk is no longer available, but there's info and comments on the following page. Here's a list of all the speakers, topics, unfortunately no longer available to listen. http://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/the-anxiety-summit-2-all-the-speakers-and-topics/

http://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/conquering-yeastie-beasties-candida/

And yet another webinar that just came into my inbox, re gut. Worth checking out.
http://solvingleakygut.com/webinar/izabella-wentz/?mc_cid=fb8ee570a8&mc_eid=d9dcac937e

And another, the Digestion Sessions. available for only 6 hours more...
http://digestionsessions.com/bgdfji/ Including Dr Tom O'Bryan, host of Gluten Summit Extinguishing Inflammation: Putting Out the Fire with Real Foods


Also, Dr. Alison Siebecker... https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=piHbr1dhymM


So many overlapping summits! Discussing inflammation in many guises.
 
Last edited:

South

Senior Member
Messages
466
Location
Southeastern United States

Critterina

Senior Member
Messages
1,238
Location
Arizona, USA
You'd have to take it away from your methylfolate, but consider 2 g Vitamin C. That is my daily dose, and if I think I'm getting sick, I take half that every hour for a few doses and it seems to be very effective in reducing the severity of the symptoms if you start at the first time you wonder if you are getting sick.
 

Mary

Moderator Resource
Messages
17,335
Location
Southern California
Do you have any idea what your D3 levels are? This is crucial for proper immune functioning and I don't see it listed on your supps. Most of us are deficient in D3. I take 5,000 IU a day which is a little high but I need it.

Also, lots of vitamin C can help. I recently found that taking 10,000 mg a day was helpful when I was sick. When we're sick we need much more. Since then I've been taking about 5,000 mg as a maintenance dose. You can take it up to bowel tolerance, and the more you need, the more you can tolerate.
 

veganmua

Senior Member
Messages
145
Location
London, UK
@veganmua If I'm guessing from your screen name correctly that you are a vegan, have you looked into more amino acid blends or complete proteins? (perhaps some vegan protein powders, although I would check the amino acid ratios on the packages for BCAA content)

A couple of studies related to this:
Amino Acids and Immune Function: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17403271
BCAAs related to immunity: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11985939

I'm pretty sure I'm getting enough protein, but it couldn't hurt to get some hemp protein shake. Hemp is a complete protein, containing all the essential amino acids.
 

veganmua

Senior Member
Messages
145
Location
London, UK
It's worth looking into low dose naltrexone.

http://www.lowdosenaltrexone.org/index.htm

https://sites.google.com/site/dudleyslowdosenaltrexonesites/

http://forums.phoenixrising.me/index.php?threads/low-dose-naltrexone.292/

If any of these talks are still available, there's a wealth of information. In particular, many different practitioners state categorically that gluten is bad for everybody, that it creates inflammation in gut and brain. http://autoimmunesummit.com/

Dr. Parsons, in another summit, talked about candida. She attributed many many ongoing issues to hidden candida.
She also mentioned that echincea, and a variety of other things, should never be used for long long times.. Her talk is no longer available, but there's info and comments on the following page. Here's a list of all the speakers, topics, unfortunately no longer available to listen. http://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/the-anxiety-summit-2-all-the-speakers-and-topics/

http://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/conquering-yeastie-beasties-candida/

And yet another webinar that just came into my inbox, re gut. Worth checking out.
http://solvingleakygut.com/webinar/izabella-wentz/?mc_cid=fb8ee570a8&mc_eid=d9dcac937e

And another, the Digestion Sessions. available for only 6 hours more...
http://digestionsessions.com/bgdfji/ Including Dr Tom O'Bryan, host of Gluten Summit Extinguishing Inflammation: Putting Out the Fire with Real Foods


Also, Dr. Alison Siebecker... https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=piHbr1dhymM


So many overlapping summits! Discussing inflammation in many guises.

Wow, lots of info there! Thanks, I'll read through it and look into low dose naltrexone. I'm sure my problem isn't candida - I went on an anti candida diet for 6 months that didn't help, plus it didn't show up on a stool test I had a while ago. Someone recommended VSL#3 probiotic, said they'd had almost immediate reduction of IBS symptoms, so I might look into that. It's supposedly pricey, though.
 

ljimbo423

Senior Member
Messages
4,705
Location
United States, New Hampshire
Hello Veganmua, I had the flu a few weeks ago and it really lowered my immune system. About a week after the flu was gone a got shingles, which is a reactivation of the chicken pox virus. It only happens in people with lowered immunity.

I started taking 10-12 capsules of echinacea extract a day (200mg each) and within 48 hours the echinacea stopped the spread of the blisters dead in it's tracks. I ended up with only four blisters total! I'm now taking 3-4 capsules a day to keep my immune system up, and the shingles are completely gone.

Echinacea works very fast, but like all supplements dosage is key. If you took 200mg of extract twice a day I think that would help tremendously. There are no interactions with methylation supplements, in fact I'm taking methylfolate, methylcobalamin, SAM-e, TMG and a bunch of other stuff with no problems.
 

xrunner

Senior Member
Messages
843
Location
Surrey
Hi @veganmua,
If you don't get enough sleep that may aggravate your cold sores situation, which may be due to an underlying infection suppressing your immunity or lack of nutrients.

I wouldn't waste money on any supplement, except for strictly the methylation ones, and instead would direct my resources to seeing an experienced doctor who can run all the most appropriate immune/infections panel for you. If there's an underlying chronic infection, no supplement is likely to help you.

As a former vegan I will say that the main thing that can interfere with methylation is a deficiency of amino acids and others nutrients. I personally could not correct any of those with hemp protein powders, algae or even whey protein supplements. Best wishes
ps: long-term use of echinacea can wear out and depress your immune system.