A month into Mb12... what next?

[pumpkin]

Hi there everybody,

I hope you're all doing well today!

I'll try to keep this one shorter than my last million questions...

I've been taking Mb12 for around a month now and coping very well thank God! I got up to 2500mcg a day this week! Yay! (chugging the Lo-salt...). After getting up to 1250 I started to feel unsually happy within about an hour of taking it, and sad/OCD/irritable thoughts just didn't seem to keep up half as much.

I've felt very tired though, occasionally nauseus (probably the Lo-Salt) and occasionally some joint pains (though nowhere near as bad as before) and thought I'd try adding Metafolin in. Despite being Vegan and eating loads of veggies and beans (I don't have CFS) I remembered that in July I had a very happy week and it was after taking Metafolin for a week, before I even got Mb12, so I thought I'd try it again.

Basically, the last few days I haven't felt that obvious happiness and had a couple of irritable, OCD, a bit aggressive (in my head lol) days. I've tried adding in some Metafolin at 200mg and it made no difference. On friday I took 400mg in one go and spent the rest of the day feeling like I'd been kicked in the back of the head and wanting to vomit. Could've been a reaction to one coffee though (I've had 2 today and feel fine).

Basically, should I take Metafolin? and what should the ratio be to Mb12? I know this is a common question and have scoured the forums but always end up confused! Sorry!

I also think I should add in a Vitamin B complex... I currently take Biotin but other than that I get my Bs from nutritional yeast, which I haven't taken the past week as it has folic acid in... (don't know if I have folic acid issues...). Can anybody recommend a B complex? I got Jarrow for my dad and sister but they stopped taking it after 2 days because of huge anxiety and palpitations etc. I'm really afraid of vitamin B6 because a couple of months ago I took 2 100mg B6 tablets and a day later had the only panic attack of my life. So I'm staying away from Jarrow... I've seen Thorne B complex which has 10mg... is that a good one?

Is it normal to have a mood improvement for a few weeks then a regression? I should be working up to at least 5000mcg Mb12 right?

Another weird thing is that the last few days I feel like I'm having flashbacks of various, deeply forgotten, totally insignificant moments in my life, because I'm remembering the tastes from that experience. Not sure it matters but its a bit weird! lol.

Sorry yet again for another long question and thank you x a million, I really appreciate all your insights!

Have a good afternoon everybody.

 

[Eastman]

Basically, should I take Metafolin? and what should the ratio be to Mb12? I know this is a common question and have scoured the forums but always end up confused!

I doubt there is a standard answer. I think everyone is different and has to slowly titrate up the dosage to find out what's right for him or herself.

Can anybody recommend a B complex? I got Jarrow for my dad and sister but they stopped taking it after 2 days because of huge anxiety and palpitations etc.

There was a discussion on this recently here. I am currently on about half a capsule of the Jarrow a day.

Is it normal to have a mood improvement for a few weeks then a regression? I should be working up to at least 5000mcg Mb12 right?

I think there are people here getting by on much less than 5000 mcg of mb12.

Have you read what Ben Lynch wrote about methylfolate side effects? I suspect they apply to mb12 as well.

There appear to be three types of responses to methylfolate:

FIRST: A person who can jump on methylfolate and feel absolutely wonderful. The only down side they experience is why didn’t they know about methylfolate before?!

SECOND: A person starts methylfolate has an amazingly incredible week where they are happy, interacting and alert. Then the second week comes and they switch to wanting to hide in a room by themselves or literally throw dishes across the room out of anger. Or they may become bed ridden from muscle aches, intense headaches or joint pain.

THIRD: A person takes a small amount of methylfolate and feels all the methylfolate side effects right out the gate.

Here is a summary of what he recommends to prevent those side effects.

It is important to prepare your cells and other biochemical pathways before stimulating them with methylfolate and methylcobalamin.

Following the lifestyle, dietary and environmental recommendations in the MTHFR Protocol post is a very important first step.

The next step is to begin with some basics – and these basics are as explained above:

• electrolytes
• glutathione
• B vitamins (no B12 and no methylfolate)
• multivitamin/multimineral (no B12 and no methylfolate – plus no Iron or Copper)
• reducing stress by supporting lifestyle, diet and adrenals

Another weird thing is that the last few days I feel like I'm having flashbacks of various, deeply forgotten, totally insignificant moments in my life, because I'm remembering the tastes from that experience. Not sure it matters but its a bit weird! lol.

That does seem to me to be something to be concerned with. Maybe it is a sign that your neurotransmitters have become unbalanced.

 

[Chocolove]

Folates can be a serious issue:
...To avoid developing irreversible neurologic damage (17), the Food and Nutrition Board of the US Institute of Medicine advises that all adults limit their intake of folic acid (supplements and fortification) to 1,000 μg (1 mg) daily.

We are not doctors here and there are dangers in playing, even with vitamins. You may want to check out reputable websites for information. I like:
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/vitamins/vitamin-B12

 

[alicec]

...To avoid developing irreversible neurologic damage (17), the Food and Nutrition Board of the US Institute of Medicine advises that all adults limit their intake of folic acid (supplements and fortification) to 1,000 μg (1 mg) daily.

There are several problems with that statement. First folic acid does not equal folate - folic acid can cause problems which natural folates do not.

More importantly, folates themselves DO NOT cause neurological damage. The warning refers to the ability of folate supplementation to mask B12 deficiency. It is severe B12 deficiency which causes the neurological damage (eg in pernicious anaemia). So folate and B12 should always be supplemented together.

Deplin is 15 mg methylfolate and has no such adverse consequences.