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    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of and finding treatments for complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

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  1. L

    lolasana

  2. L

    My Recent Labs

    Hopefully I'll get around to writing an intro and history post some time soon. In the meanwhile, I wanted to have a place to centralize my lab tests that I am asking for help with. Here is my recent NutrEval test and my recent hair mineral analysis: Any insight is much appreciated...
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    Low glutathione: amino acids or methylation?

    Thank you Rich, I really appreciate your insight. This has given me a lot to think about. I recently had a whole blood test that revealed a mercury level of 4.2 (apparently the national average on this test is 0.8). My doctor has recommended a "gentle" detox for the mercury. I have a follow up...
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    Simplified Methylation Protocol Revised as of Today

    Can the adenosyl b12 also contribute to overdriving the methylation cycle, or is this only done through large dosages of methylb12 and methylfolate? I'm curious if there might be an advantage or disadvantage in adding adenosyl b12 to the SMP. I felt that the adb12 seemed to quickly help increase...
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    Low glutathione: amino acids or methylation?

    Thanks Valentijn and Dreambirdie. I took 600mg NAC about 30 min. before bed last night and it seemed fine. I was a "pescatarian" for about a year after ending my 14 year vegetarian stint, so fish and eggs were my only sources of animal protein during that time. I ate fish daily and didn't pay...
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    Low glutathione: amino acids or methylation?

    Thanks Dreambirdie. Those dosages are in line with what I was seeing in clinical trials (all of which had a very favorable outcome for NAC use ranging from detoxification to neurotoxicity protection to mental health issues). I know I have some mercury built up from a lack of glutathione being...
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    Low glutathione: amino acids or methylation?

    Thanks for the replies everyone! I stand corrected, it seems that cysteine is usually low or low-normal in people with CFS. I guess I was thinking of homocysteine (or maybe cystine?). I just purchased some NOW NAC and I plan to give it a try in tandem with the b12 protocol. I did a bit of...
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    Liposomal Glutathione

    How did you make your own?
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    POTASSIUM SUPPLEMENTS made me ill

    Hi Dreambirdie, That's a great point, I don't know whether or not these symptoms are related to potassium or something else entirely. Oddly enough, I had a mercury blood and urine test on the same exact day I went to urgent care for the horrible symptoms. I had 0 mercury being excreted in my...
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    POTASSIUM SUPPLEMENTS made me ill

    Thanks for finding this! I'm thinking about trying the hydroxo and shelving the active b12s for awhile. I definitely know I get start-up with the active b12s, so I feel like I'll know whether or not the hydroxo works for me. I just can't get on top of the low potassium. I have a theory about...
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    Low glutathione: amino acids or methylation?

    Sorry, I have one more question about his. I know NAC is not recommended for most people on the methylation protocol because cysteine levels are usually already high. But in my case, my cysteine levels are barely mid-range. Does this mean NAC might help me? Thanks!
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    Low glutathione: amino acids or methylation?

    Rydra: Thank you for your reply. I've tracked my diet several times. I naturally follow kind of a Zone like diet where about a third of my calories come from fat, protein, and carbs each. This generally means about 70 or 80 grams a day of protein. After I discovered my gluten intolerance (or...
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    Low glutathione: amino acids or methylation?

    Hi Rich, Thank you for your reply. My protein issues are definitely not due to low-protein diet! I get quite a bit of dietary protein. I will try the baking soda test that you mentioned for stomach acid. Test results have indicated that my Krebs cycle looks a bit slow. Could you say more...
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    STARTUP SCREENING FOR METHYLATION PROTOCOLS - trial items

    Rosebud, I would agree with your low potassium additions. Low potassium for me: Slightly low, more mild symptoms: -slight fatigue -occasional muscle twitches -muscle tightness (need to take potassium here to get ahead of the curve, or else...) Very low, more extreme symptoms...
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    Poll: What brand/form/dose/timing of potassium do you take? What switch to?

    I've been using either chloride or gluconate at 99mg/tablet, both store brand. I take 3 tablets 3x/day if I don't have any low potassium symptoms. If I'm hit with low potassium symptoms (usually happens after physical or emotional stress), I then take 6-9 tablets at once. I tried to piece-meal...
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    Low glutathione: amino acids or methylation?

    Hi Freddd, I mean a gram (or sometimes two or three grams) of the specific amino acids, not the protein in general. Though I probably do eat about 75-80 grams of protein a day. As I understand it, glutathione gets low and the B12 gets hijacked and lack of B12 breaks the methylation cycle...
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    Low glutathione: amino acids or methylation?

    So it seems established that most of us have low glutathione levels (right?). How do we know whether these low levels are due to a partial methylation block or due to a deficiency of the amino acids necessary to make glutathione (cysteine, glycine, and glutamine)? My NutrEval results showed...
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    NutrEval Results, any help?

    I wanted to add that even though the NutrEval supplement suggestions suggested that I supplement with L-glutamine at 1g/day, I have decided upon further research not to take this advice. My glutamate (glutamic acid) levels are already high. Since glutamine can become glutamate, it is apparently...
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    Mercury levels and methylB12

    Hi Freddd, In the week before the blood test, I think I ate sushi containing some raw tuna twice and cooked mahi mahi once, so that's a lot of potential mercury. Most weeks I eat 2 to 3 fish meals but usually I eat lower mercury fish like tilapia or salmon. Unfortunately, as recently as a year...
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    Mercury levels and methylB12

    I'm new to this whole mercury thing. I'd never given it much thought because I've never had an amalgam filling, only composites (my mother was quite opposed to them even when I was a child!). My RBC mercury levels are pretty high according to my NutrEval results. My doctor says that RBC mercury...
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    NutrEval Results, any help?

    NutrEval interpretation based on my research I know people frequently come to these forums trying to interpret their own results. I've been doing a lot of research: medical journals, the book Laboratory Evaluations for Integrative and Functional Medicine, my own physician, and scavenging the...
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    NutrEval Results, any help?

    Hi all, I got my NutrEval results back. My doctor, who is an integrative MD but not a CFS specialist, went over the results with me. She is mostly concerned about the low glutathione (for which she is recommending NAC) and the high mercury (though I have never had any amalgams, the mercury...
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    Methylation to promote weight loss?

    Wow! That's like a Lance Armstrong level pulse!
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    New to this & starting active B supps

    Just an FYI for others, I seem to be feeling much better now that I've re-introduced the chromium picolinate. My low potassium symptoms are now much less extreme (though still present if I don't supplement) and can now be corrected with 600mg-1200mg where previously they weren't responding to...
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    Methylation to promote weight loss?

    A pulse of 40-50 is pretty low unless you're a hardcore athlete. Has she had her thyroid checked? Not just TSH, but Free T4, Free T3, and antibodies. A low pulse in a non-athlete is a sign of hypothyroidism (as is difficulty losing weight).
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    detox to lose weight

    I believe toxins can definitely make you gain weight. When I had active Celiac disease (didn't yet know), I gained about 30 pounds. It was about half water weight and half fat, by my estimate. I think my body perceived gluten as a toxin, or perhaps it was compromising my ability to excrete other...
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    Which to treat first: adrenals, thyroid or methylation cycle?

    I had the exact same experience on natural thyroid meds! My TSH was around 3.0, FT4 was a little under range, and FT3 was barely in range BUT I had both types of antibodies tested multiple times across the span of 2 years and never tested positive for antibodies. My ND put me on natural thyroid...
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    New to this & starting active B supps

    Thanks Freddd. It is helpful to know that there is no use/sense in trying to time the potassium with the b's. I'm a horrible scientist. I just realized that I also stopped taking my chromium picolinate a few days ago, which is definitely a confounding variable. After the earlier discussion on...
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    New to this & starting active B supps

    I just wanted to give an update: I felt much better by the afternoon, after 3 bottles of coconut water, lunch, snacks, etc. Do those of you with potassium issues wait and take your b12s after you've taken in adequate potassium for the day? Maybe I'm making a mistake by taking them at breakfast.
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    WARNING - LOW POTASSIUM IS DANGEROUS

    I can't resist sharing this posting from the snopes website where someone calculates the lethal dose of potassium and determines how many bananas it would take to kill you: "According to this website, each banana has 806 mg of potassium. According to wikipedia, the oral LD50 of potassium...