taroki
Senior Member
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- Ontario, Canada
For my boyfriend, Methyl B12 seems to improve his sleep. So I guess everyone is different.
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Alright, now I am replying to @caledonia's first post .
I trialed GF oats last night and it flared up my inflammation, so very limited typing. One thing about histamine diet is food reactions seem to settle much more quickly -- days not weeks. So I do think there is a histamine factor of some sort. Does not affect sleep, though.
[Neurotransmitter test]
Ok. What is a good one?
I think that's basically it - it should induce and/or maintain sleepiness.Aside from sleepiness, what effects should I look for when trialing benadryl?
That is so nice of you! Perque hydroxy and Sisu methyl were both worse than clams. Do you think Yasko hydroxy would be different?
I do know how to do it, but I do not really believe in it. Maybe I should give it a go... I do just try to pay careful attention to what my body wants. But of course I do not always know, especially with things I have never had.
So if you have problems with high histamine Benadryl will make you sleepy, but if you don't, it won't? Is that it?caledonia said:I think that's basically it - [benadryl] should induce and/or maintain sleepiness.
you mean raise it for one day, then go back down to the old dose for 8 days, then do the new dose again for one day?
How much rutin and RJ do you use?@NilaJones, I've been getting great results using rutin and royal jelly for histamine. Also quercetin, tho I seem to use less of it than the other 2. I really endorse self-testing. I learned my technique just as I was collapsing, so I've had a long time to work with it. It's my best ally.
@caledonia, thanks for this fav video. I often recommend self-testing, now I can link this.
COMT degrades dopamine, norepinephrine, and to a somewhat lesser extent other neurotransmitter substances, by tacking on to them a free methyl group that COMT obtains from SAMe. The V158M and H62H alleles of COMT are down mutations. Individuals (+/+) or (+/-) for these genes will degrade dopamine only slowly. Now, while COMT (+) status is not the norm, from our perspective it is not necessarily a bad thing. We need dopamine to defend against microbes and heavy metals; here being (+) for COMT is actually in our favor. BH4 deficiency is the consequence of CBS, BHMT, and the “backward” MTHFR A1298C defects. We need BH4 to carry out multiple physiologic steps, including the generation of dopamine. If our COMT (+) status keeps us from breaking down dopamine, we do not need to “spend” BH4 to make dopamine, leaving more BH4 available for other critical functions. The downside of being COMT (+) is that you will have a lot of free methyl groups floating around, as you are not using them up breaking down dopamine. Thus if we need to give you other Methyl Cycle intermediates (such as methyl-B12 if you have MTR/MTRR issues), we risk ODing you with methyl groups. Too many methyl groups can lead to mood swings. Panic attacks and bi-polar mood disorder are seen with greater frequency in COMT (+) individuals; this makes sense. COMT (-) individuals, on the other hand, need and tolerate methyl groups. A third, and less frequently encountered COMT abnormality, COMT 61, is a down regulation defect. Individuals (+) for COMT 61 breakdown dopamine quite rapidly and are at greatest need for methyl donors. To summarize in chart form:
COMT H62H (+/+)
COMT L136L (+/+)
COMT 61 (-/-)
Highest dopamine levels
Lowest need for and tolerance to methyl group donors
Greatest susceptibility to mood swings
COMT H62H (-/-)
COMT L136L (-/-)
COMT 61 (+/+)
Lowest dopamine levels
Greatest need for and tolerance to methyl group donors
Lower susceptibility to mood swings*
Coffee enemas have been used as a healing remedy for the last 100 years; they are particularly well known as part of the treatment of cancer with Gerson Protocol. Coffee enemas are considered to be one of the best ways of cleansing the liver and speeding up detoxification processes in the body. Many people report that coffee enema gives a good pain relief as well. The mechanism of its function is not clear, but it is thought that various substances in the coffee absorb through the rich capillary bed of the rectum into the portal veins, which lead directly to the liver.
In the Gerson Protocol people perform four coffee enemas every day. A GAPS person does not have to do that; I recommend doing a coffee enema whenever there is a need, which can be once a day, once in a few days or once in a while. Here is what my patients report after using coffee enemas: migraine headaches disappear; feel better, more clear-headed and more energetic; nausea goes away or greatly reduced; pain relief (anywhere in the body); better mood; acne clears up; other skin problems clear up; less reflux; better sleep; feel �less toxic�. Once a person has experienced the coffee enema, they usually know when they need another one.
In order for the coffee enema to have a full effect one has to hold the coffee in the bowel for about 15 minutes. In the Gerson Protocol people do four coffee enemas per day, so their bowels are kept fairly empty all the time. For a person who does enemas occasionally, holding coffee in for 15 minutes can be very difficult or impossible because the bowel is full. That is why I recommend clearing the bowel out first with water enemas before getting the coffee in. Another reason is that in a GAPS person with faecal compaction or putrefaction in the bowel, trying to hold coffee in would stir up the toxins and allow them to absorb, which can give very unpleasant symptoms.
@NilaJones Here's what Heartfixer (consolidated Yasko) writes about COMT. (my added highlight color)
http://www.heartfixer.com/AMRI-Nutrigenomics.htm
So, yes, you're very susceptible to B12 and folate. Go low and slow.
...I'm doing coffee enemas because I continued to have bloating after 2 years on GAPS. I decided to increase my detoxxing....
When you are able to stablize following the one day raised amount, then do it again. Work to only needing 6 days in between, then 5... and so on. This is how I had to start with methylfolate and methylB12..
So, is there nothing I can do other than go low and slow?
How would low and slow even help? It seems like it's really just low and LOW. My body is never going to get better at breaking down dopamine and norepinephrine, is it, unless I can do something to support those processes? Lithium? It's side effects look pretty scary .
Have things changed for you during the past week or so? Are you still taking the clams? Any luck understanding if histamines or glutamate or sulfur are problems?
I don't really feel strong enough for detox, is true. What have you found useful for liver function?
I am wondering if I should try eating more red meat. I eat about 1/4lb or 100g daily right now. I do have slightly high cholesterol.
Or eggs: I crave them, especially the soft cooked yolks, when I forget to take clams. But symptomatically they are the same as beef. Confusing!
Speaking of Ben Lynch, just recently I got around to watching his YouTube videos. I wish that I would have done so sooner. I would not go so far as to say that they conflict with the material that he has provided in written form, but there is a definite shift in emphasis with regard to crucial issues. No question, on his website he discusses the side effects of too much 5-MTHF. But in the videos he goes much further: he states repeatedly that giving 5-MTHF + m-B12 to very sick people is a terrible idea as it will almost always make them worse. Instead, he says, the chronically ill should focus on repairing cell membranes, supporting mitochondria, and reducing oxidative stress. Methylation support should come much later. This is a somewhat different sense than one takes away from his written work -- and interestingly, it brings him in line with Amy Yasko's recommendations.