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How to tell if you have Methylation Issues with mthfr +/+

Messages
12
I am homozygous mthfr c677t +/+. Does everyone with this have 70% reducation in effectivness of mthfr enzyme.

I ask because I was tested for high homocysteine but normal folate in blood cells.

Shouldn't mthfr c677t +/+ folk have low folate levels and that is why they are told to add folate supplements?

Thanks
 
Messages
15,786
I am homozygous mthfr c677t +/+. Does everyone with this have 70% reducation in effectivness of mthfr enzyme.

I ask because I was tested for high homocysteine but normal folate in blood cells.
Unless a very specific test was used, most folate tests will include folic acid levels - which certainly can be high even when there's a methylfolate deficiency.

There's been studies showing people with MTHFR C677T +/+ to have methylfolate production running at about 30% of the normal rate, and that isn't dependent on having any additional mutations.
 

PennyIA

Senior Member
Messages
728
Location
Iowa
Unless a very specific test was used, most folate tests will include folic acid levels - which certainly can be high even when there's a methylfolate deficiency.
.

I like this to the fact that they are testing for incoming nutrients, which might be normal and high for people with methylation factors, instead of testing the amount of the nutrient in your blood stream that has been converted into the form that your body can use.

Without using technical (official terminology) - let's say they are testing for folate (we'll call it A). And if your body needs to add B and subtract 2 before it can use it, then testing to see if the levels of A are correct, does not mean that the levels of AB or AB-2 are correct.

In point of fact, I had all the symptoms of B12 deficiency - but my B12 levels were sky high. I tested off-the-charts for Folate. And I tested at toxic levels for B6. My nuerologist decided that it meant that I needed psychiatric care because in his opinion, people who have those test results don't have B12 deficiency. BUT it was this exact combination of results/symptoms that led me to believe that maybe I just wasn't processing the incoming nutrients correctly and got me to test for MTHFR (which was never tested for even though it had been identified that I had history of high homocysteine levels).

But again, if they are testing for A, then they aren't really testing for AB-2 - which means that they aren't getting to the root of the problem.

I have been on methylation treatment since April and regained about 80% of my energy level and 95% symptom improvement (excluding the energy).
 

Critterina

Senior Member
Messages
1,238
Location
Arizona, USA
...And I tested at toxic levels for B6. ...
I have been on methylation treatment since April and regained about 80% of my energy level and 95% symptom improvement (excluding the energy).
Hooray for you! You understand what's going on and you're getting better! Yay!

I wasn't tested for B6, but I had been taking 100 mg/day for months when I had an amino acid profile (serum) that indicated by half a dozen results that I was B6 deficient. Same thing: I wasn't adding B and subtracting 2, so functionally, I at best I was making expensive pee, at worst, causing a toxicity. So, I switched to P5P, the active form of B6.

You might want to check any multis you are taking for pyridoxine hydrochloride, the inactive form of B6, and replace them with other multis without PH. Whether you supplement with P5P because you're not converting the inactive to active, that's up to you, but you might want to consider it (maybe after some more testing) because I would guess that if you were able to convert it, it wouldn't have built up to toxic levels. The fact that you're not degrading homocysteine supports the idea that you might need for P5P supplementation, too. But it's still really just a guess. Up to you.
 

PennyIA

Senior Member
Messages
728
Location
Iowa
I am supplementing with P5P and also making sure all multi's don't contain the regular B6 as well as any folic acid nor any cyanocobalamin. But yeah. Exactly, I was getting it in, but because I couldn't add the B and subtract the 2, it was building up in my system. I still test out at 'normal' amounts now and somewhat 'higher' on Folic Acid and B12, but because the symptoms are decreasing, I'm assuming that more of it's getting converted still into the forms I need.
 

Critterina

Senior Member
Messages
1,238
Location
Arizona, USA
I am supplementing with P5P and also making sure all multi's don't contain the regular B6 as well as any folic acid nor any cyanocobalamin. But yeah. Exactly, I was getting it in, but because I couldn't add the B and subtract the 2, it was building up in my system. I still test out at 'normal' amounts now and somewhat 'higher' on Folic Acid and B12, but because the symptoms are decreasing, I'm assuming that more of it's getting converted still into the forms I need.
Sounds like you're doing all the right things, PennyIA! Happy healing!