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Methylfolate every other day anybody?

bertiedog

Senior Member
Messages
1,738
Location
South East England, UK
I seem to struggle with extra methylfolate apart from that in the Basic Nutrients which amounts to 250 mcg calcium folinate and 250 mcg methylfolate. I get severe ongoing, incapacitating migraines if I take it every day although I am positive I do need extra because of various blood/urine tests I have had done in the past plus a stillborn baby with a neural tube defect in 1973.

I haven't taken any extra methylfolate for several weeks and the migraines stopped despite 5000 mcg of a trandermal B12 spray which is either Cynacobalamin or Hydroxy. There is also a total of 225 mcg active B12a in the Basic Nutrients. I was doing really well until I picked up a throat/gut infection from a friend who was on antibiotics at the time and had Pharyngitis. This bug floored me for a week but now I have picked up again and wanted to try a bit of methylfolate so took 1/4 Folapro. I have noticed a really good improvement in energy and well-being but I have been a bit hyper late afternoon so have taken a bit of betablocker and some niacinaminde but neither have kicked in yet.

I take a lot of other basic supplements, things like fish oil, GLA, 60 mg Q10, 200 B2, zinc, 25 mg P5P etc but none of these cause any stimulation the way the methylfolate does, in fact I would say my neurotransmitters are normally very balanced. I don't have any anxiety or depression plus I sleep well for the most part and also my brain works well most of the time so I know I am very fortunate. But I do have bad genetics in that both my grandmothers had breast cancer in their 60s, one of them eventually died and my mother died of ovarian cancer aged 73. I am 65 years old so I realise how important it is to methylate properly.

This year I had an Metabolic Analysis done and it showed a high need for folate and B6 and medium need for B12. There was a high amount of Isocitric Acid and Succinic Acid. Nothing was low except Hippuric Acid which was a bacterial dysbiosis marker. I was also high in 5-OH-Indoleactic Acid which indicates the high need for folate I believe. FIGu was also high together with Xanthureric Acid.. BHBA was also elevated and finally Orotic Acid was just into the high range.

What I am wondering is are there others of you who can only tolerate methylfolate every other day? I don't know why it might be we cannot tolerate more maybe it is to do with genetics, something like it isn't detoxified quickly enough? I thought I might try this.

FYI I have been trying to increase methylfolate for over 3 years but never succeeded because of those incapacitating migraines that destroy how I feel.

Thanks for any thoughts.

Pam
 

Phred

Senior Member
Messages
141
I seem to struggle with extra methylfolate apart from that in the Basic Nutrients which amounts to 250 mcg calcium folinate and 250 mcg methylfolate. I get severe ongoing, incapacitating migraines if I take it every day although I am positive I do need extra because of various blood/urine tests I have had done in the past plus a stillborn baby with a neural tube defect in 1973.

I know those migraines. I had one the other night. I was going out for the evening so I decided to take my afternoon and evening doses of methylfolate together. Whoa! Massive headache. I think, for me, the headache was a need for potassium. I didn't have any with me while I was out, so I couldn't take any. However when I got home and was able to get some into me the headache died down. I clearly didn't take enough because the pain didn't go away completely. It took until midday the following day to get a handle on it.

So my question to you would be, are you getting enough potassium? Also magnesium? I find I need a good balance of the two. That might be what you need to increase your folate intake.
 

bertiedog

Senior Member
Messages
1,738
Location
South East England, UK
I take 1 small scoop of Lo Salt at least 4 times daily which I think is quite a lot of potassium plus a large amount of magnesium each day so I don't think its to do with that. Because I have such weak adrenals I have to watch I have sufficient sodium and each week at least twice a week I need a small amount of Fludrocortisone to help with sodium retention but again its only about 1/4 tablet at a time.

Thanks for suggestion I can definitely be aware of this.

Pam
 

Critterina

Senior Member
Messages
1,238
Location
Arizona, USA
I take 1 small scoop of Lo Salt at least 4 times daily which I think is quite a lot of potassium plus a large amount of magnesium each day so I don't think its to do with that. Because I have such weak adrenals I have to watch I have sufficient sodium and each week at least twice a week I need a small amount of Fludrocortisone to help with sodium retention but again its only about 1/4 tablet at a time.

Thanks for suggestion I can definitely be aware of this.

Pam
Pam,

I'm curious about the Lo Salt and the weak adrenals. I am at the point of having had an ACTH test misinterpreted, so I don't have a diagnosis of Secondary AI, but I need to get my results reevaluated. What I've been reading is that with low adrenals you have to watch out for too much potassium. I know with methylation a lot of people have to watch out for too little. Where is the balance? Of course, without a diagnosis, I'm not being treated for it and not ready for an emergency, but thanks for mentioning the Fludrocortisone - never heard of it. I apparently have to look into my options myself, since the endo is not up on things.
 

Freddd

Senior Member
Messages
5,184
Location
Salt Lake City
I seem to struggle with extra methylfolate apart from that in the Basic Nutrients which amounts to 250 mcg calcium folinate and 250 mcg methylfolate. I get severe ongoing, incapacitating migraines if I take it every day although I am positive I do need extra because of various blood/urine tests I have had done in the past plus a stillborn baby with a neural tube defect in 1973.

I haven't taken any extra methylfolate for several weeks and the migraines stopped despite 5000 mcg of a trandermal B12 spray which is either Cynacobalamin or Hydroxy. There is also a total of 225 mcg active B12a in the Basic Nutrients. I was doing really well until I picked up a throat/gut infection from a friend who was on antibiotics at the time and had Pharyngitis. This bug floored me for a week but now I have picked up again and wanted to try a bit of methylfolate so took 1/4 Folapro. I have noticed a really good improvement in energy and well-being but I have been a bit hyper late afternoon so have taken a bit of betablocker and some niacinaminde but neither have kicked in yet.

I take a lot of other basic supplements, things like fish oil, GLA, 60 mg Q10, 200 B2, zinc, 25 mg P5P etc but none of these cause any stimulation the way the methylfolate does, in fact I would say my neurotransmitters are normally very balanced. I don't have any anxiety or depression plus I sleep well for the most part and also my brain works well most of the time so I know I am very fortunate. But I do have bad genetics in that both my grandmothers had breast cancer in their 60s, one of them eventually died and my mother died of ovarian cancer aged 73. I am 65 years old so I realise how important it is to methylate properly.

This year I had an Metabolic Analysis done and it showed a high need for folate and B6 and medium need for B12. There was a high amount of Isocitric Acid and Succinic Acid. Nothing was low except Hippuric Acid which was a bacterial dysbiosis marker. I was also high in 5-OH-Indoleactic Acid which indicates the high need for folate I believe. FIGu was also high together with Xanthureric Acid.. BHBA was also elevated and finally Orotic Acid was just into the high range.

What I am wondering is are there others of you who can only tolerate methylfolate every other day? I don't know why it might be we cannot tolerate more maybe it is to do with genetics, something like it isn't detoxified quickly enough? I thought I might try this.

FYI I have been trying to increase methylfolate for over 3 years but never succeeded because of those incapacitating migraines that destroy how I feel.

Thanks for any thoughts.

Pam

Hi Pam,

My experience with methylation supplements early on before I healed was that CoQ10 gave me massive headaches along with 50+ points increase in blood pressure. I don't know how they were related if they were but they both happened with the CoQ10. I warn against CoQ10 in the first year of healing because I and other have nasty side effect with it. You might want to consider that a possibility. It has worked that way for many of those who tried stopping the CoQ10. It takes about 36 hours from the last dose to clear. Good luck and good health.
 

taroki

Senior Member
Messages
132
Location
Ontario, Canada
Omg i have those horrible migraines too! If i take too much methylfolate they last the entire day and night!

So it is for sure because of too much potassium? Would increasing methylB12 help minimize these headaches? Why exactly does this happen?