(Apologies in advance… I tried to keep this post as short as possible but with the required back story the length crept on me)
My entire family has been doing the ‘Freddd Protocol’ for the last 4-5 months and it has been very enlightening to have so many closely related people working through the same thing at the same time. We all have slightly different symptoms but at the base we all had the following in common to varying degrees:
A little background -
For context I am a 6’3” 210lb 31-year-old male who has suffered with CFS for 8+ years. For the last 20-months I have had a very regimented diet based on the results of a food allergy blood test, that among other things avoids dairy, wheat and yeast. This made a HUGE difference for me, within short order reducing my CFS symptoms by 50-60%. I also went from having a terrible issue with conversational word dropping (my spoken and written sentences were like Swiss cheese) and taking 30-min to write a 3 sentence email, to about 75-80 % improvement in a matter of a few weeks.
Even though things had improved so noticeably with the dietary changes I was still somewhat physically and mentally lethargic. I even found myself gravitating to a 2-3x daily 8oz Red Bull habit, as it was the only thing that would give me any improvement (but not eliminate the problem) on these fronts. At this point though my heart rate was closer to the low 70s and body temps 98.2-98.6F (I had been taking Thyroid to some effect on this front for months)
Start of the ‘Freddd Protocol’ -
For the first 3 months I laid the foundation for the protocol with the cofactors recommended and progressively built up my Folate consumption up to 8000mcg every 4 hours followed 45 min later by a heaping ½ tsp of potassium and ½ tsp of salt. I also worked up to 1000mg of Acetyl Carnitine 2x a day. All the way monitoring my blood pressure and pulse throughout the day. At this point I still felt more or less the same outside of having almost water like bowel movements and a bit of anxiety at the higher doses of Carnitine.
Switch flipped –
I wasn’t getting much effect from the protocol at this point and after going over everything we realized that 400mg of Magnesium Glycinate 1x a day was probably too low for someone of my size so we increased it based on my weight (at a ‘stress dose’) to 400mg 3x a day. All of a sudden within a day or so I went from a resting heart rate of 60bpm to a sustained 100-120bpm.
At the same time both my anxiety and depression spiked as well my body temps ramped up to 98.8-99.2F (sitting in my office chair). It required me stopping all supplementation for 2 weeks before things finally begin to settle back down. With everything stopped (including the any thyroid) I actually started to eventually get lethargic again and resumed my Red Bull habit to some degree.
Second attempt –
Knowing this problem wasn’t going away unless I faced it I began to re-establish my co-factor regimen and began taking 1000mg of folate 1x day and after a couple of days began to add 200mg of Acetyl Carnitine 1x a day and did this for a week or so. I was doing ok on this an added an additional 1000mg of Folate at the end of the day. The next day I was still feeling a bit lethargic so I decided to add an additional 200mcg of Acetyl Carnitine at mid-day and within short order started feeling a bit stressed.
Even though I stopped everything once it got rolling this proceeded to become a 2-week avalanche of high anxiety, depression and waking up with 120bpm heart rate. It was so bad I was taking 2000mg of Taurine, 750mg TMG and 500mg molybdenum every 4 hours in addition to GABA 2x a day and 2x Motrin PM to help me sleep. In addition to that at times I would also dunk my head in ice water multiple times a day (some times in the middle of night) to get my pulse down closer to the high 90bpm
This brings us to now –
I’ve lost 18lbs since the switch flipped likely through a combination of both the anxiety and nausea. Once again I have been taking the cofactors for the last several days as the anxiety and depression from my 2nd attempt, while still there, is notably less. My heart rate now is between 75-90bpm and my body temp 98.2-98.4F. I want to continue the protocol, but with the side effects so sustained and profound I want to make sure I am not missing something, hence my desire for a second opinion before I get near the folate or carnitine.
FWIW – what is most odd to me is I was taking at one point 8000mg of folate every 4 hours and 1000mg of Acetyl Carnitine before breakfast and lunch for weeks with hardly any effect. All of the sudden it was like my tolerance collapsed.
List of Co-factor regime:
Zinc picolinate -50mg
Vitamin A – 10,000IU
Vitamin E – 400IU
D3 – 10,000IU
B6 – 100mg
Chromium – 600mcg
Selenium – 200mco
Iodine (potassium iodide) – 225mcg
Essential Aminos – 1x
Vitamin C – 2,000mcg
Magnesium Glycinate – 5mg per lb
Thorne B-Complex #6 (Divided in half) 2x a day
Calcium egg shells – ¾ tsp daily
Deadlock Quartet
CountryLife Methyl B12 – 5,000mcg 2x daily
Solgar Folate – 1000mcg
Source Natural Dibencozide – 1x daily (hours from the Methyl B12)
Doctors Best Acetyl Carnitine
My entire family has been doing the ‘Freddd Protocol’ for the last 4-5 months and it has been very enlightening to have so many closely related people working through the same thing at the same time. We all have slightly different symptoms but at the base we all had the following in common to varying degrees:
- Low body temps (around 96 F upon rising)
- Low pulse (mid 60bpm)
- Progressive weight gain in the torso (we’re structurally long & thin people)
- Increased malaise & brain fog
A little background -
For context I am a 6’3” 210lb 31-year-old male who has suffered with CFS for 8+ years. For the last 20-months I have had a very regimented diet based on the results of a food allergy blood test, that among other things avoids dairy, wheat and yeast. This made a HUGE difference for me, within short order reducing my CFS symptoms by 50-60%. I also went from having a terrible issue with conversational word dropping (my spoken and written sentences were like Swiss cheese) and taking 30-min to write a 3 sentence email, to about 75-80 % improvement in a matter of a few weeks.
Even though things had improved so noticeably with the dietary changes I was still somewhat physically and mentally lethargic. I even found myself gravitating to a 2-3x daily 8oz Red Bull habit, as it was the only thing that would give me any improvement (but not eliminate the problem) on these fronts. At this point though my heart rate was closer to the low 70s and body temps 98.2-98.6F (I had been taking Thyroid to some effect on this front for months)
Start of the ‘Freddd Protocol’ -
For the first 3 months I laid the foundation for the protocol with the cofactors recommended and progressively built up my Folate consumption up to 8000mcg every 4 hours followed 45 min later by a heaping ½ tsp of potassium and ½ tsp of salt. I also worked up to 1000mg of Acetyl Carnitine 2x a day. All the way monitoring my blood pressure and pulse throughout the day. At this point I still felt more or less the same outside of having almost water like bowel movements and a bit of anxiety at the higher doses of Carnitine.
Switch flipped –
I wasn’t getting much effect from the protocol at this point and after going over everything we realized that 400mg of Magnesium Glycinate 1x a day was probably too low for someone of my size so we increased it based on my weight (at a ‘stress dose’) to 400mg 3x a day. All of a sudden within a day or so I went from a resting heart rate of 60bpm to a sustained 100-120bpm.
At the same time both my anxiety and depression spiked as well my body temps ramped up to 98.8-99.2F (sitting in my office chair). It required me stopping all supplementation for 2 weeks before things finally begin to settle back down. With everything stopped (including the any thyroid) I actually started to eventually get lethargic again and resumed my Red Bull habit to some degree.
Second attempt –
Knowing this problem wasn’t going away unless I faced it I began to re-establish my co-factor regimen and began taking 1000mg of folate 1x day and after a couple of days began to add 200mg of Acetyl Carnitine 1x a day and did this for a week or so. I was doing ok on this an added an additional 1000mg of Folate at the end of the day. The next day I was still feeling a bit lethargic so I decided to add an additional 200mcg of Acetyl Carnitine at mid-day and within short order started feeling a bit stressed.
Even though I stopped everything once it got rolling this proceeded to become a 2-week avalanche of high anxiety, depression and waking up with 120bpm heart rate. It was so bad I was taking 2000mg of Taurine, 750mg TMG and 500mg molybdenum every 4 hours in addition to GABA 2x a day and 2x Motrin PM to help me sleep. In addition to that at times I would also dunk my head in ice water multiple times a day (some times in the middle of night) to get my pulse down closer to the high 90bpm
This brings us to now –
I’ve lost 18lbs since the switch flipped likely through a combination of both the anxiety and nausea. Once again I have been taking the cofactors for the last several days as the anxiety and depression from my 2nd attempt, while still there, is notably less. My heart rate now is between 75-90bpm and my body temp 98.2-98.4F. I want to continue the protocol, but with the side effects so sustained and profound I want to make sure I am not missing something, hence my desire for a second opinion before I get near the folate or carnitine.
FWIW – what is most odd to me is I was taking at one point 8000mg of folate every 4 hours and 1000mg of Acetyl Carnitine before breakfast and lunch for weeks with hardly any effect. All of the sudden it was like my tolerance collapsed.
List of Co-factor regime:
Zinc picolinate -50mg
Vitamin A – 10,000IU
Vitamin E – 400IU
D3 – 10,000IU
B6 – 100mg
Chromium – 600mcg
Selenium – 200mco
Iodine (potassium iodide) – 225mcg
Essential Aminos – 1x
Vitamin C – 2,000mcg
Magnesium Glycinate – 5mg per lb
Thorne B-Complex #6 (Divided in half) 2x a day
Calcium egg shells – ¾ tsp daily
Deadlock Quartet
CountryLife Methyl B12 – 5,000mcg 2x daily
Solgar Folate – 1000mcg
Source Natural Dibencozide – 1x daily (hours from the Methyl B12)
Doctors Best Acetyl Carnitine
Last edited:
