• Welcome to Phoenix Rising!

    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.

    To become a member, simply click the Register button at the top right.

SMP made you worse?

sregan

Senior Member
Messages
703
Location
Southeast
Wondering if there are those out there that feel the SMP made you worse. Not only did it not help you but you are now worse off then when you started? I feel I have been slowly getting worse since I stopped again about 4 weeks ago and not sure what to do about it.
 

helen1

Senior Member
Messages
1,033
Location
Canada
I tried SMP several times without doing anything about the possibility that startup might cause folate drain and those SMP experiences made me a little worse because of folate drain and worse sleep (that's my theory anyway). But this latest attempt I am adding extra folate when I feel the heavy arms and jelly legs and it usually works to dissipate those symptoms. I'm a few weeks in.
Did you try the extra folate when needed?
 

helen1

Senior Member
Messages
1,033
Location
Canada
Yes that's one of freddd's (and others) theories and seems to be accurate in my case. But it's likely not just B12 as more is usually required for methylation start-up which is what causes the folate drain. And then there's the potassium drain a fair number of people experience too with methylation startup. Did you take extra potassium? I don't seem to have that issue but others do.
I've never heard of extra folate draining your B12, but have read that too much folate without enough B12 can cause neurological damage. B12 heals nerves apparently and folate can damage them.
 

caledonia

Senior Member
Wondering if there are those out there that feel the SMP made you worse. Not only did it not help you but you are now worse off then when you started? I feel I have been slowly getting worse since I stopped again about 4 weeks ago and not sure what to do about it.

It could actually be working, but you may be experiencing metal detox which will make you feel worse. This is why Rich suggested doing the HDRI Methylation Panel before and during treatment so you can get a functional picture of your methylation cycle. If the markers are getting better, but you're feeling worse, it's detox.

Assuming you haven't done this, I would suggest stopping until you feel better, then restart at a much lower dose that you can tolerate without feeling worse.

ps. you said you stopped a long time ago, but you're still feeling worse and worse. This suggests the methylation cycle is still spinning and you're still detoxing. In that case, I suggest using 50-100mcg of the nicotinic acid form of niacin to soak up methyl groups and stop methylation. Watch Methylation Made Easy Video #3 - Treatment - the link's in my signature.

pps. can you describe what symptoms "worse" is? My metal detox symptoms from methylation are: more tired than usual and flu-like aching of muscles and joints. This is different from say magnesium deficiency which is heart palps, twitching muscles, poor sleep (due to being wakened by twitching feet). I don't have potassium deficiency so can't comment on that.
 

aquariusgirl

Senior Member
Messages
1,732
It became quite clear & rich said this repeatedly, that many people experienced excitotoxicity that made them feel worse, on the SMP. He said that ppl should address infections & toxins.
 

sregan

Senior Member
Messages
703
Location
Southeast
Yes that's one of freddd's (and others) theories and seems to be accurate in my case. But it's likely not just B12 as more is usually required for methylation start-up which is what causes the folate drain. And then there's the potassium drain a fair number of people experience too with methylation startup. Did you take extra potassium? I don't seem to have that issue but others do.
I've never heard of extra folate draining your B12, but have read that too much folate without enough B12 can cause neurological damage. B12 heals nerves apparently and folate can damage them.

helen1 I have been taking potassium and that was my chief suspect. I wasn't aware of the folate drain. I had heard of Methyl Trap and Donut hole folate insufficiency. I thought that one could take only MB12 but not the methyl folate and not spin methylation. And probably that worked in reverse also. I didn't suspect a deficiency might occur from taking only one.

ps. you said you stopped a long time ago, but you're still feeling worse and worse. This suggests the methylation cycle is still spinning and you're still detoxing. In that case, I suggest using 50-100mcg of the nicotinic acid form of niacin to soak up methyl groups and stop methylation. Watch Methylation Made Easy Video #3 - Treatment - the link's in my signature.

pps. can you describe what symptoms "worse" is? My metal detox symptoms from methylation are: more tired than usual and flu-like aching of muscles and joints. This is different from say magnesium deficiency which is heart palps, twitching muscles, poor sleep (due to being wakened by twitching feet). I don't have potassium deficiency so can't comment on that.

caledonia That's what I was wondering, can the cycle keep spinning after we have stopped the supplements. I have read several times here that people who stop the SMP supps the methyl cycle stops also from their experience. But I assumed in healthy people it ran without assistance anyway, so it's possible it could be "restarted" to keep going?

I thought potassium deficiency were heart palps? I have taken B3 a few days, I'll need to try a full capsule. I know Dr. Ben (mthfr.org?) talks about using that to stop the cycle.

It became quite clear & rich said this repeatedly, that many people experienced excitotoxicity that made them feel worse, on the SMP. He said that ppl should address infections & toxins.

aquariusgirl I don't think that's my issue but it's possible that could be affecting my sleep. I seem to sleep good for the first 4-6 hours...That last hour or so of REM sleep and I'm feeling like hell.
 

caledonia

Senior Member
helen1
caledonia That's what I was wondering, can the cycle keep spinning after we have stopped the supplements. I have read several times here that people who stop the SMP supps the methyl cycle stops also from their experience. But I assumed in healthy people it ran without assistance anyway, so it's possible it could be "restarted" to keep going?

I thought potassium deficiency were heart palps? I have taken B3 a few days, I'll need to try a full capsule. I know Dr. Ben (mthfr.org?) talks about using that to stop the cycle.

It should be possible to get the cycle up and spinning without further supplement assistance, just like a normal person. However, you may want to take a certain amount of supplementation to make sure you don't get sick again if you run into toxins, viruses, etc. (you know - life! lol)

Don't take any old B3 and certainly not a whole capsule, unless you enjoy having a niacin flush. Here is what to take from the horse's mouth, i.e., Ben Lynch: http://mthfr.net/methylfolate-side-effects/2012/03/01/

Both potassium and magnesium deficiency can cause heart palps.