Starting Freddd's protocol - a few questions

[PatJ]

TMG is often used to help reduce the anxiety caused by LCF. Have you read of it having other effects?

It's smart to avoid doing too much too fast with supplements, especially during a stressful time. The stress alone might have some influence on the effectiveness of a supplement. I hope your job interviews go well and result in a job you enjoy.

 

[Kitsune]

Thank you Yes, it's stress I haven't needed, though the job stuff has been important to do.

I am feeling less and less like 'myself' as I gradually bump up the B12 and the methylfolate, particularly. No obvious benefits other than a little more energy, but that 'dead inside' feeling is growing, and that isn't what I want. This could also be mixed up with the ongoing effects of the melatonin, however, which tends to have that effect on me when I take it for an extended period. It's so hard to tease all these things out. But at the moment, my instinct is telling me that taking the supplements up to even higher levels probably won't help, if I haven't noticed much of an effect so far.

The TMG is a methyl donor and reduces homocysteine, apparently, and people have said it's helped on a number of threads. Since I've got it in my cupboard, I think it's worth a try.

 

[PatJ]

It's so hard to tease all these things out.

You'll need patience and will need to only modify your dose of one supplement at a time if possible. It sounds like the melatonin would be the one to try if you already know it has that 'dead inside' effect on you.

But at the moment, my instinct is telling me that taking the supplements up to even higher levels probably won't help, if I haven't noticed much of an effect so far.

At the moment you should probably only be increasing the doses if your body is giving signs that it needs more. When I got low methylfolate symptoms I would take more until the symptoms went away, then wait to see if more symptoms appeared. You can also try reducing your doses of each supplement (one at a time) to see if symptoms re-appear.

Wouldn't it be nice if our bodies worked normally so we wouldn't have to micro-manage like this?

 

[Kitsune]

Thanks for all your responses, @PatJ. That's good advice above. I'm going to start working my doses down and keep an eye on my symptoms. The melatonin is unfortunately a necessity because of my body clock problems, which otherwise can cause me to get so ill that I cannot work. I know that B-vitamins helped with this in the past; and seeing as how up to 5mg of meB12 has made no difference, I think I will look back to the B-vitamins and other things. I really, really don't want to think about how much money I've spent on supplements over the past couple of months, especially as many of them have not worked out, but in the end I don't want to feel numb inside, or any worse than I already do. Will see how I get on with juggling things and report back.

 

[Kitsune]

I thought I would tie things up in this thread, for my part at least, by saying that I won't be pressing ahead with this protocol in any major way. The adjustments to my daily supplements have been very helpful, and I'm taking a good B-complex now that gives me 800mcg of methylfolate a day; plus I'm sticking with 1,000mcg meB12. I didn't feel any extra benefits from the full protocol, and ended up spending a lot of money on supplements that I've now chucked away (par for the course with the CFS I guess). But you never know until you try. The good news is that my body is tolerating gradual increases in my Lauricidin doses, so I'll eventually be able to work up to full doses, stay there for a while, and see if the antiviral approach does me any good. Thanks to everyone here, particularly @PatJ, for your help.

 

[PatJ]

Hopefully the Lauricidin will work well for you.

LDN might be something for you to keep in mind for the future. I started taking it on Nov 8. I'm working my way up by 0.125mg per day. So far I've noticed less brain-fog and sometimes improved sleep. I can actually feel sleepy now, for the first time in a decade. My body is confused though since i get sleepy at the wrong times so I expect there is an adjustment period.

Maybe LDN would help with your body clock issue and early waking. It's known for disrupting sleep initially, and with each dose increase, but improving it in the long term.

 

[Kitsune]

I don't know if GPs here are allowed to prescribe LDN, but I might look into that in the future. Glad you're getting a positive effect from it - must be amazing to experience such a positive change in your sleep pattern after such a long period of disruption. I hope it continues to help you x