High sulfur and low lithium on hair tests

[musicfreak]

Hi guys,

Is high sulfur on a hair test suggest a methylation problem? If so where in the pathway is the problem other than the CBS gene which I am -/- for? Does it have anything to do with BMST?

Also my lithium is really low and in Canada I can't buy lithium off the shelf. I guess I could ask my doctor for a prescription but would that be the right form? I believe it's carbonate?

Are there any other supps that would boost lithium? I have ConcenTrace but you need to take 40 drops to get 1.5mg of lithium. I can only handle 1 or 2 drops per glass of water as I find it bitter.

I read about lithium rich foods but I'm on a candida diet a lot so it's hard to eat certain foods. Eating rice and veggies is the best I can do.

I read on the forums how lithium aids B12 so it got me more interested in supplementing.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Cheryl

 

[Lotus97]

Hi guys,

Is high sulfur on a hair test suggest a methylation problem? If so where in the pathway is the problem other than the CBS gene which I am -/- for? Does it have anything to do with BMST?

Also my lithium is really low and in Canada I can't buy lithium off the shelf. I guess I could ask my doctor for a prescription but would that be the right form? I believe it's carbonate?

Are there any other supps that would boost lithium? I have ConcenTrace but you need to take 40 drops to get 1.5mg of lithium. I can only handle 1 or 2 drops per glass of water as I find it bitter.

I read about lithium rich foods but I'm on a candida diet a lot so it's hard to eat certain foods. Eating rice and veggies is the best I can do.

I read on the forums how lithium aids B12 so it got me more interested in supplementing.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Cheryl

Could high sulfur have something to do with mercury toxicity or am I thinking of something else? This is what I'm referring to:
http://www.livingnetwork.co.za/chelationnetwork/food/high-sulfur-sulphur-food-list/

I've found that mixing concentrace with something sour helps mask the taste. Also, you could add a few drops to an empty supplement capsule and swallow it.

Lithium carbonate is much higher in elemental lithium compared to supplemental lithium so you'd want to take a very small dose. 300 mg of lithium carbonate has a little over 50 mg elemental lithium. Supplemental lithium is usually sold in 5 mg tablets or capsules. So if you're taking 300 mg of lithium carbonate, you'll be getting over 10 times as much elemental lithium compared to one tablet of lithium orotate for example. If you do have to get lithium carbonate, there should be ways to divide it up into small doses.

 

[musicfreak]

Hi Lotus,

I'm not sure if my high sulfur is in relation to the mercury issue or not. When I eat sulfur foods I have no reaction. They don't seem to bother me so I would think not.

That's a great idea to add the drops to a capsule. I was doing that with MMS so don't know why I didn't think of that!

I will see how I feel on the ConcenTrace before asking my doctor for a prescription.

 

[Lotus97]

musicfreak
40 drops of concentrace only has 395 mcg of lithium (not 1.5 mg)
http://www.iherb.com/Trace-Minerals-Research-ConcenTrace-Trace-Mineral-Drops-8-fl-oz-237-ml/22265

 

[musicfreak]

@ Lotus According to their website it's 1.5mg. http://www.traceminerals.com/products/liquid-tablet-minerals/concentrace-ionic-minerals

 

[Lotus97]

@ Lotus According to their website it's 1.5mg. http://www.traceminerals.com/products/liquid-tablet-minerals/concentrace-ionic-minerals

That's interesting. Maybe they changed their formula. I assume it says 1.5 mg on your bottle? I buy Swanson's brand of ConcenTrace, but it seems to be exactly the same as ConcenTrace except they don't list the amount of lithium.

Just curious, do you or anyone else know what type of magnesium is in concentrace? I was thinking it was magnesium chloride, but magnesium chloride just by itself is more expensive than ConcenTrace so I wasn't sure.

 

[musicfreak]

Could be they changed the formula. Actually on my bottle it's different. They only list Chloride 185mg, Magnesium 65mg, Sulfate 14mg, Sodium 2.4mg, Potassium 1mg 'plus all other minerals and trace minerals found in sea water.' I think the bottle is so small they can't fit everything on it. On the website it's for 40 drops on my bottle it's for 10 drops.

I'm not sure what kind of Magnesium it is. Doesn't say on the bottle or website.

 

[Lotus97]

Could the high sulfur be due to a SUOX polymorphism? I'm new to SNPs so I'm not sure about that.

 

[musicfreak]

I'm wondering if it's related to a mutation but I don't know. I was hoping someone would have an answer. 23andme doesn't test that one and I can't afford to do Yasko's. I will read more about that mutation though. Thanks. I'm just learning about these mutations too. It's a lot to take in but interesting at the same time as well as a pain in the butt!

Interesting, this supplement http://www.dramyyasko.com/resources/autism-pathways-to-recovery/chapter-6/ talks about how Suox "helps support healthy detoxification of sulfites in the body." This supplement is also for MTR and MTRR which I also have a problem with. I think I will try and support the SUOX gene as well.

Yasko says Suox +/+ is rare though but maybe I have +/- http://www.dramyyasko.com/resources/autism-pathways-to-recovery/chapter-6/ My hair tests did show low manganese, strontium and boron a little. So who knows. (This is 3/4's of the way down the page). My molybdenum is OK though but I did have high copper levels at one time. Interesting how low moly decreases Xanthine oxidase which is needed to detoxify acetaldehyde which candida creates. I suffer from Candida too. It mentions it can cause acid reflux which I rarely get. Maybe once or twice a year. Seems moly, B12 will help and cutting out sulfur foods. That I will find hard as I'm on the Candida diet and eat sulfur foods esp eggs.

 

[helen1]

Hi guys,

Is high sulfur on a hair test suggest a methylation problem? If so where in the pathway is the problem other than the CBS gene which I am -/- for? Does it have anything to do with BMST?

Also my lithium is really low and in Canada I can't buy lithium off the shelf. I guess I could ask my doctor for a prescription but would that be the right form? I believe it's carbonate?

Are there any other supps that would boost lithium? I have ConcenTrace but you need to take 40 drops to get 1.5mg of lithium. I can only handle 1 or 2 drops per glass of water as I find it bitter.

I read about lithium rich foods but I'm on a candida diet a lot so it's hard to eat certain foods. Eating rice and veggies is the best I can do.

I read on the forums how lithium aids B12 so it got me more interested in supplementing.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Cheryl

Hi Cheryl,
I just bought some lithium orotate 5 mg on iherb. I'm in Vancouver. You could try getting it that way.

 

[Little Bluestem]

I have been taking 130 mg lithium orotate with 4.8 mg elemental lithium for about a year. In that time my hair lithium has gone from borderline low to high normal to off the chart high. I have cut back some on the lithium orotatae now.

 

[musicfreak]

Helen

Thanks for your reply. I tried to buy lithium orotate from iHerb last year and they canceled it from my shopping cart as it's banned in Canada. Since it's not in stores I looked online just to double check and I found it at Biovea.ca but double the price. I'm not sure how there able to sell it if it's banned. Then last week since I couldn't find any Adenosyl B12 locally so I did the same thing by adding it in the cart to see what would happen and nothing did. That made me wonder if it was right, so I added lithium and this time lithium was accepted. I don't know why as Swanson's won't ship it. So I believe it's still banned but you can order it and see if it will get through customs. Not all packages are inspected. I'm going to order the Adenosyl and see what happens. Worst thing that can happen is it gets confiscated.

I'm from Vancouver too! Great weather we're having eh?

Little Bluestem That's interesting how fast your levels went up. My bottle just says Lithium (from Lithium Orotate) 5mg so I guess it's not elemental? I did read somewhere that you shouldn't take lithium long term but yet from place I bought it from online it says it isn't toxic.

 

[Little Bluestem]

Little Bluestem That's interesting how fast your levels went up. My bottle just says Lithium (from Lithium Orotate) 5mg so I guess it's not elemental? I did read somewhere that you shouldn't take lithium long term but yet from place I bought it from online it says it isn't toxic.

I do not do my hair testing very regularly. It was 5 months to get from borderline low normal to high normal. It was 7 more months until it tested off-the-chart high.

I think your bottle is 5 mg. of elemental lithium from some larger amount of lithium orotate.

There is prescription form of lithium which is more toxic than lithium orotate. That might be what you read not to take long term.

 

[Leon]

Could high sulfur have something to do with mercury toxicity or am I thinking of something else? This is what I'm referring to:
http://www.livingnetwork.co.za/chelationnetwork/food/high-sulfur-sulphur-food-list/
.

Hi - yes, you're right that low lithium is a sign of mercury toxicity.

Leon

 

[helen1]

Helen

Thanks for your reply. I tried to buy lithium orotate from iHerb last year and they canceled it from my shopping cart as it's banned in Canada. Since it's not in stores I looked online just to double check and I found it at Biovea.ca but double the price. I'm not sure how there able to sell it if it's banned. Then last week since I couldn't find any Adenosyl B12 locally so I did the same thing by adding it in the cart to see what would happen and nothing did. That made me wonder if it was right, so I added lithium and this time lithium was accepted. I don't know why as Swanson's won't ship it. So I believe it's still banned but you can order it and see if it will get through customs. Not all packages are inspected. I'm going to order the Adenosyl and see what happens. Worst thing that can happen is it gets confiscated.

I'm from Vancouver too! Great weather we're having eh?

Little Bluestem That's interesting how fast your levels went up. My bottle just says Lithium (from Lithium Orotate) 5mg so I guess it's not elemental? I did read somewhere that you shouldn't take lithium long term but yet from place I bought it from online it says it isn't toxic.

I had no problem getting adb12 either through customs. Like you say maybe they just don't inspect much.
Yes, love the sunshine!! Do you have a good doc or other health practitioner here?

 

[musicfreak]

Little Bluestem OK, thanks. I did wonder if it was elemental since it was only 5mg. I will be careful when I take it. I also wondered if it was the prescription kind that was toxic.

Even though mine is low I don't feel it affects my mood much as I'm not depressed etc. But never know, I might notice a difference.

Helen

That's good you had no problems. I'm about to order some soon.

My doc is OK, she's open minded but I don't know if she'll know much about genetics. I still have to talk to her about it. I don't know if there's anyone in Van. that specializes in our kinds of problems. Right now, I'm just winging it myself and see what happens. I will talk to my doctor though and give her info and see if she knows of someone.

 

[helen1]

Little Bluestem OK, thanks. I did wonder if it was elemental since it was only 5mg. I will be careful when I take it. I also wondered if it was the prescription kind that was toxic.

Even though mine is low I don't feel it affects my mood much as I'm not depressed etc. But never know, I might notice a difference.

Helen

That's good you had no problems. I'm about to order some soon.

My doc is OK, she's open minded but I don't know if she'll know much about genetics. I still have to talk to her about it. I don't know if there's anyone in Van. that specializes in our kinds of problems. Right now, I'm just winging it myself and see what happens. I will talk to my doctor though and give her info and see if she knows of someone.

Have you had your doc put in a request for you to be seen at the new Chronic Complex Disease Centre at Women's hospital? (although the new CCDC is for men too) It's headed by Dr Allison Bested, a CFS specialist from Toronto. I'm mostly winging it too, although see a naturopath who is somewhat helpful.

 

[musicfreak]

I asked my doctor for a referral a few months ago but she thought it would be better to see an Infectious Disease specialist for Lyme. So I had to go through that hoop first. She said the clinic would be over run with referrals and it would be faster to see the specialist and I felt like saying I don't care, I'll wait as they specialize in CFS/FM/Lyme! Of course when I saw the ID doctor, my Elisa test came back negative for Lyme. On my Igenex test I had 4 IND's and one + in Lyme specific bands so obviously I've been exposed. Good news is he had no problems sending me to the clinic so I'll get a referral through him as it will be faster. Just did it yesterday. I hope you are going to the clinic too as you and I can mention this genetic stuff if they aren't familiar with it.

 

[musicfreak]

Well I got my lithium. Now I know why I was able to order it from Canada. Even though it was a Canadian site based in Montreal, they shipped it from NY. I got it no problem but next time I'll order from iHerb for half the price!