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Would you please help me to interpret my 23andMe results?

Messages
5
Location
Czech Republic
Hi all,

I´m new to this board, have had chronic health problems for the last 12 + years and have been treating Lyme disease and co-infections with various antibiotic combinations for the last 3 years with not much success.

Couple of weeks ago I discovered genetic testing, ordered the 23andme test and got my results back last week. I run the raw data through geneticgenie and later on livewello as well and I´m trying to interpret and understand them now but I´m feeling really overwhelmed and have a feeling that my brain fog is turning into some sort of brain snow:eek:)

My main problem is terrible fatique, exhaustion, absolutely no exercise tolerance. Then flu-like symptoms, general unwell feeling, brain fog, issues with concentration, multi tasking, short term memory, understanding the info I read etc. Aches and pains of muscles, joints, bones. Swelling of small joints (hands). Stiff neck, headaches, heart problems (palpitations, arrythmia).
Allergies, food intolerances, chemical sensitivities, sleep issues (staying up late, inability to fall asleep, non refreshing sleep), frequent night urination, wakig up several times during night. Issues with digestion, stomach pains, occasionally diarrhea.
Persistent throat infections, bronchitis (since 2002, it all started with candida infection, then strep throat or something like that – several in a row, followed by bronchitis which became chronic as well as the throat problems. In the following years I used to take antibiotics at least once every 2 months or so.) I have been on birth control pills for 10 years (16-26), have had terrible pms since I stopped it. I also don´t tolerate alcohol very well, lately the tolerance is 0 pretty much and used to smoke for a couple of years.

I have IgG3 deficiency (discovered recently, now I´m on subcuvia i.m. once monthly for that), lower lymphocytes and higher neutrophils in basic blood work, decreased T lymphocytes and increased B lymhocytes.
My CD 57 is 26.6 (pretty bad).

The 1st year of my Lyme treatment I took some supplements which promote methylation as well together with the antibiotics - like B12 5000mcg subligually (probably methylcobalamin), other B´s like B1, B2, B5, B6, biotin, high doses of NAC and even some reduced glutathion orally (bad absorption anyway), acetyl L-carnitine, Q10, D3, alpha-lipoic acid, quercetin, L glutamin, turmeric, vitamin E and selenium, silymarin etc. and I got slightly better but later on dropped most of the supps and declined again. I also took some of the Lyme herbs recommended by Buhner together with the antibiotic treatment.
I stopped all antibiotics in the middle of September and don´t really want to go back on them now.

Before my 23andMe results came back, I already started some supplements again, currently I take D3 2000 IU, lecithin 1200mg, curcumine phytosome, Ca, Mg, zinc piccolinate 50mg, EPA -DHA 2:1, buffered C 1000 twice daily, B5 500mg, selenium 200mcg, MK 7 100mcg, Gamma E complex, 1/4 of iodoral, perilla oil for allergies and quercetin with bromelain, probiotics.

I also started Thorne stress B complex with 200mcg of methylfolate, 1/2 of Solgar´s 400mcg Metafolin, so I take the total of 400mcg methylfolate now, methylB12 from Jarrow, currently on 1mg daily, 1/8 of Source Naturals Dibencozide and L-Carnitine Fumarate, 855mg daily.

According to the chart from Yasko, depending on my COMT and VDR status, I should probably take hydroxycobalamin instead of the methylB12, but I seem to tolerate it ok so far, had some increased brain fog when I started it (have been building up slowly from 1/4 of the tablet).

I would really appreciate any help with the interpretation of my results, have been trying to research but I´m still pretty lost. Tried to upload the geneticgenie methylation results and livewello report...
Thank you!
 

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caledonia

Senior Member
You have one First Priority mutation, which is SHMT. You would take some folinic acid for that. That's also one of the "leaky gut" genes - people with that SNP tend to have more gut problems. Between that and the antibiotics, your gut is probably not doing well. You're also reporting gut problems, food sensitivities and immune problems which confirm this.

I suggest doing some stool testing, and then if indicated (and I would be shocked if it weren't), do the 4R Gut Rebuilding Program before doing anything else. The link is in my signature. Yasko suggests to treat SHMT while treating the gut for the best results.

Then some methylfolate for the MTHFR. The birth control will likely have depleted your folate, which would make the situation with your MTHFR SNP even worse.

Some B12 for the MTRRs. Yasko suggests hydroxy and adenosyl for your COMT/VDR SNPs, not methylcobalamin. Otherwise, you could be prone to mood swings.

Some phosphatidyl serine/choline or lecithin for the BHMTs. Those are supposed to convert to TMG.

I don't see magnesium anywhere in your list of supps. That's an easy thing to try for heart palps and sleep issues, and should be well tolerated. Any kind except magnesium oxide, which doesn't absorb well. So mag taurate, glycinate, citrate, etc.

In general, I think your doses are too high for starting out. Those should be final doses. There can be a honeymoon period of at least 6 weeks where you feel ok, and then wham, you feel much worse as methylation gets rolling too fast.You may not have had problems before as who knows what kind of B12 you were taking, and how effective it was. But the Jarrow you're doing now is supposed to be very effective.

I suggest having some nicotinic acid form of niacin on hand in case this happens. It will soak up methyl groups and make you feel better quickly. That's 50-100mg not a whole pill.

Check out my Methylation Made Easy video series - the link is in my signature.
 
Messages
5
Location
Czech Republic
You have one First Priority mutation, which is SHMT. You would take some folinic acid for that. That's also one of the "leaky gut" genes - people with that SNP tend to have more gut problems. Between that and the antibiotics, your gut is probably not doing well. You're also reporting gut problems, food sensitivities and immune problems which confirm this.

I suggest doing some stool testing, and then if indicated (and I would be shocked if it weren't), do the 4R Gut Rebuilding Program before doing anything else. The link is in my signature. Yasko suggests to treat SHMT while treating the gut for the best results.

Then some methylfolate for the MTHFR. The birth control will likely have depleted your folate, which would make the situation with your MTHFR SNP even worse.

Some B12 for the MTRRs. Yasko suggests hydroxy and adenosyl for your COMT/VDR SNPs, not methylcobalamin. Otherwise, you could be prone to mood swings.

Some phosphatidyl serine/choline or lecithin for the BHMTs. Those are supposed to convert to TMG.

I don't see magnesium anywhere in your list of supps. That's an easy thing to try for heart palps and sleep issues, and should be well tolerated. Any kind except magnesium oxide, which doesn't absorb well. So mag taurate, glycinate, citrate, etc.

In general, I think your doses are too high for starting out. Those should be final doses. There can be a honeymoon period of at least 6 weeks where you feel ok, and then wham, you feel much worse as methylation gets rolling too fast.You may not have had problems before as who knows what kind of B12 you were taking, and how effective it was. But the Jarrow you're doing now is supposed to be very effective.

I suggest having some nicotinic acid form of niacin on hand in case this happens. It will soak up methyl groups and make you feel better quickly. That's 50-100mg not a whole pill.

Check out my Methylation Made Easy video series - the link is in my signature.



Hi Caledonia,

thank you so much for your time and suggestions, I really appreciate them.
I watched the videos in your signature (super done) and read the 4R Gut Rebuilding Program - I have already excluded all the problematic foods (according to the tests I´m intolerant to soy, casein, so no milk products, eggs and peppers), I´m also trying to eat gluten free and thinkig about switching to paleo. I occasionally take Betaine HCl, but not very often as I have the feeling that it irritates my gut lining (no wonder, must be pretty destroyed). I also tried the DGL licorice. In the past they even sent me for gastroscopy because of my stomach issues, of course they found nothing, I have positive results for h. pylori from the blood tests and was some time on omeprazole which didn´t really help (stupid me).
I was living in Malta at the time of my total crash and have been having many digestive issues which probably contributed to the crash - the tap water there is pretty terrible (is desalted, no idea what they add to it and it tastes like....). I took many antifungals along with the antibiotics or in the breaks in between like fluconazole, ketoconazole and most of the time I was on nystatin which I still take now. I have also done a course of antiparasitics (mebendazole, praziquantel, ivermectin, albendazole).
I should probably get some digestive enzymes as well and was thinking about ox bile...and might try the Metametrix analysis (already heard about someone who got the test for parasites from them). Will also check the folinic acid and why to take it.

The 5mg methylB12 which I took before was from Solgar, it was called Megasorb B12. I do take magnesium citrate, sorry if I forgot to mention it. I also take some extra potassium citrate.
I was feeling pretty crappy for the first week when I started the methylation supps and it got better when I increased the methylB12, so will see how it´s going to go, will definitely get the nicotinic acid, thank you! And my hydroxyB12 should be already on its way.

I forgot to mention that I have terrible mood swings (have always had) and I´m pretty depressed, geneticgenie also interprets my MAO A R297R TT as +/+, do you think it would be good to add something like 5 HTP for it?
I have also ordered some lithium orotate as I read that it might helps with the B12 uptake in cells.

When I checked the livewello results, I´m also homozygous for TCN2 C766G - GG - +/+ and I read that it might cause transcobalamin deficiency and result in various forms of anemia...
Also my detox panel doesn´t look well with the homozygous CYP1B1 - I figured that I have some issues detoxing estrogens and also have increased risk of lung cancer even without the smoking.
A also checked the GSTT1 in my 23andMe results (saw it discussed somewhere here yesterday) and have the "no call" results, so probably deletion?

Thank you again for your help!
 
Messages
15,786
I forgot to mention that I have terrible mood swings (have always had) and I´m pretty depressed, geneticgenie also interprets my MAO A R297R TT as +/+, do you think it would be good to add something like 5 HTP for it?
MAOA is used to break down neurotransmitters. Since you have the slow version, you might have trouble tolerating 5-HTP.
When I checked the livewello results, I´m also homozygous for TCN2 C766G - GG - +/+ and I read that it might cause transcobalamin deficiency and result in various forms of anemia...
It can drop holotranscobolamin (the form of B12 which can be transported and used) to 85% of normal. The normal treatment is B12, though you might not need large amounts to get normal functioning. But you probably will need to supplement it consistently.
A also checked the GSTT1 in my 23andMe results (saw it discussed somewhere here yesterday) and have the "no call" results, so probably deletion?
Yup, probably a deletion of the entire gene.
 

caledonia

Senior Member
I occasionally take Betaine HCl, but not very often as I have the feeling that it irritates my gut lining (no wonder, must be pretty destroyed).

Your stomach acid might be ok and you might not need it.

I have positive results for h. pylori from the blood tests and was some time on omeprazole which didn´t really help (stupid me).

H. pylori can do a lot of bad things. Yasko has a two part video on this on Vimeo, which will make your head spin. It would be good to see if the h. pylori has cleared or not.

I should probably get some digestive enzymes as well and was thinking about ox bile...and might try the Metametrix analysis (already heard about someone who got the test for parasites from them).

I suggest getting stool testing first before taking various gut supplements. The test will tell you what to take or not. Betaine HCl and digestive enzymes might not be necessary.
The 5mg methylB12 which I took before was from Solgar, it was called Megasorb B12.

That doesn't seem to be on Freddd's list of effective B12 supps, so it may be ineffective. I use liquid sublingual B12s and find them to be effective.


I do take magnesium citrate, sorry if I forgot to mention it. I also take some extra potassium citrate.


If you're already taking mag and still having heart palps, you might need to increase some more. As an example, at one point I was taking 1800mg (huge amount), but as my adrenals have improved, now I'm in the 450mg range (more like a normal person). Your bowels will also tell you what a good amount is, as magnesium will make them loose.

I forgot to mention that I have terrible mood swings (have always had) and I´m pretty depressed, geneticgenie also interprets my MAO A R297R TT as +/+, do you think it would be good to add something like 5 HTP for it?

Yasko suggests waiting until you have all the other SNPs worked out before working on MAO A. Then if you're still having problems, low level 5htp supplementation.

Depression could be any number of things, such as heavy metals, hypothyroid, lack of B vitamins, etc. Doing methylation could fix all of those, or if not, you might need to address them separately.

If you're already having mood swings, I would sure watch out for the type of B12 you take and that COMT mutation.

I haven't really studied up on all the mental health stuff and BH4, but BH4 supplementation might be something to think about for the future, again, at the end, when have all the other SNPs balanced. BH4 is necessary to make neurotransmitters, but it may come up on it's own by balancing the other SNPs.

Also my detox panel doesn´t look well with the homozygous CYP1B1 - I figured that I have some issues detoxing estrogens and also have increased risk of lung cancer even without the smoking.

The overall recommendation on the detox panel is to avoid toxins and eat your fruits and veggies. For me, avoiding grains, even if I'm not strictly Paleo, helps towards that goal, as I naturally eat more fruits and veggies to compensate. I have those same CYP and NAT SNPs. Cruciferous veggies help with the estrogen dominance. You can also take DIM, IC3 or calcium deglucarate.

A also checked the GSTT1 in my 23andMe results (saw it discussed somewhere here yesterday) and have the "no call" results, so probably deletion?

Yes, you're going to need more glutathione than usual (created by doing methylation).
 
Messages
5
Location
Czech Republic
MAOA is used to break down neurotransmitters. Since you have the slow version, you might have trouble tolerating 5-HTP.

Thank you, Valentijn. Don´t you please have any suggestions of supplements for balancing mood which I could take with my MAO A and COMT status? I think I read that Yasko recommends mucuna pruriens for the dopamine and also says that gingko biloba may increase dopamine uptake...Or maybe trying to fix the methylation and see what´s going to remain would be a better idea, as caledonia suggests. I have a bad tendency to swallow everything I read about, lol.

I would really need to go back to high school which was the last place where I had a chemistry class, trying to understand all this really starts driving me crazy. And then the discrepancies in interpretation - for example livewello interprets my MEFV rs3743930 CC as +/+, then I research what it is, find Familial Meditteranean fever, get a huge scare, go back to my 23andme results and see that they don´t interpret the C allele as the risk one...

Also thanks for the TCN2 C766G - GG - +/+ interpretation - I see that another SNP where I´m homozygous, SLC19A1 rs1888530 might be associated with folate uptake in certain cells...and I´m heterozygous on some folate receptor genes as well...
 
Messages
5
Location
Czech Republic
H. pylori can do a lot of bad things. Yasko has a two part video on this on Vimeo, which will make your head spin. It would be good to see if the h. pylori has cleared or not.

Yes, H.pylori is something as lovely as borrelia, I still have borderline IgA and IgG antibodies according to the last tests, but the antibody testing is pretty useless anyway. I definitely had some parasites as well and might still have, but the antiparasitic meds are pretty toxic and don´t really want to take them again. Also the connection between parasites and allergies is interesting.
I will try to figure out how to get the stool tested, thank you.

If you're already taking mag and still having heart palps, you might need to increase some more. As an example, at one point I was taking 1800mg (huge amount), but as my adrenals have improved, now I'm in the 450mg range (more like a normal person). Your bowels will also tell you what a good amount is, as magnesium will make them loose.

The heart palps got better with the Lyme treatment and seem to be somehow ok now, I still get them when I overexert myself, after I stopped the antibiotics I had more of a problem with heart sort of racing at night and not being able to fall asleep because of it, feeling wired and tired at the same time. But the supplements helped with that already to some extent. I take 400-600mg of magnesium daily, I´m a bit scared to exaggerate it with magnesium and calcium intake as according to various Lyme specialists, it can help to form bacterial biofilms.

Depression could be any number of things, such as heavy metals, hypothyroid, lack of B vitamins, etc. Doing methylation could fix all of those, or if not, you might need to address them separately.

I should probably get some better tests for my thyroid and adrenals, I had slight hypofunction of thyoroid according to the tests when I stopped the birth control (elevated TSH, fT4 on the low border, that´s all they test here) and at that time my hair was falling out like crazy as well....but since then it seems to be ok. I´m avare that I can still have a subclinical hypofunction and that better testing is needed, like fT3 and reverse T3, but for that I would need to send blood to Germany. The autoantibodies seem to be fine.
Also plan to do the cortisol saliva test at various times during day.
I had one amalgam filling and got it removed two years ago, but by a local dentist, so might have made things even worse with that. I occasionally take zeolite powder and have here DMSA for the Cutler protocol but don´t really want to take it in the close future...

I think that one of my biggest mistakes was having taken the birth control pills for so long. I should have never started. I guess that it was my big epigenetic switch for many things. My allergies started exactly 3 months after I started the pill - I got allergic rhinitis and later on developed something like asthma after all the recurrent cases of bronchitis. Some time ago I also found some of my very old blood tests results, like from the year 2000, where my liver test panel looks like it belongs to some alcoholic - it was in high school and I didn´t drink at all, I guess all my liver detox enzymes got pretty overloaded from all the hormones. I also had problems with perioral dermatitis which appeared once after I tried to stop the BC for a while. It reappeared several times later and was always associated with changing the tap water resource or stress etc.

I haven't really studied up on all the mental health stuff and BH4, but BH4 supplementation might be something to think about for the future, again, at the end, when have all the other SNPs balanced. BH4 is necessary to make neurotransmitters, but it may come up on it's own by balancing the other SNPs.

I saw in some Yasko materials that the supplementing of BH4 might be problematic so will wait with that and see how it´s going to go.

The overall recommendation on the detox panel is to avoid toxins and eat your fruits and veggies. For me, avoiding grains, even if I'm not strictly Paleo, helps towards that goal, as I naturally eat more fruits and veggies to compensate. I have those same CYP and NAT SNPs. Cruciferous veggies help with the estrogen dominance. You can also take DIM, IC3 or calcium deglucarate.

Might try some of those, thank you!

And thanks again for all the ideas and suggestions!
 

caledonia

Senior Member
Thank you, Valentijn. Don´t you please have any suggestions of supplements for balancing mood which I could take with my MAO A and COMT status? I think I read that Yasko recommends mucuna pruriens for the dopamine and also says that gingko biloba may increase dopamine uptake...Or maybe trying to fix the methylation and see what´s going to remain would be a better idea, as caledonia suggests. I have a bad tendency to swallow everything I read about, lol.

You might enjoy this article on COMT, lithium and mood swings. http://chronicdiseaserecovery.wordpress.com/2013/04/25/april-23-teleconference-replay
 
Messages
5
Location
Czech Republic
Thank you both!
I have ordered some lithium orotate. Also in my last blood work from June, long before I started any supps, my serum B12 was a bit elevated - 548 pmol/l (141-489) but the situation inside cells would be probably completely different. As the article says, lithium should induce B12 and folate transport into cells, so might help and with the COMT as well, that sounds great.