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Really nasty cold after starting methylation supps

whodathunkit

Senior Member
Messages
1,160
So I started taking some methylation supps a few weeks ago (mB12, methylfolate). But I didn't get the Anabol Naturals Dibencoplex Solgar, or LCF until middle of last week or so.

Overall I felt much better, but adjusted methylfolate for a bit of spaciness and irritability, and some minor "alternating poop issues". Also minor edema around my ankles. But I've gotten that from time to time for a while. I have some blood sugar issues I'm working on, as well.

Then yesterday morning I felt great. Even-tempered, good energy, etc. But while I was exercising I noticed my nose was really, really runny. Which is very weird, because I don't have allergies and my nose almost never runs. Even when I get a virus I usually get a "yin" type cold where the congestion just stays in my head and won't come out. The virus runs its course without me ever expelling anything. I haven't had a "yang" runny-nose type cold in over 20 years. I chalked it up to partial methyl block and upped my methylfolate again.

Yesterday afternoon it became clear I wasn't feeling well at all. Runny nose, sneezing, generally out of sorts. I didn't sleep well last night because my nose kept blocking up.

Today I feel like crap and still having runny nose and sneezy issues. And I'm really tired. Little edema around my ankles.

No post-workout soreness from yesterday's workout (D-ribose seems to take care of that pretty well).

My question: is this a partial methyl block? Or (to paraphrase the good doctor Sigmund) is sometimes a cold just a cold?
 

whodathunkit

Senior Member
Messages
1,160
I've pretty much answered my own question now, for anyone who might be interested.

I seriously upped my folate, just to see what would happen. I was taking about 4 mg on Saturday, 7 on Sunday, and yesterday I was up to 10 mg, last dose around 10p. By the time I fell asleep around 1a this morning, my runny nose and nasal blockage was gone, without any OTC cold meds. I've taken nothing to try to alleviate my symptoms except supplements.

What sleep I got was great, although the runny nose/blockage came back this morning around 5:30a and awakened me.

But today, despite being sleep deprived, I feel better overall, and my "alternating poop issues" are resolved. The minor edema around my ankles is more minor still (almost gone). I plan to up my folate dosage a couple more mg today to see if that can't rid me of my symptoms entirely.

I guess I am in worse shape than I thought, if this much methylfolate is of benefit to me. :-|
 

Star-Anise

Senior Member
Messages
218
thanks for posting @whodathunkit
I'm in the same position. I get these detox-y symptoms & edema & so far, when I up my methylfolate they tend to disappear. Seems we ware doing the folate dance together :) xoxo S
 

Freddd

Senior Member
Messages
5,184
Location
Salt Lake City
I've pretty much answered my own question now, for anyone who might be interested.

I seriously upped my folate, just to see what would happen. I was taking about 4 mg on Saturday, 7 on Sunday, and yesterday I was up to 10 mg, last dose around 10p. By the time I fell asleep around 1a this morning, my runny nose and nasal blockage was gone, without any OTC cold meds. I've taken nothing to try to alleviate my symptoms except supplements.

What sleep I got was great, although the runny nose/blockage came back this morning around 5:30a and awakened me.

But today, despite being sleep deprived, I feel better overall, and my "alternating poop issues" are resolved. The minor edema around my ankles is more minor still (almost gone). I plan to up my folate dosage a couple more mg today to see if that can't rid me of my symptoms entirely.

I guess I am in worse shape than I thought, if this much methylfolate is of benefit to me. :-|


HI Whodathunkit,

You've got me thinking. Lack of b12/folate can cause very thick sticky congealed mucous, gums up sinuses, makes for raspy voice. Right after I get started, before Metafolin was easily available, I had a two week "cold" with a sore throat, not at all typical of what colds had been like for me. A lot of people have mentioned this. In the folate deficiency list "flu like symptoms" are mentioned. Maybe that should be modified to include "cold like symptoms". What do you think.
 

whodathunkit

Senior Member
Messages
1,160
@Star-Anise :thumbsup: It's a lot more vigorous dance than I thought it was going to be. Frankly, I'd rather learn to foxtrot. LOL

@Freddd
HI Whodathunkit,

You've got me thinking. Lack of b12/folate can cause very thick sticky congealed mucous, gums up sinuses, makes for raspy voice. Right after I get started, before Metafolin was easily available, I had a two week "cold" with a sore throat, not at all typical of what colds had been like for me. A lot of people have mentioned this. In the folate deficiency list "flu like symptoms" are mentioned. Maybe that should be modified to include "cold like symptoms". What do you think.

Freddd, my mucous has been more thin and runny, but there's a lot of it. My eyes are itchy, red, and watery, nose frequently itchy, sneezy, and runny, sinuses *hurt*. I don't have allergies but have had "bad" sinuses since the '80's (sadly, for all the '80's reasons). I'm inclined to view this as a healing problem rather than just one of the viruses that are going around my area primarily because of the profound effect on my sinuses.

I'm coughy, but it's not hacky or productive. Comes and goes. Throat is sore but not real bad. Voice is definitely raspy. Thankfully, however, the congestion (that awful feeling where one or both nostrils is blocked and you can't breathe, especially when lying down) has not returned, and I haven't used any nasal decongestant. I'm trying to stay away from that because I've because I don't want to inhibit healing symptoms.

Definitely not a typical cold for me at all.

Worth noting is I definitely seem to feel better (symptoms clear more) right after I take a dose of methylfolate (like now). Also, I'm not entirely sure I haven't run a fever, but I don't have a thermometer so haven't checked. Sometimes I've felt like I had one.

If atypical cold symptoms seem to be a reported pattern in paradoxical methylfolate deficiency then maybe it would be helpful to people if you added that to your deficiency symptoms list.

I'm upping to 15g mfolate/day today. If my understanding is correct, there really is no upper limit of dosage, right? Except maybe what your wallet can support. LOL
 
Messages
2
@whodathunkit

Hi! I know your original post was more than a year ago, so I hope you're still reading this.

Just like you I'm experiencing cold/flu like symptoms which are atypical for me, after starting on methylb12 and methylfolate.

My typical cold starts with a sore throat, then congested nose and deep, productive cough, and never to a fever. This time around it skipped the sore throat, was super runny (which could not be helped by antihistamines, strangely, as I usually respond very well to antihistamines) and a fever! I never get fevers, so I'm fairly convinced this isn't a typical cold.

Prior to the cold I started Enzymatic Therapy B12, working up from 1mg to 5mg in over a week. I felt great. No issues. Then I added methylfolate just 400 mcg, and then 800mcg daily. I noticed that the higher the dose, the worse the symptoms.

Yesterday I went a day without methylfolate and the cold symptoms improved greatly. Today I added 200mcg and back comes the mucous in my airways.

I do also use potassium supplements but not adb12 and LCF yet (on the way). Just wondering what these cold symptoms indicate, and how I should adjust my methylfolate dosage?

I appreciate any and all suggestions. Thank you.
 
Messages
76
Location
Southwest
I also have had similar cold-like symptoms during Methylation Protocol---I have been taking the DQ (plus Potassium and Lithium Orotate) since last December. It seems that when I hit these bumps (ie. cold/flu-like symptoms) in the road --that they are always improved by increasing my doses of MethylB12 and Methylfolate (my doses for Dibencozide and L-Carnitine Fumarate hold steady).

Right now, I am on 36 mg. of Methylfolate a day (broken into two doses of 18 mg morning and noonish) plus a commensurate amount of MethylB12.

I have experimented quite a lot in the last 6 months. When deficiency symptoms appeared, I initially was afraid to up my doses. But when I hesitated or backed off on my doses, I always felt worse. So, now, if deficiency symptoms arise, I usually up my dose by 4 mg. and give myself 24 hours to see if the symptoms subside. The last two weeks, I have plateaued at the 36 mg./day of Methylfolate. --I should add that at the lower doses of Methylfolate, if I felt the deficiency symptoms, I would double the dose (2 mg. to 4 mg./4mg. to 8 mg./8 mg. to 16 mg.) but after 16 or so I would simply go up about 4 mg. at time.

I feel good at the above doses. Good (not great) energy. Since I began the Methylation Protocol last December, I have not had a cold or sinus infection--which have been chronic for many years. I attribute my improving robustness to the DQ.

In good health,
Silverseas2014
 

frchli

Cutaneous mastocytosis, IBS, Intolerances, MCS,...
Messages
20
Location
Germany
Hello @whodathunkit, @silverseas2014 and @Star-Anise!

I experience similar cold-like symptoms to you guys. However, I have experienced them while I was on Pure Encapsulations B Complex (even tiny portions of the capsule) alone and sublingual Methylb12 200 µg alone.

I was going to start Fred's protocol but the symptoms I have been experiencing with the two supplements, which are

-major sinusitis/nasal congestion with bloody mucus coming out each day for a week while I was on it (I used to ALWAYS have sinusitis/colds/congestion/mid ear infections basically from the day I was born. However, this stopped when I went on a SCD/paleo etc. diet when my health crashed almost 3 years ago: I haven't had ANY issues since apart from when eating things I cannot tolerate, dairy for example)

-temporarily watery, runny nose (NEVER happens usually, hayfever-like); sneezing

-feeling feverish without having raised temperature

-feeling like I have the flu

-gastritis/upper gastric pain reoccurred (which I had for 2 years constantly but stopped for good after I went vegan in May)

-pallor/edema, especially in the face

-increased reaction to odours/chemicals; generally increased immune reaction

-restlessness, nervousness, rapid thoughts

-ravenous appetite

-more energy but anxious/not in a pleasant way

-lump in throat

-difficulty focussing

-severe mast cell instability

=> major immune response, ADHD like behaviour, don't feel like myself...

make me doubt whether it is for me... I was therefore wondering if you got over the symptoms in the end/have any hints how/in what doses/ratios I best go about this once I have all the supplements?

I'd appreciate any hints... :)

Thanks in advance!

Frchli
 

whodathunkit

Senior Member
Messages
1,160
@frchli: I am stable now on the methylation protocol and consider it the best thing I've ever done for my health.

But on the way to stability I got ALL the symptoms you mentioned at one time or other. Except for mast cell that I know of, since I don't know exactly what that entails. LOL But the immune symptoms, respiratory symptoms, watery runny nose, off-and-on edema, galloping munchies, etc....I had all of that. PLUS I had bowel symptoms. I also seemed to crash every couple of months where I'd succumb to all the symptoms, develop a fever, miss work, etc. But then when I recovered from the crashesI was always a little bit better than before.

Good news is the physical side effects have all pretty much gone, and my cognition is finally starting to come back. The ADHD-like behavior, memory problems, and brain fog have been very, very annoying, but I think they're finally on the way out. At least, to the extent they can be given that I'm me. I had a pretty good memory back in the day, and could stay on task without much trouble, but was never especially notable for my laser-like focus. ;)

Bad news is it's taken a year and a half. But better late than never.

FWIW, I actually went up to 40mg folate per day and had to stay at that level for quite a few months to keep my symptoms away. I read back through this thread and laughed at how naive I was thinking 10mg and 15mg methylfolate was a lot to take at one time. :lol: Now-days, though, I only need 800mcg-1600mcg per day.

@Freddd's protocol has been a very interesting if kinda tough process, but again, it's the best thing I've ever done for myself.

@vortterx: I didn't receive the alert for your post back in May...sorry I never answered. Sometimes alerts don't always work, especially if you're subscribed to a lot of threads. I hope you're doing better now. :)
 
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frchli

Cutaneous mastocytosis, IBS, Intolerances, MCS,...
Messages
20
Location
Germany
Thanks a lot for sharing your experience, @whodathunkit. That sounds tough but at the same time it is reassuring that you found that it will get better eventually! Our response seems to be so alike!

With mast cell activation I mean facial flush, increased heart rate, allergy response and bowel movements, headaches,... They are the cells that produce histamine in allergies. So that kind of overlaps with the other symptoms anyway!

If you did Fred's protocol all again from the start —with all the experience you have gathered now—, on what dosage and with which supplement would you start? If symptoms got really bad, would you pause the protocol or instead increase methylfolate or... :)?

(From what I experienced, with reacting so much to only 200 mcg MB12 for a couple of days, I am unsure on what dosage to start the MFolate as from what I understand, it needs the MB12 that I am having trouble with... hmmmm! Tough!)

Also, since you were having all my symptoms, I take it that would include the gastritis? Were you able to handle the L-Carnitine Fumarate ok with that? If so, did you use a particular product? The reason I am asking is cause I have taken L-carnitine (ALCAR) before for liver symptoms but could not continue because the gastric pain was SO bad (and comes with undigested food=>bowel/weight problems)...

As I said at the beginning: Thanks for your encouraging story! :thumbsup:
 
Messages
2
@whodathunkit Thanks for your response, nonetheless!

@frchli Sharing updates, since it is a few months since my last post. My cold/flu symptoms went away shortly after I posted (estimated two weeks after). I suspect it is due to the addition of L-Carnitine Fumarate (LCF) but I am not 100% sure. For me, LCF (approx. 400mg twice daily) works but ALCAR does not work at all.

Like @whodathunkit., I have stabilized on the protocol as well. On the way, I have hit other road bumps though. The most significant road bump was lethargy+apathy developing gradually after doing very, very well for about two months on mb12, LCF, and MTF (strangely, adb12 never benefited me).

Interestingly what "saved" me was niacin. I was super reluctant to try it at first because I thought it would quench methylation. However, after experimentation I realized that for me, I absolutely need niacin (for motivation) YET I also need MTF (I cannot wrap my head around this either). Thus now I balance MTF (approx. 2 mg daily) and Niacin (500mg - 1,000mg daily). I've tried reducing/omitting both one at a time and it just doesn't work. This combination for now works for me.

Also just to share, I use an Android app called "KeepTrack Pro" to keep track of all the supplements I take, what time I take them, and how I feel. It has been so, so useful to correlate symptoms & trends.
 

whodathunkit

Senior Member
Messages
1,160
With mast cell activation I mean facial flush, increased heart rate, allergy response and bowel movements, headaches,... They are the cells that produce histamine in allergies. So that kind of overlaps with the other symptoms anyway!
Hmmm. Maybe I did have some bit of mast cell activation. But never identified it as such. At any rate, if that's what it was, it's gone now. ;)

If you did Fred's protocol all again from the start —with all the experience you have gathered now—, on what dosage and with which supplement would you start? I
Honestly, I probably wouldn't change anything. I started low, and ramped up quickly when I got symptoms to see if it would work like Freddd said (and it did). I addressed symptoms as they occurred, by reading up on stuff, and experimenting with dosages plus various co-factors. I would temporarily stop some things (like LCF) if the sides became bad, and then circle back around to these things as i got a little better. I learned as I went. I kept up with the protocol (even when I dropped this or that supplement I never quit the whole thing) in the face of seemingly ongoing symptoms because I felt I had no alternative. The status quo of health on the day I started Freddd's protocol was no longer acceptable to me. I knew stopping the protocol meant returning to the status quo. IMO that kind of decision (start, keep going, or stop) is about all any of us can do.

Unfortunately, sometimes people get intolerable side effects from very small doses of these supps. The side effects I experienced were not intolerable to me, at least not for extended periods of time. In time I was able to acclimate to everything I needed But I wasn't bed-bound when I started and I don't have any serious latent or chronic viral or bacterial infections or other serious co-morbidities that some people here have. Mine was mostly a problem of energy. So I never had to stop the protocol completely. But if your sides are intolerable, you should stop whatever you think it affecting you so negatively. If that turns out to be the whole protocol, then that's what you should stop. It's entirely a personal decision.

If I truly had to start over I might actually start by working on my gut first, but who knows if that would have worked as well. Gut was the second thing I addressed and the combination of ramping up methylation and fixing my gut really made the difference for me. But I suspect it's a chicken/egg kind of situation. Bottom line is we need a healthy methylation cycle *and* a healthy gut. But most of us probably shouldn't start fixing them both at the same time simply because it would be too confusing to figure out what was causing which side effects.

FWIW, my gut was in really bad shape when I got here. I had leaky gut and some poop issues, etc. Not true irritable bowel because most of the time I didn't have the gas and bloating, but things just weren't right and hadn't been for quite a long time. From what I understand folate really helps with healing tissues composed of epithelial cells like the gut. Methylation definitely precipitated gut/gastro symptoms for me, which got better with time. Then the gut protocol precipitated some more symptoms that got better with time. I'm still having some minor gut issues but I think I'm close to getting them resolved completely. I've recently discovered I have gall bladder problems so there's a whole [seemingly new but probably of long duration] thing going on with bile and digestion that I'm sort of in the beginning stages of addressing. I've been taking digestive aids for years but never considered I might have gall bladder problems as opposed to just low stomach acid. But even there thing are improving already. Possibly because I've already got a good foundation of health to work with. It's a process.

Incidentally, I'm the opposite of @vortterx...supplemental niacin in any form is a big no-no for me. It brings on symptoms of folate deficiency/methyltrap. I avoid it like the plague. And adB12 is one of my go-to's. It quickly and very noticeably helped me a lot. Different strokes. :)
 
Messages
76
Location
Southwest
Hi @frichli....

A couple of thoughts:

I am still on high-dose Methylfolate (plus the rest of the Deadlock Quartet), and I have had almost all of the symptoms you mentioned.... BUT like others who have done high, penetrating doses of Methylfolate, as I progress through the these crashes? illnesses? setbacks? I seem to be getting better; that is, each time I experience these symptoms they seem less severe, and I seem to bounce back from them more quickly/more easily---I sense my body is just getting better, more resilient---and it should because it now has essential items (i.e. the DQ etc) to combat these symptoms/illnesses.

FWIW---I found the initial low levels of Methylfolate troublesome--I was stirring things up in my body that had never been stirred up (healing processes??).... I did these low levels for awhile, feeling very unconfident about doing much higher doses and scared of taking a lot of potassium to keep pace with them..... After much more reading about potasssium--how much is safe, etc., I took a leap into these high doses of Methylfolate. Every time I had one of Freddd's insufficiency symptoms, I doubled/tripled my dose of Methylfolate (and the rest of the DQ) AND took a lot of potassium to ward off muscle cramping and fatigue etc. And, for the most part, having been feeling better and better.

Like @whodathunkit, @Freddd..... I do not intend to stay at high doses of Methylfolate forever, just long enough to heal enough of my body that it feels good at low-moderate doses.

Gut Issues: Before I started the Methylation Protocol, I would have said that my gut was in pretty good health. But as I progressed into the MP, more gut issues arose. I have found great relief in working with Resistant Starches and some moderate forays into some good pre-/pro-biotics.

For me, I think the big thing with doing the MP is to persevere....to be tenacious...... to keep going over and around all the bumps and setbacks. I have NO DOUBT that I am giving my body what it needs in the forms it needs (i.e. Methylfolate and NOT folic acid, etc.)....I have lots of questions about various dosages/how all the other B-vitamins relate to Methylfolate and B-12/the ratios of all the other necessary vitamins to Methylfolate, etc.

Hope this helps,
Silverseas2014
 

frchli

Cutaneous mastocytosis, IBS, Intolerances, MCS,...
Messages
20
Location
Germany
Hello and thanks so much for the valuable insights to all three of you! :tulip: Hearing your experiences made me think that I'll just have to experiment what my body needs and it might work after all :)

Sharing updates, since it is a few months since my last post. My cold/flu symptoms went away shortly after I posted (estimated two weeks after). I suspect it is due to the addition of L-Carnitine Fumarate (LCF) but I am not 100% sure. For me, LCF (approx. 400mg twice daily) works but ALCAR does not work at all.

That's encouraging! I'm just about to order the LCF—hoping that it won't give me gastritis like ALCAR did. It's better to have it now and have it at hand for when I start again, I guess...
I'll check out that app as well.

FWIW, my gut was in really bad shape when I got here. I had leaky gut and some poop issues, etc. Not true irritable bowel because most of the time I didn't have the gas and bloating, but things just weren't right and hadn't been for quite a long time. From what I understand folate really helps with healing tissues composed of epithelial cells like the gut.

Interesting!! My gut is a complete mess as well. From intuition I'd say that's where it all started... I was diagnosed with SIBO 2 years ago which I managed to get rid of and chronic gastritis which had been around for years. It was so bad that I could eat, eat, eat and would just continue to lose weight. At the time, I was eating a very limited SCD diet with lots of poultry and some fish. I then decided to try to go vegan/low protein+sulfur. The gastritis, which had caused crazy pain for 1.5 yrs and had been around according to gastroscopies for at least 3.5 yrs (probably more like 10 yrs to be fair but I hadn't had it checked before) went away as another gastroscopy 2 months after going vegan showed. Also, the food I was eating started to actually stick to me. It was such a great improvement! I know that very low protein isn't good in the long run but I am trying to fight the Clostridium Spp. overgrowth (I have a severe gut dysbiosis, which 3 independent flora tests over the past 2.5 years have shown. Despite taking probiotics, the last one in February came out as NO(!) Lactobacilli, Bifido Bacteria and other good ones, normal-low candida, while HIGH Clostridium species). And Clostridium Spp. live of protein/undigested foods...
I have been on probiotics for most of the past 3 yrs. They never did me much good. However, recently I have stared to take stomach acid resistant capsules which has made my bowel movements very regular and reduced the bloating. Any bloating always leaves me waking up feeling completely hungover from the intestinal gases/endotoxins... EW!
So I can only recommend trying stomach acid resistant capsules!

the gut protocol
May I ask which one you are doing?

I've recently discovered I have gall bladder problems so there's a whole [seemingly new but probably of long duration] thing going on with bile and digestion that I'm sort of in the beginning stages of addressing. I've been taking digestive aids for years but never considered I might have gall bladder problems as opposed to just low stomach acid. But even there thing are improving already

That is SO "interesting"—we really seem to have so much in common health issue-wise, @whodathunkit ! I'm pretty astonished...
I definitely think something is going on with my gall bladder: Bile has bilirubin in it which gives stool its characteristic brownish colour. However, that only seems to work with me half of the time: the other half of the time, my bowels have EXACTLY the colour of the stuff I have eaten. During these times my MCS/allergic reactions get worse, I get edema/swollen super pale, "wobbly" face and feel generally lousy. At other times, usualIy when my face has de-swollen and isn't pale anymore, I get incredibly yellow in my face etc. Doctors never seems to be able to work it out despite agreeing that I look so yellow... (bilirubin??) Also, my ALAT/ASAT i.e. liver transaminases go up and down quite a bit. It has improved after quitting meat but it's still an unsolved mystery.
Any the indigested food obviously doesn't help my gut either: It gets inflamed and mucus and strings/balls of hardened mucus pass in my bowels. When I'm inflamed like that, I feel like I have the flu, my energy is way down and my joins hurt etc.
I have tried artichoke juice before every meal as a digestive bitter but with little success. So I am more than curious what you are doing for your gall bladder problems! (If you have posted this elsewhere, maybe you could let me know the link as I could not find the thread.) Have you ever tried bile salts? I have tried HCl+Pepsin (when I was still eating meat) and pancreatic enzymes and plant based enzymes in the past but none of that really made a difference to me...

BUT like others who have done high, penetrating doses of Methylfolate, as I progress through the these crashes? illnesses? setbacks? I seem to be getting better

Again, thanks so much for sharing this, @silverseas2014. You guys' stories are really encouraging! The Methylfolate really seems to be the key for many of us. I can't wait for mine to arrive—hurry up, dear postman! :)

I have read somewhere here that one should not take it without the MB12. Has anyone taken it on its own? I'm just curious as I am so hyperreactive to 200 mcg of MB12 (before I knew better, I have taken 1000mcg of CyanoB12 injections in the past with NO difference...). I was thinking that maybe something like 50 mcg MB12 could be a starting does with MFolin. I still feel very lost as to any referencing guide with rations/quantities as there seem to be so many different guideline out so if you guys have a good source for me, I'd love to read that.

After much more reading about potasssium--how much is safe, etc., I took a leap into these high doses of Methylfolate. Every time I had one of Freddd's insufficiency symptoms, I doubled/tripled my dose of Methylfolate (and the rest of the DQ) AND took a lot of potassium to ward off muscle cramping and fatigue etc.

Also, could you point me to that guide with insufficiency symptoms and ideas on how to handle them? The potassium source(s) would interest me as well if you still have them at hand.

(I have read lots of different stuff so far but feel a bit lost with the heaps of information out there. So I thought I'd ask the pros! :) )

Thanks again. You have really helped me out! :bouquet:
 
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Messages
76
Location
Southwest
Hi @frchli--

Under @Freddd's posts are symptoms of Potassium Deficiency (provoked by taking Methylfolate). For myself, I feel muscle cramps in calves, and then it progresses to lower back, upper back---but the point is I don't let it progress, I don't even let it begin. I dose with Potassium Gluconate throughout the day. I use "Bulk Supplements" brand from amazon---this is a big bag of loose powder---and I take a 1/4 tsp.with a tiny bit of juice for each dose. I could not get enough potassium while doing high penetrative doses of methylfolate by taking tiny capsules of potassium.

Please read through @Freddd's posts paying attention to the dates---as he progressed and developed his protocol, he changed approaches/doses/etc.

Cheers,
Silverseas2014
 

Tammy

Senior Member
Messages
2,181
Location
New Mexico
frchli: I am stable now on the methylation protocol and consider it the best thing I've ever done for my health
Bad news is it's taken a year and a half. But better late than never
I think this is important for members to note.........especially myself as I have given up on various protocols after 4-5 months.........if that. I am on a new protocol with some (not all) methylation supps and other things............. THIS time I am going to keep going with it................thanks for mentioning the time that it took.............helps me not to get too discouraged if I don't always see improvement the way I want to.
 

whodathunkit

Senior Member
Messages
1,160
Yeah, @Tammy, it's easy to get discouraged and side tracked. I've noticed that for most of us (myself included), the timespan it takes for us to reach the limit of our expectations for all the results we want is about 3 months. With pretty much anything, but especially with measures to do with our health. After the three month mark we might continue on for a couple/few more months, but if we haven't seen the results we expect it's usually half-hearted effort. Except for this time with Freddd's protocol, that's pretty much always been the case with me. A couple things I could stick with (like iodine) but that's because they didn't give me a bad time after I got over that "beginning hump". I couldn't stick with anything that presented me with an extended acclimation time. Doubly so if the problem I was addressing was kind of complex (like what we see around here).

But this time, like I said, I just decided the status quo was no longer acceptable. I was tired, fat, and sick, and I was sick of being sick, fat, and tired. :meh: Plus I was 50, and I realized everything was getting harder, so the older I got the harder my health would ever be to fix. It was sort of "now or never", although I never say never with stuff like this. I always feel it's better late than never. And later is harder than sooner, but never is harder than later. :lol:

Anyway, good luck. Let us know how you do. :) :thumbsup:

BTW, I just realized today after all the yammering I've been doing lately about how I only need this little bit of folate, that I actually need some more folate right now. :rolleyes: I think I may be going through another "level of healing" as Freddd might call it. All this stuff with my gall bladder, and my energy getting better, I think I'm using up more folate and stuff than I was for a while. On a fundamental level it feels like real improvement, although the manifestation of it can be somewhat "variable". I'm having some anxiety lately, my nose has been a little runny for the past 1.5 weeks, little stuff like that, only I wasn't really paying attention to it as a sum of things that could add up to possible folate deficiency. But today for kicks I bumped up folate to about 10mg, and lo! My nose isn't running now. So maybe I'll do extra for a while, see how that goes. Perhaps we always go through periods where we need a little extra. Guess we'll see.

So I am more than curious what you are doing for your gall bladder problems!
Chanca piedra tea with a peppermint teabag thrown in 2x/day, and 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar per day. Chanca piedra is an herb known as "stone breaker" (kidney or gall bladder stones) which I heard about from @ahmo, and ACV is supposed to help lower cholesterol and dissolve cholesterol stones (which is what gallstones/sludge is supposed to be composed of). Peppermint is supposed to help stimulate the flow of bile, and keeping the bile flowing is supposed to help with the dissolution and elimination of cholesterol (kind of like flowing water keeps your drain from getting stagnant/clogged). Plus I'm sticking with the digestive enzymes with meals. It all seems to be working pretty good. My stool color is improving (turning brown again...it's been orange for some months which is a sign of low bile/gall bladder issues), and poops in general seem better. Sorry for TMI. :whistle: Haven't had any more gall bladder attacks, either.
 
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76
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@Tammy, et al,

@whodathunkit wrote:
....It's easy to get discouraged and side tracked. I've noticed that for most of us (myself included), the timespan it takes for us to reach the limit of our expectations for all the results we want is about 3 months. With pretty much anything, but especially with measures to do with our health. After the three month mark we might continue on for a couple/few more months, but if we haven't seen the results we expect it's usually half-hearted effort. Except for this time with Freddd's protocol, ....

I really have to agree with @whodathunkit here: Any Methylation Protocol is time-consuming, expensive, and full of set-backs----and many of us get discouraged and fed-up. But many of us keep going. And we keep going because, frankly, there are glimmers of improvement along the way---of steady, sustainable improvement in our health. These tiny improvements, if we stick to it, persevere, become bigger improvements. I "gird up my loincloth" :lol: and just keep going. I'll be done with @Freddd's Protocol --never (and I know this how?/why?--I will always have the SNPs that require special forms of the b-vitamins and supplements that support them) . But I will stabilize at lower levels of all the Deadlock Quartet (and accessory supplements)---and this will make the whole protocol more manageable in terms of time and costs.

And as a 52 year old woman, exiting Perimenopause, entering Menopause, I am also tired of being "tired, fat, and sick, and like @whodathunkit
I realized everything was getting harder, so the older I got the harder my health would ever be to fix. It was sort of "now or never", although I never say never with stuff like this. I always feel it's better late than never. And later is harder than sooner, but never is harder than later
.....Hell yes!---I want a fit, energetic body and mind for the next 50 years. And I believe I am going to have that with @Freddd's protocol, good food and exercise.

Like @whodathunkit, I also have gallbladder issues, but they are resolving with bitters and more choline (I am experimenting with Citicoline and Alpha GPC Choline).

Much good luck,
Silverseas2014
 

frchli

Cutaneous mastocytosis, IBS, Intolerances, MCS,...
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@silverseas2014, @whodathunkit and @Tammy—it's so interesting to hear your stories! What I find puzzling, for example, is that at least 3 out of us seem to have gall bladder problems despite that not being the actual reason we started writing in this post. I am so curious how this is all connected...!
Anyway, I wish you guys much perserverance and, most importantly, increasing health from it!
(turning brown again...it's been orange for some months which is a sign of low bile/gall bladder issues)
That TMI part could be my exact words... =P Thanks for speaking/writing it out! I am just about to order that tea to give it a shot. Sounds pretty useful in several ways from what I read about it...

Also, my Metafolin 400mcg (Pure Encapsulations) has finally arrived today so I gave it all a shot. I AM AMAZED. It is definitely doing something and I feel like I have definitely found a (long, winding) road to improve my health!

I started with a tiny crumb of Pure Encapsulations B Complex/tiny amount of MB12 plus Metafolin 400mcgat 11 am and felt more energetic than in ages. My sinuses cleared up and I have had saliva flowing like crazy all day. I feel like I am de-swelling (face) too. So I repeated that at 5 pm and felt great for another 3 hrs. Then I flushed like crazy (though I have only been taking a hundredth of a capsule of B complex as I know I react to them (Niacin?) a lot.) and at the same time my nose clogged up for like 10 mins.

I am so puzzled by this all despite it being undramatic and very positive so far. I am not planning on asking for help about every since symptom but I was wondering if, in general, you guys know a good list/source with combined experiences of symptoms and how people went about them? Like "I got flush"; "it went away taking more of X/Y/Z"?

That'd be very helpful!

Also, @whodathunkit, I read somewhere that you are eating LOADS of carrots... funnily so am I! And sweet potato. And pumkin! (And I am orange! :D)

Hope you are doing well today!

Frchli