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    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, long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

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  1. Mr. Cat

    Teitelbaum-suggested Recovery Factors has been helping

    Hello PR, I just wanted to let people know that I have been having good results with Recovery Factors, a supplement that blends all of the amino acids. https://recoveryfactors.com/ . Dr. Teitelbaum recently did a study on RF, which indicated it was helpful to the majority of study participants...
  2. Mr. Cat

    Chronic nicotinamide riboside supplementation is well-tolerated and elevates NAD+ [...]

    I have looked online for NAD+, but all I seem to find is products that have NMN or NR. Is NAD+ sold by itself OTC, and if so, could someone point me toward a good brand?
  3. Mr. Cat

    Glutathione causing anxiety/irritability

    That sounds like a good plan, Pyrrhus, to take a (smallish)dose once symptoms have calmed down, which they have for me today. I think I have sort of been doing that on by own anyway, but may do that more systematically, as you did. It sounds like a better approach than either flooding the system...
  4. Mr. Cat

    Glutathione causing anxiety/irritability

    Yes, I just heard about thiols, and got a recommendation to try glutamine or glycine instead, as they are thiol-free, which I may do. I seem to handle garlic, onions, and cruciferous vegetables ok - in fact those are the main vegetables I can eat. I'd hate to discover that I have a sulfer...
  5. Mr. Cat

    Glutathione causing anxiety/irritability

    That's interesting, Pyrrhus that the negative symptoms disappeared after 8-12 weeks. I tried NAC in the past, and I experienced negative side effects (increased brain fog, I think, maybe anxiety too). I'm not sure I could handle 8-12 weeks of the anxiety/irritability I was feeling!
  6. Mr. Cat

    Glutathione causing anxiety/irritability

    Hello PR, I just started taking liposomal glutathione, which initially had some positive effects of clearing brain fog, and a feeling of well-being. However, soon it started causing anxiety, and then irritability, without the positive symptoms I experienced earlier. I'm pretty sure this doesn't...
  7. Mr. Cat

    Sleeping under a weighted blanket reduced my morning muscle pain

    2 days!
  8. Mr. Cat

    Sleeping under a weighted blanket reduced my morning muscle pain

    Hey PR, I just wanted to let you know I bought and tried a weighted blanket. They are supposed to be good for insomnia and reducing anxiety, as the pressure is supposed to increase serotonin. I didn't previously have problems with insomnia, but it does seem to put me in a deeper state of...
  9. Mr. Cat

    Diseases the placebo effect works for, and ones it doesn't work for (it's to do with dopamine)

    Yes, I've noticed a similar experience through the years - feeling better when researching or preparing for a new treatment. I'm a big fan of the placebos of Hope, Optimism, and Magical Thinking, and have tried to modify my thinking to include more of them. For me at least, they give me a...
  10. Mr. Cat

    Phenylalanine and diet soda - good times!

    An update: I've actually changed my tune on aspartame after some research. It seems the reason why aspartame is so disliked is because it is classified as an excitotoxin, meaning it excites brain cells, but in the process kills them. Though I've only had good effects from diet soda and no...
  11. Mr. Cat

    Has anyone taken MCT oil?

    I started with the NOW brand, with which I had the positive experiences at first. I bought two other brands online from AllStarHealth, which is the cheapest place online for MCT oil if you buy in bulk. I just tried Body First MCT oil for a couple of months, and haven't noticed anything special...
  12. Mr. Cat

    Has anyone taken MCT oil?

    Hi Dreambirdie, An update: Since my last post, I went off MCT oil for over a month, then came back, and had some more energetic results, though not as strong as in the beginning. I have since tried going on a week/off a week, though I don't notice that much from this alternation. I have...
  13. Mr. Cat

    SAM-e creates major anxiety

    It might be worth a shot to try it again eventually. Sam-e used to cause me anxiety too at doses of 200mg/day if I took it too many days in a row. Somewhere along the course of me being on the methylation protocol, my tolerance improved, and I can now handle 400mg/day with no anxiety and no...
  14. Mr. Cat

    Water the only cure

    Go easy on that stuff, @Snowdrop!
  15. Mr. Cat

    Trouble meditating? Try binaural beats

    It seems that many on PR, including myself, have difficulty meditating when severe brain fog hits, even those who have had pre-ME meditation practices of many years. I've been experimenting a little with binaural beats, which are specifically-designed music pieces, in which subliminal binaural...
  16. Mr. Cat

    Chakra healing for ME/CFS

    CantThink and DaisyRuth, Yeah, I have had dozens of things work for a couple days or a week, then stop working. I wonder what that's all about. Sometimes I think ME/CFS is a very smart disease to keep finding ways around the cures we throw at it! In the past, every 2-3 years or so, I would...
  17. Mr. Cat

    Chakra healing for ME/CFS

    Hi DaisyRuth, I've done all sorts of meditation, including chakra meditations, and I think it's helpful in general, and probably necessary if you have teenagers. As JalapenoLuv indicated, however, I think meditation is helpful for light to moderate ME/CFS, but difficult/unhelpful when...
  18. Mr. Cat

    Enzymatic Therapy B12 changed their formula

    Hi @PeterPositive, I was on AOR 15mg for a couple of years, and it worked fine in managing CFS/ME symptoms. (Cheapest place to get it that I found was Healthy Planet in Canada). However, I was concerned about having something with sugar next to my teeth day in and day out. I just started the...
  19. Mr. Cat

    Increasing supplement dosage on Freddd's protocol

    The science of methylation never stands still! Thanks for the update. I will try that out.
  20. Mr. Cat

    Increasing supplement dosage on Freddd's protocol

    Information on Freddd's protocol has changed over the years, and is all over the B12/methylation section of PR, so it can be confusing to get started. Look up the user "ahmo," and look in the footer under her posts, where you can find a downloadable guide to the most up-to-date version of...
  21. Mr. Cat

    Increasing supplement dosage on Freddd's protocol

    Thanks Freddd, I did take mega (50mg) doses of mb12 and adB12 4 years ago, and didn't notice anything different from 15mg, though I guess doing them again would be quick and easy ways to test if more of these would be helpful this time around. Once I figure out adB12/mB12/folate, I will...
  22. Mr. Cat

    Increasing supplement dosage on Freddd's protocol

    Hello, I have been on B12 for almost 4 years, and it has saved my life, thanks Freddd and everyone who has shared their experiences! When I first tried Metafolin and adB12 with the protocol 4 years ago, they didn't seem to do anything for me, so I went off of them after a couple of months...
  23. Mr. Cat

    Folate-free B-complex

    Hey all, Thanks for the suggestions! I was looking around, and it seems there was a similar discussion a couple years ago here: http://forums.phoenixrising.me/index.php?threads/b-complex-without-folic-acid.19352/ However, this may have been before Freddd started thinking that vegetable folate...
  24. Mr. Cat

    Folate-free B-complex

    Hello methylators, I am trying the newest version of Freddd's B12 protocol after having moderate success with B12 for several years. I understand that now, in addition to folic acid, vegetable folate found in many B-complexes, is considered to mess with the protocol. I am now taking...
  25. Mr. Cat

    Has anyone taken MCT oil?

    It may have helped some with physical energy, but I don't remember it helping drastically. I think I'm going to go off it for a month or two while I experiment with other supplements, then experiment with it again. I certainly had no negative reactions to MCT oil. One more thing: I took it...
  26. Mr. Cat

    Has anyone taken MCT oil?

    Hi Gingergrrl43. Someone I know who said they cured themselves of Lyme cited MCT oil as one of the helpful factors in their recovery. Supposedly, the optimum mixture is 16oz MCT oil to 12oz coconut oil, though that is just what my ex-lyme acquaintance said her doctor told her. It is supposed to...
  27. Mr. Cat

    What diet has worked best for you?

    You are right, SOC, whey does come from dairy. However, online claims for whey protein say that whey protein concentrate has very low levels of lactose, while whey protein isolate (a little more expensive) has almost none. It seems to be lactose that makes most dairy-intolerant people intolerant...
  28. Mr. Cat

    What diet has worked best for you?

    Grains rarely, no gluten. Fish 1-2 times a week. Eggs frequently, red meat never, chicken rarely, and I supplement with whey protein powder daily. Veggies daily, low sugar, no soy, no alcohol, no dairy, nightshades rarely (though they are the most benign out of all the things I avoid). Basically...
  29. Mr. Cat

    Oil Pulling (Ayurvedic Technique) for Oral and Sinus Issues...

    Hi Oil-pullers, I experimented with this for 2-3 months on the recommendation of my acupuncturist. I decided to go off it for a month, as I read some posts on here about leeching minerals, and I had a minor brain-fog crash that coincided with the latter part of the oil pulling, so I wanted to...
  30. Mr. Cat

    Not liking myself

    Hi Jules, I know there are many factors involved, including body type, metabolism, food sensitivities, and your personal CFS symptoms, etc., but I have found that several of the things I am doing to manage my CFS have also indirectly contributed to keeping weight off effortlessly. Bear in mind...