MTHFR With High Epinephrine

[Patrick123]

My Epinephrine is 103 range is 0-62. I have been suffering from anxiety, high BP 140/78, and rapid heart rate over 100 at rest for over a year. I have been tested for parathyroid, thyroid, and adrenal tumors. All were negative. Is there anything I can take to lower my epinephrine, will 5-htp help?

 

[Crux]

Hi Patrick;
I'm guessing that maybe potassium may help, because it can lower BP, and help to lower pulse rate, as well as anxiety.

Elevated heart rate is also found with B12/ Folate deficiency, so supplementation may help in time.

( don't know if 5 htp would help)

Most of the studies I've seen report that epinephrine lowers potassium and causes hypokalemia, but, I did find an old study that concluded hypokalemia, induced in mice, increased serum epineprine and norepinephrine.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7165423

This is only one study, but, I thought it might be a possible factor.

 

[Victronix]

Yes, that occurred to me also, about potassium. Sorry to hear you are dealing with that Patrick. You might want to try taking potassium before you start the methylation protocols on here, since methylation will initially create a potassium sink, and if you are already having any issue with potassium (which may not show up on a serum potassium test), that could be worsened with methylation. I take potassium gluconate (powder, Now Foods), others take other types.

 

[Lotus97]

My Epinephrine is 103 range is 0-62. I have been suffering from anxiety, high BP 140/78, and rapid heart rate over 100 at rest for over a year. I have been tested for parathyroid, thyroid, and adrenal tumors. All were negative. Is there anything I can take to lower my epinephrine, will 5-htp help?

What dosage of methylfolate and B12 (and what type) were you taking? I agree that it's good to treat an symptoms related to hypokalemia (low potassium), but that's not going to stop overmethylation. I hope supplementing with potassium is all you need, but if not you might want to consider lowering your dose and then gradually increasing it (if necessary).

 

[ahmo]

My Epinephrine is 103 range is 0-62. I have been suffering from anxiety, high BP 140/78, and rapid heart rate over 100 at rest for over a year. I have been tested for parathyroid, thyroid, and adrenal tumors. All were negative. Is there anything I can take to lower my epinephrine, will 5-htp help?

I agree w/ the potassium suggestions. I had good results w/ 5HTP prior to ME/CFS. Later, it became an excitotoxin for me. Be cautious. ahmo

 

[Lotus97]

Patrick123
Are you taking TMG, betaine hcl, choline, phosphatidylserine, or Seriphos? There's nothing wrong with taking those supplements, but they all stimulate the BHMT pathway. If the BHMT overstimulated you're going to convert more of your dopamine (DA) into norepinephrine (NE) which then can be converted into epinephrine. This from dbkita

Moreover, PS (like TMG) stimulates the BHMT pathway which is great ... IF you need it stimulated.
However, BHMT stimulation is notorious for converting dopamine into NE (everyone seems to ignore this fact on these forums btw). This is a known effect based on scientists measuring the breakdown metabolites of both DA and NE, Unfortunately know one knows for sure WHY this effect occurs, but the tell-tale sign is the changes in the relative distribution of catecholamine metabolites. I myself experienced the higher NE when I simultaneously took PS and TMG together. This would explain the cautions about taking tmg at night or some people's testimonials about insomnia and excitability if they take larger doses.

Methylation itself will increase your neurotransmitters including norepinephrine which can then be converted into epinephrine. This is also from dbkita

Methylation is both the gateway to the production and the catabolism of many neurotransmitters. Certainly serotonin and the catecholamines. Remember though it must seem like I rail against NE, you need some NE to function and feel good, else you would just be depressed.
The problem is when it gets out of balance and hyperstimulates the SNS. You don't want sympathetic nervous overload. That is a beast of an issue and very destructive if chronic. NE also factors into the immune system and inflammation. Heck I just saw my neuroendocrinologist today and he was reminding me that my pain increase when I increase certain supplements if from increased inflammation tied into higher NE.

You might also want to check out this wiki article on epinephrine.
http://wiki.cns.org/wiki/index.php/Epinephrine
There's a passage about methylation which I've included below, but there's a lot of other information besides that in the article.

Epinephrine is synthesized from norepinephrine in a synthetic pathway shared by all catecholamines, including L-dopa, dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine.
Epinephrine is synthesized via methylation of the primary distal amine of norepinephrine by phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PNMT) in the cytosol of adrenergic neurons and cells of the adrenal medulla (so-called chromaffin cells). PNMT is only found in the cytosol of cells of adrenal medullary cells. PNMT uses S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) as a cofactor to donate the methyl group to norepinephrine, creating epinephrine.
For norepinephrine to be acted upon by PNMT in the cytosol, it must first be shipped out of granules of the chromaffin cells. This may occur via the catecholamine-H+ exchanger VMAT1. VMAT1 is also responsible for transporting newly synthesized epinephrine from the cytosol back into chromaffin granules in preparation for release.

Also this about epinephrine and methylation
http://www.evenbetternow.com/Autism_Behavior_Balance_DMG.php

Neurotransmitters in the central nervous system such as norepinephrine and dopamine require a methyl group to become active. Dopamine is then modified by adding a hydroxyl (OH) to make epinephrine. Epinephrine (adrenaline) is your fight-or-flight hormone that increases blood flow and oxygen availability – so vital for the central nervous system and brain function.