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sming, it sounds like you need to read a bit more around here, get a bit more familiar with how things can go.
The short answer is that there is no answer to your question about the "right amount" of methylfolate. The right answer varies for everyone. Most of us let our symptoms/side effects be the boss.
But even with symptoms there are two schools of thought: one school advocates starting very low and going very slow, then if you get adverse side effects slowing down or stopping and then re-starting according to how you feel.
The other side recommends starting off at whatever you're comfortable with (typically fairly low), and then if you get certain side effects dramatically increasing the amount until you feel better. This is my side, and what worked for me. YMMV.
It's all about what you're comfortable with.
Likewise, the amount of time you spend at a dose varies. Most of us want to take the lowest possible amount we can get away with. But getting to that nice, normal maintenance dose can be tricky with either school of thought. Myself, I was taking 40mg/day at one point. $$$$$!!! (That was when I could have used the high-dose prescription) Now I'm down to between 8mg - 16mg/day, depending upon symptoms. I'd like to be at more like 4mg/day. Working on it.
But there are also lots of variables like nutritional status with other vitamins and minerals, particularly potassium. Getting methylation started can get a potassium deficiency started. Mild potassium deficiency is a PITA engendering symptoms like leg cramps, fatigue, and irritability; severe potassium deficiency can cause heart arrhythmias and be life-threatening
So please read and research, and see which tack you want to take. Also read up on paradoxical methylfolate deficiency (aka "the donut hole"). Before choosing it's important to understand about that.
But basically, what tack you take all boils down to what you can tolerate as far as side effects. Some people like to go low and slow, which lessens the severity of the sides but can also take longer to get through them; some people like to radically increase dosage and power through the sides, thereby lessening the time spent dealing with them. Some people want to power through but get too sick and are forced to stop. It's just an individual thing.
The thing that doesn't seem to be individualized is that if you have the symptoms that drive most people to this discussion board, you will get sick and crash at some point after you start methylfolate and methylation. LOL Getting sick seems to be some byproduct of kickstarting a slow metabolism. Seems like it's part detox, part induced nutritional deficiencies with stuff like potassium, other B vitamins, etc.. What's individual is the approach taken to deal with it, the dosages involved in the approach, and how long it takes to get through the crash.
As far as we understand, the methylfolate in OTC supplements is the same thing as prescription Deplin. But regardless of form it's all fairly costly, and the benefit of Deplin is if you're doing high-dose, you only have to take a couple pills per day. With the OTC, if you're doing high-dose, it's handsfuls of pills per day.
Okay, well, that's not really a short answer.
But you see where I'm going with that. It's complex and there is no pat answer to your question. Hopefully others will chime in, too.
