Thanks for your reply, Freddd. And sorry about the mysterious acronyms; I learned them on this forum. OI = orthostatic intolerance; PEM = post-exertion malaise (kind of a dumb term, as has been discussed on other threads, but for now it's what we've got).
Here's what I'm currently taking:
first thing, on an empty stomach (per your recommendation before):
Solgar methylfolate 3200 mg
acetyl-l-carnitine 500 mg (I used this originally; switched to l-carnitine fumarate for about a month, but it didn't seem to make an appreciable difference, so I switched back)
Jarrow sublingual mb12 4 mg
Country Life sublingual adb12 3 mg
(and right now, I'm experimenting with adding nattozimes to this section, with hopes that it might do my circulation some good).
The sublinguals usually last about 1.5 hours or more.
second thing, with food (the food is usually homemade kefir; lately I've been adding d-ribose, agave syrup, a hint of salt, cinnamon, ginger, and something called Vivix, which has extracts of muscadine grape, elderberry, purple carrot, and polygonatum cuspidatum. Resveratrol content 100mg)
vitamin C 2,000 mg
vitamin E 400 IU
B-Right capsule
potassium 99 mg
zinc 50 mg
fish oil 1,000 mg
krill oil 500 mg
vitamin D3 5,000 IU + 400IU in my vitamin A
vitamin A 10,000 IU
magnesium complex 400 mg (350 mg magnesium oxide, 40 mg magnesium citrate, 10 mg magnesium aspartate)
ubiquinol 300 mg
alpha lipoic acid 300 mg
Drenamin (Standard Process adrenal support; no hormones in it, just organic adrenal extract)
until I ran out recently, I was also taking a cal-mag supplement. Besides my daily pint of kefir, I drink raw milk pretty copiously, and eat cheese and ice cream, so I worry less about calcium intake. I admit this is not scientific, just based on the fact that I eat a lot of dairy. (And yes, I have given dairy up and no, it didn't make an appreciable difference.)
I also took selenium for a few months. When I ran out, I didn't notice it, so I left it out. I may add it again. After all, taking pills is already a part-time job for me.
later in the day, with food:
B-Right capsule
krill oil 500 mg
fish oil 1000 mg
ubiquinol 300 mg
at night, for the last few days I've been taking Dr. Lazlo's Heavy Metal Shield, supposed to be a mild form of detox for heavy metals.
I also am on a course of acupuncture (I go on and off, for financial reasons) and taking some Chinese herbs. My acupuncturist did have me on glutamine last fall for a few weeks. That was just before I discovered your protocol, so when I read your adventures, I quit the glutamine. I also took some NAC for a month or so about two years ago. I do have an especially rough time when I add more folate, so it may be that more is required. If I added it, would it be much worse to do 2 at a time than it is to do one? Knocked me back for about 2 weeks each time I upped the dosage 800 mg. The discouraging thing is that I don't necessarily feel improved (I mean, past what I was before upping the dosage) after the two weeks are up.
3 mg of adb12 seemed like a pretty high dose compared to what others take, which is why I thought a more direct approach to ATP might help. The ubiquinol seems to be making a difference, but I started with much smaller doses and have only been doing the more therapeutic 600mg for about a week.
I'm not sure how long I can keep up buying all this stuff. I would love to eliminate some things, because I just can't afford hundreds of dollars a month. I've been going on the premise that it would get me well enough to work and earn the money, but that isn't happening.
Any thoughts that might lead me to a winning combination would be greatly appreciated. I am pleased at my improvement in brain function with the B12, augmented I think by ubiquinol and acupuncture; my brain's back at about 60-70%. But my energy level remains at around 20%, more or less. And of course when my energy goes, my brain goes too; this post may be a testament to that...
