COMT, POTS and lithium - tying it all together?

[Iritu1021]

I have received my neurogenomic profile from Genova Immunodiagonistics and it showed that I have a homozygous mutation in my COMT gene, which encodes the enzyme responsible for breakdown of dopamine and norepinephrine. This would make a lot of sense given that I already suspected I have hyperadrenergic POTS and this "physicological anxiety" or "tired but wired" feeling that so many of us can relate to, and the high prevalence of Type A personality in ME/CFS victims. As I started digging deeper, the interesting thing is that once those DA/NE levels build up to critically high, the inhibition feedback mechanisms kick in and the levels will drop very low. This also runs paralel to me as I often suspected that I have some kind of physiologic bipolar interplay in my brain: I can go through extremely driven, creative, overstimulated phases which are inevitably followed by severe crashes and complete mental exhaustion.

After getting this tests results, I became more intrigued with Dr. Yasko's protocol, especially because she is now pushing for low dose lithium to calm down excessive brain excitability. We know that lithium in high doses has been used for many decades in the treatment of overt bipolar disorder so it would make a lot of sense that it can be useful in much lower doses for hyperadrenergic POTS and other nervous system imbalances associated found in ME/CFS.

I am curious if anyone here tried lithium for these indications and what your experience has been with that?

 

[A.B.]

I have taken a lithium orotate supplement for a week. It only made me more fatigued, with no positive effects.

 

[ahmo]

I LOVE lithium. I have a number of SNPs that relate to poor recycling of neurotransmitters. I took Yasko's advice, started at 5mg. Eventually, by using self-testing, I've come to generally use 10mg/day. From my first dose, I found that my 'over-emotionality' evened out. No more tears over every sad story. Others have posted here about a relationship betw lithium and B12 uptake. I'm using B12/folate as per Freddd's Protocol. I find when things are mroe stressful, like in the midst of detox, body wants more lithium.

 

[Iritu1021]

I have taken a lithium orotate supplement for a week. It only made me more fatigued, with no positive effects.

A.B. Did you have a documented COMT mutation and POTS and were you using it as part of a methylation protocol (with high dose B12 ) or just on it own? I am also wondering if you checked your thyroid tests during that time, perhaps lithium made you more tired by lowering your thyroid function because that's what lithium does.

 

[Iritu1021]

I LOVE lithium. I have a number of SNPs that relate to poor recycling of neurotransmitters. I took Yasko's advice, started at 5mg. Eventually, by using self-testing, I've come to generally use 10mg/day. From my first dose, I found that my 'over-emotionality' evened out. No more tears over every sad story. Others have posted here about a relationship betw lithium and B12 uptake. I'm using B12/folate as per Freddd's Protocol. I find when things are mroe stressful, like in the midst of detox, body wants more lithium.

Ahmo, thank you for sharing. Your experience is very interesting to me and encouraging. I went on B12 injections which initially improved my brain fog and gave me a lot more energy but I feel like my emotional liability has become worse which perhaps could be due to B12 depleting lithium even further. I can totally relate to what you're saying, a cheesy commercial can make me cry now and my PMS has become a complete nightmare. Could you tell me which tests you were using to monitor your response (or did you mean by "self-testing" just gaging based on your response?) Is there any particular brand that you recommend?

 

[A.B.]

A.B. Did you have a documented COMT mutation and POTS and were you using it as part of a methylation protocol (with high dose B12 ) or just on it own? I am also wondering if you checked your thyroid tests during that time, perhaps lithium made you more tired by lowering your thyroid function because that's what lithium does.

No documented COMT mutation or POTS, and just lithium. The fatigue worsened suddenly and on the first day. I also found no better explanation than suppression of thyroid function. I don't have thyroid tests for that period, but a year or two later I was found to be borderline hypothyroid (which gradually improved over the years). I also react poorly to SSRIs that lower thyroid function.

 

[ahmo]

I use self-testing for determining all my dosages. For the most part, I've given up on other sorts of lab tests. i've been using self-testing since I fist became unwell. So I've developed a high degree of trust, which is the real key. I'm using Orthomolecular Products 10mg caps from iherb. This made it easy to open and use 5mg. but my body now seems to prefer the higher dose.


Self-testing http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Ex59wHLk3Q0

Good written description of simple self-testing: http://www.goodhealthinfo.net/herbalists/muscle_testing.htm