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Do methylation vitamins make erections worse?

Messages
32
I need your help desperately.

I'm 42, and I'm on Testosterone Replacement Therapy due to extreme fatigue and low Testosterone. Without going into much details I'll just mention that as part of the protocol you have to make sure that Estradiol (which directly affect erections) is at certain range which is individual for everyone, but usually within 20 to 45 (Labcorp values). The added Testosterone usually raises Estradiol, thus you have to take small dosages of prescription aromatase inhibitors once in a while to lower it.

Testosterone replacement improved my fatigue only somewhat.

Recently I've found that I have a methylation problem and in an attempt to help fatigue I started taking methylation supplements.

But since I've introduced them, I got some unstable improvement in fatigue, but my erections became significantly worse. Also, my Estradiol strangely stopped going up and stays at around 33, which is too low for my erections.

I'm taking:
- Folate complex (1-3 caps) each capsule includes:
Folate 1,000mg
Methylcobalamin 500mg
B1 - 25mg
B2 - 25mg
Niacinamide 25mg
B6 (Pyridoxine HCL) 25mg
- Pyridoxine P5P (550mg to 825mg)
- Niacinamide 500mg or Niacin 100mg at once as needed
- Potassium Citrate 20Meq (10Meq x 2)
- Zinc Picolinate increased from 30mg/2mg Copper to 60mg/4mg Copper (my doctor recommended zinc because I have a slight pyroluria, he said copper is needed as well but my copper was low, so taking it won't hurt)

I've also taken these, but recently stopped:
- Magnesium Citrate 800mg (stopped 3 days ago due to suspecting it for causing diarrhea)
- NAC (N-Acetyl Cysteine) stopped a while back to see if erections/Estradiol go back to normal, but it didn't)

Are any of the above supplements suspected for lowering erections or Estradiol conversion?
 

ljimbo423

Senior Member
Messages
4,705
Location
United States, New Hampshire
Niacinamide 25mg

Niacinamide 500mg or Niacin 100mg at once as needed

Both niacin and niacinamide wipe me out. They make me extremely tired and just make me feel awful. I've heard they slow methylation. I don't if that's what happens with me or not but I can't tolerate even 20-25 mg. of either, without them making me very tired.

You might want to stop these for say a week or so to see if your sex drive improves. I have taken 30-50 mg of niacin many times when I had become "over-methylated", very wired and couldn't sleep.

It calms me down within 20-30 minutes and I'm usually able to get rate back to sleep. I can't help but wonder if it might be somehow effecting your erections.

I don't think improving methylation would do that. In fact, I think it does the opposite, because it increases neurotransmitters like dopamine.
 
Messages
32
Both niacin and niacinamide wipe me out. They make me extremely tired and just make me feel awful. I've heard they slow methylation. I don't if that's what happens with me or not but I can't tolerate even 20-25 mg. of either, without them making me very tired.

You might want to stop these for say a week or so to see if your sex drive improves. I have taken 30-50 mg of niacin many times when I had become "over-methylated", very wired and couldn't sleep.

It calms me down within 20-30 minutes and I'm usually able to get rate back to sleep. I can't help but wonder if it might be somehow effecting your erections.

I don't think improving methylation would do that. In fact, I think it does the opposite, because it increases neurotransmitters like dopamine.

If Niacin makes you feel worse, that means that you are an Undermethylator. People that feel better on Niacin are Overmethylators. This is per Dr Walsh. Since I'm an Overmethylator, I do feel better on Niacin, like brain fog clears a but. But I don't take Niacin often.

There's a great debate, some doctors don't agree with the term Overmethylator, since it implies that Overmethylators don't need Methylated B vitamins, but they do, they just need Niacin as well. Both Undermethylators and Overmethylators need Methyl group added but Overmethylators need Niacin.

Any other clues as to what can cause erections issue in my case?

Could this be from electrolytes imbalance? What about vascular health, do methylation supplements affect it in any negative way? Maybe I overdose on any of the above listed supplements?
 
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ljimbo423

Senior Member
Messages
4,705
Location
United States, New Hampshire
Any other clues as to what can cause erections issue in my case?

Could this be from electrolytes imbalance? What about vascular health, do methylation supplements affect it in any negative way? Maybe I overdose on any of the above listed supplements?

I don't see anything else that you are taking that would cause this issue. But, each of us with ME/CFS react to supplements differently. For instance, P5P, even at 10-20 mg a day, makes me incredibly hyper, energetic, anxious and gives me insomnia.

You and many others take 100's of milligrams a day and get no side effects from it.

You'll figure this out, with enough time and effort!:thumbsup:
 

jaybee00

Senior Member
Messages
592
You should see an endocrinologist or urologist and not seek medical advice on this web site. This is supposed to be a ME/CFS forum.
 
Messages
32
You should see an endocrinologist or urologist and not seek medical advice on this web site. This is supposed to be a ME/CFS forum.

And I do have CFS and take over the counter supplements for it, which I'm inquiring about here and which are frequently discussed on this forum. I'm not asking an advice about medications which only doctors are allowed to give.
 

ljimbo423

Senior Member
Messages
4,705
Location
United States, New Hampshire
And I do have CFS and take over the counter supplements for it, which I'm inquiring about here and which are frequently discussed on this forum. I'm not asking an advice about medications which only doctors are allowed to give.

Here are the rules regarding medical advice. So you can even ask for medical advice if you want to. But members can only give suggestions, not tell you what you should or must do. As I said, you are good, no problem!:thumbsup:


Rule 5: No medical advice

Members may offer their opinion or make suggestions but they may not tell members what they must or should do.

https://forums.phoenixrising.me/resources/forum-rules.5/
 
Messages
32
My comments aren’t personal. The guy who prescribed you testosterone is responsible for your care. B vitamins won’t cure MECFS.

Well, I asked because you people here have great experience with B vitamins, so I figured maybe some of you have experienced something similar or heard about it.

What about overdosing Methyl group? Can that affect erections in negative way?
 

ljimbo423

Senior Member
Messages
4,705
Location
United States, New Hampshire
What about overdosing Methyl group? Can that affect erections in negative way?

I've found 2 sources that say overmethylation can cause a low libido or erectile dysfunction. I highlighted where it says this in red-

Overmethylation Symptoms
As of current, symptoms associated with overmethylation aren’t fully documented. An individuals’ genetic and epigenetic expression will likely influence the specific symptoms that they experience. Keep in mind that, just because you may be an overmethylator, it does not mean that you’ll experience every single symptom on the list below. This list is merely a compilation of symptoms that are more common among extreme overmethylators.

  • Anxiety disorders: A portion of people who are overmethylators will have anxiety as a result of excessive monoamine levels within the brain like norepinephrine and dopamine. In some cases, even high serotonin may provoke anxious thoughts.
  • Brain fog: An inability to think clearly can occur among persons with overmethylation, resulting in “brain fog.” This mental fogginess may be similar to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and could result in an ADHD diagnosis.
  • Circadian rhythm dysfunction: Overmethylators may be at risk of circadian rhythm dysfunction as a result of high monoamine levels. This circadian rhythm dysfunction may lead to excessive daytime sleepiness and/or nighttime insomnia.
  • Depressed mood: Among extreme overmethylators, mood disorders are thought to be common. This might be due to a combination of nutritional deficits, as well as excessive monoamine saturation within the brain. Although adequate serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine is favorable – too much of these might cause depression.
  • Dry skin: Overmethylation could lead to changes within the skin such as dryness, flakiness, and/or altered pigmentation. Skin changes may be a byproduct of overmethylation-mediated changes in hormones, immune function, and zinc.
  • Fatigue: Persons with overmethylation may be prone to bouts of fatigue and/or chronic fatigue syndrome. The fatigue is likely due to excessive quantities of specific neurotransmitters.
  • Immune dysfunction: Overmethylation could impair the immune response in numerous ways, one of which is by lowering zinc. Immune dysfunction may put overmethylators at increased risk for certain infections.
  • Low sex drive: It is thought that excessive concentrations of monoamines may inhibit or blunt a person’s sex drive. This could mean impotence or erectile dysfunction for men or difficulty achieving orgasm for either sex.
  • Poor motivation: Because overmethylation can induce depression, this depression may detrimentally affect motivation and productivity.
  • Sleep problems: Excessive methylation may interfere with a person’s sleep and circadian rhythm. Specific sleep problems that might occur include: daytime sleepiness, nighttime insomnia, premature waking (maintenance insomnia) or oversleeping.
  • Weight gain: A subset of overmethylators may be overweight or obese, in part, because overmethylation may cause depression, fatigue, and hormonal fluctuations.
Overmethylation

Overmethylation or low histamine is the dominant chemical imbalance for about 45% of persons diagnosed with schizophrenia. This imbalance is associated with extreme deficiencies of folate and Vitamin B-12, and usually coincides with elevated serum copper.

Laboratory indications include whole-blood levels below 40 mg/ml, and depressed absolute basophils. These folks tend to suffer from paranoid schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, psychosis, anxiety/panic attacks, hallucinations, hyperactivity, and depression.

Pfeiffer found that these people often benefitted from large doses of folic acid, B12, B3, B6, zinc, and manganese. The following is a list of characteristics and factors associated with overmethylation. The presence of 30-50% of the factors may be sufficient for diagnosis.

auditory hallucinations
high anxiety or panic tendency
hyperactivity
low libido
religiosity
tendency to be overweight

Source
 
Messages
32
I've found 2 sources that say overmethylation can cause a low libido or erectile dysfunction. I highlighted where it says this in red-




Source

Thanks. But my fatigue got somewhat better on Methyl group. Thus we could assume that overmethylation got better. Something doesn't adds up here. There a mess with terminology regarding overmethylation, in my opinion...
 

Pyrrhus

Senior Member
Messages
4,172
Location
U.S., Earth
Folate 1,000mg
Is that a typo? The standard daily dose is methylfolate 400 micrograms. (micrograms, not milligrams)
Megadoses of folate can have unpredictable consequences.

(I'm certainly no endocrinologist, but it seems that testosterone/estradiol issues may be more relevant to erectile dysfunction than methylation.)

Hope this helps.
 
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Messages
32
Is that a typo? The standard daily dose is methylfolate 400 micrograms. (micrograms, not milligrams)
Megadoses of folate can have unpredictable consequences.

(I'm certainly no endocrinologist, but it seems that testosterone/estradiol issues may be more relevant to erectile dysfunction than methylation.)

Hope this helps.

Oups, that is a typo, sorry. That's micrograms. This is the product I'm talking, 1-3 caps a day:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQJVHHC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_FPhkFbP0E1523