Help with methyl folate

[JamieG]

Hi , would like some help with folate please, when ever I take methyl folate I always get really bad constipation and itchy face and I feel more irritable but I also get a positive much better appetite with less bloated sick feeling in my stomach so I think I need methyl folate but how can I deal with the other symptoms? I get itchy face without folate but it becomes much worse with it. Thanks.

 

[Pyrrhus]

Rest assured that your experience is not unusual.

Different people can have very different experiences with B vitamins, and different people here may have very different answers to your question.

Here are some basic tips that have personally helped me tolerate the start-up effects of B vitamins:

1. As a general rule "start low and go slow", which means start with a low dose and very slowly increase the dose until the start-up effects go away.
2. Before tackling folate or B12 supplements, first try taking a simple B vitamin supplement without any folate or B12, such as the B multivitamin called "B minus" from the company Seeking Health. This multivitamin includes all the B vitamins in relatively reasonable quantities, but without any folate or B12, allowing you to separately decide upon your own folate or B12 dosages. https://www.seekinghealth.com/products/b-minus-100-capsules
3. Once you can tolerate the B vitamin supplement well, try adding 400mcg methyl-folate. Start with one dose, wait a couple days until the effects wear off, and then try the second dose. If you experience unusual muscle cramps, try taking low doses of potassium as many people find that a bit of potassium helps to lessen the start-up effects.
4. Once you can tolerate 400mcg methyl-folate daily, try adding very small doses of hydroxy-B12. Again- start low and go slow. Different people can have very different reactions to B12. If you experience unusual muscle cramps, try taking low doses of potassium as many people find that a bit of potassium helps to lessen the start-up effects.

Hope this helps.

 

[Woof!]

I've noticed a lot of stuff written on this forum about methylation, B2 and B12, and every time I try to make sense of it all, I can't seem to grasp the big picture - in part to all the minor details offered and in part to my brain fog. @Pyrrhus, you're so good at explaining things (like with your 4 basic tips, above). Would you mind helping me with a really short-and-to-the point synopsis of the topic?

 

[Pyrrhus]

I've noticed a lot of stuff written on this forum about methylation, B2 and B12, and every time I try to make sense of it all, I can't seem to grasp the big picture

You are definitely not alone in being overwhelmed with the quantity and diversity of things written on the topic here. Part of the confusion is due to different hypotheses that have been put forth and part of the confusion is due to the fact that people can have very different reactions.

I try to approach the topic from an evidence-based perspective in this thread:
https://forums.phoenixrising.me/thr...the-methylation-cycle-trap-or-blockage.83459/

 

[JamieG]

Rest assured that your experience is not unusual.

Different people can have very different experiences with B vitamins, and different people here may have very different answers to your question.

Here are some basic tips that have personally helped me tolerate the start-up effects of B vitamins:

1. As a general rule "start low and go slow", which means start with a low dose and very slowly increase the dose until the start-up effects go away.
2. Before tackling folate or B12 supplements, first try taking a simple B vitamin supplement without any folate or B12, such as the B multivitamin called "B minus" from the company Seeking Health. This multivitamin includes all the B vitamins in relatively reasonable quantities, but without any folate or B12, allowing you to separately decide upon your own folate or B12 dosages. https://www.seekinghealth.com/products/b-minus-100-capsules
3. Once you can tolerate the B vitamin supplement well, try adding 400mcg methyl-folate. Start with one dose, wait a couple days until the effects wear off, and then try the second dose. If you experience unusual muscle cramps, try taking low doses of potassium as many people find that a bit of potassium helps to lessen the start-up effects.
4. Once you can tolerate 400mcg methyl-folate daily, try adding very small doses of hydroxy-B12. Again- start low and go slow. Different people can have very different reactions to B12. If you experience unusual muscle cramps, try taking low doses of potassium as many people find that a bit of potassium helps to lessen the start-up effects.

Hope this helps.

Ok thanks, I know methylfolate can increase the need for potassium but is there any other vitamins or minerals that it increases the need for?

 

[Pyrrhus]

Ok thanks, I know methylfolate can increase the need for potassium but is there any other vitamins or minerals that it increases the need for?

Yes- other B vitamins.

 

[Methyl90]

It is the opposite at least in my experience. Increasing group B will further increase the demands of methylfolate and the symptoms you described may indicate that you need more to eliminate them permanently or almost.