• Welcome to Phoenix Rising!

    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of and finding treatments for complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

    To become a member, simply click the Register button at the top right.

hypertension from CFS: solved FOR ME

Sherlock

Boswellia for lungs and MC stabllizing
Messages
1,287
Location
k8518704 USA
Very quickly: TMG (a methyl donor and vasodilator) plus later added vitamin C. Putting a can of red beets in a blender might be a suitable test before buying TMG to try.

No drugs required.

Was sudden onset, at times got much worse (to medical urgency levels, but not emergency levels). Then quickly went away with the TMG.

(Maybe I'll write a detailed post/blogpost one day, but for now this is a signpost that might help some of the very few who get hypertension instead of hypo.)
 

Sherlock

Boswellia for lungs and MC stabllizing
Messages
1,287
Location
k8518704 USA
Both of us [my wife is PWR (Peace wihtout Rest) have orthostatic HYPERtension, so this is very interesting. Thanks for posting!

RWP + PWR
Thanks, RWP.
My first sign of post-viral CFS was sudden onset orthostatic hypotension-and-tachycardia, with otherwise hypertension.
Pre-CFS; 120/80
with CFS average: 140/90 but then often Isolated Diastolic Hypertension
worst spike was probably 190/118 or so

Pre-CFS, I was always able to bring down any minor bout of HTN (smoking cigarettes, etc) with a long bike ride. Post-viral, that would not work anymore though I pedaled myself ragged, so something had fundamentally changed in me.
 

Sherlock

Boswellia for lungs and MC stabllizing
Messages
1,287
Location
k8518704 USA
How interesting! How much TMG do you take and how much vitamin C? My BP is okay but I have a friend whose is high.
Thanks, Mary. That's the kicker: I'd bought the TMG as an exercise supplement pre-CFS, but it did nothing. Did nothing post-CFS either, at 1 or 2 capsules (750mg) at a time. One day, a cousin developed immune-caused sudden onset hypertension. I gave him some capsules to try. He nearly fell off a rider mower from HYPOtension from one capsule!

So I naturally took a bunch (maybe 7-8) and wham! my BP was down to normal. Now I buy powder and take roughly a 1/4 tsp, not even every day. I think this works for me because of having MTHFR style methylation defects.

But... I was taking my BP many times per day and discovered that I was usually a little high in the mornings. Taking extra TMG didn't help that. I knew that my BP would always be higher when I was sick (burning eyes, malaise, SOB, etc) so I wondered if accumulating ROS was somehow a contributing factor. Taking the vit C eliminated the morning hypertension. (Started with 4 x 500mg per day, but varies a lot. Must be wary of laxative effect.) I often have Systolic of 111 now, often even lower in the middle of the night. Its quite a turnaround and I was extremely frustrated for years before discovering this.

I've included all the detail because that might help anybody with similar circumstances to decide if they should try this.

Please let me know if it works for your friend :) You, too @RWP (Rest without Peace) and @PWR (Peace without Rest). Were you both exposed to some toxin?

My Background: I was always healthy but developed CFS after a bad cold after enormous stress. MCAS and MTHFR
 

Mary

Moderator Resource
Messages
17,335
Location
Southern California
Thanks for all the info @Sherlock!

Were you both exposed to some toxin?

My ME/CFS was very slow onset, over a period of some 13 years before I started crashing (PEM). I believe the origin was severe stress since childhood due to abuse issues. I don't know for sure but that's my guess. Though I did have heavy exposure to chemical solvents at a job I had when 19, but my health didn't start to go south until I was about 34. I just don't know. I did end up having to do a liver detox some 17 years later, which helped my digestion a lot but did nothing to stop ME/CFS.
 

Sherlock

Boswellia for lungs and MC stabllizing
Messages
1,287
Location
k8518704 USA
Addendum: I might take up to 1 tsp of TMG in divided doses per day and probably started out near that with my first bag of powder. There seems to be no downside for me in too much - and a bonus is that it helps with increased muscle power going up hills. Meanwhile, I never had any benefit from methyl folate or methyl B12 or SAMe, so I'm glad that didn't discourage me from trying the TMG in big doses.
 

Sherlock

Boswellia for lungs and MC stabllizing
Messages
1,287
Location
k8518704 USA
Thanks for all the info @Sherlock!



My ME/CFS was very slow onset, over a period of some 13 years before I started crashing (PEM). I believe the origin was severe stress since childhood due to abuse issues. I don't know for sure but that's my guess. Though I did have heavy exposure to chemical solvents at a job I had when 19, but my health didn't start to go south until I was about 34. I just don't know. I did end up having to do a liver detox some 17 years later, which helped my digestion a lot but did nothing to stop ME/CFS.
You know, I've just heard this week some doc saying in an interview that such applies to the vast majority of their patients. I certainly believe it. Maybe it is Theoharides. With insomnia, I loop these audios all night long. When I hear it again, I'll make a note and post that to you.

The underlying principle is that emotional stress chemically sets up the mast cells to be hyper-reactive.

P.S. I'm glad to be of help.
 

Mary

Moderator Resource
Messages
17,335
Location
Southern California
Hi @Sherlock - I don't think stress-induced onset applies to a majority of ME/CFS patients. I almost hesitate to post that I think severe stress was a factor for me because the whole idea has been so badly abused by people leading to "it's all in your head" etc. and the twisted doctrine of PACE that my thoughts are keeping me sick, which is BS. My stress levels are pretty low right now but that doesn't improve my functioning. And it's still just a guess. I have several siblings who experienced the same thing and none of them developed ME/CFS. Who knows - I was 4 weeks premature, maybe that was a factor.

I don't think I have mast cell issues. My worst problem is PEM - it hits like clockwork if I exceed my daily allotted functioning of 3-1/2 to 4 hours of light activity with lots of rest breaks thrown in. I've done a lot of things which have helped me feel better overall but nothing has helped extend my activity window! :aghhh:
 

Learner1

Senior Member
Messages
6,305
Location
Pacific Northwest
I'm glad the TMG, C and beets are bringing your BP down, but I take 2 mg TMG, 9mg C, and eat beets often, and it's done nothing for my high BP POTS, which is an autoimmune problem. Naldolol and propranolol, along with pyridostigmine have brought it down, though.

There are many things that can affect BP, so it's finding what works for each of us...
 

RWP (Rest without Peace)

Senior Member
Messages
209
Thanks, RWP.
My first sign of post-viral CFS was sudden onset orthostatic hypotension-and-tachycardia, with otherwise hypertension.
Pre-CFS; 120/80
with CFS average: 140/90 but then often Isolated Diastolic Hypertension
worst spike was probably 190/118 or so

Pre-CFS, I was always able to bring down any minor bout of HTN (smoking cigarettes, etc) with a long bike ride. Post-viral, that would not work anymore though I pedaled myself ragged, so something had fundamentally changed in me.

Thanks for the additional details. I was wondering if you did a home version of a "standing" test. I did a tilt-table, and the Drs. were so clueless, they congratulated me on my BP going up 25-30 points (because I had been fainting due to adrenal failure/fatigue, so they thought it would drop).

My wife has never had it done. She can't stand for more than a split second without my help, and she's on 3 BP drugs (not our preference, but she had morbid hypertension ~240/120 in 2014.

RWP + PWR
 

Sherlock

Boswellia for lungs and MC stabllizing
Messages
1,287
Location
k8518704 USA
Hi @Sherlock - I don't think stress-induced onset applies to a majority of ME/CFS patients.

Sorry, I should have been more explicit when mentioning Theoharides and added that he is all about mast cells, not CFS. Or it might have been Afrin, also MCs not CFS.

I don't think I have mast cell issues.

My worst problem is PEM - it hits like clockwork if I exceed my daily allotted functioning of 3-1/2 to 4 hours of light activity with lots of rest breaks thrown in. I've done a lot of things which have helped me feel better overall but nothing has helped extend my activity window! :aghhh:
Just some off the cuff thoughts, if you don't mind: sip throughout anti-acid, anti-oxidant, and/or anti-inflammatories. Elevate the legs during breaks. A foam roller. A cold shower break. Do 2.5 hours morning and 2.5 hours evening to build endurance.
 

Sherlock

Boswellia for lungs and MC stabllizing
Messages
1,287
Location
k8518704 USA
Thanks for the additional details. I was wondering if you did a home version of a "standing" test. I did a tilt-table, and the Drs. were so clueless, they congratulated me on my BP going up 25-30 points (because I had been fainting due to adrenal failure/fatigue, so they thought it would drop).

My wife has never had it done. She can't stand for more than a split second without my help, and she's on 3 BP drugs (not our preference, but she had morbid hypertension ~240/120 in 2014.

RWP + PWR
Yep, I would start my BP cuff then stand. Often I'd get an error msg. If it did successfully complete, I'd be low BP, with high HR to compensate. There also were times in the past when, if I stood still for a few minutes, I'd feel myself in danger of passing out - so I'd start walking and all would be okay once my leg muscles were engaged.

Orthostatic hypertension must be very rare. Adrenalin is being used to compensate for low BP, then goes overboard? Does your HR never go high?

Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like TMG would help you, especially if you don't have methylation problems such as with MTHFR. How did both you and your wife end up with the same thing?
 

Sherlock

Boswellia for lungs and MC stabllizing
Messages
1,287
Location
k8518704 USA
Which brand of TMG are you using?
The capsules were VitaCost and the powder was from PowderCity, which unfortunately is now defunct. I'm guessing that simple powders like TMG are made in 1 or 2 big facilities in the entire world -- whereas herbals or complicated molecules are probably not.

Oh, you just reminded me: I've read some reviews of TMG powder being fishy in smell and taste. That's likely because it degrades to DMG. Maybe the seller had it in a hot storage area. In the past three years, I've never personally received an order in that bad state.

TMG should have very little scent or taste. I keep my supply in the fridge, and won't buy too much at once.
 

Sherlock

Boswellia for lungs and MC stabllizing
Messages
1,287
Location
k8518704 USA
I'm glad the TMG, C and beets are bringing your BP down, but I take 2 mg TMG, 9mg C, and eat beets often, and it's done nothing for my high BP POTS, which is an autoimmune problem. Naldolol and propranolol, along with pyridostigmine have brought it down, though.

There are many things that can affect BP, so it's finding what works for each of us...
Yep, that's why I'd pointed out my methylation defect and TMG's being a methyl donor. Also that I personally needed a much higher dose, in case some others in the world might be like me and almost miss out by dosing too low.

It would be ideal if for instance there were a large database where people could query: show me posts where CFS patients with MTHFR and MCAS have HTN.

Maybe I should adjust the post title to be somewhat more explicit. [Just did so, but didn't put in 'methylation' because that ignores the vit C effect.] Btw, do you do the titrate-to-bowel tolerance approach, e.g. from Levy and those before him?

Also btw, when regular people use beetroot juice, hoping for athletic improvement via increased vasodilation, they use very large amounts - at least a quart, IIRC.
 

Learner1

Senior Member
Messages
6,305
Location
Pacific Northwest
Yep, that's why I'd pointed out my methylation defect and TMG's being a methyl donor. Also that I personally needed a much higher dose, in case some others in the world might be like me and almost miss out by dosing too low.
I am on high doses of all methylation cofactors, optimized by a knowledgeable doctor. My BP hasn't budged with any methylation changes.
It would be ideal if for instance there were a large database where people could query: show me posts where CFS patients with MTHFR and MCAS have HTN.
There are many other genes affecting methylation. But genes for SOD2 and PEMT should be included, too.

Certain infections, heavy metal and other toxicity, and other environmental factors can have an impact, too. You'd need all of these in your spreadsheet.
Maybe I should adjust the post title to be somewhat more explicit. [Just did so, but didn't put in 'methylation' because that ignores the vit C effect.]
I think you're affecting NO more, which definitely can affect BP. See attached.
Btw, do you do the titrate-to-bowel tolerance approach, e.g. from Levy and those before him?
Do you mean Mark Levine at NIH? IV vitamin C is preferred in reducing peroxynitrites, which damage mitochondrial membranes and impair complex I, which is what I'm trying to do.

Since I don't want to do IV vitamin C right now, I'm taking 3g of C 3 times a day, to maximize what my bowels can absorb in a day. (If I took it all at once, it wouldnt all get absorbed.)
Also btw, when regular people use beetroot juice, hoping for athletic improvement via increased vasodilation, they use very large amounts - at least a quart, IIRC.
I'm aware, but don't want increase my carbohydrate intake that much.

We have a lot of issues and many problems to tackle. Like I said, I'm sincerely glad that your NO impacting strategies help your BP. Its just not a panacea for everyone for BP. It depends on what is causing the high BP in the first place. For me, it's the EBV-triggered adrenergic antibodies which nothing touched until I took a beta blocker snd I'm on high fise IVIG to try to reverse it.

But your strategy has other impacts, like on the NO/ONOO cycle.
 

Attachments

  • Pall-vitamin C B3 folate B12-Pauling-was-Right.pdf
    342.9 KB · Views: 5

Mary

Moderator Resource
Messages
17,335
Location
Southern California
Just some off the cuff thoughts, if you don't mind: sip throughout anti-acid, anti-oxidant, and/or anti-inflammatories. Elevate the legs during breaks. A foam roller. A cold shower break. Do 2.5 hours morning and 2.5 hours evening to build endurance.
Are you talking about sipping those things during PEM? What are some anti-acid, anti-oxidant or anti-inflammatories that you are recommending?

I do elevate my legs most of the time when sitting - I have a recliner.

What is a foam roller and what do you do with it? :confused:

I can't take a cold shower break during PEM - it's exertion. I have to do absolutely nothing while crashed.

Do what for 2.5 hours a.m. and p.m.?
 

pamojja

Senior Member
Messages
2,384
Location
Austria
Since I don't want to do IV vitamin C right now, I'm taking 3g of C 3 times a day, to maximize what my bowels can absorb in a day. (If I took it all at once, it wouldnt all get absorbed.)

Ascorbic acid actually does absorb more even at much higher doses taken throughout the day, as the following rare study found (now behind a paywall). Even reaching serum levels usually thought only possible to be reached by IVs. With the advantage of orally of being able to maintain such high serum levels more continuously. While serum levels after a single Vitamin C IV decline very fast.

Journal of the New Zealand Medical Association, 23-August-2002, Vol 115 No 1160

Glycohaemoglobin and ascorbic acid

Copplestone et al1 (http://www.nzma.org....al/115-1157/25/) identified misleading glycohaemoglobin (GHb) results due to a haemoglobin variant (Hb D Punjab) and listed a number of other possible causes for such false results (ie, haemolytic anaemia, uraemia, lead poisoning, alcoholism, high-dose salicylates and hereditary persistence of foetal haemoglobin).

We have observed a significant "false" lowering of GHb in animals and humans supplementing ascorbic acid (AA) at multigram levels. Mice receiving ~7.5 mg/d (equivalent to > 10 g/day in a 70 kg human) exhibited no decrease in plasma glucose, but a 23% reduction in GHb.2 In humans, supplementation of AA for several months did not lower fasting plasma glucose.3,4 We studied 139 consecutive consenting non-diabetic patients in an oncology clinic. The patients had been encouraged as part of their treatment to supplement AA. Self-reported daily intake varied from 0 to 20 g/day. The plasma AA levels ranged from 11.4 to 517 µmol/L and correlated well with the reported intake. Regression analysis of their GHb and plasma AA values showed a statistically significant inverse association (eg, each 30 µmol/L increase in plasma AA concentration resulted in a decrease of 0.1 in GHb).

A 1 g oral dose of AA can raise plasma AA to 130 µmol/L within an hour and such doses at intervals of about two hours throughout the day can maintain ~230 µmol AA/L.5 Similar levels could also be achieved by use of sustained-release AA tablets. This AA concentration would induce an approximate 0.7 depression in GHb. The GHb assay used in our study, affinity chromatography, is not affected by the presence of AA.3 Thus, unlike the case with Hb D Punjab, our results were not caused by analytical method artifact. More likely, the decreased GHb associated with AA supplementation appears related to an in vivo inhibition of glycation by the elevated plasma AA levels, and not a decrease in average plasma glucose.3 If this is true, the effect has implications not only for interpretation of GHb but also for human ageing, in which glycation of proteins plays a prominent role in age-related degenerative changes.

A misleading GHb lowering of the magnitude we observed can be clinically significant. Current recommendations for diabetics suggest that GHb be maintained at 7, a level that is associated with acceptable control and decreased risk of complications; when GHb exceeds 8, re-evaluation of treatment is necessary.6 Moreover, relatively small increases in average blood sugar (ie, GHb) can accompany adverse reproductive effects. A difference in mean maternal GHb of 0.8 was found for women giving birth to infants without or with congenital malformations.7 In either of these circumstances, an underestimation of GHb could obscure the need for more aggressive intervention.

Vitamin usage is common in New Zealand and after multivitamins, AA is the most often consumed supplement.8 Moreover, diabetics are encouraged to supplement antioxidants, including AA. Thus, it seems prudent for primary care health providers to inquire regarding the AA intake of patients, especially diabetics, when using GHb for diagnosis or treatment monitoring.

Cheryl A Krone
Senior Research Scientist
John TA Ely
Director
Applied Research Institute
PO Box 1925
Palmerston North

References:

  • Copplestone S, Mackay R, Brennan S. Normal glycated haemoglobin in a patient with poorly controlled diabetes mellitus and haemoglobin D Punjab: implications for assessment of control. NZ Med J 2002;115(1157). URL: http://www.nzma.org....al/115-1157/25/
  • Krone CA, Ely JTA. Vitamin C and glycohemoglobin revisited. Clin Chem 2001;47(1):148.
  • Davie SJ, Gould BJ, Yudkin JS. Effect of vitamin C on glycosylation of proteins. Diabetes 1992;41(2):167–73.
  • Paolisso G, Balbi V, Bolpe C, et al. Metabolic benefits deriving from chronic vitamin C supplementation in aged non-insulin dependent diabetics. J Am Coll Nutr 1995; 14(4):387–392.
  • Lewin S. Vitamin C: Its Molecular Biology and Medical Potential. New York: Academic Press; 1976.
  • Kenealey T, Braatvedt G, Scragg R. Screening for type 2 diabetes in non-pregnant adults in New Zealand: practice recommendations. NZ Med J 2002;115(1152):194–6.
  • Rosenn B, Miodovnik M, Dignan PS, et al. Minor congenital malformation in infants of insulin-dependent diabetic women: association with poor glycemic control. Obstet Gynecol 1990;76:745–9.
  • Allen T, Thomson WM, Emmerton LM, Poulton R. Nutritional supplement use among 26-year-olds. N Z Med J 2000;113(1113):274–7.

(red emphasis added by me)