Methylcobalamin and acne?

[zewd]

I don't have ME/CFS but whenever I search for the problems I'm having it's this forum that comes up and it seems like there are knowledgeable people here about methylation.

I found out that I have the MTHFR C677TT mutation that means my body can't methylate folic acid or B12 very well, and it's likely for me to be deficient as well as having high homocysteine levels and this can lead to a number of issues.

I started taking methylfolate (Metafolin) 800mg and methylcobalamin (B12) 1000mg from Solgar. I felt really great, better than I had in a long time, and my skin started to look amazing too. It was like suddenly my body was healing everything and I was in great condition.

But after a few weeks I started to get itchy lumps in my scalp which I could pick off. I've literally never had this before. I think they are just spots, like acne. I'm getting some on my face as well, but not as much. It's mainly the scalp that's the problem.

I'm not sure what's causing this. I searched around the internet and thought maybe the high levels of B12 are causing other vitamins to become depleted. I tried taking B6 and B2 (riboflavin) as well, and also P-5-P (active B6), but this didn't help with the scalp issues. I tried reducing the frequency that I take B12 to every other day, and this seemed to help a bit, but it's still happening. It seems to come on in waves. My scalp will clear up for 2 days, then it'll be bad for 2-3 days again, and then repeat.

I found a blog on the internet talking about B12 causing acne in some people. There are a lot of comments with anecdotal reports of people having acne triggered by B12. There's also a comment that says it could be hormonal (I think I've always had quite low testosterone, I wonder if any of my supplements could have changed that because I have been feeling more virile).

I wonder if just a lower dosage of B12 would help, but I can't find sublingual methylcobalamin at a lower dosage than 1000mg which is over 1500% the recommended daily intake. The only other dosage seems to be 5000mg.

Does anyone have any advice? I have my full methylation profile but I think most of it's irrelevant except:

C677T rs1801133(T;T) - T allele reduces MTHFR enzyme activity
MTRR rs162036(A;G) - G allele associated with methylcobalamin deficiency type E and difficulty regenerating methionone synthase

 

[humptydumpty]

You can cut pills with a pill cutter. Look at the dosages in the treatment plan [1]. Also, different forms are suggested and some additional supplements. You might want to stop and resume according to the plan once your condition stabilizes.

[1] http://phoenixrising.me/treating-cf...gue-syndrome-cfs-by-rich-van-konynenburg-ph-d

 

[skwag]

Sounds like paradoxical folate deficiency to me. This is when you take just enough folate to initiate a lot of healing, but not enough to sustain it. I would try upping the folate dosage and see if that improves the situation. I would also make sure all the basics ( other vitamins and minerals ) are in place. And Lastly, I would switch to Enzymatic therapy B12, which is highly rated around here.

 

[Freddd]

Sounds like paradoxical folate deficiency to me. This is when you take just enough folate to initiate a lot of healing, but not enough to sustain it. I would try upping the folate dosage and see if that improves the situation. I would also make sure all the basics ( other vitamins and minerals ) are in place. And Lastly, I would switch to Enzymatic therapy B12, which is highly rated around here.

I would agree fully. I will add that another common cause of acne in these situations (an example in this situation of partial methylation block) is HyCbl either intentionally or as broken down by light MeCbl, AdoCbl or CyCbl. Then it causes methyltrap because it isn't MeCbl and thereby exhibits folate deficiency symptoms. That should be paradoxical sounding enough for most anybody.

 

[Freddd]

I don't have ME/CFS but whenever I search for the problems I'm having it's this forum that comes up and it seems like there are knowledgeable people here about methylation.

I found out that I have the MTHFR C677TT mutation that means my body can't methylate folic acid or B12 very well, and it's likely for me to be deficient as well as having high homocysteine levels and this can lead to a number of issues.

I started taking methylfolate (Metafolin) 800mg and methylcobalamin (B12) 1000mg from Solgar. I felt really great, better than I had in a long time, and my skin started to look amazing too. It was like suddenly my body was healing everything and I was in great condition.

But after a few weeks I started to get itchy lumps in my scalp which I could pick off. I've literally never had this before. I think they are just spots, like acne. I'm getting some on my face as well, but not as much. It's mainly the scalp that's the problem.

I'm not sure what's causing this. I searched around the internet and thought maybe the high levels of B12 are causing other vitamins to become depleted. I tried taking B6 and B2 (riboflavin) as well, and also P-5-P (active B6), but this didn't help with the scalp issues. I tried reducing the frequency that I take B12 to every other day, and this seemed to help a bit, but it's still happening. It seems to come on in waves. My scalp will clear up for 2 days, then it'll be bad for 2-3 days again, and then repeat.

I found a blog on the internet talking about B12 causing acne in some people. There are a lot of comments with anecdotal reports of people having acne triggered by B12. There's also a comment that says it could be hormonal (I think I've always had quite low testosterone, I wonder if any of my supplements could have changed that because I have been feeling more virile).

I wonder if just a lower dosage of B12 would help, but I can't find sublingual methylcobalamin at a lower dosage than 1000mg which is over 1500% the recommended daily intake. The only other dosage seems to be 5000mg.

Does anyone have any advice? I have my full methylation profile but I think most of it's irrelevant except:

C677T rs1801133(T;T) - T allele reduces MTHFR enzyme activity
MTRR rs162036(A;G) - G allele associated with methylcobalamin deficiency type E and difficulty regenerating methionone synthase

Hi Zewd,

Low testosterone can be caused by low MeCbl12, low AdoCbl, low l-methylfolate and low LCF.

 

[zewd]

So most of you think I should take more B12 (or L-meythylfolate) rather than less? I had assumed that since the scalp issues only began when I started taking these supplements that I should reduce dosages.

 

[humptydumpty]

Sounds like paradoxical folate deficiency to me. This is when you take just enough folate to initiate a lot of healing, but not enough to sustain it. I would try upping the folate dosage and see if that improves the situation.

What is the mechanism of the deficiency you are talking about? I thought paradoxical folate deficiency is due to high doses of folic acid crowding out methyl folate.

 

[humptydumpty]

So most of you think I should take more B12 (or L-meythylfolate) rather than less? I had assumed that since the scalp issues only began when I started taking these supplements that I should reduce dosages.

I think that the common denominator is that you should look into support supplements . Try all-in-one multivitamin from Yasko, as that was used in the trial.

 

[Freddd]

What is the mechanism of the deficiency you are talking about? I thought paradoxical folate deficiency is due to high doses of folic acid crowding out methyl folate.

Hi Humptydumpty,

There are perhaps a dozen or more possible causes of various forms of paradoxical folate deficiency. The researchers speak of the body having "triage" levels for folate and b12 so that some thongs can be healed while others are allowed to deteriorate because there isn't enough for all. Folic acid literally competes with and blocks active methylfolate. When a small dose of folate healing can be started on one or two levels ands deficiency on others so one gets paradoxical looking symptoms. There is a posting on it somewhere that describes the 4 kinds of PFD I had found at that time.

For 60 years people have been having hypokalemia and low potassium from these things and immediately stopping the b12 because of the bad side effects. It may be counter intuitive but the way to heal is to correct the induced deficiencies which are flags of healing. Viewed from a drug viewpoint they are "bad" side effects. From a nutrition pov they are induced deficiency symptoms thjaty can be corrected so healing can continue.

 

[skwag]

So most of you think I should take more B12 (or L-meythylfolate) rather than less? I had assumed that since the scalp issues only began when I started taking these supplements that I should reduce dosages.

The suggestion was to take more of the Solgar Folate ( also called Metafolin or L-methyfolte) . If you are experiencing paradoxical folate deficiency, then you should see a resolution of the scalp issues. In general, when people go into folate deficiency of any kind, the first symptoms that are noticed are usually related to epithelial tissues. Because epithelial tissues have a high turnover rate they are the first to suffer when new cell production is slowed due to deficiency. As Freddd has pointed out, the first symptom of folate deficiency is actually edema, but it often goes unnoticed.

I don't think anybody suggested increasing the B12. I think it is more important that you switch to an effective brand and have the basics in place so you don't run into other deficiencies.