Methylfolate makes me depressed

[Springbok1988]

I should start by saying that nearly all of my emotions are gone. A better way of saying it might be that I know I feel a certain way, rather than feel it. That being said, even small amounts of methylfolate make me feel (know that I am) depressed. I initially started at 0.125 mg methylfolate only, with a plan to slowly increase. I felt a little depressed the first several days but then that faded and I started getting actual feelings popping up here and there for a couple of weeks. Then that stopped and I just went back to knowing that I am depressed. I stopped taking it for a while and went back to my normal neutral state. Then I started:
0.125 mg of methylfolate
56.25 mg Methylcobalamin
56.25 mg Calcium pantothenate
1.25 mg B6
5 mg Thiamin
1.25 mg riboflavin
20 mg Niacin
All in a single capsule. I doubled this after a week.
Again, I just knew that I was depressed and this didn’t improve with time. The depression worsened when I increased the amount. So I have stopped again and returned back to my neutral state. Am I doing something wrong or does methylfolate just not work for me?

 

[Pyrrhus]

Your reactions sound like normal start-up effects.

Everyone has different start-up effects and everyone recovers from them at a different rate.

Here's my personal reaction:
https://forums.phoenixrising.me/threads/folinic-acid.62648/#post-2323110

 

[Tammy]

I had a heck of a time with methylfolate when I first started it. I also got the depression. I just had to keep at it with low doses and not taking it every day. The side effect of depression finally disappeared. I can now take 1 (1 mg) per day.

 

[Springbok1988]

Thanks to you both! I just felt like the depression should have lifted by now. Glad to know others experienced the same thing and it got better.

 

[Tor2812]

I should start by saying that nearly all of my emotions are gone. A better way of saying it might be that I know I feel a certain way, rather than feel it. That being said, even small amounts of methylfolate make me feel (know that I am) depressed. I initially started at 0.125 mg methylfolate only, with a plan to slowly increase. I felt a little depressed the first several days but then that faded and I started getting actual feelings popping up here and there for a couple of weeks. Then that stopped and I just went back to knowing that I am depressed. I stopped taking it for a while and went back to my normal neutral state. Then I started:
0.125 mg of methylfolate
56.25 mg Methylcobalamin
56.25 mg Calcium pantothenate
1.25 mg B6
5 mg Thiamin
1.25 mg riboflavin
20 mg Niacin
All in a single capsule. I doubled this after a week.
Again, I just knew that I was depressed and this didn’t improve with time. The depression worsened when I increased the amount. So I have stopped again and returned back to my neutral state. Am I doing something wrong or does methylfolate just not work for me?

My thoughts (take with a large grain of salt since there is so much for me to discover/learn still).

• If you don't have strong methylation (potentially likely since you're here and experimenting with these things), 20mg niacin can be quite taxing and contribute to feelings of depression. Would highly recommend taking creatine and perhaps something like TMG with it. Chris Masterjohn has some good videos around niacin. You could also try other versions of B3 like niacinimide which are less taxing on methylation.

• You can't take nutrients in a silo. If you're taking these things, and you were previously deficient when you get re-feeing symptoms it could impact you across a broad spectrum of needs. Make sure you're taking other relevant vitamins, minerals, and foundational nutrients. If you want to try an easier way of taking all the things across the board, AOR makes a multivitamin called Orthocore, that while not perfect is definitely one of the best multis IMO.