Raising Levels of BH4

[acrosstheveil]

I have mast cell activation disorder and I have read this may be due to BH4 deficiency. I never had anaphylactic reactions to certain things since starting a methylation protocol so I think methylation may, in a way, be reducing levels of BH4. I have read that high levels of methylfolate may raise BH4 but I can't tolerate that and end up overmethylating. What are some other way of raising BH4 without direct supplementation?

 

[acrosstheveil]

so i've been taking a high doses of metafolin (16mg/day) and somehow I am tolerating it quite well! trying high doses in the past have never worked for me but for some reason it is now. My allergic reactions seem less severe. I at least don't go into anaphylaxis now over the slightest trigger (especially mold). I'm hoping they will continue to get less severe while taking high dose methylfolate.

 

[Critterina]

Sorry I didn't see this before, @acrosstheveil .

Your metafolin doses are probably raising your BH4, and that is helping with your reactivity. With your MTHFR C667T and A1298C, you may be compound hetero (if so, overmethylating while taking methylB12 would be so unlikely). But with increased BH4, you can deplete your tryptophan levels (and maybe tyrosine, but not as likely unless you have PKU).

You have the MAO A, so your mood may not respond well to tryptophan supplementation. I'm +/- for MAO A, and I do fine with it. In fact, diet was not enough for me to restore them...also 500 mg/day of supplemental tryptophan still left me at half low normal. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid, meaning your body can't make it. Most people can make tyrosine, so you still get dopamine, but are limited in serotonin production by limited tryptophan.

You may want to do a serum amino acid test. Personally, I think they are very worthwhile, as you can tell a whole lot of what is going on from them.

So, to sum up: increasing BH4 when you are deficient is a good thing; methylB12 will help keep you from building up too much methylfolate (correct me if I'm wrong: MTRR A664A is not as strong a reduction in B12 methylation, but still); and while tryptophan won't raise BH4 levels, it will help you use BH4 to make serotonin if you're low (and your mood doesn't become unstable when you use it. You may also see http://forums.phoenixrising.me/inde...this-gene-does-if-its-bust.15379/#post-249208.

Best wishes,
Crit