Severe crash from methylfolate?

[outdamnspot]

Wondering if anyone can help. I decided to try methylfolate last night a few hours before bed, since I get such great results from B12.

I took 400mcg and realized I should have started lower but didn't have a pill cutter on hand. I fell asleep for an hour (not atypical, since eating exhausts me), but noticed some odd symptoms when I woke up: shortness of breath, and also worsened POTS .. Standing up to cook again before bed became difficult.

I slept okay but today I have felt profoundly weak, like all of the energy has been drained from my limbs, and ready to collapse from basic tasks. Potassium hasn't helped. My parents did say they would take me to hospital if I wanted, but I'd rather avoid that since I'm struggling just to move, speak etc.

I obviously will avoid methylfolate but aside from 'detox', does anyone know what could have caused such a reaction? I have experimented with doses in the past and never really reacted this badly.

 

[Hope4]

@outdamnspot I am so sorry this happened to you. I don't have an answer, but I am sending you best thoughts for comfort and healing. I hope you feel better really quickly.

 

[Mary]

Potassium hasn't helped.

How much potassium did you take? Also it can take hours for potassium to kick in. When I first took methylfolate, it felt great at first and then a day or 2 later I was hit with profound fatigue. I'd read about low potassium so I started taking about 200 mg. at a time, maybe 600 mg. the first day in divided doses, and then more the next, titrating up to 1000 mg. a day (in divided doses) before the fatigue lifted. I've had to take about this much ever since, but I do fine with it.

low-sodium V8 is very high in potassium (900 mg. in 8 ounces) and many people suffering from low potassium have felt markedly better some hours after drinking 2 or 3 glasses.

 

[SherDa]

I get shortness of breath when I have absolute or functional iron deficiency.

 

[outdamnspot]

How much potassium did you take? Also it can take hours for potassium to kick in. When I first took methylfolate, it felt great at first and then a day or 2 later I was hit with profound fatigue. I'd read about low potassium so I started taking about 200 mg. at a time, maybe 600 mg. the first day in divided doses, and then more the next, titrating up to 1000 mg. a day (in divided doses) before the fatigue lifted. I've had to take about this much ever since, but I do fine with it.

low-sodium V8 is very high in potassium (900 mg. in 8 ounces) and many people suffering from low potassium have felt markedly better some hours after drinking 2 or 3 glasses.

I've supplemented potassium (via lite-salt, since you can't buy potassium supplements in Aus) for the past 3 years since I'm on a Keto diet. I take about 1000mg twice a day.

Unfortunately, it's day 2 since I tried the methylfolate and the symptoms are persisting, so if it's been over 24 hours, is it possible it's not the culprit of my current fatigue/weakness?

 

[Mary]

I've supplemented potassium (via lite-salt, since you can't buy potassium supplements in Aus) for the past 3 years since I'm on a Keto diet. I take about 1000mg twice a day.

Unfortunately, it's day 2 since I tried the methylfolate and the symptoms are persisting, so if it's been over 24 hours, is it possible it's not the culprit of my current fatigue/weakness?

I don't know if your problem is low potassium, although it seems the most likely explanation to me. But it's possible low potassium is not the culprit.

Having said that, even though you've been taking lite-salt for 3 years, your need for potassium could easily still have increased since you started the methylfolate. Methylfolate and methylcobalamin cause cells to start dividing more rapidly and doing what they are suppose to do, which requires potassium. So if your need for potassium increases due to the methylfolate, but you keep on taking the same amount of potassium as before, you could easily develop a potassium deficiency. And it can take more than 24 hours for the symptoms of low potassium to subside once you stop the methylfolate.

Here's a post which talks about methylation and why it can increase the need for potassium: https://forums.phoenixrising.me/thr...ded-in-methylation-treatmt.18670/#post-291422

Also, when you say you're taking 1000 mg twice a day, I can't tell if you're taking 2000 mg of lite-salt a day, which would yield about 1080 mg of potassium and 900 mg of sodium, or if you are taking enough lite-salt to yield 2000 mg of potassium, which would increase your sodium to 1800 mg.

I'm guessing you're taking 2000 mg of lite-salt a day, which would equal about 1080 mg of potassium.

I don't think that increasing your lite-salt some more would be the best way to increase your potassium because it would increase your sodium so much. There is something called "no-salt" which has no sodium and might be an option if you want to increase your potassium intake. And again, I'd suggest getting some low-sodium V8 (if available where you are) or other vegetable drink which is generally high in potassium, and drink several glasses, and see if it helps. And then if it does, you could decide what to do from there.

 

[Mary]

@outdamnspot - one more thing occurred to me - you're on a keto diet which from what I've read is very low in potassium. So I think it's likely you're already borderline low in potassium even with your supplementation - the daily RDA is 4500 mg. and that's the minimum. So think it's very possible that starting methylfolate could have caused your potassium to tank even further.

About the sodium in your lite-salt - it's possible that with keto you could use the extra sodium if you increased the lite-salt, but I just don't know. You'd have to ask someone more knowledgeable than me.

 

[outdamnspot]

@Mary sorry for the late reply. I take 2 teaspoons of lite-salt a day split up (i.e. 10g), so believe I would be getting closer to 2500mg of potassium from that (I don't have a bottle on-hand, but think the potassium content was lower in the Australian version). I also take 2 teaspoons of himalayan salt, split up. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like 'no-salt' is available here. I also am exclusively eating beef at the moment, due to food tolerances, and upon googling it looks like it contains 300mg of potassium per 100g, since I eat 1+kg per day, I guess I'd be getting an extra 3000mg from that, so hopefully I am meeting my requirements. Regardless, I think I will stay away from methylfolate for now.