Also, a few other things I forgot to mention:
The Genestra trace minerals only contain a tiny amount of manganese. If you really want Mn, a better source is something like BodyBio liquid. I find the Mn + B1 is also helping dopamine levels. (As I mentioned, some feel Mn and B1 rise or fall in tandem in the body.) And bear in mind that Glyphosate will interfere with all minerals, but seems to have a particular affinity for manganese. Mn is also necessary for one variety of SOD.
As someone else mentioned, B1 can cause oxalate dumping (rashes, headaches, painful urination), especially if you've been low for a while. Low B1 can contribute to endogenous production of oxalate, and oxalate is a mitochondrial toxin.
Once you are making oxalate (or absorbing too much from food as consequence of leaky gut), it can hog all your sulfur transporters, and contribute to sulfur wasting and lack of proper sulfur metabolism. Some who have "problems with sulfur" are actually having problems with oxalate, i.e. problems with B1.
There can also be genetic SNPs at SUOX that contribute to sulfur problems. These can be supported with molybdenum.
If not enough molybdenum OR genetic SNPs at SUOX OR problems with sulfation, then too much sulfite, and sulfite is a powerful thiamine antagonist. So this causes low thiamine which then perpetuates sulfur problems ... This is what I think, anyway
What is still needed is the B1.
I think my consistent "normal" T4 but low T3 readings were the result of low thiamine. I've read (somewhere, I forget where) of people seeking mental boost taking T3 + thiamine. Interesting to see T4/T3 + B1 mentioned here bc I do not understand the thiamine/thyroid hormone relationship(s). Isabella Wentz uses B1 (megadose) to reverse Hashi's. Something is clearly going on there.
Taking thiamine can create a paradoxical response at first. I had POTS-like symptoms from low B1 and when I first took it, they intensified. I seem to need massive doses of sea salt to be able to tolerate it. And potassium.
When my health crashed in 2014 I also had what looked like the beginnings of ALS: fasciculations, muscle problems, numb lips. I think what was happening is this: I could not manage my electrolytes properly (one symptom of low B1 is deems -- I used to get severe edema of the face and eyes, actually -- B1 helps w electrolyte transport & homeostasis). Electrolyte transport issues often mean too much sodium inside the cell, and not enough potassium (of course Gerson et al believe this is the a priori mechanism for cancer).
Low B1 seems to contribute to a potassium deficiency.
In the presence of my low K, in a desperate attempt to maintain proper Na:K (critical for heart rhythm, life), my body was sending Na to my kidneys and excreting it in my urine. Calcium will follow sodium to the kidneys. And in fact doctors kept rubbing their chins "Hmm, you seem to be continually excreting calcium in your urine" (but never said anything beyond that) (naturally).
After years of low B1, I think I started to develop calcium dysregulation, and sufficiently low cellular calcium that nerve cell signaling was disrupted. (This is one of the reasons the INTRACAL cal/mag orotate supp has been so powerful for me.) A lot of my symptoms began to parallel severe calcium deficiency, such as the numb lips, fatigue, and depression. I think low B1 was causing low Ca and also low Mg, in addition to the low Na and low K ... In short it was messing up the full palette of my minerals and electrolytes. I've even begun to wonder to what degree ALS could be related to calcium dysregulation ... Look at the mechanism of calcium-dependent neuronal cell death through the lens of ALS sometime. I've been "lithium dumping" in my urine for years.
The issue with thiamine isn't just availability; there can also be problems with transport -- some genetic, some caused by vaccine or antibiotic injury, some related to deficiency of co-factors. My adverse reaction to Levaquin in 2004 looked a lot like 'wet beriberi' (difficulty breathing). Susan Owens has also found thiamine transport damage induced by Alinia. I'm sure everyone here knows to avoid fluoroquinolones like the plague. My antibiotic injury was mild (I stopped after 3 days) and I do not believe it to be part of the core etiology of my health problems. My fatigue preceded the antibiotic use and to some degree has been lifelong.
As a result of transport issues, some do well with shots. I've also looked in to trying to get B1 transdermally, and found a patch -- interestingly, intended to keep away mosquitos -- that delivers 75 mg B1 per patch. This is far, FAR less than I would require -- currently I'm taking three 200 mg Befotiamine pills per day, per Wentz -- but might be nice as an auxiliary supply when outdoors. MITES, especially, love me. The link between low B1 and deliciousness to bugs has me wondering if people suffering from Morgellons might benefit from B1.
http://www.mosquitopatchus.com
B1 also helps to detoxify acetaldehyde which is a carcinogenic immunosuppressive neurotoxin.
