Posted 5/13/2016 4:53 PM (GMT 0)
OK, so let’s look at this stuff in a straight forward(ish) manner and hopefully shed a little light on the problem!
So, since you don’t have the MTHFR mutation that’s a good thing. It means that you need to concentrate on the other part of the detox process that is messing you up. I know that it all seems like a great big overwhelming mess to wade through (trust me, it made me want to run at walls) but if you can break it down into manageable chunks and work out where the biggest problem is and how to deal with it then you will start to make progress, feel better and suddenly realise that ‘rocket science’ isn’t half as complicated as those bloody scientists would like you to believe!
This is all about your ‘methyl cycle’. Don’t stress the science, just know that we need ‘methyls’, they keep our DNA doing what it is supposed to and help us to defend against toxins and microbes.
The methyl cycle is just the way that the ‘methyls’ get passed around and turned into other stuff. Toxins and microbes etc will ‘hurt’ anyone over time. If you have a problem (ie a mutation) with your methyl cycle you just feel the effects of the ‘hurt’ more quickly. If you can act to sort the cycle out then you can defend yourself against the toxins and microbes as well as anyone without the problem.
Plus, getting rid of the Lyme means that you will go back to functioning as you did prior to Lyme and co, so it is not in essence your genes that are ‘bad’; the Lyme and co are just making them ‘act’ badly at dealing with it, that’s all.
Since all bar two of your mutations are heterozygous then you are running at about 60-70% efficiency, so in principle easier to fix!
It is absolutely vital that you don’t drive yourself up the wall trying to take into account and ‘fix’ everything all at once. One step at a time! See what effect it is having. Adjust the dose/treatment accordingly. Then move on to the next thing.
So, let’s start with the most pressing as I can see it. The CBS mutation. What this means is that your body ‘upregulates’ too much sulphur, glutamate, ammonia etc. Again, don’t sweat the science; all that means is that there is too much of this stuff inside you. With the CBS mutation you will most likely experience an increase fight/flight response (so stress will make you crazy, lol), increase your brain fog and reduce your dopamine and serotonin (basically mess with your mood and ability to cope generally).
So, what to do? Well, since the problem is Lyme and co it is the ammonia that is often causing the problem. Remember, before Lyme and co the way that your body sorted itself out was not causing an issue, but killing Lyme means increasing ammonia – argh!! Yes, way, way too much, lol!! So first, I would try and address this and see what happens. You can take L-Arganine (avoid if you have an active herpes or shingles virus), L-Ornithine, or even try yucca. Plus you can take activated charcoal to soak up ammonia (you must take this 3 hours away from meds, supplements, food etc for it to be effective).
OK, so this may be the key to starting to help you feel better because by lowering the ammonia you can alleviate the brain fog. Believe me, before I addressed this issue myself I couldn’t have written this, LOL, I was a mentally puddled!!
I would certainly stay away from foods high in sulphate and also I was cautioned against capsules and advised to swap them for tablets instead as I was informed that the capsule coating is often high in sulphur. I don't know how true this is, but worth keeping in mind.
After that, you may also find that supplementation with CoQ10 and cartanine also help – that’s another thing that can be messed up by a CBS mutation. Your COMT status would affect this, but since you don’t report a +/- or a +/+ for this you should be OK. You just need to start slowly and see if it makes you feel better. If it does; great. If you feel worse, stop taking it. Simple.
You mention Gluthione. I would personally caution against that at this point. Why? Well, it’s a good thing, but right now it could increase your sulphur levels, which is a problem because of the CBS mutation. It doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t be an option after you have addressed the CBS, but one thing at a time, or you end up in a bugger’s muddle, LOL!!
Next - Since you don’t have the MTHFR you don’t need to add methyl folate or methyl B12 for this reason. Don’t worry about the science here since it isn’t an issue for you.
You don’t have an MTR mutation. That’s a mutation that can lead to a B12 and methyl folate deficiency because it uses too much, so you don’t need to add it for that either.
However, you have a MTRR mutation. This is the thing that generates the Methyl Folate and the Methyl B12 that the two process I just mention need.
So, what to do? Well, you MAY need to supplement with these once you have dealt with the CBS/BHMT problem. The thing is that you are working at 60/70% efficiency so the trick is not to overdo it. Over supplementation of methyl folate can cause symptoms that are pretty darn similar to Lyme! Nope, you will just feel like nothing is working!! So it’s TINY amounts to start with if you do need to take it!! Again, if you feel better keep taking them, if you feel worse stop! Do NOT take more just because you feel better though, you can quite easily end up with too much of a good thing!!!
But I would say that regardless, you should be taking methyl folate, not Folic Acid.
The next thing I spot is the VDR Taq. This means that it is likely you are low in vitamin D, dopamine and need ‘methyl donors’ (in other words you need more methyls for the cycle!). Now addressing the CBS/BHMT first, then the MTRR should help but you may also find that getting more Vit D is beneficial.
The MAO-A is more to do with ‘moods’ because it is to do with the levels of serotonin metabolism, so MAY lead to depression. I take 5-HTP (other options are Tryptophan, St. John’s Wort, etc) but you do have to be very careful here. It is all about assessing whether the other things are already making you feel better so you may not need to do anything here. If you do then it is about starting very slowly so that you don’t just end up producing massive mood swings!!
OK, I honestly think that is quite enough to be contemplating for now, LOL!! The other mutations, such as the AHCY may be addressed by sorting out the methyl cycle as a whole, but it is the former parts that I have written about that would be my primary focus. For me addressing the CBS was like an amazing break though. (I then had to deal with the MTHFR but once that was sorted I really haven’t had to do much else and believe me I am a walking mutant, LOL!)
I realise that I have written a lot here, but I hope that it makes a little sense and points you in the right direction?? It is not a complete description of any part of the cycle and is totally lacking in science, ha ha, and please do feel free to shout ‘hey, what the bloomin heck does that mean??!!??’ and I will do my best to give you a hand if I can.
Just remember, there is no question too ‘dumb’. You are trying to get your head around an incredibly difficult area of science that the people who are ‘experts’ in aren’t 100% sure of, while suffering from the effects of Lyme Brain Fog exacerbated by the mutations that you are trying desperately to understand!! I commend the fact that you have not given up are not hiding under a rug!! You rock!!!
Of course adrenal function plays a role, but as you can see addressing the CBS may help with that too. Mine was running high - permenantly boarderline high - and I felt 'wired' yet tired a lot of the time. So you may, and I only say may, lol, find that you adrenal issues are in fact linked to the CBS in terms of an increased fight/flight response, which may be why you don't feel certain the Calm supplements do anything for you.
I too wish that I had done the genetic test sooner than I did, since I treated for a year almost and felt like I made practically no progress. In reality I have homo mutations for the CBS, MTHFR and others and am hetro for practically everything else, lol! I think I basically herxed to a one degree or another for the whole time. But just know that this is not insummountable, you will get to the botom of it and you will get better!!!
PS. hope all's well at the dentist :)