It's been another month on the B vitamins and things are continuing along quite well. The methylfolate is without doubt, the biggest contributor of any of these supplements I am taking.

I've tried some more things .. some made no difference some a big difference.

I switched from regular B6 to methylated version known as pyridoxal 5'-phosphate. It made no difference that I could detect but I'm still taking this version of B6.

I started on a methylated version of B12, methyl cobalamin .. again no difference, but I am still taking a little (1 mg a day). This version is taken by dissolving it under your tongue so it cuts out any intestinal/digestive issues. Still no difference and that's not surprising since your liver stores about 5 years worth of B12.

I have rolled back the 100 mg of B2 to 75 mg a day because I was able to discern that for me the B2 is actively tied to increased muscle pain, especially shoulder and neck pain upon waking. By trimming it back just that much those pains are pretty much history.

About 10 days ago I started taking a supplement known as TMG (also known as betaine). It is known as a methyl donor, meaning that aids in your body's ability to convert b vitamins and various amino acids to forms that can penetrate the BBB and it converts homocysteine (a nasty form of amino acid implicated in all kinds of premature aging diseases) into a positive form of amino acid known as methionine. This is VERY INTERESTING and working well for me. It just seems to help me with everything and now most of the time I feel really normal and better than I have the last few years even!

TMG is worth knowing about and it increases the effectiveness of your own dopamine levels too. Here's some links you can check out ..

http://www.diagnose-me.com/treatment...l-glycine.html
http://www.restoreunity.org/increase_eff_dopamine.htm
http://www.foodforthebrain.org/nutri...s-disease.aspx

Some caveats about TMG ..
1. take it with food. One day I took it about a half hour before eating breakfast and felt a strong queasiness for many hours afterwards.
2. You MUST take B6, B12, and folic acid(B9) while taking TMG. They all work as a team or they won't work at all. I personally take the B vitamins first then follow up with TMG maybe an hour later.

Also over the course of the last month I've tested the "no red meats/hemin" aspect of the Brazilian study. I had just a BLT sandwich and it bothered me the next day with some increased tremor and less clear headedness. On a scale of 1 -10 where 10 is bad I would say it affected me about a 4 or so. I would like to get back to eating meat again at some point and feel that it will happen once my stores of B2 are completely repleted. This is a very slow process. Apparently B2 is stored in the kidneys and liver in small amounts and it's the stored amounts in the liver that neutralize this nasty hemin stuff from red meat. So after 2.5 months I'm not there yet but then the Brazilian study ran for 6 months. IMO there is something to this red meat thing. I anticipate that I'll be able to work red meat back into my diet at some point.

I also had occasion to skip all meds for a day and a half. I do this every once in a while to see how or if these things are panning out. For the first 24 hours I felt pretty good actually, with just a little bit more tremor on a very active and stressed day. The next morning though I could tell I need to stay on the program. It's good to know though, that after a while on this B vitamin protocol I can, if needed, skip a day without too much consequence.

I think I'm gonna be able to control this (undiagnosed) PD thing. Best of luck to everyone. I hope this helps someone else out there ..

Hi BreezyRacer

Just came across this site (about MTHFR mutation and methylization) through another post that I thought might interest you. Here's the link:

http://doccarnahan.blogspot.co.nz/20...-big-deal.html

Some of the comments at the bottom are worth reading as well.

Yes, that is a good resource Bluesfan, and I've read it before a few times. The comments are as important as the article. I guess I should try to source out a doc that specializes or treats poor methylation. I'm pretty sure when I ask my GP for a reference he is not gonna know one.

BTW, I am getting the 23andme test. I wonder how many PD sufferers out there have some form of MTHFR mutations .. certainly this cannot be the cause of PD can it? It seems far to simple and cure-able. BTW the study on folate for PD indicated that mitochondria were REPAIRED, it was not just a symptomatic aide.

RIP BBKing.

I was told by a MDS that B6 (pyridoxine) was contraindicated in PWP.
Anyone else told same?

I'm not sure what an MDS or a PWP is but B6 is absolutely required for methylization to take place. Can you fill me in on abbreviations?

Yes, They stand for movement disorder specialist and a person with parkinsons.
I stand by what I stated regarding B6 contraindicated in PWP's.

I'm not disputing what your MDS told you but Dr Google shows numerous reports of the opposite situation. I couldn't find anything, in just a few minutes, that shows that B6 causes PD or contributes to it.

Studies can be quite contradictory though .. If you have a study link I'd love to read it.

I believe that B6 is contraindicated for PWP because of it's adverse interaction with many PD drugs, not because it causes the disease. But, if I recall correctly, you aren't taking any PD drugs.

You're right on the money Tupelo. Here is a link to a fresh retrospective study that seems to indicate that B6 should be used and that L-dopa should not be used for PD. It's a hard read for me because a lot of it revolves purely around PD death rates and seems quite opinionated. To top it off it's funded by a drug company (big red flag in my book), but it is interesting in it's conclusion.

http://www.dovepress.com/getfile.php?fileID=22123

Does the symptomatic fix for PD prevent a possible cure for PD? Who knows ..

B6 and dopamine
 

B6 is necessary for the conversion of levodopa to dopamine and the idea is that taking B6 will cause increased dopamine in the body instead of the brain.

The article you mentioned is from Dr. Hinz who designed the protocol I and other contributors to this site use instead of prescription drugs. He believes that carbidopa antagonizes B6 leading to an increased mortality rate among those with PD.

I don't know if he is correct or what his references are but as per his protocol, I take 400 mg a day of B6 in divided doses and haven't suffered an adverse reaction or diminished efficacy.