R-lipoic stabilized is the best one to use now.

example:
http://www.iherb.com/Doctor-s-Best-B...-Veggie-Caps/4
100mg a day to start of this type.

If you choose others non-stabilized you will need higher doses because they are less efficiently absorbed.

Back to the Nexium , I'm suppose to take it daily but if I watch what I eat I don;t take but sometimes every other day if I can. As I was finding out from bone scans that I"m looking at bone loss not to the point for medicine , I found out that nexium causes bone loss and the meds they want to give you for bone loss causes acid reflux. So my best approach is to cut back on nexium when i can as i think it is blocking too much to start with tht I need elsewhere in my body.

I have been re-reading the link above, it is complicated but the author wrote it so that layman people, like me, could understand it.

I am wondering, what is the DNA test for the MTHFR called, in case I need to mention it to my doctor?

Mrs.D, my folate serum before my PN symptoms was normal. But, you said that I should know the number between the folate and folic and there was no differentiation in my test, it was just called : "folate (folic ) serum". I want to mention this also to my doctor ... I have consumed now 8 tabs of SAM-e and it seems my arthritis pain is reduced. It could be that I may be resonponding well. That is why I am considering the test you mention above.

Thank you very much.

I bought my SAM-e at the Commissary. Its NatureMade, 200mg, 24 pcs a pack at $9.99. I was looking for a 30-day package but I only saw the 24-piece package. I am a Sams member but not Costco. I compared the price online, it came out that the Commissary price is cheaper.

I wonder if the price at Costco is cheaper than the Commisssary's price. I should look for the cheapest quality supplements because the supplements we (PNers) are taking are for the long haul.

That is a fast response. I had a "response" very quickly too, but it was in mood and energy levels. I think I cleaned 3 closets out in the first 2 weeks back then! LOL

My knee was inflamed and swollen and the MRI said had normal cartilage...

But I was at the same time shopping for my son after vacation, for college stuff. It was a big deal to get him settled. I had all his stuff done before vacation. He and his dad came home early and left me up there alone, at the end of August. Well, they left the bag of stuff (dorm HBAs, etc) outside the room in the hall and went to eat or something and someone stole it. So when I got home I had to replace it all in 2 days, because I was slated to several jobs immediately! I walked into WalMart, and the new SAMe was on an endcap sale island for about $18.00 for 15 of them 200mg each. It was a mega sale. I knew about it but at that time, the therapeutic doses published were 800mg a day for it and that would be over $4.00 a day. So I was waiting for a price decrease. But since WalMart had NatureMade there, I decided to try it anyway. By the 5th day on it, I KNEW it was for me!

Luckily for me, Costco just opened in our area and had them in 90 tablet boxes at quite a savings. But now, of course, we know
1) you don't really need those high doses
2) it is so much more affordable...no excuse to not try it.

It took much longer to affect my arthritis... but it did. It helped me thru the menopause too. Kept me sharp when I had to do 6 different computer systems a week, in my contingent assignments. (this was a huge problem for me at the time).

So stick with it, and if you don't have the hyper issues, that means you are tolerating it better than average.
I think early on you are feeling the improvements in pain perception, and that is what you sense as helping the arthritis.
When the swellings go down...that will be a bigger moment.

Yes, my arthritis pain is reduced! Thank God!!! I hope it continues to improve. With the swelling of my fingers, specially my pinky (which could no longer be bended), I would be happy with little improvements.

Do you think I should get that test you mentioned about DNA testing, in case SAM-e works well?

Thank you so much.

I'd take the SAMe for several months. If you still have problems with other things, do get the test eventually. I think it is not that expensive anymore.

SAMe in the body works with a methyl donor from food. Things like Beets. If you don't like them, you can buy supplements with glycine in them. TMG (trimethylglycine) is one and glycine is another.

The 3 B's, folate, B12, pyridoxal work to make SAMe but the methyl donor has to be there to attach to the homocysteine molecule. So a lack of glycine would slow that down.

I am glad this is working for you... that is a pretty fast response. You might have been very low.

I hope beets is not part of the cruciferous group.

I will check on this tomorrow.

Thank you.

P.S. Definitely, I will continue taking SAM-e!!!!!

Beets are not cruciferous. They are root veggies. The root veggies all have some glycine in them, but most people don't cook them up much any more.

I buy canned and pickled beets, and have them myself about once or twice a week. My husband won't eat them at all. I love them. It is a craving of sorts.

I'm glad the SAMe is working for you.

A rabbit bit
A little bit
An itty-bitty
Little bit of beet.
Then bit by bit the beet he bit....
Because he liked the taste of it.
But when he bit
A wee bit more,
It was more bitter than before.
“This beet is bitter!”
Rabbit cried.
“I feel a bit unwell inside!”
But when he bit
Another bite, that bit of beet
Seemed quite all right.
Besides...when all is said and done,
Better bitter beet
Than none.
~ Unknown

Doc