[AlwaysLearning]

What a bummer. It's 50 miles one way from my house to any of the natural/organic/real food grocery stores, but at least I have access.

Maybe you can request that your local WF carry it? Do they carry other So Delicious items? Don't forget to check your regular grocery stores, too.

Originally Posted by Nervous

Alas, my local whole foods did not have the So Delicious cultured coconut milk drink. They just had the regular, non-probiotic-fortified coconut milk.

[AlwaysLearning]

Forgot to add, I also found some cultured almond milk "yogurt".

Originally Posted by zeeclass6

THANK YOU for telling me this!!!

[Nervous]

I only checked one store. I'll try some others.

I had a look at some other "milks." None were fortified with probiotics, except the dairy-based ones.

P.S. I've never had much improvement with probiotic supplementation, but I'm willing to keep trying. The kefir didn't process well through my system. I think anything dairy-based is trouble for me.

[MelodyL]

Originally Posted by mrsD

Lucky you Melody..... At Kroger's here the unflavored Kefir, is
$3.89 a quart, and the organic is a dollar more.

It is certainly worth it to me however.

Make sure you shake well ...as it gets thick on the bottom.
Also when I pour out the last bit, I put in some water in the bottle, and
rinse and consume that. I also rinse out my cup and drink that. So as not to waste any!

I wonder, Can I put, let's say, a half cup of this kefir, a teaspoon of my cocoa powder, and a tiny dash of wheatgrass powder and make myself a power smoothie.

My sugar was 87 this morning and 133 post prandial so I'm good in that department. I wonder what making a concoction like that would be like for my body.

Good Lord, I'm turning into Jack Lalanne!!!

lol

And let me exclaim to the world that I thing TEMPEH is the best thing since the invention of chocolate mousse. Oh my god, the meals one can make with this little rectangle thing.

I cut it into cubes and freeze little portions and the protein and because it's NOT Tofu, it doesn't have any estrogen effects on the body like too much Tofu would have because it's a fermented product.

See what I've learned from my various online buddies. lol

Mel

[mrsD]

Yes, you can add to it, Melody. I've tried cinnamon in the beginning, when I was so sick. After about 3 days I got used to the plain, and stopped adding it.

No reason you can't jazz it up... might lose some in the vitamix container, but that would be all. You could add fruit etc, flax oil, or lecithin granules, or cocoa. The cocoa might lump up unless you mix it in something to suspend it first. Fine powders can clump up, but my cinnamon didn't. (people typically don't use much cinnamon however).

[MelodyL]

Originally Posted by mrsD

Yes, you can add to it, Melody. I've tried cinnamon in the beginning, when I was so sick. After about 3 days I got used to the plain, and stopped adding it.

No reason you can't jazz it up... might lose some in the vitamix container, but that would be all. You could add fruit etc, flax oil, or lecithin granules, or cocoa. The cocoa might lump up unless you mix it in something to suspend it first. Fine powders can clump up, but my cinnamon didn't. (people typically don't use much cinnamon however).

If I do this later, I'll make a video and we shall see my new concoctions.

Every morning now I make Alan a fresh orange wheatgrass smoothie and he doesn't taste the wheatgrass. I just toss in a whole orange (unpeeled of course), add a tiny bit of wheatgrass (and sometimes I add some pineapple) and in less than 60 seconds he has all the nutrition of that drink.

No more bottled or canned juices in this house. Not since I got the Vitamix. His skin is even better for it. All that C and whatever else is in fresh fruit.

I'm not a smoothie person but I do want to give this kefir stuff a try.

And my ice cream at night is to die for. If I knew I could make peanut butter chocoate banana ice cream at 7:30 at night every night and get up and my blood sugar is 87, well, I would have done this YEARS ago.

Best ice cream I could ever make. All those tastes combining.

Heaven!!! lol

[kate525]

Wow, Im just seeing this now as I browse(for some reason Im not getting email alerts). I only take 100 mg of B6 a day. Mrs D, should I do without? I don't know my levels..still waiting to get them back. BTW, can neurontin actually CAUSE neuropathy?

Thanks for the concern Melody!

Kate

Originally Posted by MelodyL

See why I ask questions?
Because today I learned something new....from YOU

Thanks so much.

Take care

Melody

[mrsD]

Originally Posted by kate525

Wow, Im just seeing this now as I browse(for some reason Im not getting email alerts). I only take 100 mg of B6 a day. Mrs D, should I do without? I don't know my levels..still waiting to get them back. BTW, can neurontin actually CAUSE neuropathy?

Thanks for the concern Melody!

Kate

I sent you a PM. But I'd cut back on the B6 to 50mg a day or less. You can take your 100mg to use up, just take it once or twice a week instead of every day. If you don't have B2 you cannot convert the B6 (pyridoxine) to active pyridoxal and it may build up in your system over time.

Many people who come here suspecting B6 overuse, just stop it completely for 2 weeks or a month, and see if there is a difference.

[zeeclass6]

Dear Mrs. D and everyone,

I got the results of my blood tests and I wanted to share the with you. I was off all of my vitamins and minerals for 10 days before I took the blood test.

First of all, I want to mention that I had done a mail-order urine test on my own for Pyroluria (from BioCenter Lab in Kansas) and the result came back positive, much to my surprise! My level was 30. The scale goes from 1 to 20. I've read that anything above 10 should be treated...20 is definitely considered abnormal.....so I will have to look into this!!!

Blood test results (from my regular local lab):

My B-6 level was 14 on a scale of 2.1 to 21.7. You'd think that with Pyrolurria my B-6 level would be lower, so I'm very confused about that.

My B-12 level went from 398 (in August) to 787 (in mid-October). Yea, it has gone up! Although I believe it should be higher, closer to 1,000, correct? (In 2004, it was 1600). I plan to continue taking the Jarrow Methyl B-12 (5,000 mg) daily. My doctor did not think I needed shots, and she also did not think that I had lost the intrinsic factor or that I was at risk for pernicious anemia. She didn't want to do any further testing in this realm. She just told me to keep taking the B-12 but couldn't offer any advice about dosing.

Serum Folates: 17.6 (scale normal is >5.4)

Vitamin D: 40 (scale 30 to 100)

Methylmalonic Acid: 108 (scale 87 to 318)

Homocysteine, Serum: 6.2 (scale 5.4 to 11.9)


The Celiac panel came back normal, except that my IGA Serum was low at 67 (scale 81 to 463). My doctor said that this might make me more susceptible to intestinal parasites (like Giardia) but that there was nothing that I could do about it....except perhaps try to boost my good intestinal flora with pro-biotics. I have not researched yet what it means to have a low serum IGA level, but I plan to.

My CBC tests were all within range, but on the low side. MCV was 84 (scale 80 to 100). MCH was 27.8 (scale 27 to 33). My doctor said it was fine.

My TSH was 1.26, which is a good number for me. (range is .40 to 4.50) I've had Hashimoto's Thyroiditis for 15 years.

My Free T4 was 1.9 (scale 0.8 to 2.7).

My Calcium was low, (8.3 on a scale of 8.6 to 10.2) which was weird because my calcium has always been well within range. Recently, as I have written on this message board, my lactose intolerance has gotten worse so I have been avoiding extra dairy. I will make more of an effort to take extra calcium pills. (I know that taking them with magnesium helps absorption).

I'm 51, at the brink of menopause, so I know that it's really important to get that calcium level up. Also, recently I found a really good latose intolerance supplement called LCS made by TheraMedix. I take their enhanced Bromeline supplement (RPR) sometimes. Anyway, the LCS has as much lactase as a Lactaid Ultra, plus it has all sorts of digestive enzymes. Since I started taking it with dairy, I don't have any symptoms of lactose intolerance.

I have more numbers, but I won't go into detail with them. Everything else was totally normal. Lipids were terrific, but then again cholesterol has never been a problem for me.

So...what do you guys think? Should I keep taking the 5,000 mg B-12 daily or do I need more? Should I take that much daily indefinitely, or should I do that for a few more months, get re-tested, and see how much I need to take for "maintenance"?

Looking at these numbers, is there anything else that jumps out at you that my doctor is missing or wrong about?

I'm seeing another doctor as a second opinion next month. This other doctor is an MD but is more into alternative medicine, "Reverse T3," bio-identical hormones, treats thyroid disorders on a deeper level than just checking the TSH and T4. I saw her for a free 15 min consult today and she was impressed that I understood how to take B-12 properly and that Methyl was better for me. I owe that to you guys!!!!!!!

Thank you for your help. This message board has been invaluable to me.

[mrsD]

Sounds good to me.

I'd stay on the 5mg methylB12 for a while yet. My normal B12 is 850 or so without supplements. I think you should beef up your liver storage and help get that B12 into the CSF with higher levels than you have. Another 3 months may do it, and if you pass 1000 you can coast then with say 5mg twice a week or 1mg daily if you want.

Pyroluria is treated with zinc and B6. It can also swing back and forth with "stress" being a trigger factor.
I seem to recall jcc over at gluten forum here discussing low IgA as common for gluten/celiac patients.
When her daughter was tested, she took her to a DAN doctor for the supplement supervision and dosing for safety's sake.
Some people just take zinc and B6 on their own.
OptiZinc is the one you would be best to use. It is easy on the stomach and well absorbed. Some zinc supplements cause nausea in some people.
I'll look up the Pyroluria sites for you later in the day.

Consider some kefir for your low IgA... it is lactose free. I only use 4 ounces a day, and it has really helped my GI issues tremendously --where yogurt seemed to do nothing.

Your low MCV shows that your B12 is working well. But it takes time for neuro things to resolve. The response to B12 in the bloodwork is faster than the neuro response. Many people don't have any anemia, but still have neuro symptoms. Your homocysteine is good ... you don't seem low in the B6, or that would be higher. But you may be low in zinc. You can have that tested too. A zinc/copper ratio is what is monitored in Pyroluria patients.

I think you should be relieved about your test results. They seem good so far, and reveal you are doing well.