Just at the same time... the minerals prevent absorption of the gabapentin. So just space them out during the day.;)

Question about homocysteine
 

Hello again MrsD! :D

Hope all is well. How are the kitties?

Question about homocysteine levels. In an old response to me you mentioned I should get homocysteine levels checked. A few days after you said that to me, I did get them checked, and they were in normal range. They were 7.2 umol/L, and the expected range on this test was 6.0 - 15.0. The results said to keep below 10 in people with vascular disease (I do not have this, btw).

I'm curious. You said that this test would show whether or not I could properly methylate. Given I am in normal range, I should be methylating properly, correct? What exactly is methylating? How does this relate to folate, if at all? That same blood test also showed I had a folate level of >20.0 ng/mL (expected range is >7.2).

Thank you for your help. Thank you, also, for your help with glutathione questions. I haven't had a chance to read the information you found. I will this afternoon, though! Thank you thank you thank you! :Thank you:

Jason :)

Our beloved Houdini is still missing. It becomes more bleak every day... but we are still actively pursuing ways to find her.

If your homocysteine is good, which is it appears to be, that means you are converting it with B12, folate, and B6 properly.

If B12 or folate were not methylated properly, the homocysteine would build up in the blood.

If the values were higher, that would show either a B6 failure, or a methylation failure.

Cyanocobalamin and folic acid are not active forms of either B12 or folate. Both have to be changed (and this involves methylation-- adding methyl groups to each) This methyl group is then moved onto the homocysteine to create s-adenosyl methionine (SAM) which carries the methyl group around the body to perform many reactions we need for health (liver metabolism, joint maintenance, neurotransmitter synthesis).

Here is a map showing methylation:
http://www.knowyourgenetics.com/The%...entation-1.jpg

The center circle is the methylation of folic acid to folate, which then moves on into the right hand circle of methylating homocysteine, and then SAM moves off that circle into the body.

This list shows all the places methylation takes place in our bodies:
http://www.knowyourgenetics.com/The%...20Pathway.html

Methylated versions of both vitamins exist now commercially which is relatively new, and helps people with genetic errors in conversion to them:
B12= methylcobalamin
folic acid= methylfolate

Folate levels in testing are often mixed ..folate + folic acid.
These are often elevated when B12 is low. Also if you consume lots of fortified foods, or vitamins with folic acid in them, you will test higher in range.

Is Houdini one of your kitties? Did he escape from the house?

Yes, Houdini is our youngest.

This is a recent photo:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/al...pictureid=7004

She disappeared Monday. We last saw her Sunday evening.
We've been training her to go outside safely for 3 weeks or so and she was doing very well. Sticking around us and keeping company with Weezie who is her best friend. We have two cat doors she uses very well. She is mostly indoor, with a little outdoor. I train all our cats for some outdoor, because of our summer home, where they are going to be outdoor more than here.

Then poof... didn't come home. It has been complicated. Today I found a young man (young teen) who says he thinks he saw her on Wednesday near his home. I was at our Farmer's Market which is very close to our house, and showed Houdini's photo to everyone and gave out cards to those who said they'd help.
So tonight we're going to the area this young man indicated and are going to coax her out with food. I offered him a generous cash reward if he could find her for us too.
She is microchipped but I don't think easy to catch, because she is so timid. We think a dog or some animal chased her and she got too far away to get back. But some people today said they had cats take off and come back weeks later, so we are hopeful she is still alive and safe somehow.

This whole week has been a blur of pain and anguish for me! :(

Question about high folate, this doctor's topical cream treatment
 

I had a bad emotional situation this morning. I felt dizzy in the shower and have felt a lot of nerve pains in my legs, and it got me pretty depressed and upset. A member on the antidepressant support forum that I'm a part of sent me some videos to watch. Ironically enough, the doctor in these videos discusses the MTHFR defect and methylation. He has this topical cream that he gives patients who have nerve pain, chronic fatigues, and emotional disturbances (he uses things besides just this topical cream, but that appears to be the staple he uses in everyone he tests with abnormal levels). I worry because he states that a high blood folate level (which it appears I have, >20), can mean that the folate isn't in the cells where it needs to be and is just floating around in the blood. He also states that homocysteine levels can become TOO low, and I'm wondering if mine is too low, at 7.2.

Here are the videos that the other member sent me. I'm not really sure what to make of this or his topical cream:

http://charlottemetrohyperbarics.com...tewart-seminar

Here's a much shorter video (the above link is broken up into 5 parts, each about 15 minutes in length), where he covers some of the similar things from the above. It's a push for his product:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0796E1G0QU

I'm now worried about my methyl folate levels. Is there any way to test for this?

Please send me the link to just the cream. I really can't sit thru all those videos now... with the stress here.

I think you are worrying for naught at this point. You CAN reduce your intake of folic acid from foods, however. Because this can affect the transport of folATE which is active thru the blood brain barrier to the brain. So reducing folic acid (inactive form) intake may help.

But I need to know what is in that cream. So please find that out for me.

Hi MrsD,

Here is the link to the cream, on this company's product website:

http://www.neurobiologix.com/Neuro-I...Cream-p/46.htm

I really hope I'm worrying for naught. I am in the thick of antidepressant withdrawal, so maybe that's more the reason I am feeling the way I am.

I'm so sorry about your kitty! :(:(:(

Jason

Thanks for the link.

I think this is ferociously expensive. It is difficult to find exactly how much of each ingredient is in there:

http://www.drpatrickflynn.com/product.php?id_product=22

There is no evidence that topical is needed or that is product will deliver thru the skin. I don't see studies showing its effectiveness.

If you want to spend your $$ this way, then you can do it.
But I think it is mostly hype.

Beware of fancy online places with things like this.

You can absorb methylB12 orally if you do it correctly.
If you needed something like this your homocysteine would be quite high, and it is not.

Desperate or frightened people go for things like this. I don't think this product is harmful, but it will separate you from some much needed $$ you could use elsewhere.

You already have high folate. Your homocysteine is low. You don't seem to need anything else besides the B12. Think about that, please.

@julleri:

What are you doing for that SSRI withdrawal?

There are things you can do to help this you know. So please tell me what you are doing so far. Are you off them 100%?