Gerry,

This is an old post but I thought of sharing my experience on generic Synthroid. For reasons I dont understand and neither my endocrinologists (including my endoc back in my country), whenever i shift to the generic version, my thyroid function will be out of range. My doctor here in the US commented that he has some patients like me who do not respond well with the generic Synthroid.

Mary

Magnesium Citrate is what I take, about 4 per day, for at least a year now, not seen any changes in the PN in my legs. Then again the PT popped the L 4, and left an annular tear, on top of the compression fracture that could be still causing the pain down my legs. I was warned not to take the Magnesium that was Oxide bound as it was not as effective as the Citrate/Cheleated form.

I wish some one would work out a vit/min formula for OP, the drugs do a big number on my GI system in just a few days. They know what our bones are made of, so why not a natural formula of vits and mins that can help stop OP from happening we women can start taking in our 30's. There is more to bones than Cal and D which is all the docs tell you to take. K2 is one of them.

I take Magnesium oxide, and it has really helped the buzzing feeling!
Doesn't work for pain, but it really quiets them down. I tested its efficiency twice by getting on and off it...and it's not even magnesium taurate, the more expensive version !

This is my magnesium thread:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread1138.html

Magnesium oxide is the poorest least absorbed form you can take.
In fact so much remains in the bowel (this is because it does not ionize or dissolve in water) that it is used as a laxative today.

This post in that thread:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/post20739-10.html
explains that in testing volunteers only about 4% is absorbed from magnesium oxide.

Magnesium chloride (SlowMag) or a chelate is a better choice unless you want a laxative.
In the US magnesium oxide is in Phillips tablets, a laxative.
It remains OTC for historical reasons, but newer products are far better. The amount absorbed from magnesium oxide 400mg is about 8-10mg which is the amount you get from an egg. This is calculated from the 400mg magoxide since only 200mg is actually the elemental value of the magnesium.
RDA for adults is around 350mg a day (elemental) from food.

This link helps you choose foods:
http://www.slowmag.com/

SlowMag was designed for doctors to prescribe, but it remains OTC in the US. It is available in US in generic products one of which is called Mag64.

Magnesium oxide is very inexpensive and still is in many mixtures with calcium. Don't count on its absorption therefore.
Its low price lures many people to it, but it is a very limited product. You can absorb far more magnesium by sitting in a bath tub with epsom salts. (6-8 oz in a large bathtub of LUKEWARM water.)

that is very encouraging, if a partially useless magnesium type helps me, then a good one might do magic!
thank you for the links!

thanks txgal51! Just wanted to know if you still the nerve support formula? And is it working. Are you still pretty much cured? Thanks!!

Background:

Prior to developing my PN, I was already taking:
B Complex
Fish Oil
Magnesium
Calcium
CoQ10

Since developing PN, I added:
Acetyl-L-Carnitine 1000 mg/day
R Lipoic Acid 200 mg/day
Thiamine 100 mg/day
Methylcobalamin 5000 Mcg/day
Biotin 5000 Mcg/day
D3 2000 IU/day
Iodine (kelp) 300 Mcg/day
(I had no improvement after taking these supplements for several weeks to several months.)

After reading about Metanx, I decided to try taking the equivalent supplements. I was already taking the methylcobalamin, so I added in Solgar Metafolin 800 Mcg/day starting last friday. I also discontinued the B Complex, since I didn't want to take the folic acid in the B Complex along with the metafolin.
I had an almost immediate positive response. Felt a little better Friday, felt significantly better over the weekend, and by Monday my pain was more like a "mild discomfort".
Unfortunately, Tuesday things started turning back the other way, and today things are back to where they were before I started.

At this point, I'm not sure if the improvement was from the Metafolin, or just a random period of temporary improvement along the roller coaster that is PN.

I have read that with certain supplements, a period of improvement followed by regression may indicate the need for a higher dosage. Not sure if that applies to Metafolin or not - so do you think it makes sense to increase the dosage beyond 800 Mcg/day? (I know the standard Metanx dosage is much higher than that, but I'm trying to be a bit conservative here.)

Also, do you think I should add in the P-5-P now, or wait until I get the Metafolin dosage figured out. I prefer to add things in 1 at a time, but is this a case where you need all 3 ingredients to work together?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

If you had a big change with methylfolate...I'd suspect you have the DNA mutation problem.

You could increase to two of them a day, and see what happens.
You already use the methylB12 so it is safe to increase the folate too.

Often when a deficiency exists and you start to repair it...there can be a "priority factor" where the body sends the newly offered item, to various spots in the body where there is need...like the brain, bone marrow, etc. So increasing a bit may give more opportunity for the folate to work.

You can add in the P5P whenever you want. I'd wait a few days to see what the extra folate does. The P5P works mostly in the methylation chemistry and formation of neurotransmitters. It is also protective of the heart. P5P is not involved with the methylation DNA transferases that I know of...but works along side with other systems.

Thanks Mrs. D for the quick response.

I'll give the extra methylfolate a shot and see what happens. I've also been considering getting the testing done for the MTHFR mutation - this might be a signal that I should go ahead and spend the hundred bucks. (Small potatoes compared to all the deductibles and copays I've paid for all the other tests and appointments over the past several months........)

Yes, I do think this is really important. When we first started here on NT... the DNA testing was not really easily available.

But I have watched over the years, and all the posts, where people gravitate here because all other venues have failed in some way.

Now after 2 years we've had some posters do the 23andme testing and all of them come back with mutations. The old % suggested by Merck when the research first came out was 10% have this. Then a doctor came on our General board and stated that he specializes in this, and went to a new seminar and they were raising the % to 30 (and perhaps even more).... so it does seem that methylation errors are becoming very significant.

The testing will also show COMT errors...which are also important.

If a person has only one chromosome affected, they limp along until they reach a state where they cannot function anymore.
The patients who have the double mutation (homozygous), are affected at earlier ages, it seems.

So yes, I think getting the testing may be helpful for you.