The Methylation Diaries – Part 1

time-for-an-adventureMethylation. Methylation. Meth-yl-ation. It’s time for the methylation road for me. This is Part 1 of what I am calling The Methylation Diaries. It details what happens during my methylation start-up protocol. Methylation start-up takes months and months to sort out, funky $hit happens along the way and it seems worth typing up my notes properly so others/you can see what happens during the process. When I started researching methylation it did all seem rather random and mad. Taking supplements that cause symptoms to flare up? Mental! Why would anyone do that? And here I am launching myself into it. Mad, mad as a hatter!

methylation-pic-2So what is this methylation all about then? Methylation is how our body’s detox. If your methylation processes are not working properly, your body can’t detox properly. I will not be attempting to explain the methylation processes in grand and graphic detail because its long, complicated, boring, bloody annoying and loads of other people have already explained it pretty well already. If you want to know all the gory details, which you will if you are gonna try it too, I’ll give you links (below) that explain it all in manageable detail. What you will be getting here, is what happens when someone, me, embarks on a methylation protocol. Freddd’s Methylation Protocol to be exact. It’s a blow-by-blow, day-by-day account. Once all your research is done, methylation understanding has been achieved and you want to know what actually happens in real life during methylation start-up: I am your crash test dummy bitch.

First up, why? Why am i doing this? Why sail down this murky path? Taking supplements that can cause symptoms to flare up and get worse? Months and months of potential hassle? The number one reason is because I need to chelate my mercury out. I have done over 80 Cutler chelation rounds and I remain stubbornly stuck at very low doses, currently 3mg ALA. Something is wrong. Something is busted. Is it my methylation? Maybe. So i have read up and researched it in some detail and decided on Freddd’s protocol. Why Freddd’s? Because he explained it to me in words i could (just about) understand. Stripping it right down to the bone, basically methylation seems to be how to correctly take the correct Vitamin B12 supplements along with the correct supporting supplements to kick-start a persons methylation cycle, correctly. Turns out it’s not as simple as it sounds.

If you want to know the science and details, these are the resources I used:

http://forums.phoenixrising.me/index.php?threads/b-12-the-hidden-story.142/#post-2568
http://howirecovered/active-b12-therapy-faq/

They are NOT a quick read, and nor are my words. I’d read ‘How I recovered’ first because Eric has done a fabulous job of compiling everything into a nice manageable package.

Oh yeah, before I go on I should list out my current symptoms of ill-health, for the record you know. So we know what’s gone crazy, what’s new, what’s returned and/or what’s vanished. What is supposed to happen is you take the various supplements, symptoms get excitable, then supposedly fade away, dissipate, never to return. Dreamy! That’s what happened to Freddd and his chums. I wonder if it will happen to me? Anyways, current symptoms for the record: Thiol and wheat sensitivities, weak pulse, mild memory loss/impairment, mild fatigue, mild weakness, mild sleep disorders, dimmed vision, diminished hearing, paresthesias (burning feet). Freddd gives a massive list of potential problems and honestly I am quite proud of only having ten items on my list. Most of them are mild too. The worst is the paresthesias (burning feet) which is a nerve thing. A common-ish mercury poisoning problem. It’s like having chilblains all the time.

What else? Ummm, I am trying hard not to explain too much and just focus on the actual action. Oh yeah, supplements. They are VERY specific and they MUST be exactly the brands described in the protocol. Freddd explains why, but basically these ones work. These are the supplements and this is the order I will be introducing them too. Why this order? Because this is what I have come up with. All the different methylation specialists have different introducing orders (yes, bloody annoying!) so I have gone for the best I could figure out and what suits me, but it is as far as possible as per Freddd’s way. The crossed out supplements are the differences from Freddd’s initial base protocol. He updated it along his way with different/better supplements, and I had to make some educated choices along the way too. The ‘target doses’ are what I could muster from all my reading, obviously these are ‘initial target doses’ and  they will change along the way as i find out what suits and what does not. All my changes to Freddd’s initial protocol are in red. If you read the protocols you will know what I mean, if not, then just roll with it.

Absolutely critical minimums for basic healing. The Initial Supplements.

  • Jarrow B-Right b-complex(deleted bcoz has folic acid), ‘Pure Encapsulations B complex plus’. Target dose 1 capsule twice a day
  • Country Life Dibencozide(adenosylb12) 3mg Source Naturals Dibencozide 10mg under upper lip or tongue for at least 45-120 minutes for best effectiveness. Target dose: from 1 per day to 1 per week.
  • Jarrow Formulas 5mg Methyl B12, under upper lip or tongue for at least 45 minutes for best effectiveness. Target dose 2-4 per day.
  • Solgar Metafolin 800mcg. Target dose: 2 or more per day.
  • Potassium, your choice of brand and form – this is insurance against hypokalemia triggered by sudden healing and potentially fatal – if you have blood tests, potassium is usually checked, midrange, around 4.5 is good. Some people will have problems at bottom of “normal” range, 3.5-4.0 as I do.
  • Omega3 fishoils – essential for myelin sheathing for the nerves, many brands will do, 2-6+ capsules per day, I buy it at Costco, house brand.

Possibly Critical Showstopper Cofactors – add after initial stages, any number of these in any combination may be required for maximum effectiveness or in some cases to work at all.

  • SAM-e – 200-400mg/day, makes methylb12 more effective, possibly much more effective, increases energy, improves mood
  • TMG – enhances SAM-e, methylb12, l-carnitine
  • L-carnitine fumarate (acetyl might work better for some), works with adenosylb12, lack can completely prevent effectiveness of adenosylb12, increases energy, aerobic endurance, improves mood
  • Alpha Lipoic Acid – enhances l-carnitine and adenosylb12 (Cutler protocol only please!)
  • D-Ribose – enhances adenosylb12, l-carnitine, alpha lipoic acid, improves exercise recovery and energy.

Ahhh, sorry, this is dragging on. Right, enough explaining. Lets get this show on the road.

Oh yeah, one more thing, this is not just about methylation either. Other things happen, funky things.How could they not? This is me, Sunshine, we are dealing with here! This is essentially a what-has-Sunshine-been-up-to-for-the-last-four-months. I am a man of action. I am prepared. I am aware. Action stations. This is the journey into methylation and beyond.

B-Complex – ‘Pure Encapsulations B complex plus’ 1 capsule twice a day

12th July 2016. I am starting with the B-complex. I want to get that in place before starting with the B12’s. This ‘Pure Encapsulations’ brand replaces my old brand. I wonder if this simple switch will be noticeable? For a variety of reasons some B-complex’s don’t cut the mustard. Freddd’s protocol is very specific: gotta have the right brands because supplements are not all created equal. I took 1/3 of a capsule in the morning. By lunchtime I am jittery, light-headed and mildly thick-headed too. Instant satisfaction! All manageable. It retreated by 50pct by the afternoon. By the evening I was short-tempered, my shoulders ached, I am slightly jittery and out of sorts. Thank goodness I know this is all part of restarting my methylation cycle! All this is the same old crap I’ve had on and off for years. I wonder what the world will look like when I come out the other side?

13th July. Took an hour to kick in, but basically the same as yesterday, but less intense.

14th July. Less intense again. All mild and calming down.

15th July. Symptoms from the morning dose had gone almost completely by the evening, so I doubled my dose and moved to morning and evening dosing, still on 1/3 cap of B-complex each dose.

16th July. My shoulders hurt this morning. Liver? Definitely shoulders are hurting again quickly after the evening dosing. Plus sweating profusely. Bright yellow pee. 

17th July Shoulders still hurt a lot. 

19th July. Shoulders don’t hurt any more so raising the dose to 2/3rds of a cap, morning and evening. No symptoms except dark pee. Itchy prickly skin in the evening , but it’s mild: like mild sunburn. 

20th July. Day eight today of B-complex and no real symptoms to report and will raise to two caps a day tomorrow. Some dark pee. Yoga is going VERY well indeed. My ujjayi breath is the best it’s been for many a moon: strong and in a regular groove and rhythm. I gauge my health on the quality of my yoga practice so this is an excellent sign.

21st July. First day full dose of the B-complex from Pure Encapsulations. Two caps a day: one in the morning, one in the evening. Weird blurred vision for one hour after first dose. Yoga going smashingly well. 50 breath head stand today! That must be four minutes upside down. Boom! Very angry and short-tempered in the afternoon. Dark pee. Super grumpy all afternoon and evening. Went to bed early with a book and some ambient music. Much needed time and space to myself. 

22nd July 2016. Grumpy all day, although less in the evening. It’s easily manageable, but still: technically I believe some people call that ‘depression’. I call it grumpy because it’s mild and I don’t do depression.

23rd July. Libido returned for morning sex! Excellent! A normal day otherwise, grumpiness is 95pct gone. I am tired in the evenings daily at the moment. Yoga still going well, although the neck is a bit achy. 

24 July. Awoke with a hurty neck and lower back. I am getting up an extra time in the night to pee:twice. Urine is dark. Neck and lower back are fine after an hour of getting up. All detox signals. Yeah, yeah, I know, I am drinking tons of water; 2-3 litres a day.

25th July. Back to normal. No adverse reactions. Pee still dark. 

26th July. All normal so tomorrow i will introduce the next new supplement. Blood test for potassium came back today = 4.7 = normal. Good normal too, high-ish for potassium. Pee still dark. Neck hurts but think that’s a yoga thing? Or maybe not? Thinking about it, maybe this is a reaction? Ummmm.

Adenosylb12 – Source Naturals Dibencozide 10mg under upper lip or tongue for at least 45-120 minutes for best effectiveness. Target dose: from 1 per day to 1 per week.

27th July 2016. Starting Adenosylb12 @ 4 x 1/4 per day of Source Naturals Dibencozide 8.6mg. I am starting with this B12 first, because Freddd said it can be easier than the other B12: Methyl B12. These pills are sublingual, so under the lip these pills go. 2nd dose I felt a little light-headed and racing heartbeat came straight on: boom! Instant satisfaction again. In fairness I was mega hot and sweaty from cutting the meadow with a massive beast of a mower I’d rented for the day. Childs pose made it go in 10 seconds. I mowed for another two hours after that. These heart palpitations are not new, far from it, but they happen very infrequently, less than once a month. What happens is my heart suddenly kicks off into overdrive and hammers away like a runaway train. It’s not fun, I don’t like it and really rather it never, ever, happened again. Technically it’s called Atrial Fibrillation(AF). The introduction of the Adenosylb12 has certainly brought it on. Pee still dark. My right ear is starting to block up again. I have had troubles with it on and off for years.

28th July. Neck aches this morning. Ear semi blocked and buzzing a little. But a strong and good yoga practice in spite of the neck and ear hassles. I definitely have more strength which is very interesting indeed. Four in the afternoon and feeling $hitty, gritty, gggrrrrrr and spaced. 

29 July. All going well mostly. I am getting an afternoon slump, but it’s no big deal. 

30 July. Again a racing heart incident, this time midway through yoga. Childs pose made it go and I continued the practice at 80pct power. And a second racing heart incidence hit in the afternoon after some wall painting. Childs pose worked immediately. Twice in a day is wildly unusual. Defo brought on by the Adenosylb12 – which is all as per Freddd’s instructions and advice. The B12 brings on the symptoms: but will they fade away after some time?

1 Aug 2016. Symptoms are relaxing and racing heart incidences are reducing even under very heavy physical garden work and yoga practice. Heart does feel a little light and flighty at times.

I am almost totally on my own on this project. Freddd has long since sailed off into the sunset. I don’t trust doctors and so it’s down to me to keep on top of the subject and make sure I am up to speed on what’s what. But i do know a few people in the know, so I asked Eric @ howirecovered.com and Tim @ myjourneybacktohealth.com and both said chill and hold the dose until symptoms slow down, so that’s what I’ll do. Pee still dark. Heartburn this evening after Booja-Booja cashew nut ice cream. Odd. But all going ok. Happy the racing heart things have stayed away these last two days. The heart things are scary, although i am very used to them and the childs pose works every time, but still, heart issues are daunting.

3rd August. I almost changed the dose this morning because things are easy right now, but I awoke slightly heavy and with a blocked right ear and I’m keeping the dose unchanged. Afternoon edit: Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!!!!!! My right shoulder hurts like hell today. Feels like I have been shot with an arrow through the back, Game of Thrones style: Oooooouch!!!!!!!! No idea what that means. It has traditionally been my left shoulder that’s ached when I get achy shoulders. Something’s shifting. Winters coming.

4th Aug. My harpooned shoulder remains achy as hell. Big achy too. I think the shoulder is a pulled muscle from taking on the meadow. It’s hard work out there. I have cut the grass down, but now I have to rake it all up and burn it. It’s great fun and I love being outside in the fresh open air all day, but it is hard and long daily physical labour. It has to be done, and I’m doing it alone, and its a totally wonderful job. So I think the hurty shoulder means nothing, just a pulled muscle. It hurt so much I had to take a pain-killer. I don’t do that very often. If that’s the case then I have no symptoms from the dose and it’s time to change-up. Let’s see how I roll in the morning. 

5th August. Shoulder still hurts. Changing the dose up to Adenosylb12: 2 x 1/2 tablet. Shoulder is not a torn muscle. It’s a gallbladder stuck in the bile duct thing. How do I know that? Because I do. That’s what the hurt left shoulder means: Gallbladder issues. It’s a big hurt and muscle testing confirms same.

7th August. Shoulder still hurts so will do a liver flush next. Started prep today drinking apple juice to soften the stones. Yoga is OK in spite of the stabbing pain between the shoulder blades. 2 x 1/2 tablet did nothing so moved to 1 x 1 tablet today which is the target dose. Felt that! But only a little. Ear is buzzing like crazy this evening and is mostly blocked up. Technically that means the ear should be healing. I wish. 

8th August. I slept real deep last night, which has been a feature since starting all this. Struggled to crawl out of bed in the morning, but once out all is fine. Shoulders hurt 65pct less. Racing heart came on again after 2 hours hard labour in the meadow. Took 5 minutes to go! That’s long and usual and scary. I do not like that. I guess that’s methylation for you. Symptoms flaring, but will they vanish? Time will tell. Freddd’s says it can be days, or weeks, or months, or six months, or eight months. Oh. But not years! Phew!

9th August. Farmer Giles paid an unexpected visit today. Took me quite unawares. Always a sign of mountains of toxins are coming out of me. Pee still dark. Yeah, yeah, my water intake is very high. Shoulders hurt, but mostly afternoons and evenings only. Ears buzzing mildly and less blocked than they were. Headache came on in the evening and feeling low and glum. Very hungry too. Evening update: feeling grimy and $hitty this evening. 

11th August. Pain between the shoulder blades is completely gone. No piles. Hungry in the evenings after dinner. Cold sores trying to come each side of my mouth: another detox signal. Pee still dark. Maybe time to skip the liver flush and take the next step in this methylation road? But let’s see how I feel in the morning. Yoga is going well. Neck is better but not perfect. Ears back to their normal way with right side not quite right. Right knee still tight and is restricted during yoga, but it’s been like that for long time. I hurt that knee 11 months ago now. My fault too, I was out raving! I went large, had an epic session, but got injured along the way. Oh, the stories i can tell!

14th August 2016. Shoulder don’t hurt much but I have prepped for this liver flush, so I may as well do it. Salt water flushed (SWF) the day before and morning of the flush. Will do another the day after. Cleaning the bowels is important pre and post flushing. I should take the next supplement on this methylation road, but need to get this flush out the way first. Onwards and upwards. 

15th August. Liver flush day. Wow. Wow. Oh my gosh. 500 stones flushed out. Gallstones. Five hundred. Wow. That’s a lot of stones in a single flush. The toilet bowl was full of the fuckers, like someone had thrown a bucket of pebbles down the bog. Technically this was my 16th liver flush in the last nine years. Wow. 500 stones in one hit is LARGE. Well, just goes to show that a flush was necessary. I’d put them down to the high thiol diet I had (unknowingly) been on. I guess methylation helped start the process of throwing them out. The flushes will need doing again so I’ll do them monthly from now on.

Remember that folks: hurty left shoulder means gallstones. Also remember Cutler is against them and my advise to everyone is; if you are pretty sick don’t do them. They are too hardcore for people deep in the quagmire. I’m a pro now, I’ve been on this detox road for nine years and I’m not really sick any more. All this is methylation malarkey is child’s play compared to the depths I fell to.

Methyl B12 – Jarrow Formulas 5mg Methyl B12, under upper lip or tongue for at least 45 minutes for best effectiveness. Target dose 2-4 per day.

17th August. I started this project one month ago. So far I have two supplements in and under my belt. This has given me extra strength, yeah! But also heart, ear and liver problems, along with the grumps. Which is all how Freddd said it would be. Anyways, Next! I start Methyl B12 today. Reports indicate that this is where things can get interesting with reactions and symptoms getting more exciting. 4 x 1/4 pill per day. Sublingual so under my lip. Very dark pee. I had a busy physical day in the garden. We just bought a new house and it comes with a two acre garden that’s been left to run wild. I am having tremendous fun taming it.

A little sore throaty but nothing bad.  Nine pm and my right ear is closed and hurts. Knee hurts too. All as per Freddd’s instructions/predictions.  Each new supplement and dose rise causes symptoms to flare. Thats current and old non-current symptoms flaring. After some time things settle down. It’s all within the program, so I am chillin’ and rollin’ with the punches. Pow, pow, pow!

18th Aug. Slept badly. Knee hurts like hell. Ear is buzzing. Head all floaty. Grumpy as hell. I feel like $hit. Just gonna stay inside and do nothing today. Afternoon my chest hurts too. Wonderful. Roll with the punches.

19 Aug. Not so bad today. Did 50 mins of yoga but abruptly ran out of energy and had to stop. Buzzing ear remains. Knee hurts. Chest pains. Left lower back pain came on. But otherwise an ok day. 

20 August. Slept really heavy and woke up dopey. Right hamstring hurts/slightly pulled. Knee still hurts and has taken a few steps backwards in its heeling. Did an hour of yoga but hamstring hurt bad afterwards. 

22 Aug 2016. Still sleeping really heavy. Hamstring hurts so no yoga yesterday and today. Keeping at this dose 4 x 1/4 mb12. 

23rd Aug. Moved to Methyl B12: 6 x 1/4 but not really possible bcoz pill does not dissolve quick enough. I’ll try for always a pill in the lip. 

Holiday time: Five day camping trip to Norfolk up in Stiffkey. Wonderful time, lovely place, beautiful and none of the people I was with had any clue i am doing this protocol, none see the symptoms, or hassle. That’s because it’s all fairly mild, most of the time. I didn’t raise any doses or introduce anything else. My friends just saw me having a great time on holiday, which is exactly what I did. Although after five nights sleeping on a thin camp bed on the ground, my organic mattress was heavenly when i got home!

In fact my life goes on. I am detailing what happens during the protocol and I guess it might sound nasty or wild at times, but in between the lines I lead a busy rewarding, wonderful life out here in the countryside. Retirement really agrees with me in a massive way. I am not cowering in a corner suffering like a village idiot. If things get bad, I’ll reduce the dose to a manageable level.

29 Aug. Moving to Methyl B12: 3 x 1/2 pill. Don’t really feel much with the pills now, but still sleeping heavily and long too: 8-9 hours per night. Sometimes I feel slightly light chested. Not totally sure what’s happening there tho, but probably raised blood pressure. Yoga stopped for 6 days due to slight pulled hamstring and knee playing up. Knee was me pushing things too much. I need to chill on pushing the knee. Hamstring no idea why that went so I will call that a methylation side effect. Edit: great yoga practice today and felt strong and good all day. Ear still semi blocked and buzzing. More so buzzing with this increased dose. Interesting. Heartburn in the evening. 

30 Aug. Sexual dysfunction! I was unable to cum after a damn good morning shag. Then in the afternoon a racing heartbeat came on after lunch. Took a massive five minutes to go away in child’s pose. Ouch. Very deep mouth breathing eventually calmed things down and it went away. Unpleasant.

Yoga practice was stronger and I have more power now. My skin feels silky smooth: lovely! The ying and the yang.

31 August 2016. Pulled a groin muscle for no apparent reason. I mean I did it in the garden shovelling compost, but really! I have been doing 1.5 hours of seriously my best ever yoga daily and I pull a muscle lifting a wheelbarrow! That’s fucked up. So I muscle tested my potassium supplement and lo and behold I need not one drop a day, but 8 drops per day. Again this is all as per instructions and as predicted by the man Freddd in Da House! He clearly states potassium supplementation is essential as methylation starts up. All muscular issues are a lack of potassium.

1st sept. Fine day. Dark pee. Hamstring getting better. Tummy ache but I think that was some off salad dressing. I am having a bowel movement (BM) after each meal: always a good sign. 

4th sept 2016. All fine. Ear not buzzing anymore. Yoga is awesome. I am strong and look great. I am getting some upper body strength. Arms getting muscly. I look like Brad Pitt. Chest expanding and losing the sunken collapsed feel. Feeling good and strong. I tried upping the dose to 5×1/2 of mb12 but the pills do not dissolve quick enough under the lip. So today moving to Methyl B12: 2 x 1 whole pill. Let’s see what that stirs up!

5th sept. Potassium issues: when going to sleep last night cramp hit my right hamstring and scared the bejesus out of my darling wife as I screamed out loud at the top of my lungs as the pain hit like a lightning bolt from the methylation gods. Freaky for both of us. Methylation, oh yeah.

6th August. Nothing too much happening except feel strong, positive and pretty fucking great. Right hamstring muscle still playing silly buggers. Muscle tested and increased potassium dose to 10 drops. Moving up to 2.5 pills mb12 per day. Edit: 11am and I feel tired and achy. Only managed half a yoga practice. Second edit: today I was in a funk. Just low and a bit tired all round. I was still busy in the garden all afternoon, but was nice to be on my own with just me and my thoughts. I double mowed the meadow in preparation for sowing the yellow rattle. As you can see I am having good days, and less good days.

7th sept. My gums are bleeding and I have a small weird rash/bite on my leg. Otherwise fine. I takes a long time for the mb12 pills to dissolve: in the morning it’s still there. And my first morning pill lasts until about 4pm – 7-8 hours. Still on 2.5 pills of Methyl B12. 

8th sept 2016. 830am blood pressure is high : 179/99 pulse 53. Feel fine. Methylation project still ongoing!

9th Sept. Moving to 3 x MethylB12 pills a day. 

10th sept 2016. I awoke with a mini headache which vanished with my morning litre of water. Gums still bleeding. I have not taken my blood pressure (BP) but I can tell its high. Did 1 hour 45 mins of wonderful, strong, powerful, uplifting ashtanga yoga which is EPIC. My chest is un-caving very slowly but noticeably to me. I remain stronger than before this methylation project. Extra strength is a major methylation benefit. Hot feet still there. Cannot eat any grains so have gone gluten-free. Gluten gives me spots on me face! At 47! My memory is better. Happy dayz. That’s a big deal. I don’t walk up stairs to get something and have forgotten what by the time I get there. None of that $hit. Boom.

Folate: Solgar Metafolin 800mcg. Target dose: 2 or more per day.

12th sept. I am two months in to this methylation project. Today we start folate. 1/2 a pill. Could not split any smaller. My mate Tim told me it’s all about the folate and that’s when lots of people feel GREAT! I am already feeling pretty good, but the more the merrier!

13 sept 2016. Darker yellow pee. Needed an extra hours sleep. I ache like I have been doing full-on yoga and physical gardening all day. I didn’t ache prior to the metafolin, so must be a reaction. And all from half a damn pill.  Evening edit: very dark yellow pee. It’s been building up for a week now: My digestion is having major issues here. Beer gives my face pimples. Ditto wheat. Needing to be very careful and strict on my diet at the moment. Methylation across the nation.

14th sept. I awoke feeling like an old man: all achy, stiff and tired. True I was busy physically yesterday, but it should not make me feel like this. Thanks folate.

15sept. Still feeling tired and old. No yoga. I ache. Hamstring playing up yet again. Liver flushing today (it’s a month since the last one) and did a SWF this morning. This will put me out of action for a couple of days. I would raise the dose today but not going to muddy the waters any more than I already am. 

16 sept. Liver flush results: 100 gallstones out. Splendid. Onwards.

Opps, I made a cock up. Just realised the Jarrow Methyl B12 comes in different strengths. I should be on the 5mg per day capsules. My ones are 1mg a pill. Doh! What a Village!

Lots of pimples. Really annoying. Diet is good: veggie juice for breakfast and salads for the other meals. I am diary, gluten, and thiol free. WTF!

Ok, back to the cock up. I’ll need to order the correct size of Methyl B12 and continue raising the dose. Target dose is 2-4x 5mg pills per day. I am currently on 3 x 1mg per day so I am well below target. What fun. Still, i have made much worse cock-ups in my time, so onwards and upwards. I will get to one pill on the folate first.

17 sept. Increased folate to 1 x 1 pill. Up from one half.

18 sept. Slept bad, long with lots of funky dreams. Funky dreams is always a good sign. Folate is crunching. Ouch: muscle problems again. Right leg again. Muscle tested and need to increase potassium supplement dose again: Now I’m up to 14 drops per day. 

19 sept. Awoke with a very painful right leg. I will again muscle test the potassium to check the correct dosage. Racing heartbeat came on after painting Lily’s bedroom. Went as soon as I got in child’s pose. Lots happening at the moment.

20 sept. Yoga practice is down to one hour. Any longer and I’m shagged out. I have less energy since I started the folate. It’s moving things. Change. Racing heart came on after sanding/painting the guest room. Went as soon as I got into child’s pose. And it happened a second time an hour later. What fun. Today is day three of folate @ 1 pill. These racing heart issues are definitely down to that. Hopefully. Freddd and all the methylation dudes were bang on the money: methylation start-up does cause symptoms to flare up quite enthusiastically. Do do hope this is all worth the trouble.

Some good news: Bleeding gums have stopped bleeding. Get in! 

22 sept. Day five of folate and I’m out the other side. Gums ok. Energy is returning. Second day of yoga and going well. Right leg is ok. Knee is still dodgy but that will take time to heal, but it’s stable and calm right now. Heart is fine. Things are all A-OK.

My yoga practice is changing since I am practising five to six times a week and have been for months now. I have more energy and I am reaching new places. My back bend crab is bloody brilliant: I can now do five fully-up, for five breaths, in a row. Sweeet! Although my muscles ache like hell for a few days after. But progress. This is defo the best ever yoga I have ever done. And that’s saying something because I’ve been at it, on and off, for fifteen years now. Methylation did this. I am happy and impressed. The dodgy days I can certainly live without, but so far methylation has produced some cool upgrades.

24 sept.  All cool but today I am grinding my teeth for some reason. Very odd. I am gurning like a munter at night. This is an old symptom rearing its ugly head from my raving days. It’s what I did a lot of at my very worst mercury toxic stage way back in 2004-5-6-7&8. Technically it’s called Temporomandibular disorders (TMD). But you may hear it wrongly called TMJ, after the joint. I call it gurning.

Methyl B12 – 5000mcg

25 sept 2016. New bigger MethylB12 pills arrived today (5000mcg) and I moved to 4500mcg. (I was on 3000mg per day, 3 x 1000mg.)  Racing heart came on again, battering away like a loon, in the car this time. Had to stop by the side of the road and assume child’s pose in the gutter. What a gippo! Child’s pose is the only way it goes, so it has to be done. Methylation still doing its thang. I hope.

Yes, I hope this is methylation doing its thang, and not me nose diving, crashing and burning and mercury toxicity smashing things up. I really do hope its methylation start up.

26 sept. Racing heart came again on at lunchtime for no apparent reason. Apart from the obvious dose raise! Instant satisfaction again. Evening update: ears buzzing, tired, heartburn, fluttery heart. Dose raise = increased symptoms. Same old $hit.

These reactions are all manageable. If they were really intense and wild and mad and crazy and nightmare like and i was freaking out, then obviously I’d reduce the dose to a manageable level. It’s not fun and I particularly don’t like the heart stuff, but this is how methylation rolls. The worst of the reactions pass pretty quick anyway. Eyes on the prize.

28 sept. I’m still in the thick of flaring symptoms, ho hum. Darker pee. Much more tired. Only just enough energy for one hours yoga. Every day is busy physically what with the house decorating and the garden work. Overall tired. I hope I regain my new-found strength and energy soon. I miss it already. 

29 sept 2016. Dodgy skin again. Big fuck off spots. Have to be super careful with the diet otherwise I get even more. Starving hungry today. Ate a lot. Full yoga practice up to boat even though I felt tired beforehand. Still not as much energy as before the addition of folate. Another full-on day. Decorating, yoga, gardening, football practice. Tired at bedtime after such a full day. Happy tho:-). 

30th sept. And the strength returns. Awoke feeling Samson-esk. Boom! Full on, top-notch yoga practice, full vinyasa, up to boat. Nice. Still starving hungry and eating enough for two people.  Racing heart came on during yoga. But went away in child’s pose as usual and I continued the practice, as usual. 

Just a quick note to those people that have never tried yoga. I talk about it a bit and it’s important to me that I explain this to you yoga-virgins. There is a massive misconception that yoga is just sitting around humming and drinking herbal tea with hot ‘n’ sweaty yummy mummy’s. You can hum if you want and there is some humming, but that’s at the beginning and end, on occasion, and for less than a minute. All the stuff in-between is a bloody hard intense physical work out. Sweating profusely is very common: because its damn hard work. There is a chilled out yoga called ‘Yin’ which I do do when I’m injured or don’t have enough energy. Yin is a bit more relaxed, but still holding a pose for five minutes fucking hurts like hell. Yoga is not all about humming mofo’s. For my sins I do ashtanga yoga which is down the pretty tricky end of the yoga spectrum. Hatha is more middle of the road, but that can be super hard too. Just saying, Ok. Yoga is for real, tough, strong, powerful, cool and funky men and women. Rant over.

2 Oct 2016. Awoke feeling strong like Wolverine and did a nice long hard yoga practice. But by lunchtime I had a headache, an ear ache and a major buzz in my right ear. I was going to start a chelation round this evening, but I’ll wait until this has passed, as it always passes. 

3 oct. Racing heart again. Started a Chelation round today anyway. My 86th. 3mg ALA only. Full strong yoga practice: my body is opening up after a long period of hibernation.  

4 October. On round. Racing heart again. Went as soon as in child’s pose. Slightly grumpy but no big deal. Another busy active and lovely day in the garden. 

6 October 2016. On round. Blood pressure still high:165/100 p62. 

9 October. Round 86 finished. It was as per usual. Ok in places, but generally makes me feel pikey. My ear is buzzing like mad today. WHAT? SPEAK UP, I CAN’T HEAR YOU. WHAT? Anyways time to raise my mb12 to 3 x 2,500mcg – which makes 7,500mcg of MethylB12.

10 October. Nothing unusual happening yet after two days on the higher mb12 dose. Side note: these new 5000mg pills seem to be irritating my gums. Cherry flavour. Ummmm.

11 October. No getting away from it now: this is what you call Full-Blown-Mega-Tinnitus. Motherfucker! WHAT? Right ear buzzing like a wasp factory. It’s wildly loud. A raving wasp factory in me head. Most annoying. Muscle tested my potassium supplement today. Said I needed 42 drops a day!!!! (In divided doses obviously.) That is a gigantic increase and massively over the recommended daily limit. Wowza. I have increased to 4 x 7 drops plus two bananas. Let me find the bit where Freddd talks about potassium…

“Also, other vitamins and minerals can be rapidly depleted in the startup phase, potassium dangerously so.”

“However, probability of LOW potassium with mb12/Metafolin is near 100%”

“Watch for sudden changes like muscle spasms, mood changes other than improvement, fatigue, weakness, muscle weakness and other signs of potassium levels falling.”

“That’s why potassium is on the list for initial startup items, to prevent the temporary hypokalemia that can easily happen during the startup period…”

Enough said, I’m in the zone.

13 October. It’s been a month so time for the next Liver flush. Zero stones and zero chaff on the flush day. Day after with the SWF I did have 6 very small stones, if u could even call them that. 1/3 the size of my little finger nail. Did have 3 square inches of chaff too. But all very small amounts. Two clear flushes means I’m clean. That was not quiet a clear flush. I did feel good and better after the flush. Although on the night of the flush I did have nausea. 

14 October. Time to increase the mb12 dose to 2 x 1 pill. That’s 2 x 5000mcg = 10,000 mcg per day. Party on! Evening edit: again very dark pee as per normal on each dose raise. My right ear tinnitus remains loud, strong and wildly annoying. WHAT? Yoga was good today. Right leg muscle spasms still temperamental. 

15 Oct. All I can smell is cigarette smoke, permanently for the last two days. I don’t smoke either before I get any wise cracks from anyone smart. It’s annoying. Ear buzzing like mad. It’s mega loud. Pisses me off big time Charlie. Grumpy and annoyed all day. Short and grumpy with the kids. I believe people call that depression. Wankers. And all from an mb12 dose raise. WHAT?

17 Oct. Today is day four after the MethylB12 dose rise. Right ear continues to buzz like a bitch. Very deaf in that ear. Unpleasant in social situations as I feel like my head is in a fish bowl and can’t hear $hit. Gums are sensitive but less so now I am moving the sublingual pills to different locations each time. I still smell cigarette smoke almost permanently, but my nose is significantly clear and my sense of smell has gone up loads. Still having muscular problems with my right upper leg. Over did yoga yesterday and I am limping today. Did four days on the trot of lovely strong yoga, but off games until this leg clears up. Think I will do a chelation round tomorrow. Onwards and upwards. 

21 October. Day three of chelation round 87 and all is fine in the deep dark wood; easy. Day one I felt a bit tired in the morning so had and Epsom Salt bath and that was wonderful. Buzzing ear remains loud. Right leg remains temperamental.

23 Oct 2016. I don’t want to tempt fate, but my hot feet seem to be calming down. Quite a lot too. Not had a problem for a while. I did massage my feet two days ago and the left was hotter than the right. But it is defo calming down. Nice. Thank you methylation. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Long may it continue. Buzzing ear remains. 

24 Oct. Not had a racing heart incident for 20 days. Cool. I was getting them daily. Also my years permanent athletes foot between my pinkies: is gone. Awesome! 

25 oct 2016. Spoke too soon!!!!!Way too soon. In the shower at 9 am I had racing heart kick in hard. Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam… I had it the night before too, but that was from the carob chocolate bar I tried. That’s a thiol thing. I fancied a treat. Felt really bad 1.5 hours after eating 3 small squares of carob: raging racing heart that did not go in child’s pose. Took hours to subside. That was defo the carob/thiol. Also think I’m not handling carbs very well: potatoes maybe not great for me? Ho hum. This is an adventure isn’t it.

Back down? Fuck that! No way! Onwards!

26 October 2016. In other interesting news, my daily ear wax load was gone. How odd. I have had excessive wax for years. Great, clammy, clogs of the gunk. Now gone. And this evening for a moment I thought the tinnitus was gone too. It went all quiet. But now it seems back again. Upped my potassium intake to 3 x 7 drops plus two bananas. That has made an immediate difference. (I had been a little potassium lazy). Feeling strong today after avoiding potatoes. Double yoga today: morning and evening. An hour each. I feel the strength returning. Fingers crossed. COME ON!

27 oct. My ear is defo getting better. Change is good. 

28 oct. Ear is healing. It’s popping a little on the way to recovery. Change is good. Tinnitus is 50pct less now. Methylation is working. Come on MOFO!

1 Nov 2016. Buggeration. Ear got worse over the last few days: tinnitus back to full force. Saw my mate Tim for lunch yesterday and he said the methylation road fluctuates with good and dodgy periods floating by fairly regular. He also said the whites of my eyes were the whitest of whites; which is a good thing. Means a clean liver. Slept real bad last night at my brothers house. Pissed four times and couldn’t get back to sleep. Ahhhhh. Really felt my heart beat too which means blood pressure is up. In the morning I muscle tested the sheets, pillows and mattress. It was the softy thing that goes over the mattress that’s infested with brominated flame retardant chemicals. Interesting that I am showing up to chemical sensitivities again. That’s methylation for you! Edit: fuck. Digestion is going to pot. To recap I’m gluten free, dairy free, thiol free. Thiol free is a bitch too. No lentils or beans means veggie foods are heavily restricted now. And potatoes now too.Right legs hurts too: need more potassium. Fuck. It’s all happening. Methylation is exciting and bringing on some $hit. I am swearing too much. Ummmmmm. Today is two weeks since I increased the mb12 dose to full target dose of 2 x 1 pill per day: 2 x 5,000mg. I’m in the fucking zone, the battle zone. May the force be strong in me. Wonder what’s gonna bamboozle me next? 

2 Nov. I ache all over: calf’s, thighs, hamstrings and arms. Feel rough and mangy. Things are building up towards nastiness. Hope things calm soon. Had an epsom salts bath to smooth me aching bones. 

Again to repeat, if it was too much, too mad, too bad, I’d back down. I’m rolling with the punches like Muhammad Ali!

3 Nov. Still in the thick of it. Legs and arms still ache. Feet hurt today too. Tinnitus still really bad. No yoga possible. Nose blocked this evening. Skin bad which means diet still a struggle and allergies still there – even tho I’m careful with my diet. This is starting to annoy and starting to be a problem. Feels like things are getting worse. No-yoga always will get me down. Methylation is causing all this. I was going to do a round, but I have postponed until this $hit passes. Was gonna do another liver flush but best chill on that until this calms. Ummmmm. Methylation. What a joy. 

4 Nov. Started a Cutler chelation round this evening. Number 88. Increasing the dose from 3mg to 4mg ALA. Last few rounds were so easy.

5 Nov. Ear still buzzing. Muscles still in need of mucho potassium. Left shoulder aches, right knee still weak. No yoga possible due shoulder suddenly killing me again. Round is super easy so far, touchwood. I smell cigarette smoke, but that’s the first sniff of it for weeks. 

6 Nov. Nothing much has changed on the methylation front for a while. Time to add another of the methylation supplements once the round is done. Today is day 2 of round 88 and all is good and well.

9th Nov 2016. Changed potassium brand. Packet says 2-4 pills per day. Muscle testing tells me six pills a day is what I need. Obviously in divided poses. Today is day two of this high potassium supplement and the jury is still out. But right leg is ok. Shoulder still hurts. No yoga possible, but today is first day after a round anyways. I have a very strict no-excerise rule during the three days post chelation round. I have injured myself way too many times in the past on those dodgy post round days. Ahhhhhh.

Went to the dentist recently to check a tooth that might have some hidden amalgam still in it. That will be lifted and checked on the next appointment. But during the visit the dentist found I needed at least two fillings! WTF? I brush my teeth twice a day, for six minutes each go, and i floss every day, and i tee-pee five times a week. WTF! I consider my diet great too, but obviously it’s not. Decay in my teeth mean my diet to wrong and/or my digestion is up the spout. Probably both. It’s not from a lack of cleaning. So, I have just read a book called “Cure tooth Decay: Remineralise Cavities and Repair Your Teeth Naturally’ By Ramiel Nagel. Very interesting book, which I can highly recommend. After reading that, which kinda knew anyways, but good to have a reminder, i am changing my diet. I was juicing every morning. Have been for 4-5 months now. Every morning, 1 one pint of freshly juiced veggie juice. Carrots, celery, cucumber, beetroot and lemon. As great as that sounds, it obviously is not working. So now i am going the Weston A Price way. All change. I am gluten free, dairy free and thiol free and that doesn’t leave much left! So I am moving to a bulk meat diet. Lots of bone broths, liver, meat, fat and cooked veggies. This diet is so wild, even brown rice is out. Anyway, onwards and upwards. Change is good. Change is easy when you have done it as much as i have. As long as i understand why, I take everything in my stride. Onwards and upwards!

16 Nov. Been a while since I updated. Buzzing ear remains bad. Left shoulder hurts, think I pulled a muscle using the bow saw cutting down sycamore’s from the hedge, but it’s taking ages to heal. Or rather it’s not healing, so back to yin yoga. I lack the regained strength I got when I started this methylation road. The last chelation round did that. Defo lost my mojo here. Doing a liver flush tonight. I have prepped with loads of apple juice and that’s made me feel queasy and a bit $hitty. But in my opinion it was the chelation round what done it. Guilty as charged. I did raise the dose from 3 to 4mg ALA. And that was too close to a methylation dose change. My bag. Intense ride. Ho hum.  

Right, that’s enough for now. That’s four months of methylation start up for you. Four months of my life too. Next will be the addition of what Fredd calls the ‘Possibly Critical Showstopper Cofactors’, thats TMG, SAM-e, L-carnitine Fumarate and fish oils. I will also be correcting some mistakes I made too.

That’s all folks,

Danny,
AKA Sunshine, author of The Mercury Diaries.




14 thoughts on “The Methylation Diaries – Part 1

  1. Meth and mercury are to different things unless you haven’t been watching the news lately you do realise that people are going to thing your detoxicating from methamphetamine ? You do realise that don’t. I’m just saying

  2. Thanks for sharing your journey so far my dear Sunshine!! Highly appreciated. Still waiting for my 23andme results so not sure if methylation will be next on my list too. Sounds fun! Ha! About your teeth needing fillings, I am not sure if diet is really to blame, or even cleaning. If you are still toxic from mercury, that alone can leach calcium from bones and teeth. Anyway, looking forward to part 2.
    Take care!! xx

  3. “The worst is the paresthesias”

    Just to let you know, I had A LOT of paresthesia and it is now all gone. I also did Fredd + Cutler (+ iodine VWT). I did ALA only, but high dose, most of it at 200 mg. Part of the reason for this is that they use ALA in conventional medicine in Germany for paresthesia and the dose is then around 1-2 grams per day. For the B12, I did 10 mg per day.

    Once I had fixed myself, I lost most interest in the topic and I think that this is common. So probably there are many success stories out there that don’t really get told.

  4. Thanks for the chronicle, it is very very informative in case I try to do chelation etc. I came across your blog looking for info on tinnitus and metals. I have the bees nest in my head too and it starts and stops with maddening rapidity! I even get it from Fiji water (high silica). I think it is metals moving and/or yeasty stuff for me. I haven’t embarked on cutler chelation (have never had amalgams) but have treated for mold exposure for a year. Mycotoxins affect calcium channels and cause all kinds of badness. Feeling lots better but have work to do yet so had a recent hair test. Played with methylation supps a bit a few years ago and got giant snappy mood changes (almost manic) from small doses. Can’t afford a big bipolar episode been there done that. I do suspect mercury anyway. Freddd recently reported he got very low in copper and lost a bunch of gum tissue and teeth. Info in Phoenix rising. He talks a lot about referring syndrome. Smart man. Thanks again for sharing your experience.

    • Hi Terry. I’m am still on the methylation road. Today is September 2018 and I started way back in 2016! I added Sam-e this year and that caused an impressive flaring up of symptoms. That last Sam-e dose rise caused symptom flare for 33 days, a record for me at the time, so I thought I’d chill out and try something which I thought would be easier: B6. I am currently on my second B6 dose rise (1 pill) and its to-date been a massive 46 days of symptom flare-up. This methylation road is looooooooong. I obviously have very serious methylation problems which is why I am persevering with it, but fucking hell, its character building for sure. I just ordered a few methylation books from Amazon to reassure myself that I’m doing things correctly. But it is worth the hassle. Progress is being made, good progress, things are mending.

      My updated advice is:
      1) All the methylation protocols are a guide. Everyone is different. Whichever protocol you follow it will 100 percent need to be tailored to suit the individual. Some of the supplements did not suit me at all. Folate hurt and did not agree and I spend many months learning that lesson the hard way.

      2) Find a way to test the supplements as frequently as you can. I now muscle test all my supplements weekly. Everytime I refill my weekly pill pots I re-muscle test everything. It is a good discipline and has saved me loads of hassle. Muscle testing is easy to learn; if you put your mind to it.

      3) Methylation is a long road, but worth it, it has solved some unsolvable problems for me.

      Keep on trucking:-)
      Danny

      • Hi Danny,

        Methylfolate hurt you? It hurt me and I now use folinic sublingual. Much better reaction. Even some mthfr’s on Phoenix rising reported doing better on folinic. I have done well on ALCAR but most seem to do better on l-carnitine fumarate.

  5. You might want to look into detoxing at the cellular level. Check out videos by Dr. Pompa and seriously consider the product “Cytodetox”.What you are doing seems way too complicated and mostly unproductive.(in my opinion)

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