Darlene Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 some of my labs are back, b12 is normal and folate is high. i know the high folate levels are not caused from getting to much of it in my diet because i eat very little, so little you would think i would be deficient. is high folate a big deal or does anyone know what can cause this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arizona girl Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 Hi dar,Elevated folate can be a sign that you may have the MTHFR gene deficiency. I have this my cardio tested me for it and I am homozygous, the most serious form of it. When one has this the enzyme that is suppose to convert folic acid (the form in all enriched foods and most vitamins) is switched to one that can not convert it. This then causes the folate to build up in the body and become toxic. It can also cause the inability to process some medications like methotrexate, as that drug follows the same methylation pathway.There has been some discussion of this on the forum, you can also google it. The lab that did my tests was "health diagnostics" Another sign this is off is if your homocysteine levels are elevated. It is fairly easy to overcome this, one by reducing the enriched food products you consume and by taking the active form of folate called methylfolate. There are prescription forms in higher dose and solgar has it in a lower dose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sue1234 Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 I always have high folate and high B6. I do not take supplements. I have read before that gut bacteria take the intake products(food) and make B vitamins. I have had issues with bacterial overgrowth, off and on, and I just assumed it might be from that. I don't know. I am MTHFR heterozygous, so don't convert some of my folic acid. I do not have a high folic acid intake from processed foods as I eat gluten free so prepare most of my stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewis Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 This is interesting as I also have high vitamin B6 and high folate, i haven't been tested for MTHFR and but my homocysteine levels I believe weren't elevated. I eat gluten free and try to stay away from supplemented foods and vitamins. I haven't been retested since I changed my diet. Next time I see my GP I will have him do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darlene Posted July 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 My FOLATE is 27.6 Range is: 3.1-17.5 - ng/mL This wouldn't be causing my dysautonomia symptoms would it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sue1234 Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 Northerndarlene, I don't know if it causes POTS, but boy, wouldn't it be nice if we found out it did?! It looks like something that could be "fixed"!Arizonagirl, did you notice any side effects from taking methylfolate? I took some over a year ago, but it seems like it made me feel bad(don't remember what exactly), so I quit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
looneymom Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 I am assuming this is a blood test. Tyler's B vitamin levels were checked last year. I was told even though his levels are high, the body will get rid of what it does not need. B vitamins are water soluble.However at the time I had his testing done, he was not using the active form of B6 which is P5P. My son has had the 23 and me testing done and needs Methyl B-12 with the right b vitamin doners. My son's body will absorb the regular B6 but his body most likely was not able to use it according to test results and othe research. As I read more on this, the regular B-6 is not a methyl b doner vitamin. For that reason, I switched him as soon as I could find the active form of B6. He just started this form a couple of weeks ago. It's hard to tell about any improvement because the symptoms the neuro-antibodies have been causing in his body. The goal is to get his methylation system to function as well as it can while trying to get the neuro- antibodies out of his system.Your B vitamins are very important. Checking homocystine levels is also a good thing to do. This test was done when Tyler had his B vitamins checked. High homocystine levels can indicate a problem that your body is having trouble absoring certain B vitamins. Tyler's was in range but his B- levels were high. His blood test was done as a fasting.My son also takes the active form of methylfolate. This was one of the first supplements our cardioloist put him on to help with energy, and fatigue levels. It also helped with brain fog. The 23 and Me test was helpful because it helped us figure out what form of B-vitamins that Tyler's body needs. This test does provide a lot of informatiom and has been helpful in other ways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewis Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 I am not sure if it was my high level of b6 or the folate, but by stopping eating foods supplemented and stopping multi vitamins definitely helped with the nerve pain I am having. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arizona girl Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 Sue, Looneymom explained this well. The only thing I can add is that b vitamins are not always water soluble. This defect causes the body to not process it or eliminate it. The fact that it builds up in the body creates an antigen, that can cause an autoimmune response. http://MTHFR.net is a good resource. There they state that the methylation cycle is very complex and there can be other dysfunction within it that may need to be addressed prior to correcting the folic acid dysfunction. They suggest starting all active supplement dosing at low levels and to consider starting the methyl form of b12 first and work up. My homocysteine was slightly elevated, I believe it takes a while for that to happen as a result of the elevated folic acid. I also was not a big enriched food eater, however whenever I tried to be healthy and start taking b vitamin complexes, they would always make me sick. Now that makes sense. I also craved eating fresh fruits and veggies, folic acid is in the natural form the body can absorb in these foods, so I was instinctively treating myself.I did not notice any problems yet with adding first methylb12 and then methylfolate. I am now on about 1,000 mg of both daily. I did start slow though. What I can tell you that along with adding those and naturthyroid, for the hashimoto and plaquinel for the autoimmunity ( i've also been on privigen ivig for 3 years), my recent lipid/inflammatory markers are almost back to normal. I still have to have a few more tests done and will do them after we make one more adjustment on my thyroid meds. I had never heard of mthfr, before my cardiologist ran this genetic panel on me, at the time I also had elevated crp and mpo which are inflammatory markers, and some other more in depth lipid particle sizes, my initial tests where very bad. The fact that I'm turned around now in those labs, shows we are doing something right. The fact that we know two cardiologists running this type of testing does give it merit, as something to consider.BTW high dose methylfolate has been being used in prescription form for a long time to treat bi-polar and depressive disorders. MTHFR is being studied as a cause of autism, cardiovascular disease and autoimmune diseases, in addition to already being used in the mental health field and in gyn for miscarriage and spinabifida and neural tube disorders.So sorry Dar, but that was a long explanation to answer could mthfr cause dysautonomia. It is possible if your dysautonomia is being caused by an autoimmune response, where your small fiber nerves are being attacked. That was true in my case, skin biopsy proved I had a reduction in my small fiber nerves. In your bio you have illnesses listed that could be being caused by an autoimmune response.What are they doing about that positive ana/histone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
looneymom Posted July 2, 2014 Report Share Posted July 2, 2014 Arizona girlWhat is mpo? I don't recognize this term. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racer Posted July 2, 2014 Report Share Posted July 2, 2014 This is confusing, what is considered a high folate level? Everything I seem to be reading only lists a low level for deficiency. I was prescribed folic acid, but just assumed my level was low. I was told that I have a problem with metabolism. High homocysteine level, b12 deficiency, mma mildly high (I think), low potasium, high ketones, low wbc count. I was started on the various vitamins while I wait for doctors to figure this out. My dys. dr suggested ivig, but non of the doctors seem to agree on test results. I suspect I am not going to get a defanant answer from my doctors if it is the cause of my dysautonomia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valiz Posted July 4, 2014 Report Share Posted July 4, 2014 My folic acid was 35.3 with the reference 3.1-17.5. It also states on the report " Results exceeds reportable range of method, test run on dilution.Later I had a Folate, RBC done with the results 565. reference was less than 280. My Dr. just blew it off as being important as my Vit B12 was also a little high. Maybe I could have tests done by lab corp...any ideas on what I should have done? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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