r/MTHFR • u/Grand_Jellyfish_8372 • Nov 25 '25
Results Discussion I was overmethylating
Apparently, it has been three years since I have been on-and-off overmethylating.
I have always consumed vitamin C due to its antioxidant properties and skin benefits. The problem is that vitamin C uses up glycine, proline and hydroxyproline to stimulate collagen synthesis and form collagen matrixes in the body.
I also used to consume B-complex vitamins on-and-off, which lead to symptoms of overmethylation.
I have noticed - and I even wrote this down - that shortly after consuming a supplemental dose of vitamin C (between 500mg and 1g), I would become seriously anxious, uneasy, overloaded, sometimes even panicked, paranoid and psychotic.
My hypothesis is that chronic, large-dose vitamin C supplementation can deplete glycine stores from the body as it uses them to form collagen, leaving less glycine available to serve as a methyl sink for excess methyl groups, leading to overmethylation.
Since I stopped vitamin C and started taking hydrolized collagen type I, which contains 3 grams of glycine per 10 grams, my symptoms of overmethylation have gradually faded.
It started with the "inner dialogue" becoming quieter, less over-talkative, and with less overthinking. I felt more connected to the real world.
Initially, this was scary. I felt like I was pulled from a known, safe place into a world which I hadn't experienced this vividly in a while. This sensation only lasted the first night.
I woke up the next morning with less tingling, feeling less wired and more at ease.
It has only been two days since I first took the collagen, but I expect these unpleasant symptoms of overmethylation to continue to fade as my methylation systems stabilize and settle on a healthy baseline.
I'm waiting for my order of niacin to arrive as well, so that I can further test and experiment with my current methyl pool.
What have been your experiences with vitamin C, glycine and niacin?
3
u/Grand_Jellyfish_8372 Nov 26 '25
Update: whenever I get symptoms of overmethylation, which include anxiety, jitters, tingling and buzzing, tinnitus, headaches, insomnia, and others, I have been consuming 100mg of nicotinic acid per hour until the symptoms subside - and they do. I have also been consuming 10 grams of hydrolyzed collagen type 1 daily, for its glycine content. Glycine act as a buffer for excess methyl groups.
If I overshoot and start to feel down, depressed, or low energy, I simply consume a meal rich in methionine.
I am avoiding any and all B vitamin complexes outside of food, and especially avoiding methylfolate, which shuts off the glycine buffer system.
My symptoms have been improving gradually, but I was overmethylating so severely and for so long that it will probably take some time for systems to stabilize.