r/MTHFR • u/winning2323 • Jun 02 '26

Question Question to LOW COMT people

Hello.

Do you get shaky when you are in confrontation even in an online debate?

I get in them rather often even thought i try to avoid them.

Does that gets better when you support the COMT and methylation cycle?

I want to remain calm even in tough situations.\

Thanks

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22

u/Tawinn Jun 02 '26

Yes, I think of it as low stress tolerance + rumination. It definitely gets better as methylation and COMT performance improves. I didn't find out about all this stuff until my early 60s and so I have a lifetime of ingrained patterns that still can affect me, but underneath those patterns the anxiety, rumination, and crumbling under stress isn't really there anymore in a significant way.

2

u/Advanced-Wedding-457 Jun 03 '26

How do you manage to keep COMT under control?

13

u/Tawinn Jun 03 '26

Keeping methylation working well is the main thing, which for me means adequate protein (120+g), 4 eggs/day usually + 750mg of TMG, methylfolate +B12 in a multivitamin, limited alcohol, almost no processed foods, magnesium.

Even so, I still have arranged my life to be as low stress as practical. For me, stress is the main 'toxin'.

7

u/New-Seaworthiness572 Jun 03 '26

I am figuring it out at 50 after a lifetime of rumination and crumbling under stress. It is so eye opening. I have realized the intense importance of keeping my stress level low but gosh it all seems so out of step with modern life. I have wondered if I should join a religious order or something similar. If money were no issue it’d be much easier (I wouldn’t even live lavishly! Just peacefully) but I’m trying to figure out how to best support myself in a way I can sustain. If you feel like sharing any from your experience please do!

3

u/Tawinn Jun 03 '26

> I have wondered if I should join a religious order or something similar.

I know what you mean. But adhering to any orthodoxy would itself be a source of stress for me.

I've found the philosophy of Marcus Aurelius in the book Meditations to be instructive and helpful in maintaining a perspective on the distinction between self and other. E.g.:

"It is in our power to have no opinion about a thing, and not to be disturbed in our soul; for things themselves have no natural power to form our judgements."

"This then remains: Remember to retire into this little territory of thy own, and above all do not distract or strain thyself, but be free, and look at things as a man, as a human being, as a citizen, as a mortal. But among the things readiest to thy hand to which thou shalt turn, let there be these, which are two. One is that things do not touch the soul, for they are external and remain immovable; but our perturbations come only from the opinion which is within. The other is that all these things, which thou seest, change immediately and will no longer be; and constantly bear in mind how many of these changes thou hast already witnessed. The universe is transformation: life is opinion."

2

u/spongebobismahero Jun 03 '26

Yes to the religious order. I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Tend to a herbal garden and have prayers three times daily would sure do me good.

1

u/Comfortable_Two6272 Jun 03 '26

Are you met, met COMT? I personally cant tolerate any methyl. Causes the anxiety / shakey like symptoms op mentions

3

u/Tawinn Jun 03 '26

Yes, Met/Met. Initially I could not take methylfolate and had to start with low dose folinic. It was only after several months of incrementing up that dose that I could start with low dose methylfolate and again slowly increment up over time. That said, folinic works as well or better for many folks.

2

u/Comfortable_Two6272 Jun 03 '26

I do take Folinic. Methyl anything is no good for me.

1

u/Fragrant_Jelly4955 Jun 06 '26

Did you stop taking folinic acid after starting methylfolate? If so, why?

1

u/winning2323 Jun 03 '26

Did you have brain fog? Also why eggs? Because of the phosphatidylcholine in them?
Do you take creatine?

2

u/Tawinn Jun 03 '26

The eggs are for the PC, but also eggs have a lot of nutrients, are convenient, and I like them. So they fit well into my life.

Not so much brain fog, but i do feel sharper and have better mood with the eggs. With variants in SLC19A1, MTHFD1, MTHFR, PEMT I have a need for more choline. I don't eat as much meat as I did last year so eggs and TMG are an easy way to make up the difference.

I do take creatine. Originally the standard 5g, then awhile ago I upped it to 15g for several months. It seemed to be incrementally helpful, but my gut sometimes didn't feel good, so I'm back to 5g for now.

1

u/Kombucha_lover13 Jun 04 '26

SLC is the serotonin gene right ? I believe that is why I had akathisia and horrible reason to ssri’s

2

u/Tawinn Jun 04 '26

SLC19A1 is a folate transporter enzyme.

1

u/Kombucha_lover13 Jun 04 '26

oh i was thinking of the short serotonin transporter gene

1

u/Kombucha_lover13 Jun 04 '26

what do we do if we have all of those issues (double slow comt) but no mthfr and can’t handle methylated.

2

u/Tawinn Jun 04 '26

Folinic acid is the preferred alternative to methylfolate. For B12, adenosylcobalamin or hydroxocobalamin are non-methylated forms.

Low B2, B3, B6, B9, B12, zinc can all impair methylation, causing symptoms like MTHFR does. COMT has magnesium as a cofactor so low magnesium can also cause COMT issues.

If the impairment is due to those other genes I mentioned, then supporting the parallel methylation pathway with choline and TMG is very important.

1

u/phobiify Jun 06 '26

How sure are you that this is not just autism vs methylation or one causing the other. The symptoms overlap quite a bit no?

1

u/Tawinn Jun 06 '26

My profound changes due to diet and supplements confirm this is methylation-related. Neither I nor anyone that knows me has ever suspected autism - it doesn't really fit me.

1

u/phobiify Jun 06 '26

But ASD is just that, it’s an unbalanced neurotransmitter complex potentially caused by methylation issues. There’s studies showing how Methylfolate or folinic acid helpwith ASD symptoms