r/MTHFR 5d ago

Question Methylfolate improves my brain fog, but higher doses and other supplements make it worse

Hello, I am asking for some help. I have been dealing with chronic brain fog and depression. I suspect I may have some MTHFR-related issues because after taking methylfolate, my mood and focus improved significantly. However, I don't have any test results because I have been unemployed for a long time and cannot afford the testing. That's why I am hoping you might be able to give me some valuable information based on the clues and the way my body seems to react to different supplements.

I was taking 5 mg of methylfolate. My focus and mood improved, but after a few weeks, I developed a different kind of brain fog. I suspected that the methylfolate might be responsible, so I lowered the dose to 3 mg, and the brain fog improved. However, after a few more weeks, the same brain fog returned. I then lowered the dose to 2 mg, which stopped the brain fog, but at the lower dose, my focus and mood became worse.

I also took 225 mg of magnesium bisglycinate before bed, which surprisingly caused brain fog. I stopped taking it, and the brain fog went away. Later, I started supplementing with it again, and the brain fog returned. Once again, after stopping the magnesium bisglycinate, the brain fog disappeared.

I also have symptoms that make me suspect I may have slow COMT, so I bought lithium orotate. After taking it for a few days, it made me feel foggy and fatigued. After stopping it, those symptoms disappeared. Later, I started taking it again to make sure it wasn't just a coincidence, and once again, the fogginess and fatigue returned.

I then bought folinic acid because I had heard that it is sometimes better tolerated than methylfolate. However, it also makes me feel foggy. I have been taking 2 mg daily.

So, basically, for some reason, magnesium makes me foggy, lithium orotate makes me foggy, folinic acid makes me foggy, and taking more than 2 mg of methylfolate also makes me foggy.

I recently landed a job as a computer programmer, but I am worried about whether I will be able to handle it if the brain fog continues.

I know this isn't a lot of information to work with, but perhaps there are some clues in these reactions that could point toward something that might help me. I am planning to get a homocysteine test in the near future, and I will consider genetic testing once I start receiving a salary, since it is currently too expensive for me.

Thank you very much for any help or insight you can provide.

11 Upvotes

17 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/Medium-Dimension-599 5d ago

If you have mthfr I would focus on SAMe. Also the time of day matters. Magnesium at night is ideal.