Rich: methylation/blood results -- please advise

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Rich,

I recently got back the following results from blood tests:

Vitamin B-12, serum >2000 (high)

folate, serum 19.6 (reference range is >5.4 ng/ml)

folate, RBC 811 (reference range >280 ng/ml)

homocysteine 6.2 (reference range is <10.4

micromol/L)

I had been using sub-q hydroxycobalamin for years, but I just switched to methyl

B-12. Because of a few known toxicities (nickel, arsenic, pesticides) and some

reasonably suspect ones (mercury, especially), I'm keeping the dosage low (.5

mg/day) for fear of causing redistribution. I don't know if that's a reasonable

fear, but so far I've noticed that more MB12 seems to exacerbate my neuro

symptoms. Or maybe it's just coincidence.

As far as your usual recommendations, I've been taking 1 g of TMG, 250 mcg

molybdenum, 100 mg B-6,12 mg P5P, and 400 mcg folic acid as part of a B-vitamin

complex. I'm taking 4 g of taurine (I'd like to hear why you recommend a maximum

of 2 g) at night to help with sleep. I've also taking as much oral magnesium of

various sorts as I can manage, if that adds anything to the picture. Most of

these I've been doing for years, or at least months, except for the recent

change to methyl B-12. I'm not sure, but I might feel a little bit better from

the methyl B-12, but other than that none of this seems to make much of a

difference. Would adding folinic help or does the high-ish folate mean I am

converting folic acid and I don't need to use folinic acid or l-methylfolate?

(**Please, Rich, I'm waiting for your assessment of metafolin:

http://www.metafolin.com/. They say that it is a step further down the

methylation pathway than folinic acid. See my post from 2/9.) I'm wondering

whether the low-ish homocysteine means I'm getting enough methylation already.

I started to use glucosamine sulfate and had no ill effects, but after reading

this article -- http://altmedicine.about.com/mbiopage.htm -- which explains how

the sugars that make up glucosamine sulfate can lead to serious insulin

resistance, I stopped it, even though I don't think I'm at any particular risk

for developing diabetes. So, for sulfate, I am now doing foot baths with Epsom

salts, as I am unable to get into and out of a tub.

In the past, I've reacted badly to SAMe (hyper), but I'm hoping to get the point

where I can tolerate it, since people are reporting such benefit from it. The

same goes for glutathione. I used to tolerate glutathione, but after an IV

containing glutathione and NAC (to treat for pesticide exposure) knocked me

flat, I haven't been able to tolerate it, or I should say I haven't even tried

after the first failure to tolerate it. I am however taking a supplement that

has a small amount of l-cysteine, with no apparent problem (although it's hard

to say what is helping and what is harming when I generally feel so crummy). I

haven't yet been tested for glutathione levels.

What are your recommendations?

Thanks for your help,

Ellen