Having a mutation is WEIRD!!

Caution:  This is sort of a downer  : /

All sorts of weird things have happened to me throughout my life.  Things that made no sense at the time, and I now understand that they were likely all related to having a genetic mutation.  Here is an example.  I have always had allergies.  General nose allergies.  Like I wake up every morning with a nose full of snot.  So somewhere in my 20s, I decided to have allergy tests, to find out what I was allergic to.  They drew six vials of blood and tested me for everything under the sun.  And guess what.  The test showed that I was not allergic to anything!!  Well, now I know that it has to do with my histamine response always being turned on.  I'm working on that one now by avoiding high histamine foods.  I also learned that if you have a certain amount of leaky gut going on, which I did, that can affect the results of some tests.  I took a food sensitivity test about two years ago that said I was not sensitive to wheat, which is a bunch of bullshit!  Funny how the lady at the Functional Medicine place didn't take into consideration that I might have a leaky gut that might affect the test.  I learned that from my current Naturopathic Doctor.  That's the way it is when you have a genetic mutation.  You learn little bits of information and gather and collect them yourself.  I have had a lifetime of going to doctors for various things, and the doctors not having a clue what was wrong with me or how to help.  It's frustrating to say the least, and you just have to take your heath into your own hands.  

Here is another example.  I have had flu shots exactly 3 times. Every single time I had a flu shot, I got the flu.  And not just a mild version, as I have heard can happen.  The worst flus you can imagine.  Like I seriously thought I was dying.  I now know that has to do with my lack of methylation.  The way I understand it is that if you have methylation issues, the place the flu vaccine is supposed to attach in your genes can be blocked with toxins.  So the vaccine just ends up floating around your body, and instead of protecting you against the flu, it gives you the flu!  That is seriously messed up!  And weird.  Needless to say, I don't get flu shots anymore. 

I have always been incredibly sensitive to many things.  Alcohol is one.  I am the person who gets hammered from drinking one beer (when I drank beer) or one glass of wine.   I always thought it was because I am a small person.  I still don't understand it really, but it also happens with medications and many other things.  Weird.

Migraines are really weird!  Thankfully I don't get them anymore, but I used to.  When I first started getting migraines I was in sixth grade.  I saw this weird fluttery thing in my vision (an aura) that started at one end of my vision, then slowly moved from one side, accross to the other side.  It was very scary, uncomfortable, and I didn't know what it was.  And I would feel nauseous, and think I was going to throw up, but then never did.  Then the headache would hit.  It was horrible.  It makes you feel like hiding under a blanket, in a cave.  Nothing would make the pain go away.  I would often go to sleep when I got the headache, and when I woke up the pain would be less, but not gone.  And I could feel the remains of the headache for a day or two afterward.  

It seems like there have always been these weird things happening to my body, throughout my life.  When I was young, it was confusing and made me feel alone.  The adults in my life didn't know how to help me.  It was the same when I had such horrible cramps due to Endometriosis. The only thing I knew to do was take Ibuprofen and lay down.  And that didn't always help.  Even when I took a whole handful of it.  I visited doctors repeatedly when I was in my 20s and 30s for cramps and all they ever wanted to do was hand me painkillers.  I always saw painkillers as bandaids that sort of worked, but didn't really help anything.  It is super scary, especially as a kid, having so many weird things happening to your body that you seem to have no control over.  It changes you and turns you into a person who is not so happy all the time, always knowing there is something dreadful about to happen.  I am so thankful to be learning all the things I am learning now.  And at the same time, I am really sad for the younger me, who was often alone and confused about mysterious pain, discomfort, and weirdness.  

Sorry this post  turned into such a downer!  It really didn't start out that way!!  Peace out.     

My first post.

So, this is my first blog post, ever.  I am a person who found out recently that I have a genetic mutation.  I am Homozygous for the MTHFR A1298C mutation.  That means I have two copies of the mutated gene, one from each parent.   And what that means is that my body does a really crappy job of getting rid of toxins and things that most people get rid of naturally.  I have always known that my body doesn't work like it is supposed to.  I have had a lifetime of health issues because of the mutation, including but not limited to:  Endometriosis, Depression, Anxiety, other undiagnosed Mental Illness, Fatigue (not like oh, I'm tired fatigue, but I'm freaking exhausted all the time fatigue), Thyroid Antibodies (I don't officially have Hashimoto's Disease because my Thyroid isn't destroyed enough to call it that, but I do have the antibodies and the low Thyroid symptoms), G.E.R.D., Gastritis, Food Allergies, Muscle Spasms, Abdominal Pain, Sleep issues, Dizziness, Sun Induced Eczema, Headaches (regular and Migraine), Leaky Gut,  etc.  Fortunately, I am not experiencing all these symptoms right now!  I am a Spoonie.  That's me on the left.

I always thought I wanted to make a blog after I found out all the answers and considered myself to be healthy.  And pass on my information to people who were struggling, to give them answers.  My husband recently convinced me to do it now.  I do feel like I am pretty close to getting it all figured out, but I still really struggle, on a daily basis.  If you are trying to figure out methylation, do yourself a favor and go to the Facebook page called, "Keep it simple methylation" and ask to be added.  Then read the article about the 5 steps.  It blew my mind when I read it.  It explained so many of the things I was not understanding.  Of course there is also MTHFR.net for a ton of good information.  Methylating is what regular people do naturally, that gets rid of toxins and turns the the things you eat into nice things like Seratonin and Dopamine, or Norepinephrine.  When your pathways are all blocked with toxins, that conversion doesn't happen correctly, and you end up with a bunch of health issues.  I have also learned a lot and connected with a few excellent people on Instagram.  I gained some confidence, strength, and guts to even talk about all this stuff, just from connecting with folks on Instagram.   And also with some encouragement from my husband.  I guess I used to think I was in this all by myself, and I had to figure it all out on my own.  Now I know it is going to take a village.  Something really important for people with the MTHFR mutation, that is pretty much accross the board, is to stay far away from Folic Acid.  Like don't even look at it!  Seriously, in any form.  Not Folate, but Folic Acid.  Folic Acid is like a manmade version of Folate and it will wreak havoc on you if you have the MTHFR mutation.  I can speak from personal experience, as I was taking a liquid B complex for a year or so, that had Folic Acid in it.  I was horribly depressed the whole time I was taking it!

Here are some of the things I am doing to try to get better.  I eat clean, gluten, grain and dairy-free food. I cook almost everything I eat myself.  I take supplements: Cod Liver Oil, Vitamin D, Vitamin C, Probiotics, Sam-e, 5htp, zinc, Niacin, and Magnesium on a daily basis.  I am the person who tried taking an active B complex and for a week, felt amazing!  Then I completely crashed.  Over methylation.  I am still learning about that and how that works.  Now I have my B vitamins separated out into separate pills, which I break down even further, into 1/4 pills.  I am extremely sensitive!  I buy gelatin capsules to separate out my supplements.  I tried Amino  NAC for a little while, and then started getting heartburn and symptoms of Over methylation, so I am giving that a break.  I walk daily, about a half hour.  I am learning to meditate, which has never been easy for me.  I try to do that daily, but it usually ends up being about 4 times a week.  I sometimes do yoga, or just stretching.  I don't put anything on my skin that I wouldn't eat.  I am learning that I can't do everything.  I ask for help.  Ok I guess that's it for now.  Please do remember that I am not a doctor.  These are just my experiences