Welcome ICLW!

If you're stopping by from ICLW: Welcome, and thanks for stopping in!  :)  You can read more about me, our about our TTC journey (updated since last month!).

I don't have much more to say today, other than this blog is slowly starting to take shape and move in a cohesive direction, much like my life is right now.  :)  So... you'll probably see a gluten-free product review this week, some reflections on my piano students, maybe a post about my work with the MTHFR family (yes, that's an alias), and some musings on my walk with Jesus.  If you stick around all week, you may even hear about my allergy test results.  I'm expecting to get those some time this week.

Test Results!

I called the lab this afternoon to see if my test results were in, and they were!  :D  So, I walked up there, and got them.  Turns out I've got one copy of the C677T gene, just like Daniel!

I came straight home, sent Daniel an e-mail, called T (of the MTHFR family), and then Skype'd my dad.  My results mean that one of my parents has at least one C677T gene, and one parent has a "normal" gene.  Can't tell who is who unless they get tested.

We still don't know about my COMT status.  That will come later when we have enough money to do 23andme.com's genetic test.  :)

Do you want to know more about MTHFR?

Besides our family and friends, a number of people have found our blog via Google.  Most of them want more information about the symptoms of MTHFR deficiency.  But... I'm not really sure how to expand on what I already wrote:

What is MTHFR Deficiency?

Why Should I Get Tested?

Symptoms of MTHFR Deficiency

What can be done about it?

I feel a little frustrated, actually, since I've already shared basically all I know, and yet, people are still pushing me to write more (and exclusively!!) about MTHFR, autism and Asperger's Syndrome.  I'm not sure why I should write about autism or Asperger's, since I have not researched either topic much at all beyond their potential connection to MTHFR, and don't really know any more about them than what I've already shared.  And quite frankly, I don't really know what else to say about MTHFR, because I've already shared everything I know. Or, at least I think I've shared everything I know about MTHFR.  So... the ball is in your court now.  If you want to know more about MTHFR, you need to ask questions.  Otherwise, I'll just keep repeating myself, and both of us will get bored.

Hockey, Conspiracy Theories and Blood Work

Daniel's brother and sister-in-law gave us hockey tickets (to FOUR games!) for Christmas, and we used one set last night.  The first few minutes were quite boring, and then the visitors scored.  I thought it was goign to be all downhill from there, but we managed to come back and win the game 5-3, with 2 goals in the 1st and 3rd periods, and 1 goal in the 2nd.  Three fights, and three injured players later...  I think all the players are probably okay, but I tweeted at the team just to be sure.

Besides winning the game, the other interesting thing that happened was that there were two gentlemen sitting in front of us, speaking what sounded like Russian, and taping some of the more exciting parts of the game with their cell phones.  We're kind of wondering if they were scouts or something.  No, we didn't talk to them.

I'm finally going to do my MTHFR and allergy blood work today.  I'd put it off from last week, since I psyched myself out about the needle.  Daniel has today off, so he'll go with me and hold my hand.

Busy Week!

Sorry to disappear for two days!  This week turned out to be a lot busier than I expected.  I started back to work with the MTHFR family on Tuesday and Wednesday.  After I finished there yesterday, I taught my other two students over there, and by the time I got back last night, I was exhausted.  I slept pretty good last night!  :P

Yesterday our naturopath called in the order for my allergy test, and my MTHFR test, so I'm looking forward to getting those results, though I'm not really looking for ward to the process of getting them!  I hate needles!

Another strike against me?

I've blogged before about our experiences learning about the MTHFR defect, what it is, why it's important to know you have it, common symptoms of MTHFR deficiency and what you can do to help your body out if you do have it.

Since I wrote those posts, I've started following MTHFR Support on Facebook.  Last night they posted a link to an interesting study that showed a connection between MTHFR, preeclampsia, and another gene, called COMT.  Here's where the "another strike" comes in.  This summer, I found out that my aunt tested positive for two variations on the COMT gene.  We already suspect that I have at least one, if not two, MTHFR genes.  So... great.  I've already dealt with 4+ years of IF, I have hydrocephalus (a neural tube defect), Daniel has one MTHFR variation, and now I might have a raised chance of pre-e?  Oh goody.  :P

Adoption is looking better and better!  :D

(Side note: With only five days left in the year, we're getting closer to finding out my MTHFR status!  Only about a week to go until I can get tested!)

MTHFR Monday Round-Up!

Over the past several weeks I have blogged on Mondays about something I have been learning a lot about over the last year or so.  MTHFR will continue to be a big part of what I write about here as we continue to learn about it, how it affects our bodies, and what it means for us as we relate to each other.

Here is a summary of all the posts I wrote on MTHFR over the last several weeks:

What IS MTHFR anyway?

Why Should I Get Tested?

What are Some Symptoms of MTHFR Deficiency?

What Can Be Done?

If you have any questions about MTHFR, please ask!  I'd be happy to help you find the answers!

A Day Full of MTHFR

My schedule changed again this week, so today I'm going to work with the MTHFR family, and then attend a presentation about MTHFR tonight! :D Should be a good day, but I didn't sleep so well last night, and "R" had dance yesterday (cue exposure to perfumes and other icky things), so it could be an interesting day. Prayers would be appreciated.

MTHFR Monday--What can be done?

We were out all day today, and I forgot to write today's blog post ahead of time, so here is just a quick list of all the supplements and vitamins Daniel takes on a daily basis. :) Of course, if you have, or think you have an MTHFR defect, please work with your physician to figure out what protocol works best for you.

Twin Lab Allergy Multi (2 a day)

Kirkman Labs CoQ10 (2 a day)

Metagenics Folapro (2 a day)

Kirkman Labs Biofilm Defense (still working this schedule out)

Kirkman Labs Grapefruit Seed Extract (taken 30 minutes after the Biofilm Defense)

Kirkman Labs Pro-Bio Gold (1 a day)

The things we still need to add in are:
- Methyl-B12--This is a sublingual liquid.
- Minerals--Because he's been unable to absorb nutrients for so long, he's probably lacking a lot of minerals like zinc, magnesium, selenium, etc.
- An oil to go along with the CoQ10

MTHFR Monday--What are some symptoms of MTHFR deficiency?

*UPDATE 1/15/13* If you've found my blog via Google, WELCOME! Thanks for stopping by. If you have more questions about MTHFR after reading this post, and the two linked below, please read this post and leave me a comment there, letting me know what else you'd like to know about MTHFR!

Welcome to another MTHFR Monday!

So far, we've talked about what MTHFR is and why you might want to know if you have it. Today, we're going to discuss some symptoms of MTHFR deficiency.

First, it's important to recognize that not everyone will have the same symptoms. Even people within the same family may exhibit different symptoms. That being said... here's some information about common symptoms of MTHFR deficiency.

Symptoms of MTHFR deficiency can be seen in two body systems, and exposed by one external influence, but they're all caused by a systemic issue. High homocystine levels are often a sign of MTHFR deficiency, and this is due to a lack of methylfolate, which changes homocystine into Methionine, SAMe and Glutathione.

Methionine, SAMe, and Glutathione are needed by two body systems: the central nervous system, and the cardiovascular system. 

When methionine, SAMe, and glutathione are in short supply, the effects on the central nervous system include low levels of Serotonin, Dopamine, and Norepinephrine, which can result in depression, fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, migraines, IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), and memory loss with Alzheimer's and dementia

Effects on the cardiovascular system include: Heart attack, Stroke, Blood clots, Peripheral neuropathy, Anemia even Miscarriages and Congenital birth defects.  

Another common symptom area is in the realm of environmental toxins.  When not enough homocysteine gets converted into glutathione, a person will have difficulty detoxing from exposure to heavy metals in our environment. Some symptoms of heavy metal toxicity include nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, liver and kidney disfunction, rashes, hair loss, circulatory issues, and respiratory issues.

Information borrowed heavily from methyl-life.com

MTHFR Monday--Why should I get tested?

Last week I blogged a little bit about what MTHFR is.  This week, we're going to talk about why you may want to consider getting tested.

As I mentioned last week, MTHFR is a genetic variation. It is not a sex-linked defect, so that means that we do get one copy of the MTHFR gene from either parent.  If a blood relative in your family tree has the defect, it's possible that you have it too, depending on how it got passed down.

Many people don't realize how common the MTHFR variation is. It has been said that up to 70% of the population has at least one copy of the variation.  That's about 220,267,985 Americans.

Check out this list of medical conditions that the MTHFR variation can cause.  Pretty eye-opening! If you can identify even a few conditions on that list in your family tree, it may not be a bad idea to get tested for the MTHFR variation.

You still may be wondering why you would want to get tested for the MTHFR variation. In my opinion, it's important to get tested if you think it's a possibility, so that you can tell your kids, or your other family members about it, and so that you can start taking positive steps to counteract the negative effects of the variation. In Daniel's case, we know he has the variation that is known to cause heart issues, so we've started him on supplements to protect his circulatory system, and we've eliminated things from his diet that his body can't handle. Hopefully by taking positive steps forward early, we'll be able to hold off negative health issues further down the road.

Any questions about MTHFR so far?

MTHFR Monday--What IS it, anyway?

Welcome to the first weekly MTHFR Monday!  :)  On Mondays in the coming weeks, I'm going to explain a little bit about what MTHFR is, how you can find out if you have the defect, why you would want to know if you have the defect, and what can be done about it if you do have it.  I'll also explain how Daniel and I are working through the dynamics of things in our own family.

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase, or MTHFR for short, is an enzyme that is encoded by the MTHFR gene. Yeah, it's confusing. Why the scientists decided to name the enzyme and the gene with the same name is beyond me. The enzyme is the catalyst for the conversion of 5,10-Methylenethetrahydrofolate into 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, which is also known as levomefolic acid. This is the active form of folic acid, which is used at the cellular level for such things as DNA reproduction, amino acid cycles, and amino acid levels. Having a genetic variation on the MTHFR gene causes the enzyme produced to be not-quite-right.

Genetic variations in the MTHFR gene can lead to vascular disease, neural tube defects, and some types of cancers.

The MTHFR gene is located on Chromosome 1, which means everyone gets one MTHFR gene from each parent. So, everyone has TWO MTHFR genes that could potentially have a genetic variation. They are located in different places, so they have different names. One is the 677 gene, and one is the 1298 gene.  A "normal" 677 gene would be C677C, having two Cytosines. The variation on this gene is to have a Thymine, producing C677T, or T677T. The 1298 gene is normally A1298A. The variation would replace an Alanine with a Cytosine, ending up in A1298C, or C1298C. 

In Daniel's case, he only has the C677T variation, which means he has a fairly mild "case" of MTHFR deficiency. This means that his 1298 gene is fine, and only one half of his 677 gene has been affected.