Hair and UAA Test Results

Hair test:
This measures 23 minerals but I was really only concerned with 2 of them, Lithium and Cobalt (B-12).  This test represents an average of the past 3 months or however long you allow your hair to grow.  That means that if a mineral is trending up, then it is likely slightly  higher at this time than it appears on the test and vice versa.

Yasko was very pleased overall.  The best news is that Cobalt has edged into the normal range, just barely at .005.  However, it is a 5 fold increase since last time and if measured at a snapshot, it would likely be slightly higher.  Still. I need to stay on B-12 and if anything, it may need to be increased a bit.  My energy will not be affected if I take too much but it can cause diarrhea so if I am to take extra, it must be done at night.

Lithium:
To clarify, the form of Lithium that I take is low dose Lithium Orotate, which is very different from the Lithium Carbonate that is prescribed to bipolar patients.  It's primary function is to transport B-12 into the cells.  As I learned the hard way last year, if you take B-12 when your Lithium is not up to snuff, it not reach the cells but pool up in the blood and leave you worse off than before.  My first test showed Lithium to be nearly undetectable then it was mildly elevated on the 2nd test (yellow zone) so I reduced the dosage.  It is now SKY HIGH (well above the red line).  Though Yasko was not too worried, it is common knowledge that excess Lithium suppresses thyroid function and will leave me vulnerable to fatigue and weight gain.  ADHS (adrenal modulator) contains an unspecified trace amount of Lithium so that's probably why I felt slightly worse if I took too much of that stuff.  What's done is done but I likely would have performed better in Alaska if I had nixed the Lithium caps.

Toxic metals:
I thought that perhaps with the methylation support, I would see more toxic metal elimination.  Not so at least at the present time.  All toxic metals were in the low zone.

Other minerals:
I had a few that were mildly low (yellow zone) but NO CRITICAL DEFICIENCIES!  That is excellent news and clears one hurdle that is a must before I enter the dating market.

UAA test:
This stands for Urinary Amino Acids and I believe it is a snapshot test, not an average over a period of time.  Again, many of them were tested but I will only list the ones of note.

Methionine- This represents the starting point of the methylation cycle and I believe that a deficiency here is responsible for extreme sensitivity to minerals.  I tested at 9.7 vs. a reference range of 7-35.  That's still on the low side (yellow) but it beats the hell of the 2.0 that I had without the methylation support.  I had only been on the Methyl Mate 3-4 weeks when I sent the sample so it's probably higher now.

Taurine- A mild concern here.  I saw a rise from 720 (green) to 1080 (yellow).  The red line is 1200 so I did come in well under that.  It is a bit puzzling why I had such a bad reaction to the CBS drops and the CBS/NOS caps.  Perhaps I was too aggressive with the dosage and I only should take just a trace.  Any downside to too low taurine?  Yes.  A deficiency can lead to anxiety and leave me vulnerable to high blood pressure and cholesterol.  I have another theory that it is related to beta alanine and gut dysbiosis.  If that's true, I need to focus on probiotics not CBS issues.

Ammonia- No concern here.  This one was in the green zone and just a tick north of the 50th percentile.  No need for treatment.

Glutamate- It was undetectable last time.  It's now 10 (5-45 ref).  Edged into normal but it may be a good idea to take some occasional glutamine to guard against another drop.

Phospho-Serine- Also undetectable last time.  It's now 0.96 (ref 0.6-6.0).  Again, it's still a little on the low side but I should get by without it as a stand alone supplement.  Methyl Mate contains a trace of it as part of a proprietary blend so that should be enough to stay afloat.

Beta alanine- A rise from 6.5 to 18.  OUCH!  The red line is 20 so I did still come in under that.  A high value here indicates gut dysbiosis and unbalanced intestinal flora.  It may also be artificially raising my taurine levels.  I've slacked on my probiotics recently and though it won't hurt to miss a day here and there, I can't make a habit of it.  This will come down if I take them every day and/or eat some yogurt and taurine may drop along with it.  The herbal supps for malabsorption are non-factors.  I'll finish the bottle and pitch it without re-ordering.

Reaction:
Mostly pleased but a few tweaks are necessary.  First, Lithium as a stand alone has to go.  It may take a few weeks but I should see improvements in energy when that normalizes.  I'll try to up B-12 to get the Cobalt to the middle of the range.  Hopefully, ADHS will be enough Lithium to get it into the cells.

I have a few indicators of a mildly low Magnesium level.  This one has been tested 3 times at the RBC level (all 5.6-5.9).  That's slightly below the optimal range but not enough to produce significant symptoms.  If it drops below 5, I've got real trouble.  I'm upping it from 500-750 mg.

Probiotics every day.

I want to give the CBS stuff one more shot at a low dose or simply occasional use.  It's possible that it's necessary if I take MitoForce (with glutathione) but more than likely, it will be neither not both.

Ultimate B is worth a shot.  My ratio of 1200 methyl folate/1 Methyl Mate appears to be stable at the moment but given my history, that could change.  I really don't like to have to take such an exact ratio every morning or else.  Some flexibility would sure be nice and more methylation support will raise my still low Methionine level.

I should have the formula set by the end of the month and I'm going with it for the next 3 months.  At the end of September, I'll send in another hair test this time through ARL to get more accurate assessments of thyroid and adrenal function.  If I can avoid a major relapse during that time and I have no severe imbalances in key mineral ratios, I'm putting myself on the dating market.