My particular mutation or defect is called MTHFR C677T homozygous (A) ...and with that, it seems I lack an enzyme that protects my heart, and puts me at a 'higher' risk for all kinds of things like cancer and miscarriage, etc. I gave birth to 3 healthy babies, but we did adopt our first child because we spent 10 years trying to get pregnant and were not successful. However; I did have one miscarriage between child 2 and 3. Anyway, another thing to note is that my mother died of heart disease at the young age of 45, which is pretty unusual, so she likely had this mutation and I got it from her. And apparently this mutation means I do not absorb Folic Acid and my level is non-existent so I need a prescription for this. I started it this week.
Now, present day, doctor says I do not have an enzyme that protects my heart and given my mother's history and this mutation, I need to take a medication for the rest of my life that will protect my heart. The medication is fairly new and insurance does not cover it at all. Some say I should get a second opinion. This drug is not cheap. I'm on the fence about the whole thing, but would surely like to have all the odds in my favor. I can certainly control lifestyle choices to improve my odds regarding heart disease and Cancer, but I cannot control an enzyme I don't have, lol. So maybe I DO need this drug and we'll just have to adjust our budget to allow for the cost. The cost X2 because apparently my daughter will need it as well.
Meanwhile, in my adventures of research, apparently how much or how little homocysteine there is in my body greatly affects all kinds of things. It is kind of hard to understand all this, especially if you're not much into chemistry, but here is an image of the complicated chemical cycle of homocysteine courtesy of Oregon State University. Now, for more data than you ever wanted to absorb regarding nutrients and the brain (or if you are a geek like me), go to the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State.
Moving on, I also see a lot of reading that suggests that with this mutation my body does not purge toxins very well, like non-mutated people do, and that I should be maintaining a whole foods diet, with as few processed foods as possible, and have a household that has all natural products, chemical-free, etc. I should only consume organic foods, etc. I lean towards that theology for wellness anyway; but in moderation. I am certainly not 100% and neither is my household. And I wonder if all that is truly necessary, like changing my makeup and skin care and body care and household cleaners, etc. But then again, it surely couldn't hurt.
All of this leads me to a strong interest in essential oils. So now I'm in research mode and debating between Young Living and Do Terra to be my source of oils, but IF there is a better source, where the oils are therapeutic grade and pure, as well as high quality, I'd love to know. I'm gun-shy about MLM companies in general, and of course, both Young Living and Do Terra use reps and consultants and are home-based MLM business models.
And in other news ... I bought size 12 pants and shorts today. This is cause for celebration in my world because I honestly have no memory of ever owning size 12 pants in my life.
Thank you for reading all of this, if you did actually do that, and wish me luck on this educational journey of mine.
As always, make champion choices,
Debra
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