My Story

First, a brief history. I’ve been sickly for much of my life (I’m 53). The worst of it has been the past 9 years, when my fatigue became overwhelming, making me bed bound for more than half the day after being active.

I spent most of my life underweight. Two years ago, I finally managed to figure out how to put on weight (by supporting methylation). The photo on the left shows how I looked for most of my life. — I supported methylation by taking lecithin (for choline), and I was also helped by high dose vitamin c. This was before I started thiamine. I suspect it was high homocysteine that was keeping me thin.

My Symptoms

• Chronic tachycardia
• Arrhythmia
• Inability to maintain electrolytes
• Swollen ankles
• Orthostatic hypotension
• Chronically low Blood Pressure
• Diagnosed with dysautonomia, and tried on several medications, all of which made me worse.

Improving My Health

I knew to expect a paradoxical response, per Drs. Lonsdale and Marrs. Increasing co-factors like magnesium and potassium helped, as did going very slowly.

I started out with 10 mg thiamine hcl and reacted to even that small amount. I eventually added a b complex and b12 drops.

I take thiamine hcl. For many weeks I took allithiamine, too, but I stopped tolerating it. I now take 310 mg thiamin hcl daily.

Health Gains in 3.5 Months

• Increased energy in general
• Increased exercise tolerance
• Raised BP by roughly 20 systolic points: huge gain for me. (I spent decades blacking out upon standing). I am now regularly around 110/70. If I get exhausted by physical activity and/or stress, it drops again.
• Heart rate normalized
• Arrhythmia almost non-existent
• No more heart palpitations after eating
• Got rid of the constant awareness of my heart
• Now able to walk rapidly
• Ankles rarely swollen now (used to be swollen everyday, particularly if I was active that day)
• Able to maintain mental clarity even after active or stressful events (until very recently, I could not think clearly after a day of teaching — used to have to ask my husband to speak slowly and break down complex ideas into simple ones after I taught, because my fatigue affected my cognition. That’s gone now.)
• Very rarely get costochondritis — it used to be a regular, painful complaint of mine. I was astonished to learn that costochondritis is caused by thiamine deficiency, especially since costochondritis is a common complaint in those who suffer connective tissue disorders (and they/we are led to believe it’s caused by genetically faulty connective tissue).
• I sleep through the night now, even if I was active that day. Until recently, if I was active — and in my limited-energy world, active might mean as little as attending a party — I would have great trouble falling asleep, and then I would awaken in the night after 4 hours of sleep and be awake at least 1 to 2 hours. That’s gone, and good riddance.
• No more debilitating menstrual periods. I suffered great pain with my period for over 35 years.
• No more stuffy nose at night when I’m exhausted.
• Remembering my dreams again for the first time in about 5 years.
• I wake up singing. I report this not as an indication of mood so much as an indication of energy — I simply never possessed the energy required to sing, especially not in the morning.
• I wake up early now. Completely new and no more “jelly legs”
• I’m probably forgetting other gains — if I remember more, I’ll add them.
• One thing that hasn’t gotten better yet is bad abdominal bloating. Hoping that improves if I keep titrating thiamine. I have low stomach acid — any ideas how to increase that are welcome.
• And I still tire far easier than a “normal” person, but it’s only been 3.5 months — I’m elated at the gains so far.
• Thank you to everyone in this great group for your help and knowledge.

Summary

In short, I showed signs of beriberi, but it was not recognized by doctors. I figured it out thanks to this group.

Because I was so deficient, starting thiamine was difficult for me.

The post Lynne’s Unrecognised Beriberi for Decades appeared first on Understanding B1 Deficiency.

1942 – Mild Thiamine deficiency in 11 Women

Williams, Mason, Smith, and Wilder, at the Mayo Clinic in 1942 induced thiamine deficiency, placed 11 women on diets which provided 0.22 mg. of thiamine for each 1000 calories.¹

This allowance was five and a half times greater than that given during their earlier studies and was selected to produce a milder type of deficiency compared to that which might be encountered more frequently in the general population.

Caloric intakes were adapted to the requirements of each subject and moderate activity was permitted.The periods of low thiamine allowance mere continued for 89 to 196 days.

Symptoms

• During this time all subjects showed definite changes of personality.
• Irritable
• Depressed
• Quarrelsome and uncooperative
• Two threatened suicide.
• All became inefficient in their work
• Forgetful
• Lost manual dexterity.
• Their hands and feet frequently felt numb.
• Headaches
• Backaches
• Sleeplessness
• Sensitivity to noises were noted
• The subjects fatigued easily.
• Constipation was the rule, but no impairment.
• Anorexia
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Epigastric distress were frequently observed.
• Low blood pressure and vasomotor instability mere present in all patients.
• At rest, pulse rates were low (55 to 6O per minute) but tachycardia followed moderate exertion.
• Fasting blood sugar was often abnormally high.

Recovery Notes

When additions of thiamine were made to the diet, the above manifestations disappeared gradually and a sense of well-being returned. Apparent improvement, however, was not so rapid as it had been with the more severe degrees of thiamine deficiency studied.

Conclusion

This gives a really interesting overview on how many symptoms manifest even in a mild thiamine deficient state and also how easily it was induced, considering how alcohol and refined carbohydrate sources can accelerate the use of thiamine, its highly important to pay attention to symptoms that manifest.

Books That Discuss This Subject

Sources

The post Inducing Mild Thiamine deficiency in 11 Women appeared first on Understanding B1 Deficiency.