The Mutant

A few years ago a former, subsequently fired, health care provider was harassing me about taking B12 supplements. I kept telling him about the reactions I have had to most supplements including B12. He refused to hear to what I was saying. He argued and bullied me over the next couple of appointments and through email demanded I take B12. I guess he thought it was life or death. Really?

At our last appointment his doctor-friend sarcastically asked me why I was even there if I wasn't willing to submit myself to their ignorant experimentation. (I'm paraphrasing, of course.) Then all of a sudden, my doctor backed off and said something about a genetic mutation that creates all kinds of serious negative reactions if you take the wrong type of B12. I threw up my arms and exclaimed, SEE, I TOLD YOU IT'S NOT AS SAFE AS YOU THINK!

I felt vindicated. As I've said many times to many people, there is too much we don't know about our individual body chemistries to make blanket statements about how something is good for everyone without question. I have no idea why these people assume all supplements are safe and I find it so incredibly ignorant and unprofessional. On top of their ignorance and their narrow-minded veneration of drugs, they persist in ignoring what I'm trying to tell them about my personal experiences with supplements. In my mind, this compounds their incompetence and my distrust. I want to scream, WHY AREN'T YOU LISTENING TO ME? I wasn't sure why he waited so long to back off and give me this information. I wondered if he was researching in between our email exchanges and appointments and had himself an "Ah Ha!" moment. That crazy patient of mine was right!

My newest health care provider was talking about genetic testing during my appointment. I'm not sure why she wanted to tell me about her heritage, but I read a philosophy once that said people who come into your life always have a message for you transported through the universe. Even if it's a casual meeting like talking to someone while waiting in a grocery checkout line or passing someone on the street and smiling with a quick "hi". Everyone has message for you. Something you need to know. Whether or not it's true, I like the idea of our universal interconnection. Her conversation about her genes was interesting because she said she thought she was part Native American, but surprisingly her results came back all Scandinavian. Interesting since that's my assumed heritage, but the conversation was so random I kept asking myself why was she using my appointment time to talk about herself? But it stuck in my head. It would only cost $99 to find out all about my DNA.  What could I learn from this kind of testing?

Then last week read an article by the highly informative thyroid doctor Chris Kresser on MTHFRS (methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase) which is a genetic mutation having to do with that enzyme that effects methylation. http://chriskresser.com/methylation-what-is-it-and-why-should-you-care His website-blog is listed on my blog list to the right of this post or find him at http://chriskresser.com

I have read several books addressing methylation, its issues, and possible contributions to chemical sensitivity as well as other conditions. But wasn't MTHFRS the same enzyme that the doctor-B12-bully told me about?  Later in the article Dr. Kresser says you can get genetic testing done for only $99 and not only can you find out about your ethic background, but all kinds of health related issues or genetic mutations. Is that the test the last doctor told me about?


WHOA! Epiphany! All these people have been giving me the same message! Without hesitation, I ordered the test online.

The company that does this DNA testing is 23 and Me.  It takes about 2 days for the test kit to arrive and it's very easy to do. Spit in the tube, close it, shake it, mail it. No doctor involvement makes this my kind lab test! The whole process is quite easy and incredibly efficient. When they receive the sample, they send an email which I really appreciated since I erroneously mailed the sample through the Rathole post office and doubted their competence. The notice was reassuring.

After three to four weeks the results come back. The first result they sent is I am a Neanderthal. I have no idea why I care about this, but I guess we are connected through various ancient groups. Mine originated in the Near East and then ended up in Europe. Maybe this is why the Paleo diet is good for me? I am also related through this ancient group to Jimmy Buffet so that's kind of cool.


A few days later I started getting emails from unknown people wanting to connect with me due to our ancestral linkage. Although I didn't get an email notification, I deduced this was because my ancestry results were ready and they were. I'm 99.9% European. This is interesting since I have been told all my life my great, great, great, great grandmother was Cherokee. I guess not. I know the name of her husband and their children, children's children, children's children's children, etc. I was told she died in childbirth, but I always assumed since we were supposed to be blood related that my great, great, great grandfather was her son. Maybe she died before she had any kids and her husband remarried creating my lineage? I have no idea. It's amazing what we think we know, but really don't know about our family and lineage. My grandmother was supposedly 100% Norwegian, but my Scandinavian ancestry was only 16.3% so this leads me to believe she wasn't all Norwegian. Who knows. It's a bit discombobulating to realize everything you've been told about your heritage was fabricated and it makes me think I come from a family of storytellers! But then I looked at the "Countries of Ancestry" and 2.1% is from Norway and only 1.4% from United Kingdom which makes more sense. In truth, I have no idea how to read any of this.

The fun, but slightly weird thing about this information is one can go online and see where all your relatives are located, or rather, everyone who has done this genetic test through this company who matches your ancestry. Many of my distant relatives are from Virginia and North Carolina. OK, that's where my Cherokee grandmother was from so that kind of/sort of makes sense. At least no one lied about location. I have many relatives in Ireland and Britain and since my last name is old English, that makes sense. One Irish woman matches me 53% and is considered a 4th cousin. For those who have little or no immediate family, this would be a fun way to link to distant relatives and create a larger family. I don't know. I'm not really fond of most of the family I have now so I can't imagine wanting more of them.

This company also does genetic research. I linked into their surveys and answered all kinds of bizarre questions that required me to constantly look in a mirror. Some addressed chemical exposures, drug usage, and allergies. This was interesting and it gives me hope that someone is researching chemicals and their effects on our health and genetics. The last survey was about sexual preference which is also fascinating. It would be interesting to know what role genetics plays in homosexuality and I look forward to when scientific evidence becomes fact silencing the irrational preaching of all those homophobic religious nuts.

I waited a day or so but didn't receive another notification. I had to search the website to figure out where they put the "raw genetic data." If you click on your name in the upper right hand corner, a drop down list appears with "raw genetic data". They used to interpret this for you, but as Dr. Kresser mentioned in his article, they got into some kind of FDA, USDA or government trouble. Now they send you the raw data results and you have to jump through hoops on other websites to get it interpreted. My first thought this was bureaucratic nonsense just making it harder for people to get information, but some of the results are a little hard to understand as it's all scientific explanations. I'm sure the powers-that-be don't want people doing stupid things in the name of health to try to fix their misinterpretations of the results.

There are two websites that will interpret your data. I'm not sure why they can and 23andme can't. One is GeneticGenie which will give you the gene type and results. Needless to say, I'm seriously mutant. Out of twenty genes, six are fine, twelve are compromised, and two are serious screwed. Some of the highlights caused by these mutations: MCS (SURPRISE!), B12 depletion, mood swings, sulfur intolerance, slow metabolism of caffeine, behavior problems, irritability, pain sensitivity, sleep problems, short-term memory issues, mast cell activation disorder, and lots of detoxification problems. These mutations also put me at risk for Autism, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer's, Bipolar Illness, blood clots and stroke. Great. I am doomed. What is new?

So far I'm not showing signs of Autism, Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer's, Bipolar Illness, sulfur intolerance, short-term memory issues nor mast cell activation disorder. Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia...fatigue and pain? That's just part of the MCS family of symptoms although I've never been diagnosed with either as I don't think my symptoms are that chronic. Behavior problems? Well, that's up for interpretation! However, I don't think I'm that weird other than I'm not friendly with my stinky neighbors nor do I like toxic people in general. I think I'm fairly empathetic and cognitively aware when certain behaviors might be considered abnormal. Maybe I'm just good at hiding my weirdness? I suppose constant annoyance would be considered a behavior problem.

The other is Nutrahacker which will tell you what supplements/foods/things to avoid and what to take based on your raw genetic data results. I should avoid things like alcohol, cannabis, curcumin, cumin, estrogens, folate, grapefruit, noise, and vitamin E!!! Whoa! Grapefruit?? I eat curry and cumin all the time. Curcumin in particular is supposed to be an excellent anti-inflammatory and blood thinner. I thought the noise was really interesting since I have such a serious noise sensitivity, but the results specifically say too much noise and I have a greater chance for hearing loss than a less-mutant person.

The number one purpose behind getting this test was to find out if I can take B12 of any kind. I'm a little confused as both lists include B12, all forms, so I'm not sure what that means since another mutation creates a B12 depletion. My life is one on-going paradox.

I'm not sure if knowing all this is helpful in the long run. One of the gene mutations makes me prone to anxiety and worry. I guess now I have more to worry about!