I have peripheral neuropathy, and after Tex's advice, requested a prescription for Metanx. Since it is not included in my "formulary", the doctor prescribed Foltanx, the generic version. I have tried taking it and noticed stomach discomfort each time. Contacted the company that manufactures it to see if it contains any wheat, dairy or soy, and they said not. I wonder if I should try paying for Metanx outside of insurance to try. Hate to spend the money on it if I will have the same reaction. I note that I don't get this reaction to regular B vitamins. Any advice?
Jean
Metanx
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Jean,
According to the Metanx website these are the inactive ingredients in Metanx:
"Dietary Ingredients:
Silicified Microcrystalline Cellulose, Algae-S Powder (Schizochytrium Algal Oil [Vegetable source], Glucose Syrup Solids, Mannitol, Sodium Caseinate (milk), Soy Protein, High Oleic Sunflower Oil, 2% or less Sodium Ascorbate, Tricalcium Phosphate, Tetrasodium Diphosphate, Natural Flavors, Soy Lecithin, and Mixed Natural Tocopherols and Ascorbyl Palmitate [as antioxidants]), Hypromellose, Pyridoxal 5’ Phosphate, L-methylfolate Calcium, Methylcobalamin, Titanium Dioxide (color), Magnesium Stearate (Vegetable Source), Caramel (color), Shellac, Propylene Glycol USP, Carmine (color).
Contains Milk, Soy and Carmine.
Metanx® capsules do not contain lactose, yeast or gluten."
So it contains both milk and soy.
I have been taking a combo of b vitamins that are identical to the ones in Metanx. I get Pure Encapsulation products because they do not add inactive ingredients. It probably costs more than a prescription if you have good insurance. I tend to avoid going to my doctor as much as possible so I am happy to just get the vitamins on my own. I come pretty close to the ratio of b vitamins that Metanx contains.
The other Jean
According to the Metanx website these are the inactive ingredients in Metanx:
"Dietary Ingredients:
Silicified Microcrystalline Cellulose, Algae-S Powder (Schizochytrium Algal Oil [Vegetable source], Glucose Syrup Solids, Mannitol, Sodium Caseinate (milk), Soy Protein, High Oleic Sunflower Oil, 2% or less Sodium Ascorbate, Tricalcium Phosphate, Tetrasodium Diphosphate, Natural Flavors, Soy Lecithin, and Mixed Natural Tocopherols and Ascorbyl Palmitate [as antioxidants]), Hypromellose, Pyridoxal 5’ Phosphate, L-methylfolate Calcium, Methylcobalamin, Titanium Dioxide (color), Magnesium Stearate (Vegetable Source), Caramel (color), Shellac, Propylene Glycol USP, Carmine (color).
Contains Milk, Soy and Carmine.
Metanx® capsules do not contain lactose, yeast or gluten."
So it contains both milk and soy.
I have been taking a combo of b vitamins that are identical to the ones in Metanx. I get Pure Encapsulation products because they do not add inactive ingredients. It probably costs more than a prescription if you have good insurance. I tend to avoid going to my doctor as much as possible so I am happy to just get the vitamins on my own. I come pretty close to the ratio of b vitamins that Metanx contains.
The other Jean
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Jean,
Yes, the inactive ingredients in Metanx leave a lot to be desired. And yes, insurance doesn't cover it, so I have always paid the full cost out of my own pocket. Regarding the inactive ingredients, fortunately, soy doesn't bother me, and the trace amounts of other ingredients don't seem to have any adverse effect on me, either. I continue to take it because I work around dangerous machinery, so I can't afford to allow my balance to be compromised. If I were to lose my balance at the wrong time, needless to say, I wouldn't be likely to be logging on here after that.
A couple of months ago, the manufacturer changed the formulation. So I don't know if that ingredient list apples to the old version or the new version. The label on the "new" pill bottle says that the medication is unchanged, but I'm sure that refers to the active ingredients, only. I have little doubt that the inactive ingredients have been changed, because the product was changed from a tablet to a capsule. I still have a few tablets left before I will have to start on the capsule version, so my opinion may change at that point.
I've read in various locations on the web, that most people who truly need this product (IOW, people who need the active forms of these particular vitamins to correct or prevent neurological issues) complain that the generic product does not work very well for them. The reason is because one or more of the vitamins in the generic are in provitamin form, not the active form. Provitamins are the form available in most common vitamin products, because they are much cheaper than the active form. Provitamins have to be converted to the active form before they can be utilized by the body, and they have to be converted inside the body, by some special process. For some of us, those conversion processes are compromised, so only the active form provides any benefits for us. For example, the regular version of vitamin B-12 is cyanocobalamin, whereas the active form is methylcobalamin. Anyway, because of that, I've never even considered taking a generic form of Metanx. There's some discussion about this in the thread at the following link:
http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=17296
There's another way to skin this cat, however. Since Metanx has within the past year roughly doubled in price, I have "made up" my own version by using individual vitamins (in the active form) that can be bought on Amazon and other places. I used this for a while, and then went back to the Metanx, because it is so much easier to take a single pill each morning, than to have to make it up by taking 5 or 6 pills.
Metanx contains:
35 mg of Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (which is the active form of B-6)
3 mg of L-methylfolate Calcium (which is the active form of B-9)
2 mg of Methylcobalamin (which is the active form of B-12)
That can be obtained from:
Vital Nutrients brand of Pyridoxal-5 Phosphate, 50 mg. Inert ingredients are: rice powder, gelatin capsule, leucine, and silica.
To match the dose, take 1 capsule per day, 2 days in a row, then skip the 3rd day, then start over. IOW, this will amount to 2 capsules every 3 days, in order to average out at 33 mg per day.
Life Extension brand of Optimized Folate (L-methylfolate), 1,000 mcg. Inert ingredients are: mirocrystaline cellulose, vegetable cellulose (capsule), silica, vegetable stearate. The label specifically names all of the common allergens (including milk, eggs, soy, wheat, yeast, nuts, corn, rice, etc.), and the product is certified to be free of all of them.
To match the dose, take 3 capsules each day.
2,000 mcg of methylcobalamin. There are a number of options available for methylcomalamin. The one I used is Wonder Laboratories brand of Methyl Cobalamin, 5,000 mcg. Be aware that it contains mannitol, citric acid, and stevia.
To match the dose, take 1 tablet, then skip a day, take another tablet, then skip 2 days, then repeat. IOW this will amount to taking 2 tablets every 5 days, in order to average out at 2,000 mcg per day.
By doing this, you can not only avoid all the undesirable inert ingredients in Metanx, but you can also save roughly half the cost of the branded product. And all of these products are available without a prescription. If I recall correctly, Brandy has also used a similar "home-compounded" version of Metanx, with good success. If anyone has any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Tex
Yes, the inactive ingredients in Metanx leave a lot to be desired. And yes, insurance doesn't cover it, so I have always paid the full cost out of my own pocket. Regarding the inactive ingredients, fortunately, soy doesn't bother me, and the trace amounts of other ingredients don't seem to have any adverse effect on me, either. I continue to take it because I work around dangerous machinery, so I can't afford to allow my balance to be compromised. If I were to lose my balance at the wrong time, needless to say, I wouldn't be likely to be logging on here after that.
A couple of months ago, the manufacturer changed the formulation. So I don't know if that ingredient list apples to the old version or the new version. The label on the "new" pill bottle says that the medication is unchanged, but I'm sure that refers to the active ingredients, only. I have little doubt that the inactive ingredients have been changed, because the product was changed from a tablet to a capsule. I still have a few tablets left before I will have to start on the capsule version, so my opinion may change at that point.
I've read in various locations on the web, that most people who truly need this product (IOW, people who need the active forms of these particular vitamins to correct or prevent neurological issues) complain that the generic product does not work very well for them. The reason is because one or more of the vitamins in the generic are in provitamin form, not the active form. Provitamins are the form available in most common vitamin products, because they are much cheaper than the active form. Provitamins have to be converted to the active form before they can be utilized by the body, and they have to be converted inside the body, by some special process. For some of us, those conversion processes are compromised, so only the active form provides any benefits for us. For example, the regular version of vitamin B-12 is cyanocobalamin, whereas the active form is methylcobalamin. Anyway, because of that, I've never even considered taking a generic form of Metanx. There's some discussion about this in the thread at the following link:
http://www.perskyfarms.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=17296
There's another way to skin this cat, however. Since Metanx has within the past year roughly doubled in price, I have "made up" my own version by using individual vitamins (in the active form) that can be bought on Amazon and other places. I used this for a while, and then went back to the Metanx, because it is so much easier to take a single pill each morning, than to have to make it up by taking 5 or 6 pills.
Metanx contains:
35 mg of Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (which is the active form of B-6)
3 mg of L-methylfolate Calcium (which is the active form of B-9)
2 mg of Methylcobalamin (which is the active form of B-12)
That can be obtained from:
Vital Nutrients brand of Pyridoxal-5 Phosphate, 50 mg. Inert ingredients are: rice powder, gelatin capsule, leucine, and silica.
To match the dose, take 1 capsule per day, 2 days in a row, then skip the 3rd day, then start over. IOW, this will amount to 2 capsules every 3 days, in order to average out at 33 mg per day.
Life Extension brand of Optimized Folate (L-methylfolate), 1,000 mcg. Inert ingredients are: mirocrystaline cellulose, vegetable cellulose (capsule), silica, vegetable stearate. The label specifically names all of the common allergens (including milk, eggs, soy, wheat, yeast, nuts, corn, rice, etc.), and the product is certified to be free of all of them.
To match the dose, take 3 capsules each day.
2,000 mcg of methylcobalamin. There are a number of options available for methylcomalamin. The one I used is Wonder Laboratories brand of Methyl Cobalamin, 5,000 mcg. Be aware that it contains mannitol, citric acid, and stevia.
To match the dose, take 1 tablet, then skip a day, take another tablet, then skip 2 days, then repeat. IOW this will amount to taking 2 tablets every 5 days, in order to average out at 2,000 mcg per day.
By doing this, you can not only avoid all the undesirable inert ingredients in Metanx, but you can also save roughly half the cost of the branded product. And all of these products are available without a prescription. If I recall correctly, Brandy has also used a similar "home-compounded" version of Metanx, with good success. If anyone has any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Thank you so much, everyone! I think I will go ahead and follow Tex's "prescription". Sounds a lot safer, plus I get to save some money. A no-brainier, to be sure!
And no shellac or propylene glycol. Ha!
Jean
And no shellac or propylene glycol. Ha!
Jean
"The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not." Mark Twain
Jean,
Thorne Research makes a Pyridoxal 5-phosphate that is 33.8 mg per capsule so I take 1 a day to correspond to Metanx.
For B12 and folate I get Pure encapsulation products. They have a variety of choices. Because I did this kind of piecemeal I landed up with Folate 1000 1 capsule a day, b12+folate 2 capsules a day, folate 400 1 capsule a day, and b12 liquid, half a dropper. It all adds up to what Metanx provides.
I have a large weekly pill keeper for the supplements I take and fill it once a week. That way it doesn't get too confusing and I remember to take them.
Jean
Thorne Research makes a Pyridoxal 5-phosphate that is 33.8 mg per capsule so I take 1 a day to correspond to Metanx.
For B12 and folate I get Pure encapsulation products. They have a variety of choices. Because I did this kind of piecemeal I landed up with Folate 1000 1 capsule a day, b12+folate 2 capsules a day, folate 400 1 capsule a day, and b12 liquid, half a dropper. It all adds up to what Metanx provides.
I have a large weekly pill keeper for the supplements I take and fill it once a week. That way it doesn't get too confusing and I remember to take them.
Jean
I take hypoallergenic active forms of folate and b-12 from Kirkman Labs, but you'ed need to take several capsules a day to get the levels of Metanx.
http://kirkmanlabs.com/ProductKirkman/2 ... in%20B-12/
http://kirkmanlabs.com/ProductKirkman/2 ... in%20B-12/
1987 Mononucleosis (EBV)
2004 Hypomyopathic Dermatomyositis
2009 Lymphocytic Colitis
2010 GF/DF/SF Diet
2014 Low Dose Naltrexone
2004 Hypomyopathic Dermatomyositis
2009 Lymphocytic Colitis
2010 GF/DF/SF Diet
2014 Low Dose Naltrexone
Hi Jean,
I ended up taking the otc version mostly because I was on the verge of losing my job due to too many doctor appointments. I also thought it might be tough to get a scrip for "memory" and brain issues I was 51 and every doc kept chalking things up to menopause. The otc version really helped me. Brandy
I ended up taking the otc version mostly because I was on the verge of losing my job due to too many doctor appointments. I also thought it might be tough to get a scrip for "memory" and brain issues I was 51 and every doc kept chalking things up to menopause. The otc version really helped me. Brandy
I forgot to mention that the otc version of metanx was really miraculous. It kicked me out of a year's worth of memory issues and brain fog. (All attributable to menopause by numerous docs.)
I took approx the 1 pill dose otc. After about 8 weeks I got a little jittery so had to reduce it a bit proportionally. Now I'm taking very low dose--about the rda.
Brandy
I took approx the 1 pill dose otc. After about 8 weeks I got a little jittery so had to reduce it a bit proportionally. Now I'm taking very low dose--about the rda.
Brandy
If I were starting from scratch rather than buying products to fill in those I already had this is what I would do:
Thorne Research Pyridoxal 5-Phosphate 33.8 mg 1 capsule
Pure Encapsulations Folate 1000 3 capsules
Thorne Research Methylcolbamin 2 capsules (1 mg each)
You can buy them all here:
http://www.professionalsupplementcenter ... fault.aspx
Jean
Thorne Research Pyridoxal 5-Phosphate 33.8 mg 1 capsule
Pure Encapsulations Folate 1000 3 capsules
Thorne Research Methylcolbamin 2 capsules (1 mg each)
You can buy them all here:
http://www.professionalsupplementcenter ... fault.aspx
Jean
