MTHFR Mutation,stroke & cholesterol

[tinamarierc]

At the age of 7 my daughter had a stroke yet she had been healthy beforehand. A couple of years later she was diagnosed as having the MTHFR enzyme mutation. Recently my other daughter and I were also diagnosed with the mutation. We all have been instructed to take aspirin and folic acid on a daily basis. My question is this, is there any research connecting this with cholesterol levels? I have to take cholesterol meds now at 36 and my youngest daughter has high levels also and she is only 14. The daughter who had the stroke (who is now 17) has yet to have her levels checked but this kind of makes me wonder if there is any connection.

[emsellars73]

Hello, I too have homozygous MTHFR. I had two stillbirths at full term, due to placental abruption and passed at least a dozen orange sized clots along with the babies. I also had an early miscarriage. When I became pregnant the fourth time, I was sent to a specialist who asked me about blood clotting. I told her that I had a large scale panel ran on me prior. She requested it to find out they tested for everything except this one. I have done countless research since then. I would like to offer some advice especially for your daughters. I have had high blood pressure, and high cholesterol since a teen. I suffered from severe menses that were debilitating. I do not wish to be graphic, but I passed clots so large they felt like labor pains. I would double over in pain, and my flow was so heavy that I wore 4 of the overnight pads, and I still would have accidents during the day. Nighttime, I wore 6.

First and foremost, DO NOT take Folic Acid, this is very bad for your health. You cannot process synthetic Folic Acid, switch to Methyl-folate, and Methylated B-12, also switch from any omega-3s to flax oil. You should also be on a gluten free/casein (dairy) free diet.  All breads, cereals, and milks are fortified with synthetics. Our bodies cannot process it, so it gets stored in various places and can eventually turn to cancer, or blood clots. Your daughters need to be on Methyl-folate, now. If they get pregnant, they risk preeclampsia, liver failure, HELLP Syndrome, and death of their child, as well as themselves. I was on the edge of death with that fourth pregnancy, from HELLP, and then carried twins a year later, and developed it after. I also got severe hypothermia, and went into shock when they were born. It also makes our children prone to Autism, ADHD, neural tube defects, cleft lip and palate, and midline disorders, such as heart problems. My second son had Hypo-plastic Left Heart Syndrome, and would have required open heart surgery just days after birth had he lived.

I have excellent cholesterol, and HDL, but my triglycerides are high, very high to be precise. Those of us with MTHFR are prone to hardening of the arteries, strokes, blood clots, heart failure, and Alzheimer's,  Please look at Dr. Ben Lynch's site, as this is his primary focus and has been for nearly twenty years. I wish I would have had someone to help me out along the way, so I hope this helps you and your young daughters.  

[DrNoopurMD]

Hi,

Thanks for writing in.
People with MTHFR mutation have been found to have an increased risk of stroke. However the exact correlation between MTHFR mutation and elevated cholesterol levels has not been worked out as yet.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/18934.php

Hope this helps!

[arachnaphob]

Hello,

I don't know what the connection is but I think there is one.  I found out I had the MTHFR mutation (homozygous) when I donated some blood to a study on cholesterol.  Obviously the scientists were studying both at the same time, I figured there must have been a reason they did this.

By the way, I have never had any problems caused by the gene and I have low cholesterol.  Both my parents, however, have high cholesterol and are on statins to lower it.  My mother has widespread vascular disease.  She has been tested and her homocysteine was in normal limits.

Are you still taking the folic acid and asprin?  I asked a vascular medicine specialist whether I need to keep taking the tabs and he said that the research seems to show that taking the tabs and lowering the homocyteine DOESN'T decrease the risk associated with the gene. He did say, that it also doesn't hurt to take those tabs but it isn't necessary.