ResearchSafe

L-carnitine injectable fishy body odor, dose dependent or just unlucky

Posted by student748 in Safety & Side Effects - 5 points, 4 comments.

Started l-carnitine injectable a few weeks back, been doing 1000mg 3x weekly to help with recovery between long runs. For what it is worth i feel like my legs come back a bit quicker after big back-to-back days but holy hell the body odor is something else. Like genuinely fishy, not subtle. My partner noticed it before i did which was mortifying lol.

The info on /peptides/l-carnitine lists fishy body odor as a side effect at high doses but doesnt really say where the threshold is. Im wondering if 1000mg is just too much and dropping to 500mg would sort it, or if some people just get it regardless of dose because of gut bacteria converting it to TMAO or whatever the pathway is.

Also keen to know if anyone has tracked their lipids or inflammatory markers while on injectable carnitine longer term. I know the oral version has a decent safety profile but injecting it is a different story and i havent seen heaps of real-world bloodwork data.

Has anyone here found a dose where the recovery benefit sticks around but you dont smell like a fish market?

Comments

  • greg_codes: Ngl the fishy smell is classic TMAO territory, gut bacteria converting carnitine to trimethylamine. For me it was brutal at 750mg, dropped to 400mg and it mostly went away but the recovery benefit thinned out too. Not totally gone but less noticeable. Could just be my own gut microbiome though, some people get it at any dose. One thing i tracked was fasting TMAO on a basic lipid panel, mine went up heaps even at the lower dose. Lipid numbers themselves didnt shift much over about 8 weeks but i
  • curious_scientist: The TMAO tracking is smart, I would not have thought to look at that on a standard lipid panel. Did your doctor flag it or did you have to ask specifically? Imo the gut microbiome angle is probably the real variable here. I have read that people with more Prevotella-heavy profiles convert carnitine to TMA way more aggressively. Might explain why some folks get the smell at any dose and others do not at all.
  • student748: Yeah nah i havent actually got TMAO tested yet, was just thinking about asking for it next bloods. My gp is pretty chill but i reckon id have to specifically request it, doubt its on any standard panel here in nz. For what it is worth the prevotella angle is interesting, had no idea gut bacteria could drive that much difference. Do you know if theres any way to actually shift your microbiome profile toward less prevotella, or is that mostly set in stone?
  • student748: Chur for that, really helpful. The fact that yours mostly cleared at 400mg but the recovery benefit thinned out is exactly what i was worried about, kinda defeats the purpose if i have to drop so low it stops working. For what it is worth i havent tried splitting the dose smaller yet, been doing the full 1000mg in one go 3x a week. Might try 500mg 2x daily on training days and see if that keeps the recovery benefit without the smell. Did you notice the TMAO dropping back down after you stopped

Community discussion - research and educational context only. Not medical advice.