Vitamin C IS working (Updated 9/15/2010)

I posted last week that I caught some kind of cold or flu while on a business trip. After being symptom free for 6 weeks, my symptoms came back. I had a similar experience last winter after finding initial success with the JOH regimen.

I received some very good information from sirlanc and JOH regarding Vitamin C. I went back and read Ray's (Solari) Vitamin C thread from earlier this year and some other information I found on the Internet. I started slowly increasing my Vitamin C intake by 1000mg per day. I have not reached bowel intolerance (titration) yet, but the cold went away and my MM symptoms are starting to improve.

I will keep you posted.

Carnyard

9/14/2010

I am up to 10,000mg of Vitamin C. I've been taking 2000mg 5x's per day about 3 hours apart. Have not reached bowel tolerance yet, but I feel myself getting there. I definitely feel better. I would not say I am MM symptom-free, but there has been a noticeable improvement since I got back from San Diego. I had dizziness and small vertigo attacks on a daily basis since Labor Day. None since I reached about 8000mg of Vitamin C. A little fullness and my hearing in my MM ear is at about 70%. Tinnitus is about 4 out of 10 with 10 being the worst. The only change I made was not to take any Vitamin C after 7:00pm. Do not want to reach bowel tolerance in the middle of the night. Also there are some articles and posts on www.vitamincfoundation.org discussing high doses of L-Lysine/Vitamin D/Vitamin C as a potent combination and vital to optimum health whether you have HSV-1 or not. John of Ohio and sirlanc may find the information there fascinating.

9/15/2010

Reached 11,000mg of Vitamin C. No fullness. Hearing is back to about 80%. Can have clear phone conversations with either ear. Dizziness and vertigo still gone. Tinnitus is down to 2 out of 10 with 10 being the worst.

 

Re: Vitamin C seems to be working

Save me the time & tell me how much you're taking & on what schedule, please?

 

Re: Vitamin C seems to be working

Yes, I agree with Joy. THe amounts and timing is important and seems to be missing in peoples' post!

 

Re: Vitamin C seems to be working

Me too. thanks

 

Re: Vitamin C seems to be working

I'm up to 9000mg per day spread out in 1000-2000mg doses every 4-6 hours. I take a 1000mg time release capsule at breakfast, lunch, and before I go to bed. The rest are regular 1000mg ascorbic acid capsules.

 

Re: Vitamin C seems to be working

i've been trying to take 1000 mg plus whatever is in multi every day don't see that it's helping maybe it is.

 

Re: Vitamin C seems to be working

You probably should take more. I was taking 2000mg for 2 years and it wasn't helping me. Read this thread from Solari:

http://www.menieres.org/forum/index.php/topic,24546.0.html

 

Re: Vitamin C seems to be working

Wow! ("...before I go to bed...") You don't find yourself getting up in the middle of the night to wee - more than usual I mean?

I'm not sure I could tolerate that much. I'm only on 1000 mg right now & I see the evidence of it - frequency of bathroom trips. I'll try to up it a bit & see what happens.

 

Re: Vitamin C seems to be working

I haven't had a problem. I think the reason that others have been hesitant to post their dosages is because there is no standard. What one can handle, another cannot. But what you can handle is the effective dosage for that individual. If you are going to the bathroom more often, don't take any Vitamin C after a certain hour.

 

Re: Vitamin C seems to be working

Well, I have to do something about these sinus symptoms. I'll double my dose & see what happens.

 

Re: Vitamin C seems to be working

I'm not an expert, but the key to finding the right dose for you is bowel intolerance. If you read Ray's original thread, there is some good information there.

A couple of interesting side notes: I resumed my regular chiropractic appointments when I returned from the business trip. They had little-to-no effect on easing my symptoms this time around. My posture and neck remained in the positive position they were in when I left for San Diego. I don't think the return of my symptoms is neck trauma related. Also, before I tweaked my Vitamin C intake, I increased my Acyclovir dosage back to 800mg 3x's per day. After 10 days on the high dose, little-to-no change in my symptoms. When I originally started taking Acyclovir, I was symptom-free by the 6th day. It was only after I increased my Vitamin C with the Acyclovir did my symptoms start to subside. But only after my cold symptoms went away. Prior to that, I took every available cold or flu medicine available and could not shake it. It stayed with my for 3 weeks.

 

Re: Vitamin C seems to be working

Yeah, Ray's thread was the reason for me buying more C to begin with. It's taken me longer than desired to get things started ... my budget keeps gettin in the way of buying more vitamins & supplements. Dang I wish these things were tax-deductible!

 

Re: Vitamin C seems to be working

I really wish people would realize that taking such high doses of any supplement really doesn't make a difference because the vast majority goes right through your system and is pissed out. Most of it is not absorbed. Why do you think the urine turns a florescent yellow when ingesting such large doses of supplements? Save your money people. Taking the suggested amounts suffice.

 

Re: Vitamin C seems to be working

Well, my latest best friend Perses , I just can't agree with you on this one. How do you explain the positive results some people report? I'm not baiting you & I'm not interested in swapping insults or anything like that. (We can talk about this - you & I - without that happening.) I'm interested in a reasonable 'explanation'. I know there are web sites & 'experts' available to back up anything if we just look enough, so I'm interested in why YOU think this. I guess what I'm saying is personal experience means more to me than experts & "research papers" & all that kind of thing.

And are you saying supplements taken at the recommended daily dose (by government or whatever) do help ... it's just when we take them over a certain amount that's a waste?

 

Re: Vitamin C seems to be working

You know, Perses--I almost agree with ya.............I have been on full JOH for 6 months and it does not work for me. When I started eating more often and added lots of protein, I cut my vertigo down. I still have active MM. I still get dizzy from time to time. Have fullness, no hearing, balance issues, can't drive far, etc.

I have had some success in reducing my vertigo. My headahces have also been reduce with chiro.

I am of the mind, though, that "what does it hurt to try it?" Nothing, just some money. And, if a person finds a way to reduce or elminate MM, great

 

Re: Vitamin C seems to be working

Hi Joy. I am not offended by what you write. We are all entitled to our opinions. And you are right, one can find anything on the internet so I will use my own experience to answer your question.

I am not questioning whether people are being helped or not. What I am trying to convey is that taking inordinate dosages of vitamins has no added benefit because there is only so much that will be absorbed by the body. The rest is flushed out. Back in my younger days I went through the "supplement phase" and I would max out on the dosage levels of all the vitamins I was taking. At a routine physical one day, my doctor commented on how fluorescent the color of my urine was and that is when I told him all the vitamins I was taking and their respective dosages. He commented that I was wasting my time because the vast majority of it was being pissed out (hence the color of my urine). Being sonewhat of a skeptic, I went to see a naturopath (someone I had gone to school with) and he confirmed the same thing. When I say, "taking the suggested dosages", I mean taking what is suggested by the manufacturers of the supplements, not the doctors or government as you reference....To this day, I take what the bottles say the recommended dosage should be for an adult rather than listen to the suggestions of strangers on the internet. Also, I eat a very balanced and healthy diet.

 

Re: Vitamin C seems to be working

Well, Perses, if as you say, " ...the vast majority goes right through your system and is pissed out. Most of it is not absorbed.," how could it be then "not absorbed?" Do you believe that the contents of the stomach go through some yet undetected tube righ into the bladder?

Obviously, injested vitamin C is "absorbed." It's the only way it can get to the kidneys and then to the bladder. And during this time, serum levels of ascorbic acid must and do increase, where they can obviously have more effect than when massive doses are not injested.

And because you've made the assertion "that taking such high doses of any supplement really doesn't make a difference," those of us with a reasonably comprehensive understanding of biochemistry would like to know if you believe this is also true, then, with FDA-approved drugs? Does dosage really matter? You seem to imply that it does not.

Or, do you believe dosage is crucial only for prescribed drugs, that the body somehow knows the laws of each country and biochemically abides by them? In Mexico and many other countries, virtually all drugs can be purchased over the counter. Is the absorbtion of either drugs or supplements different for Mexicans in Mexico? What happens when they come up here and consume the same molecules?

We are interested in the evidence for your assertions. Do they also apply to the prescribed antiherpetic drugs so many have found success with.

Again, many of us are wondering, "How does the body or the liver or kidney distinguish between plain old, unregulated 'supplements' compared to FDA-approved real drugs?" How do the excretory organs or mechanisms of the body really know which molecules or ions to excrete as excess?

--John of Ohio

 

Re: Vitamin C seems to be working

Wow JOH....that was quick! You must have some excellent message monitoring software!

Anywhoo, take a look at this:

Vitamins: Another vital part of food that is absorbed through the small intestine are vitamins. The two types of vitamins are classified by the fluid in which they can be dissolved: water-soluble vitamins (all the B vitamins and vitamin C) and fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E, and K). Fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the liver and fatty tissue of the body, whereas water-soluble vitamins are not easily stored and excess amounts are flushed out in the urine.


http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/yrdd/


Case closed.

 

Re: Vitamin C seems to be working

Parses,

You seem concerned that vitamins and supplements, in large doses, just get "pissed out."

Can you tell us, then, just what happens to real drugs, in either high or low dosages? What keeps the body from getting them just "pissed out?"

In fact, a close reading of the FDA approval documents of every single drug has a giant section on what is known as the drug's pharmacokinetics, the ability of the body to metabolize and/or excrete the drug.

The fact is that virtually all atoms, ions, and molecules injested into the body get "pissed out" or otherwise excreted from the body, with the only prominent exception of various heavy metals or other poisons.

The real questions, which you haven't addressed, is a) residency time, and b) biological function during residency. You've merely asserted that excessive amounts of vitamins and supplements just get "pissed out" and bring no relief.

Do you have any thoughts on residency time, half-life serum clearance rates, or real physiological mechanisms?

--John of Ohio

 

Re: Vitamin C seems to be working

Parses,

Now, you've made two, contravening assertions. At the start, you claimed that vitamins in excess weren't absorbed, but were excreted. Then here, you cite a reference that states, "Vitamins: Another vital part of food that is absorbed through the small intestine are vitamins."

Sure seems that the vitamin C is really absorbed into the blood stream and circulated through the body, at higher than normal serum concentrations, before being "pissed out."

Can you tell us if you think serum concentrations of vitamin C are elevated after taking larger doses of it, as with those attacking Meniere's symptoms with multi-gram daily doses?

--John of Ohio