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

Skye,

I will continue to continue increasing the dosage until I reach bowel tolerance. I have not reached it yet.

Carnyard

 

I have not reached it yet either. I will also continue to increase the dosage.

I did read somewhere that the more sick you are, the higher levels you'll need, so I must be pretty sick! ;P

 

I read the same thing. Don't be discouraged. Read the personal message I just sent you.

 

RDA for Vitamin C is 60mg not 600mg

http://www.becomehealthynow.com/glossary/rda_chartbh.htm

 

Carnyard, how many capsules of the ascorbic acid do youtake a day? Thanks!

 

3 Vitamin C Complex Sustained Release tablets and 8 Ascorbic Acid capsules.

 

Patience with a Vit C newbie ... what's the difference between ascorbic acid capsules & Vit C tablets?

 

Ascorbic Acid is pure Vitamin C. Vitamin C complex gets Vitamin C from ascorbic acid and other sources that contain Vitamin C along with other things.

 

Vitamin C comes in 5 different forms

1. Ascorbic Acid

This is pure Vitamin C and has a sharp taste. It is a cheap and cheerful way to take Vitamin C but is most likely to cause gastric irritation in those with sensitive stomachs.

2. Calcium Ascorbate

Calcium Ascorbate is ascorbic acid bound to calcium, providing a non-acidic form of Vitamin C that is gentle on the digestive system. Calcium Ascorbate also provides a supplemental form of calcium.

3. Magnesium Ascorbate

Magnesium Ascorbate is acsorbic acid bound to magnesium. It is also a non-acid form of Vitamin C that is highly absorbable as well as gentle on the stomach. It is also a supplemental form of magnesium.

4. Ester C

Ester C is a patented formulation of Vitamin C in the Calcium Ascorbate form that makes it easily absorbable as well as non-acidic. It is a top of the range product and highly recommended for maximum, rapid absorption and for taking large doses. It is also the most expensive type of Vitamin C.

5. Tablet or powder

A powder form of Vitamin C will be more rapidly absorbed, as it does not have to be digested first. A powder form of Vitamin C will not contain any added tableting agents.
A Vitamin C tablet can be buffered to make it more gentle on the stomach. Vitamin C tablets can also come in time release formulations so that the Vitamin C is released into the body over a period of 6-8 hours, which can be more convenient than taking small divided doses.

Extra tip

Do not take Vitamin C supplements in tap water as the metals in tap water (copper and iron) will oxidise the Vitamin C and make it useless. Take Vitamin C with filtered water or juice.

 

Thanks sirlanc. Much better than my answer

I would also note that several proponents of high dose Vitamin C encourage L-Lysine and Vitamin D in high doses as strong compliments.

 

Yeesh ... it's not my momma's vitamin C anymore

Looks like I have some figurin to do ... I'm already on supplemental magnesium & calcium ... history of rather sensitive stomach. Taking a diet supplement as well right now to lose that extra 10-15 pounds (works by 'losing the extra pounds' via the bathroom it appears so I probably shouldn't do anything that's gonna exaggerate that affect).

 

I take the powder form from Vitamin Shoppe. It's gentle on my stomach, and I have a sensitive stomach!
Easy to just mix up in my bottled water or glass of juice each day, throughout the day.

 

I don't think you ever can know. It's the "contrafactual dilemma". You don't know what would have happened if you had made a different choice. That's why all evidence based on individual cases is considered anecdotal and why the only way to be able to say confidently that X can cure Y is with a carefully designed controlled study. With MM the problem is really striking because the disease has a habit of going into remission without warning. And this disease is so unpredictable that you can never know that it won't come back at you tomorrow like a tsunami even after you think you've been cured for years.

Personally I think the best way to try to treat it is not to make changes in regimen based on how you feel today or even how you have felt since the last change you made. Decide on a course of action and hold to it. Try JOH or JOH plus extra Vitamin C or Vitamin D for a few months if you want, keep a symptom diary, see how you feel at the end of that trial and make your decision whether to continue or not. If all your symptoms go away then again you have to decide whether to continue or not. I know that I will never have any way of knowing whether my regimen had any effect, but that doesn't matter. I've weighed the risks of taking supplements and have found no rational reason to consider it any more dangerous than many other things I do. Since this disease is likely to destroy my life if it isn't cured or doesn't burn itself out first, I'm going to throw everything I can at it that might slow its progression.

 

Excellent Information regarding High Dose Vitamin C:

http://www.vitamincfoundation.org/mega_1_1.html

 

I read the same thing too. I just started today and I have a challenging headache but not sure if it's the C or just me so I'm staying with it for at least tomorrow. If the headache is tomorrow then I'll back off just to see if the headache goes away.

Well wishes to all on trying the C. I hope it works well for us all!

 

Well said. Totally agree. Focus on solutions!

 

Carnyard - I wasn't commenting on MM in this thread; I posted something from Quackwatch about the vitamin C guru and the potential poblems that could (but unlikely) occur with very high doses of vit C. The scurvy thing was something I had never heard of and thought it was worth noting. Personally, taking mega doses of any supplement would make me nervous.

While you may not have MAV, you still experience a large number of the same debilitating symptoms and so you do have personal experience that applies to both someone with MM and MAV.

 

studio34,

I appreciate your clarification. I think the tone of your previous post was a little argumentative. Again, I agree that treatment is a personal choice and indviduals should read all of the information pro and con and decide for themselves.

 

Out of pure curiosity, do you take the same cautions with foods you've never eaten, say, at a new restaurant featuring foreign or ethnic foods, for example? Or, foods, in general? If so, how much is would a "mega dose" of food be?

I ask this question because the body makes no chemical distinction between foods, drugs, vitamins, minerals, or supplements. Do you have any advice for us on how to make certain that we aren't "over-dosing" on any of the other things we injest, not just supplements?

Since a good number of people here have noted that certain foods can be triggers for Meniere's symptoms, this is a very cogent question.

--John of Ohio