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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 15 of 15. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by torrid2 on December 29, 2011, at 18:17:04
Just added Vitimin C to my cocktail of vitimins and I have so much energy. I feel sharper too, could it be the C. I've been taking huge amounts to experiment and see if I noticed anything. I did up my cymbalta too recently but I still think the C is giving me energy. I've been taking 10-15g/day for 4 days and for the past 2 days I have lots of energy.
I've been trying to keep my expenses down and I overlooked Vitimin C cause I just wasn't sold on it's benifits. I started taking normal doses of C about a month ago cause it was on sale and I had a coupon.
If it is the C giving me energy it must be dose dependant was it wasn't till this week I felt anything. I'm going to lower my dose to see about that
I take high dose B's, folic acid 1,200, NAC, magnesium glycinate 800, selenium, D3 10,000, and this week added cal/mag and high C.
I'm thinking of starting a multi for the trace minerals and E. Zinc and copper have a role in seritonin and noradrenilin production and I'm working on depression anxiety and ADHD.
Posted by torrid2 on December 30, 2011, at 15:40:18
In reply to just added vitimin C and I have so much energy, posted by torrid2 on December 29, 2011, at 18:17:04
still energetic, being asking if I forget to take my concerta (ritilin).
Posted by Christ_empowered on January 1, 2012, at 22:43:55
In reply to Re: just added vitimin C and I have so much energy, posted by torrid2 on December 30, 2011, at 15:40:18
yeah, vitamin C is great, isn't it? I *try* to get in 10 grams from pills daily (2 doses of 5 grams time-release about 8+/- hours apart). A lot of times, though, I only get 1 dose in.
Anyway, I'm really interested in your progress. I'm on high dose C because I'm prone to psychosis and mood swings and to counteract the ill-effects of medication (I take Abilify). It seems to help with my overall health and, like you pointed out, energy levels.
Stick with it! What medication(s) do you take? Just the Ritalin? I'm not really clear on what exactly higher doses of C do, but it seems that orthomolecular docs use 10+ grams for...everything. I think you've made a wise decision.
Posted by torrid2 on January 2, 2012, at 12:45:16
In reply to Re: just added vitimin C and I have so much energy, posted by Christ_empowered on January 1, 2012, at 22:43:55
I take concerta for ADHD and cymbalta for anxiety and depression. I started neuronin for pain a couple months ago. I'm off benzo's but use Atarax for anxiety, it's a antihistamin. I read that dietary doses of C above 3g/day only rises plasma levels of C neglagabley. It seems it's all anecdotal when it comes to vitimin C. I was well under 3g/day until recently. I'm wondering if the C is energising me? I believe it's part of it.
I'm lucky not to be treatment resistant and meds work on me but poop out fast. I doubled my cymbalta (poopout) around the same time as added high dose C so it could be that and not the C.
It's hard to contribute any one thing to my progress. I have a great therapist who worked with Albert Ellis the father of RET rational emotive therapy, I've been taking vitimins for a couple years and I'm late foury's too. All of wich must be in some kind of synergy cause I'm finnaly getting it together. I haven't worked for 9 years and I just came back from my first day of a tax training class that will become 3 months of seasonable employment.
Posted by torrid2 on January 2, 2012, at 12:53:48
In reply to Re: just added vitimin C and I have so much energy, posted by torrid2 on January 2, 2012, at 12:45:16
L-carnitine, I just brought that one back and it may be a big factor in my energy level. It's contraindicated with low thyroid and I've backed off if for fear of messing the balance I have with my 2 thyroids meds but have a stressful legal matter in court coming up fast after 5 years.
In the past I would never be able to start a job the month before a court herring, in fact in past I was hospitallized at times like this.
Posted by bleauberry on January 5, 2012, at 10:52:28
In reply to just added vitimin C and I have so much energy, posted by torrid2 on December 29, 2011, at 18:17:04
Just reading your post, you might want to include rhodiola on your radar screen of things to add. It is specific to the things you mentioned.
I'm sure all of the supplements have wide ranging effects and mechanisms that we don't know or understand. Unlike meds, supps are much more wide spectrum and do stuff we don't even have any clue of yet. A single supp can have many multiple functions. So if high dose C creates energy and well being, cool. It isn't what someone normally expects from C and honestly I've never seen anyone report that before, but hey, it is what it is, right?
High dose C is often used in fighting stealth infections such as lyme. Here is a common scenario..... Patient starts taking something that is specific against their infection....high dose C qualifies for that....the immune system is beefed up and now some of those stubborn stealth bugs are able to be found and killed....which feels good at first....until their death begins to backlog and you can't clean out the toxins fast enough....that's called a herxheimer reaction. So what you might want to look for is a worsening of your symptoms, or even new symptoms added on top of them, sometime within the next 2 weeks. A herx almost always happens within a period of a day up to 2 weeks. It can last indefinitely until the pathogen load comes down. Could be days, weeks, or even months. In any case, it is a useful diagnostic tool. If that were to happen, you would conclude C is a bad supp for you....which would be the opposite of the truth....it would actually have already proven itself as a great supp for you, but the Herx caused a lot of confusion and wrong pointing of fingers.
Ok so let's assume it's a month from now. You started C and felt good and then it turned sour and you felt bad.....that is a positive diagnosis of a stealth infection, and is potentially THE thing behind all of your psychiatric history. So now you are on to something, and now your whole strategy can change and branch out in new meaningful directions. On the other, let's say after a month C is still feeling good but we don't know why....well, ok, we can't really explain it definitively but does that matter? No. Feeling better does. In that scenario, you keep the C because it improves quality of life and it really doesn't make any difference or not if we understand how or why it does that.
Posted by torrid2 on January 5, 2012, at 12:49:47
In reply to Re: just added vitimin C and I have so much energy, posted by bleauberry on January 5, 2012, at 10:52:28
I'm now coming down with something after about 10 days after increasing C to high dose. So that may be what you talking about. My increase in energy could be contributed to the increase in cymbalta, can't say for sure. I'm prity low energy today and feel a relentlus chill that isn't my norm.
I haven't taken any hebals yet, still finding what vitimins and amino acids that help me and it's such a slow process of trial and error.
Do you know about L-Aceytl Carnitine and hypothyroidism I read it's contraindicated?
Posted by Lao Tzu on January 11, 2012, at 9:33:06
In reply to just added vitimin C and I have so much energy, posted by torrid2 on December 29, 2011, at 18:17:04
Great to here that high dose C is having a positive effect on you. I also notice some more energy with C, but my body can't tolerate high doses. Definitely, I'd recommend a multivitamin. I take one everyday, and that also helps with energy. Many sources recommend a multivitamin with your medication to help with depression. It's a good idea!! Also, I take natural vitamin E because for some reason it helps with depression. Probably due to antioxidant effects. I don't know for sure. I think if you have oxidative stress, which a lot of mentally ill people have, then C, E, and selenium are a must for your well-being.
Lao
Posted by torrid2 on January 11, 2012, at 10:04:27
In reply to Re: just added vitimin C and I have so much energy, posted by Lao Tzu on January 11, 2012, at 9:33:06
I just picked up some vit E 400iu(dl-alpha trocopheryl acetate) so the only thing left for me to add is a multi vitimin for the trace minerals.
What do you thing of acorbic acid rather then the ester C? Ester C doesn't hurt my stomach but it's expensive. The stomach thing is why I have waited this long to add such a basic vitimin like C to my recipe. I'm not sure how much C to take. For now I'm taking close to 10g a day as a kind of experiment. I'm thinking that it just may be a waste of money but I desided to take super high dose for a few months and then go down t 3g a day and see if I notice anything.
I also take a high dose bioactive B multi but I have a bottle of B6 left from before a purchased the B multi and toss an extra B6 into the mix just cause I have it on the shelf.
let me know what you think of acoric acid rather then ester c
Posted by Christ_empowered on January 11, 2012, at 22:46:47
In reply to Re: just added vitimin C and I have so much energy » Lao Tzu, posted by torrid2 on January 11, 2012, at 10:04:27
I'm not lao, but I read on some orthomolecular websites that ester-c really isn't worth the extra cost. Personally, I just take time release c, 5 1 gram caps 2x daily. A lot of companies will throw in random extra stuff--citrus bioflavonoids, for instance--but I try to get the most basic stuff I can get. I usually order from vitacost, but sometimes I use puritan's pride.
My stomach kinda sorta hurt when the dosage went up (from 4g daily to 10g), but it wasn't long-lasting, nor was it really that big a deal. I think I'll stick with 10g daily. My allergies are better, I have a little more energy, no EPS from the Abilify, my thoughts are clearer. Good stuff.
Posted by torrid2 on January 12, 2012, at 8:46:04
In reply to Re: just added vitimin C and I have so much energy, posted by Christ_empowered on January 11, 2012, at 22:46:47
That is what I was thinking, that it was a waste of money. I've got to find a way to take C that doesn't hurt my stomach and so far I haven't found a stomach friendly acorbic acid vit C.
If anyone has information on a cost effective vit C please let me know.
Posted by Lao Tzu on January 13, 2012, at 15:03:09
In reply to Re: just added vitimin C and I have so much energy » Lao Tzu, posted by torrid2 on January 11, 2012, at 10:04:27
If you're concerned about the ascorbic acid upsetting your stomach, then try a buffered vitamin C, namely calcium ascorbate. It is very gentle on the stomach and it's the choice I recommend. Cost is more than regular ascorbic acid, but if you shop around at different online vitamin stores, you might find a bargain. Some good stores are House of Nutrition, VitaCost, Swanson, iherb, and if you need something in a hurry, Vitamin Shoppe, but V.S. is usually much more expensive than other online stores. A good cheap brand that is still high quality is called Source Naturals. I use some of their products with good results.
Yes, I definitely recommend a multivitamin if you are suffering from depression. A basic one you can find at the drug store which I take everyday is Centrum Multivitamin. You don't have to take the expensive brands to meet your needs. Centrum is a good, basic vitamin if your diet is lousy.
Yes, a B vitamin complex helps some people, that is, getting 50mg of all the B vitamins everyday. It really depends on the person. Some people need more of particular B vitamins. It's a little tricky figuring that out. For example, I take 50mg of B6, 50mg of B2, 375 micrograms of B12, 200mg of B1 (thiamin), plus the little bit of B's in the multivitamin. I learned over the years that taking megadoses of B6 made me worse, so be careful with B6. 50mg per day is sufficient for most people. Some people can get by with a smaller amount in their multivitamin. So don't overdo it on the B's. With B12, it was just trial and error. I tried different dosages, and wound up with 375 micrograms as my maintenance dose. It works for me!!I say if you are using 10g of C per day, watch out and see what your digestive system can take. That's a lot of C!! The buffered formulas should be helpful in reducing acidity, but even still, that seems like an awful lot of C to take everyday. Still, I have heard of people taking such large doses with some good benefits. I won't poopoo it because I know everyone has different nutritional needs. Good luck!!!
Lao
Posted by torrid2 on January 13, 2012, at 16:20:25
In reply to Re: just added vitimin C and I have so much energy, posted by Lao Tzu on January 13, 2012, at 15:03:09
Thanks, I'm going to go down to 3-4g of C a day, It's just an experiment and it will not harm me. Ester C is fine on my stomach acorbic acid is out of the question. I have to check the prices of buffered C compaired to ester C.
I'm using swanson activated B-complex (SWU533), I stocked up during a buy one get one free. I'd love to here if it's worth the money for when I run out of it.
I take the B complex twice a day with Jarrow NAC sustain and C plus some extra B6. Not sure if I need this much but I've made such amazing progress that I don't want to mess around with it.
I use magnesium glycinate to potentiate my concerta and just added a cal/mag and E, I already take D3 and selieum and zinc. I don't see why I need anymore magnesium but it was on sale. Does Calcium need to have magnesium present to be aborbed? I take cal/mag with E, D3 and zinc plus C together at night. Is that nessasary? All opinions are welcome.
Posted by Hombre on January 18, 2012, at 20:51:43
In reply to just added vitimin C and I have so much energy, posted by torrid2 on December 29, 2011, at 18:17:04
Magnesium and C work together. It's been a while, but there are some good articles from the orthomolecular people on how supplements work together, it's pretty complicated with all sorts of spiderweb looking diagrams, but I remember that much.
The flip side is some supplements can lock out others, just like in plants, you can't always absorb everything.
And this is all assuming your digestion/absorption is optimized, which is more an herbal issue in my book, although largish doses of l-glutamine are supposed to heal the gut.
Peace.
Hombre
Posted by torrid2 on January 19, 2012, at 14:52:22
In reply to Re: just added vitimin C and I have so much energy, posted by Hombre on January 18, 2012, at 20:51:43
I take my B's, NAC and C in the morning and at night I take cal/mag, zinc,selenium, D3, E and C. I take magnesium glycinate with my concerta. Am I getting best absorbtion this way, if you know?
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