Too much Vitamin C?

I overreacted and for a week have been taking 2000mg of C a day thinking it may boost immunity.
Today I have blood in the urine. I am on Xaralto a blood thinner for Afib which makes it not so good to bleed. Last time a UTI caused a lot of hematurea for 10 day's and stopped the day sfter I withheld the Xaralto
On another note, my radiation oncologist appointment was postponed but I am awaiting for slides to get to John's Hopkins so that might be better. Both biopsies say Gleason score of 6 and as suggested by some, may be wise to get the slides a second opinion

Glen

Yup, that is too much. Blood in the urine isn't a normal vit C overdose symptom, but I'm not a doctor.

Given the weird covid-19 times we're living in, past rules on how long things take is out the window. I would expect a couple of weeks, maybe three depending on how bad the hospital is getting hit by covid-19 cases.

UTI would cause that. I'd call the doc and see if another course might be in order.

Andrew

Excess vitamin C will just be pissed out.

theswan said...
Weird but it cleared up. I will wait a bit as they have self resolved in the past. I've been on so many antibiotics and want to avoid if I can

Thanks

Glen

It is hard to say what caused the bleeding, you have a lot going on that could lead to blood or other problems. You have a blood thinner and you say "Last time a UTI caused a lot of hematurea for 10 day's and stopped the day sfter I withheld the Xaralto ". Is all or any of that a possible contributor to the current problem?

Either way, though never say never because all types of crazy things can happen, but I certainly would not be concerned about 2000 mg a day of vitamin C. I have been taking that much or close to it. And I have liposomal vitamin C handy for if I show signs of infection, but otherwise won't use until the crises is about over. Humans( or so I am told) and a very few animals have a genetic defect where we can not make our own Vitamin C, so we must consume it or die. Most animals, especially in the wild, however, can make their own vitamin C in response to stress up to and beyond 100,000 mg per day. They don't usually start bleeding because they do that, nor have I heard of people on high dose IV vitamin C doing so, and those doses can be 25000 to 100000 mgs.

During the 2 months between my biopsy and surgery, I took about 10 grams(10,000 mgs) of oral vitamin C per day, and had no problems unless I would consider my PSA dropping for the first time in history a problem, which it did by about 25%. No bleeding, and I don't recall Vit C being on the list of supplements to avoid pre surgery because of bleeding problems.

Also, if people are going to have problems with high doses by mouth of vitamin C, it is usually more like loose bowels, at least until they get used to it. It can act like a laxative. Large doses(in my experience), 4 gms at once, might also cause stomach aches unless taken with food.

So, again, never say never, because who knows if you might have some rare problem that means you can not handle much vitamin C. But barring that, I seriously doubt 2 gms daily are causing you any bleeding or any other problems, assuming it is not causing you to go sit down on the toilette more than usual. Apparently, if we were, in the distant past, originally designed to- like many other animals- to make our own vitamin C, then when we lost that ability, our bodies never became that enamored with taking vitamin C by mouth, and beyond a relatively small amount, it starts rebelling. At least until your body gets used to it.

Keep in mind that the side effects listed here are for high dose Intra venous therapy, which is a whole nother ball game. "
What Are the Side Effects and Risks of High-Dose Vitamin C?

Intravenous high-dose ascorbic acid has caused very few side effects in clinical trials. However, high-dose vitamin C may be harmful in patients with certain risk factors.

In patients with a history of kidney disorders, kidney failure has been reported after ascorbic acid treatment. Patients with a tendency to develop kidney stones should not be treated with high-dose vitamin C.
Case reports have shown that patients with an inherited disorder called G-6-PD deficiency should not be given high doses of vitamin C, due to the risk of hemolysis (a condition in which red blood cells are destroyed).
Since vitamin C may make iron more easily absorbed and used by the body, high doses of the vitamin are not recommended for patients with hemochromatosis (a condition in which the body takes up and stores more iron than it needs)...." https://www.emedicinehealth.com/vitamin_c_high_dose_benefits_side_effects/article_em.htm#how_is_high-dose_vitamin_c_taken

"The additional amount of vitamin C in the diet that leads to the best of health in humans is controversial. The amount of ascorbic acid that other species synthesize can be used as a model. When adjusted for body weight, it has been determined that the amount of ascorbate produced by mammals ranges from an estimated 3,000 mg to more than 13,000 mg daily (Pauling, 1986). Nearly all species manufacture these copious amounts 24/7 out of the sugar glucose, and they make more vitamin C under stress............... http://internetwks.com/owen/gorilla3.htm

"Goats, like almost all animals, make their own vitamin C. An adult goat, weighing approx. 70 kg, will manufacture more than 13,000 mg of vitamin C per day in normal health, and levels manyfold higher when faced with stress. The overwhelming majority of species of animals (but not humans, guinea pigs or fruit bats) and plants synthesize their own vitamin C............"
https://med.libretexts.org/courses/american_river_college/general_nutrition_textbook_(not_plant-based)-_reference_for_nutri_303_(hagenburger)/7%3a_vitamins/7.3%3a_water_soluble_vitamins/vitamin_c_(ascorbic_acid)

Post Edited (BillyBob@388) : 3/24/2020 6:17:22 PM (GMT-6)

Glen,

Did your physician put you on Cipro empirically or did he get a cultured that identified what he needed to treat? The reason I ask is the most common pathogen is E.coli. Ciprofloxacin hits only about 60% of E. Coli infections. If you were on it for a month, there would be a good chance that it would not be effective. The more we challenge an organism with an antibiotic, the more likely it will develop resistance to that antibiotic. If you have a lower UTI (bladder rather than kidney) nitrofurantoin hits over 90% of E.coli strains.

Paul

Cautionary note here: too much vit C will lower your blood pH. This will cause your bones to lose calcium which will then circulate in your blood. It may well stick to blood vessel walls forming plaques, allow your teeth to loosen and cause sores in your mouth. Just a thought.

They're treating COVID-19 patients with IV vitamin C in NYC (apologies if this has already been discussed).

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8149191/new-york-hospitals-treating-corona-patients-6000-milligrams-vitamin-c.html

Buddy Blank said...
They're treating COVID-19 patients with IV vitamin C in NYC (apologies if this has already been discussed).

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8149191/new-york-hospitals-treating-corona-patients-6000-milligrams-vitamin-c.html

Buddy, is this for real? If so, I can hardly believe it. Not here at HWPC, but to those I know personally, I have been pounding the table for IV vitamin C(along with some other things) for CV and many other illnesses. But of course, it is nearly impossible to get a doctor to give you IV vitamin C, so I have been recommending as much oral vit C as they are willing and able to take ( bowel tolerance if willing ), but I know that it is near impossible to get blood levels up to enough to really do the job without IV. My theory on that is because we once, like most mammals, were able to make our own vitamin C internally, up to levels similar to other animals( 10,000 to 100,000 mgs day), when we lost it, we had to start eating it to live. But, we really were not designed to get it that way, and our bodies don't cooperate very well with oral dosing. But that is all personal theory.

Bottom line is: we can not achieve levels that most animals routinely do, except via IV. There is however, a new method that greatly increases vit C's ability to get inside us and do some good, with zero gastro upset in my experience: Liposomal. (and I have that handy for when needed, because it ain't cheap. Out of stock now, where I normally get it) But because it ain't cheap, so I save it for actual infections.

THANK YOU, BUDDY, for informing us of this! Of course, IMO, their dose is way low, but it is at least a step in the right direction!

Post Edited (BillyBob@388) : 3/25/2020 1:07:10 PM (GMT-6)

I am on the fence about this and appreciate the information but will stick with the 1250mg with occasional extra 500mg
Thing's are getting scary here in Manhattan. People are still out but less then usual maybe 50% less. Every other person has a mask on. Making it worse is a high pollen count. Every sniffle makes one wonder.

My nose is slightly running but I'm in and out of the cold and that's usual for me

Glen

Wonder if guifenesn Mucinex would be helpful. It loosens phlegm?

Glen

So 20 gram equals 20 thousand mg?

That seems a lot. I did get the runs before I cut back but was also taking vitamin D so not sure if either or both or none of them caused it.

The runs are almost welcomed because I'm on buprenorphine and am usually constipated

Glen