what’s the verdict with vitamin C for SD?

[JeffN]

To be fair I think my situation with Vit. C, from what I read, is pretty uncommon. I did some work for an orthopedic doc back in the 80s and we were talking about the Vit.C to avoid colds and he said he recommended it, I told him about my joint pain and he did say that some of his patients had the same result. So it is not unheard of. I don’t know for sure either way if it is good or bad for us auto immune folks but I put it out there for anyone that might try the Vit. C and have increased joint pain.

[lynnie_sydney]

@JeffN wrote:

To be fair I think my situation with Vit. C, from what I read, is pretty uncommon. I did some work for an orthopedic doc back in the 80s and we were talking about the Vit.C to avoid colds and he said he recommended it, I told him about my joint pain and he did say that some of his patients had the same result. So it is not unheard of. I don’t know for sure either way if it is good or bad for us auto immune folks but I put it out there for anyone that might try the Vit. C and have increased joint pain.

Jeff – just wondering whether the Vitamin C you tried is the buffered kind – which makes it alkaline in the body? I am very interested in the acid/alkaline difference in the body of foods and supplements. Below is an online extract from a book ‘How to be Your On Doctor’ regarding this subject with regard to Vitamin C. Take care, Lynnie

It can make an important difference which type of vitamin C is taken because many people are unable to tolerate the acid form of C beyond 8 or 10 grams a day, but they can achieve a therapeutic dose without discomfort with the alkaline (buffered) vitamin C products such as calcium ascorbate, sodium ascorbate, or magnesium-potassium ascorbates.

Vitamin C also speeds up the healing of internal tissues and damaged connective tissue. Damaged internal tissues might include stomach ulcers (use the alkaline form of vitamin C only), bladder and kidney infections (acid form usually best), arthritic disorders with damage to joints and connective tissue (alkaline form usually best). Sports injuries heal up a lot faster with a therapeutic dose of vitamin C. As medicine, vitamin C should be taken at the rate of one or two grams every two hours (depending on the severity of the condition), spaced out to avoid unnecessary losses in the urine which happens if it were taken ten grams at a time. If you regularly use the acid form of vitamin C powder, which is the cheapest, be sure to use a straw and dissolve it in water or juice so that the acid does not dissolve the enamel on your teeth over time. http://chestofbooks.com/health/Isabelle-A-Moser/How-and-When-to-Be-Your-Own-Doctor/Vitamin-C.html

Be well! Lynnie

Palindromic RA 30 yrs (Chronic Lyme?)
Mino 2003-2008 100mg MWF - can no longer tolerate any tetracyclines
rotating abx protocol now. From Sep 2018 MWF - a.m. Augmentin Duo 440mg + 150mg Biaxsig (roxithromycin). p.m. Cefaclor (375mg) + Klacid 125mg + LDN 3mg + Annual Clindy IV's
Diet: no gluten, dairy, sulphites, low salicylates
Supps: 600mg N-AC BID, 1000mg Vit C, P5P 40mg, zinc picolinate 60mg, Lithium orotate 20mg, Magnesium Oil, Bio-identical hormones (DHEA + Prog + Estrog)

[JeffN]

Lynnie Thanks for the input. I really don’t know. I’ll look and see if any is still around, I have sworn off Vit C at this point, at least as far as any additional outside my multi vit. I have tried many times over the years and always the same result so I think I’ll just live with the dark spots. I will look and see what I have around if any.

[lynnie_sydney]

@JeffN wrote:

Lynnie Thanks for the input. I really don’t know. I’ll look and see if any is still around, I have sworn off Vit C at this point, at least as far as any additional outside my multi vit. I have tried many times over the years and always the same result so I think I’ll just live with the dark spots. I will look and see what I have around if any.

I totally understand Jeff. I would probably err on the side of caution in your shoes. Just find the whole acid/alkaline effect a very interesting area. Lynnie

Be well! Lynnie

Palindromic RA 30 yrs (Chronic Lyme?)
Mino 2003-2008 100mg MWF - can no longer tolerate any tetracyclines
rotating abx protocol now. From Sep 2018 MWF - a.m. Augmentin Duo 440mg + 150mg Biaxsig (roxithromycin). p.m. Cefaclor (375mg) + Klacid 125mg + LDN 3mg + Annual Clindy IV's
Diet: no gluten, dairy, sulphites, low salicylates
Supps: 600mg N-AC BID, 1000mg Vit C, P5P 40mg, zinc picolinate 60mg, Lithium orotate 20mg, Magnesium Oil, Bio-identical hormones (DHEA + Prog + Estrog)

[JeffN]

I looked around and found the Vit. C I had been taking last summr. It does not say anything about being buffered. For now I think I will just stay away though.

[PhilC]

Hi Jeff,
@JeffN wrote:

I would just like to note my experience with taking Vit. C. I don’t believe that my results are common but perhaps worth noting.
For me when I take Vit.C I get increased joint pain, the results are very repeatable. Every time I have tried it going back to the 80s when it was being touted as a boon for avoiding colds I get joint pain. I had not taken it in years but last summer I tried it again as I was experiencing some hyperpigmentation. I tried a low dose to start. Anyway about a month on and more joint pain, I gave it up and it takes about three weeks for the pain to subside. So I a not saying not to take it but if you do and notice more pain than usual it may not be the SD returning just try giving up the C.

I have a possible explanation for what you experienced. Normally, a small amount of ascorbate gets converted in the body to oxalate. Since it’s a very small amount it doesn’t pose a problem. Some people, though, have a metabolic defect that results in a much larger percentage of ingested vitamin C being converted to oxalate. This leads to oxalate crystals being deposited in the joints, which causes joint pain.

Sorry it took me more than a year to reply. I had intended to reply months ago, but kept forgetting. I was actually not on this forum at all for most of last year.

Phil

"Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth."
- Albert Einstein

[A Friend]

@paper tiger wrote:

hey all, sorry. i tried to run a search for vitamin c, but i couldn’t group it together and i just got tons of info on vitamin d.

i know there’s a link between vitamin c and collagen-production, but i’d read a few things ages ago implying that we should still take our vitamin c because in the case of people with SD, we’re malfunctioning and producing a ton of collagen, vitamin c or otherwise.

about four months, in, i think i’m beginning to see good old minocycline-induced hyperpigmentation, so i’d like to try to curb it with 500mg of vitamin C twice daily, but only if the general consensus is it won’t turn me into a scar-tissue machine.

thank you!

Paper Tiger,
I just found this link in which a doctor does not prescribe Vitamin C for those with scleroderma, and there is a discussion about it. The link is: http://library.mothernature.com/l/preventions-healing-with-vitamins/scleroderma_1010.html
By now you may already have found information on this. After recently finding and skimming through a great book by Dr. Linus Pauling, with lots of great information about Vitamin C, I am hoping that somehow there may be a safe amount for patients with scleroderma to take. But, I’d certainly do some extensive homework before I’d chance it. I did copy this paragraph from the found article and am pasting this excerpt below:

“Dr. Blau does not recommend supplemental vitamin C for people with scleroderma, however. (Vitamin C is also an antioxidant.) That’s because vitamin C promotes the body’s production of collagen, and scleroderma involves the overproduction of collagen. In fact, one study attempted to treat scleroderma by putting people on a very low vitamin C diet. “We never found out whether a vitamin C-deficient diet helped,” Dr. Blau explains. “Vitamin C is found in so many foods that it was impossible to keep people on a C-deficient diet.” He does not tell his patients with scleroderma to avoid eating vitamin C-rich foods.”

Best,
AF

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