Vitamin C Forum

I've been 'on' Pauling Therapy for about 7 months now. I think that I may have rendered the first 3-4 months less effective by continuing to smoke (at a reduced level... but still very bad, I later learned). I've been off the smokes for 3 months or more now.

In November I had an Angiogram... which showed major blockages... and the optimum course is a double by-pass, which I'm booked in for sometime in the next 10 weeks or so. I really do need to live another 10 years or so (for particular reasons) otherwise I think that I'd forego the surgery a 'put all my money' on Pauling Therapy.

My Cardio-Thoracic Surgeon (who is considered highly in a very good Cardiac Hospital) has told me to stop taking all supplements two weeks before surgery. He said he's not against supplements, but that 'they' just don't understand their interactions with drugs that may be used in surgery (heparin, anaesthetics).

I intend to take his advice and stop the supplements, but two weeks seems like an unnecessarily long time. Some supplements like Vitamin E (that thins the blood) and Vitamin K... yes, stop those a week before, but I'm reluctant to stop all the supplements because I credit them with keeping me alive this long !!

Good advice will be much appreciated.

Here's what I'm taking:

Pauling Vit C-Lysine -Proline about 15 gms per day

Unique - E 1 capsule per day

CoQ10 100mg

Slow Niacin 500mg

Folic Acid 500mcg

Koncentrated K - 1 cap morning and evening

Vitamin D 500mcg

B12 1000mcg

Cod Liver Oil 1 teaspoon

Safflower Oil 1 teaspoon

Flax Seed Oill 1 teaspoon

First, Heart Surgery has saved quite a few lives, perhaps millions of lives.
Second, I gained an appreciation that the Pauling therapy probably cannot contend with all advanced heart disease from Dr. Levy's book STOP AMERICA'S #1 KILLER. If you have unstable plaques, they may rupture creating a clot leading to a heart attack.

Having said that, was the dosage you were on for those 7 months, especially vitamin C, and what else were you taking? Were you taking it every day?

At some level, all "orthomolecular" substances are found in the food, so the fear of some kind of adverse reaction can only apply to high dosages. Vitamin C and lysine, in particular are required to exist. You need at least one gram of lysine daily.

Vitamin C is only going to speed healing, and Pauling advised not to stop vitamin C "even for a single day."

Vitamin E is not a blood thinner. (I hear this every time I go in for surgery).

I'd value johnwen's thoughts on these supplement restrictions prior to surgery, and I would say to perhaps start weaning down to a multi-vitamin and vitamin C. I would not stop the vitamin C, but perhaps 1,500 daily (1 500 tablet 3 times a day) - even while you are at the hospital! (if you want to get out of their quicker

Treated a person some months ago, having a single vessel block on angio, with some of the above mentioned drugs along with IV DSMO thus saving him from trauma of surgery.

Another case of CAD with Renal Failure (urea 280 Creatinine 7.0) and Lt leg Cellulitis using it too.

Good Luck and Best Regards!

Thanks very much for your replies. Very helpful.

I went for my pre-admission tests yesterday.... it took 5 hours with little waiting time between physios, pharmacists and physiologists etc.

The actual Op is still 4-6 weeks away (public system).

The pharmacist was very good.... indicated she was bound by hospital policy to advise stop all supplements 2 weeks before the Op. (The Surgeon had said one week.) She then told me that the 'Red Flag' supplements that I really should stop were:

* Vitamin E
* Cod Liver Oil
* Flax Seed Oil
* Koncentrated K

They are most concerned about bleeding control... so I'm off the Plavix 5 days before the Op too (it takes 5 days to clear from the system, I was told).

So I'll continue with PT to the last day before...

Thanks !