My vit C cold experience

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trillian
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My vit C cold experience

Post Number:#1  Post by trillian » Thu Jan 18, 2007 11:48 am

I only started on a vit C regime about the middle of last year. I began taking ascorbic acid
regularly on average about 4 or 5 grams a day divided into two or three doses as an everyday
intake.

I have not been very disciplined about it though so sometimes I have forgotten and
then sometimes I probably have taken more.

On two occassions I had the feeling an infection was trying to take hold and both times
I imediately began on about 2 to 3 grams every half hour for a day or so and both times
the result was no cold symptoms.

Then about two weeks ago I was in town running some arrands and ended up out
longer than I anticipated in nasty weather and on trains with people coughing and
sneezing as per usual this time of year. A couple days later I began to get a scratchy
throat and I began ramping up the vit C for a couple days. I still felt fine and went
about my regular activities, I had no other symptoms. After two days I started to get
a runny nose and now I was taking between 15 and 20 grams of ascorbic acid in a
24 hour period. I tried a limited form of the nasal delivery using cotton buds and a
buffered vit C solution and this would make the runny nose dry up imediately for
an hour or so. I still had the scratchy throat and tried gargling a bit with an ascorbic
acid and water solution.

After one day of what I would consider at least mild cold symptoms it was gone.

So, even though I did not stop it at the onset it is either the mildest cold I have
ever had in my life or the vit C did do something to combat it.

At no time did I ever really feel ill or stop my normal work and everyday activities.
Also, I never actually reached 'bowel tolerance'. Even at about 20 grams over 24
hours there were no side effects to speak of.

Everyone around me, work colleagues, flatmates etc. have had a cold that has
lasted about a week and dragged them down with sneezing coughing and
general malaise.

Cis4me
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another recent cold vs vit. c experience

Post Number:#2  Post by Cis4me » Thu Jan 18, 2007 5:24 pm

This past new years eve I was at a friend's place for a couple of days. They have a 2 year old who had picked up something
at his preschool and had infected about every adult he had been in contact with since. I wake up New Years morning at about 4:45am with a bit
of a sore throat and some sinus pressure. Given that I drank pretty heavily the night before, I wasn't that suprised.

I got up, took 5 1gram vit. c pills and a cup of water and went back to bed.
Woke up at around 8:30 am throat felt about the same, I take 4 more vit. c pills.
About 1 hour (and probably 2 cups of coffee) later I feel fine and have a little bit of stomach rumbling.
A couple of hours later I take two more grams of vit c and start driving home.
I have 1 gram on the 3.5 hour drive home in the form of one of those Emergen-C drink mixes.
Once I get home I have 2 3 gram does of ascorbic acid crystals in a cup of water 15 min. apart. ( had I been feeling bad at this point I would have taken much more )
about 20 minutes later I can tell I'm close to my B. T.
After an hour or so I have 1 gram in a pint glass of water for the rest of the day/night.. probably 5 grams total.
The total was roughly 23 grams which seemed pretty low to me.

The next day I feel fine and have my usual 2 grams of ascorbic acid and 1 gram Mg ascorbate when I get up.

The following Friday (5 Jan) I start getting a scratchy throat.
I take 4 grams instead of the usual three in the morning.
I take 2 grams in the form of pills roughly every 2 hours while at work.
I reach B.T. at home after probably 3 4 grams doses 15 min. apart.
2 hours after that I have probably 1 gram/hour until I go to bed.
I go through pretty much the same thing all weekend reaching a peak intake of 4 grams/hour for 3 hours.
by Monday despite being near BT my throat was doing ok, but I had a runny and stuffed up nose.
I felt worse tuesday morning, after about 4 4 grams doses every 15 minutes I started feeling better
I basically had a mild cold for 2 or 3 days.

It was pretty frustrating that my B.T. wouldn't go up much at all despite me getting worse. This was the first time
something like this has ever happened since I've been taking vit. c. All the other times my B.T. shoots way, way up
or the cold or whatever never really happens.


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