several problems

This forum will focus on the interesting topic of titrating oral vitamin C intake to so-called bowel tolerance, the point just prior to the onset of diarrhea

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jackw

several problems

Post Number:#1  Post by jackw » Mon Jun 14, 2010 10:15 am

Hello,

My name is Jack. over the past few years I've had a problem(problems) which might indicate a very weak immune system. I'm hoping someone here can help me with some questions....maybe a little advice(or a lot).

a little history:

For the past 3 or 4 years I've suffered from some pretty severe kidney infections(paraplegic). but I have been infection free for a year.

started out with a typical urinary tract infection which quickly moved to my kidneys...within hours i was septic with a white cell count of 24,000. I had been hospitalized for infections before(rarely). Usually an oral antibiotic would do the trick. but i had never experienced an infection with such "efficiency".

This went on for a couple years....7 to 9 day stay in the hospital with each infection, which I probably averaged an infection every 2 or 3 months and slowed down over the third year.

I've been infection free for around a year. my Dr's explanation was, "sometimes this starts, then it will suddenly stop". he was right....at least for the time being. Although I have been spraying everything in my house with anti-bacterial spray for the past year...hand, body wash...just whatever would help create the most sterile environment possible...that might have a little something to do with it. He never once mentioned my immune system. i mean...it was obvious my immune system was losing. the infection moved so fast, by the time I realized I had an infection, it was too late...i needed to get to a hospital. i became paranoid...hence my sterile obsession.

anyway, even though i've been infection free, I'm still not doing very well. The powerful antibiotics wreaked havoc on my gastrointestinal system....and the fact that I've had IBS for ten years doesn't help(oh...i also have an ulcer). I've used probiotics off and on(mostly flora-q), but I wasn't consistent with that. I'm giving it another shot..."Complete Probiotics"...also contains a small amount of nutraflora....we'll see. starting out slow with phillips colon health along with a little green tea and honey.

Of course, I can't tolerate anything higher than the rda of vitamin C(well...i haven't tried anything under 500 mgs, or buffered). I recently tried ester-c 500mgs with the same results(diarreah, nausea). I so want to be able to tolerate vitamin c in higher doses. I understand the benefits and how it can help my immune system. I want to try something else, which is why i'm here.

My gi tract is a mess. probably more so since I've totally neglected my health(besides the sterile thing) for awhile. I'm trying to fix this...I know the intestines are a big part of the immune system. my body is beginning to respond in some weird ways to the inflammation in my bowels(could be possible nerve damage). any pressure, bloating, constipation, loose stool seems to cause something like tingling(back of head...yeah...weird)...along with something i can only describe as hot flashes or burning sensations in the back of my head and shoulders...sometimes arms...increased pulse rate...occasional slight dizziness...not always triggered by bowel distress, but mostly. i've explained this to my doctors(seen several drs over the years), but they don't seem to HEAR ME! I was given several tests...ct scans, blood tests, urine samples, stool samples, etc..(no x-rays or cts of my spine). Last time i talked to my dr he said, "if you weren't paralyzed you'd be in perfect health". I was like...WHAT?!

I don't know...it's all confusing. I do know I'm much sicker than any of those tests reveal...paging dr house. i know my body much better than they do and I've done enough research which in most cases leads me to believe my immune system plus possible vitamin/mineral deficiencies(which would show up in blood tests...right? or maybe those tests weren't ordered?) might be a big part of the problem.

that's more than a little history(sorry about that), but i wanted to include any information that might help.

I'm slowly improving in some areas...I do take a multivitamin, fish oil, probiotics. I know there's several routes i need to take, but I believe I'm on the right track for the most part. After all my reading, I'm convinced vitamin c will make a difference.

Is there any form of vitamin c that my gi tract(fragile) might be able to handle in higher doses? maybe lower time-released buffered doses? a certain brand? Do I need to improve by bowel situation first? I'm a little apprehensive, but I'm hoping there's something out there for someone like me.

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