Vitamin C... What Do You Know?

Updated on August 21, 2011
A.S. asks from Mesquite, TX
10 answers

I am getting such mixed information about vitamin C... My midwife is having me take 1,000mg to 2,000mg daily because our third child was just born premature due to my waters breaking for the third time before contractions started and she is wanting to try and straighthen my bag for the next time around, whenever that may be. She is having my start vitamin C now and will have me continue through another pregnancy.

My midwife has told me no more than 2,500mg daily... a Bradley birth instructor told me I can take 1,000mg each hour.... others tell me vitamin C is water soluable and your body will get rid of anything not used without harming you... others tell me you can overdose on vitamin C.... I've even been told too much vitamin C on a daily bases could cause all sorts of problems including kidney stones... I am finding on the internet, most places, that the recommended vitamin C daily dosage is 70mg for non-pregnant women and 130mg for pregnant/breastfeeding women.... some online sorces says you can't overdose and other sources say you can....

WHAT IS IT?! I am very confused and have no clue how much vitamin c I should be taking and what is safe to take. And yes, I know I can get vitamin C from the natural things I eat and that it would be much better and ideal... but there is just a whole list of problems and reasons why I cannot do that so I am not even going to get into that...

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S.M.

answers from Kansas City on

Here's what I know. I don't have this book anymore so I'm sorry I don't have the name of the study. But I once read that Vitamin C has been studied with AIDS patients that were actively sick. I don't know much about the T-cells. I forget if they are supposed to be high or low. What I remember is that they had the patience find the tolerance level. They would take 1000 every hour on the hour until they felt the first twinges of loose stools coming on. Then they would cut it back to just an amount that their body would tolerate without loose stools. When they did this for weeks on end and checked their t-cells, they improved quite a lot. Interestingly enough, the higher their infection rate, (any type of infections they were fighting at the time), the more Vitamin C their body could tolerate. When they were in a phase with less infection, their body needed or could tolerate a lower amount.

I've suffered from infections the doctors could not find. My SED rate would go up and they explained that it shows there is infection in the body. But they didn't know where. I've had teeth infections and other infections. When I am having infections my tolerance has been as high as 22,000 milligrams per day. But the last time I found my tolerance level when I had no active infection that I know of, my tolerance level was 12,000 milligrams per day.

Further... I've been told by a dentist to take 6000 miligrams per day for 6 weeks and then 3000 per day the rest of your life in order to have strong capillaries, gums that never bleed, and so that the risk of heavy bleeding after birth is not so high.

I strongly believe that Vitamin C is a miracle drug.

I also read a study once that high amounts act like an antihistamine in the body and that is the reason people think it helps colds.

4 moms found this helpful

L.M.

answers from Portland on

I'm not sure what the "safe" dose is, but I would say go with what your midwife says.
Be glad she's prescribing a vitamin instead of a drug. How many times do you hear people that OD or that have side effects from vitamins compared to drugs?

If you haven't seen it, you should watch Food Matters. They talk A LOT about vitamins and what's safe. It's on netflix for free.

1 mom found this helpful
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C.T.

answers from Denver on

the 70mg to 130mg is the lowest amount you can have and not get scurvy. Vitamin C helps to stabilize cell structures and keep them from breaking down. Vit C is water soluble and will not collect in your body, however, too much Vit C will draw water to your bowel and you can get a nasty case of the runs.

1 mom found this helpful

J.S.

answers from Hartford on

I believe in everything in moderation is ideal. Too much of anything is bad for you, and the advice you're being given sounds like overkill. I think you realize that or you wouldn't be asking about it.

If you take a daily supplement, I wouldn't go overboard with it because you can overdose on it. I'm actually allergic to it in high doses so I have to moderate how much I take in from natural sources. I get rashes and digestive problems. I tried taking supplements and taking the lowest dose made me really sick. I'm just too sensitive to Vitamin C to add extra into my diet no matter the reason.

1 mom found this helpful

V.C.

answers from Dallas on

Those amts should not hurt you. It is water soluble. I take much more than that. The one I use is the only sustained release.
If you take too much, you will get diarrhea.

B.L.

answers from Missoula on

You can't overdose. The way to tell that you have enough in your body is when you start to get loose stools. Then you back off.

P.W.

answers from Dallas on

It's hard to over do it on vitamin c. Some people however can get an upset stomach from too much C. Plus your body can only absorb so much so if you take too much it won't really help you. You may want to take with food for the reason that it could upset your stomach. If you take too much C I believe you will just pee it out..

When you have or think your are getting sick that is when you might want to take it hourly, or every couple of hours for a couple of days. Otherwise 1000 mg of sustained release once or twice a day is what I take. It is good for immunity and for fighting colds. It can also help your body absorb the iron you eat.

Vitamins are sort of my thing. In my humble opinion we need a lot more than "recommended daily dosages" on most vitamins.

A.G.

answers from Boston on

Just to add to another mommas comment about aids with vitamin c, there is a documentary showing how some cancer is being treated with super large doses of vitamin c via iv... pretty neat.. that being said, i do give my children an additional vitamin c daily, i take it daily multiple time.. it is peed out so if you dont use it, out it goes.. chances are your midwife knows what she is telling you to take... good luck!!!!

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D.J.

answers from Dallas on

You cannot overdose on vitamin c. Your body does not produce or store it. What you don't need will be flushed through your urine. The upper level suggested is 2000MG.Over that could cause kidney stones and some symptoms like nausea and headache.

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J.B.

answers from Tyler on

My dad studied nutrition extensively. He called Vit. C the miracle vitamin and made us take it all the time. We were never sick, never had to go to doctors, and he lived to be 89 yrs old. All my siblings have continued to live according to his teaching and we are all healthy, and everyone says we don't look our ages. I can't swear it's the Vit. C, but it can't hurt!

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