Hi, thanks for the reply.
I don't have cardiovascular disease, but I just found out (at 42) that I have mild plaque in my left carotid artery and have bad LDL and lp(a) cholesterol. I'm on 1000mg of niacin for the latter, but she wants to do a further screening to see what percentage blockage I have. She suggested Crestor (a statin), which I know I don't want to take. I'm already doing everything I can to get off a horrible benzo (that actually led me to do all the tests). My guess is that I've had plaque for a while and just discovered it. I'm not overly worried, but I have only two months to bring it down and get rechecked before she prescribes the statin. I'm making dietary and exercise changes (and trying to taper off the other med), but it's a lot to take in and on. This was the least of my worries.
I heard about you through my biofeedback doctor as I'm trying to go all natural rather than through debilitating medication. I bought your product and will take it. My skepticism is not vit C per se but the amount suggested. It seems like a lot for mild plaque. I'm not sure of the correct dose for my case.
I'm also on a lot of natural supplements to get off klonopin, so adding more makes me feel like I'm overwhelming my body.
I'm doing everything and anything I can to clean my body and be healthy. My first priority is getting off klonopin (which will take months) without neglecting my cholesterol and heart health.
I will look into what you said. As long as the C supplement doesn't interact with my other supplements and contribute to my anxiety (due to withdrawal and lack of sleep), I will certainly try it. I would love to be retested to find out everything has been lowered. I can then tell her and stay off the statin.
Dana
Lot to digest - you do have cardiovascular disease, albeit perhaps mild.
The vitamin C dosage is based on many things, not the least of which is what all the other animal species make 24/7 (e.g. between 3000 and 13,000 mg adjusted for body weight) We humans cannot make any.
Dosages are different for everyone, but unlike drugs, where an overdose can harm, vitamins are non toxic and taking too much will not harm, other than a bad case of diarrhea. (Here is a paper explaining the diarrhea (bowel tolerance) effect:
http://vitamincfoundation.org/pdfs/Vitamin_C_Dosage_in_Disease.pdf
As far as the other issues, after you begin taking vitamin C I suggest the Hoffer/Saul book NIACIN: THE REAL STORY as it seems likely that increasing your niacin will have a positive impact on the "benzo" issues.