Vitamin and Supplement Regimen Questions

[Alicious]

Here's my current regimen:

Morning:
Fish Oil 1000mg
Flaxseed Oil 1300mg

Lunch:
Fish Oil 1000mg
Vitamin E 200IU (to help with the omegas)
B-12 1000mcg
D3 2000IU
Alpha Lipoic Acid 600mg

Dinner
Fish Oil 1000mg
Flaxseed Oil 1300mg
Multivitamin

Is there anything here I'm taking at the wrong time, taking oo much or too little of? These are all pretty much with food. The ALA bottle says to have with a meal, but I've seen on the boards that it is best without a meal. ?

Is there anything I'm missing, or that you would recommend I add to the party? I'm considering Grape Seed Extract but need to do some more research first. My theory is that if I don't have strong evidence know it helps MS I at least want it to be neutral in my system, so I know I can be overly cautious about adding in supplements.

Thanks in advance for any guidance!

[Sir-Voor]

Create a tread on this about a month ago. http://www.msworld.org/forum/showthread.php?t=106128
I think you will find some info and links that you can use.

I think ALA works better without food, but only if it does not cause stomach/digestion issues. So I would try in-between meals and see if you have any upset stomach issues.

I would suggest having your B12 and D levels checked with next blood test, not only is always good to know. But some of us MSers need monthly B12 injection because oral B12 just does not absorb right, and with the D you can’t tell if you’re taking the right amount without testing it.

You may move morning flaxseed to lunch, to help absorption of E.

[knuckle]

Magnesium and Curcumin. Google both with "multiple sclerosis"

Grape Seed Extract sounds useful.

Dr. Burt Berkson, the authority on ALA, takes 300mg in the morning on an empty stomach and 300mg in the evening before dinner.

You can view his presentation by googling:

"Dr. Burt Berkson Presentation on LDN and Alpha Lipoic Acid Therapy for Cancer & Autoimmune Disease"

The second search item. Evidently, ALA has also been shown to inhibit T-cell migration across the blood brain barrier, like Tysabri.

[Alicious]

Thanks, Sir-Voor. I've read so many threads here on the topic, but most people don't say when they take it, with what, or even the amount. I somehow missed the thread you posted, though. Oops! The ALA gave me some intense heartburn even with a meal, so I'm going to have to think through how I take it a little more, and maybe split the dose.

knuckle, I will do some research on those, too. Thanks for the tip!

[Shashi]

If you have any problems with fatigue, you might want to add 1,000 to 2,0000 mgs of acetyl L-carnitine every morning. When you combine it and ALA, it works great to alleviate fatigue.

Also, 600 mg is a pretty big dose of ALA. I take just 200 mg every morning. That could be why you're getting heartburn.

[Alicious]

So far I don't have fatigue issues, so I'm using it more for the antioxidant properties. I think I do need to get a smaller dose though, and at least spread it around my day. I've read about the acetyl L-carnitine being a miracle when combined with ALA for so many people. It's great to have that in the toolbox for when the fatigue starts, as it probably will.

I'm going to try the ALA with a big glass of milk this morning and see what happens. It's in a powder capsule, so splitting it isn't realistic.

[Sir-Voor]

Alicious,

As you can tell from my thread I’m new to this vitamin time stuff also.

One I forgot to suggest is zinc, but the closer you live near to a coast the more likely you already have good zinc level.
Also oysters and some cereals have zinc in them.
I live near St. Louis and you can’t hardly get any farther from coastal living then that.
So I started feeling more energized right away, to simply put it, it helps the nerve carry the signals.
Be careful you can get to much zinc in you diet.

This thread got me rethink when a take my Vitamin C, I did switch to me evening big meal last month far best absorption.

But now I’m thinking about switching to mid morning with my zinc and ALA/ALC*, and bedtime with magnesium.
I’m thinking the switch will be better because C should help Magnesium and zinc absorption, hopefully ALA/ALC* also but I really have no clue as to that.
And C may help my energy level during the day.
Also by taking with out food taking two a day, I think will be less likely I will be taking to much.


*ALA/ALC = Alpha Lipoic Acid/Acety L-Carntine.
One boost the food energy to cell energy conversion and other heals damage to the conversion system, I forget witch one does what.
Also ALC is a antioxidant that can cross from the blood into the brain, thus making it a Antioxidant for you brain.

[wakingspirit58]

Vitamins...

The B's are good...B-6 and B-12 for circulation and energy. I take them everyday....They work!

[nutritiontara]

Here's my current regimen:

Morning:
Fish Oil 1000mg
Flaxseed Oil 1300mg

Lunch:
Fish Oil 1000mg
Vitamin E 200IU (to help with the omegas)
B-12 1000mcg
D3 2000IU
Alpha Lipoic Acid 600mg

Dinner
Fish Oil 1000mg
Flaxseed Oil 1300mg
Multivitamin

Is there anything here I'm taking at the wrong time, taking oo much or too little of? These are all pretty much with food. The ALA bottle says to have with a meal, but I've seen on the boards that it is best without a meal. ?

Is there anything I'm missing, or that you would recommend I add to the party? I'm considering Grape Seed Extract but need to do some more research first. My theory is that if I don't have strong evidence know it helps MS I at least want it to be neutral in my system, so I know I can be overly cautious about adding in supplements.

Thanks in advance for any guidance!

Hi Alicious, I suspect your "multi" contains synthetic B vitamins....so if you're going to continue with it I would suggest you take it with breakfast.
I prefer pine bark extract over grape seed, most grape seed is GMO. Take as much D as needed to get your levels up. May require 15-20,000/day check in 60 days???
With all those oils you need some quality anti-oxidants: CoQ10, DHLA, Pine bark, green tea extract; any one of those or a combination would be good.

[Alicious]

Thank you for the input! Does it matter what time of day I take the antioxidant, or is it just important to include it in the mix overall?

[DianeD]

About how long...

How long would you say it takes to start 'feeling' the benefits of supplements?

MY DH took matters into his own hands (lovingly) and talked to a nice guy at a quality health/supplement store.

Amazingly the fellow's wife has MS, so he had some useful info and a sympathetic ear. We came home with some basic stuff, Vitamin D, Fish Oil, etc. It wasn't an arm twisting sales pitch, but more of a help to us sorting though the supplement maze.

These stores are awesome, but really overwhelming.

Anyway, I'm trying to take this leap of faith. I feel the healthstore fellow spent more time with me than my docs have all year!

We also are going to try to utilize a local chiropractor who was recommended.

I am not a fool who expects miracles, but would just like to try a few things that might relieve some of my discomfort.

I've seen 4 or 5 Neuros, but they have less and less time and seem to work on a formatted plan. It's all the same and there are months between check ups. Meanwhile my symptoms don't improve and all they seem to do is give me more prescription meds.

Diane

[Alicious]

My reasons for taking these are that I'd like to delay disease progression, so I can't speak to symptom relief specifically because I'm so newly diagnosed and in remission that I don't have many symptoms, thankfully. I did read today that in some studies CoQ10 is specifically shown to have a detrimental effect on MS, so I may just stick with the alpha lipoic acid, myself, until I have he chance to dig further.

Your husband sounds very sweet. I think as long as the cost of the supplements fits into your income and that they have some evidence showing they may have benefits, it is worth taking them. Hopefully the chiropractor can help you out as well. I totally get what you mean about not expecting miracles, which is why I try to stick with supplements that at least have some MS research behind them. Which is not to say I can't be proven wrong, but anyone who tells me they have a cure or that if I eliminate _______ from my diet I'll be just fine is spouting horse...poop.