High Dose Intravenous Vitamin C (and other vitamin infusions)

I tried once IV vitamin C when I had pretty bad flu. Within 10 minutes I could feel the positive effect. It's like feeling your immune system is activating to 120%. On the next day, I was pretty much healthy again.

My family doctor in Germany offers IV vitamin C treatment (40 euros per treatment) though I wouldn't say that this is something mainstream in Germany. It is mostly offered by alternative practitioners. It's a bit expensive but at least not forbidden in Germany.

Never felt the difference between taking usual vitamin C in high doses (2-3 grams every hour) and liposomal one. When doing it on your own you never know to what degree it's really liposomal or just a suspension. Would be interesting to know how to test it at home.
 
I kept reading and things did not turn out well for Marian. I would suggest that it was because of the vegetarian diet.


This reminds me of Steve Jobs who apparently was vegan too, although some sources say he was pescatarian. He must have had access to whatever therapies were available and some say it was the meat-free diet that kept him around for so long. Pancreatic cancer patients usually die quickly after diagnosis. I'd say it was the diet that made whatever therapies he tried ineffective in the end. Even if he was pescatarian he was still burning carbs for fuel.
 
Check the thread about making liposomal or the other Vit C thread; pretty sure there are recipes there.

Actually I´m making my own liposomal vit.C since many years. It seems I haven´t express myself clearly enough in my spanglish so that I´ll reformulate my question again in the appropriate thread. Thank you for the tips anyway, it didn´t occur to me to look into labs sectors or used one, which I would, provided these higher frequency ultrasonic cleansers prove to be more efficient than the little one I'm using,
 
So it seems what helped Marian to get this result is a fairly high amount of Intravenous Vitamin C (much more than is usually reccomended) injected daily with a fast dropper (delivered in a short amount of time into the body). And then slowly coming down from that dosis for the next couple of months/years.
 
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Ewan Cameron and Linus Pauling were pioneers in the research of cancer treatment by means of vitamin C. Here is a short article about them:
“Today I propose to tell you of my personal involvement in this still highly controversial subject, the vitamin C in cancer story. The matter is capable of arousing almost any emotion from bitter prejudice and blazing anger on the one hand, to unbridled (and undeserved) enthusiasm on the other, with all grades of scorn, laughter, ridicule, and pity in between. I hope to convince you that the whole research project has a perfectly sound scientific basis, and that Dr. Pauling and I are neither gullible fools, nor are we charlatans.”


-Ewan Cameron, “Vitamin C and Cancer: A Personal Perspective,” September 1984.


Ewan Cameron, about whom we’ve written before, was born in Glasgow, Scotland on July 31, 1922. His interest in medicine emerged early in life and at the age of twenty-one he was interning in surgery and medicine in several Scottish hospitals. One year later he received the British equivalent of an M.D. degree from the University of Glasgow and shortly thereafter was stationed in Burma, performing surgeries as a Lieutenant Colonel in the British Army Reserve at the close of World War II.

Following his three years of active military service, Cameron returned to Scotland and resumed his training in surgery and radiotherapy. In 1956, at the age of 33, he was appointed Consultant Surgeon at Vale of Leven District Hospital in Dunbartonshire, Scotland – at the time, Cameron was the youngest such appointee in all of the U. K.

Cameron’s formal association with Vale of Leven would last for twenty-six years, and it is during this period that he formulated an important theory on the nature of cancer. Cameron’s idea was that the malignant invasiveness of cancer cells might be combated by manipulating hyaluronidase inhibitor, a naturally-occurring substance that controls the hyaluronidase enzyme liberated by malignant tumors. The theory, which Cameron developed for at least eleven years before publishing, was founded on the notion of fighting cancer through the strengthening of the human body’s natural protective mechanisms.

In 1971 Cameron further hypothesized that vitamin C was required for the body’s synthesis of hyaluronidase inhibitor, and thereafter noted promising results for those terminally-ill cancer patients at Vale of Leven being treated with ten daily grams of ascorbic acid. This line of inquiry was a natural fit for work being conducted several thousand miles away by Linus Pauling. Cameron recalled

Just as the idea evolved, I learned that Professor Linus Pauling had stated that vitamin C might be helpful for cancer patients. My first reaction was one of dismay, even defeat, but such a feeling did not last very long. I wrote immediately to Dr. Pauling and we have been close collaborators ever since. Dr. Pauling had reasoned that an adequacy of vitamin C (necessary for collagen formation) might increase the scirrhous reaction and help encapsulate tumors. On further reading we realized that vitamin C was involved in many other aspects of host resistance, such as cell-mediated immunity and the biosynthesis of interferon. Many independent investigators subsequently were able to show that ascorbate administered in the gram range enhanced these defensive mechanisms to levels of activity far above the so-called normal range. Therefore, there is a strong case for the expectation that supplemental vitamin C, in adequate dosage, might have some beneficial effect against cancer.​
Thus began a fruitful partnership resulting in ten papers co-authored by Cameron and Pauling on the potential value of vitamin C in the treatment of cancer.

In 1978 Cameron accepted Pauling’s offer of appointment as Chief Medical Officer at the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine, and moved with his family to California. A year later, Pauling and Cameron published Cancer and Vitamin C, a book-length description of their work written for a more general audience. Initially self-published by the Institute, the book was eventually translated into French and Japanese.

Cameron and Pauling continued to work on the cancer question throughout the 1980s, at points turning their attentions to ascorbic acid’s potential value to those suffering with AIDS. Amidst it all, the duo was routinely attacked by the mainstream medical establishment – a source of tremendous frustration for both Pauling and Cameron. In concluding his 1984 talk, Cameron provided a glimpse into the resentment that the bad press had engendered.

Despite unethical and unprofessional well-publicized attacks on our integrity in the media by Mayo Clinic investigators on the basis of two very seriously flawed trials, I remain convinced that the value of supplemental ascorbate has now been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, and that in time supplemental ascorbate will come to form a part of all comprehensive cancer treatment regimens. It appears that the general public is already ahead of the medical profession in reaching such a decision.​

Ewan Cameron died on March 21, 1991, aged 68, of prostate cancer – the same disease which ultimately claimed Linus Pauling’s life three and a half years later. To date no clear consensus has been reached on the body of work created by the Pauling-Cameron collaboration, though it is worth noting that research published in August 2008 by the National Institutes of Health reported that “High-dose injections of vitamin C, also known as ascorbate or ascorbic acid, reduced tumor weight and growth rate by about 50 percent in mouse models of brain, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers.”

The Ewan Cameron Papers is just one of the many collections housed in the Oregon State University Libraries Special Collections.

His book Cancer and Vitamin C: A Discussion of the Nature, Causes, Prevention, and Treatment of Cancer With Special Reference to the Value of Vitamin C: The 21st-Century Edition (English Edition) is available on Amazon and here's the list of references to his research:

REFERENCES to Dr. Cameron's Protocol for the Use of Intravenous Vitamin C in the Treatment of Cancer
 
From the paper by the National Institutes of Health mentioned above:

High-dose injections of vitamin C, also known as ascorbate or ascorbic acid, reduced tumor weight and growth rate by about 50 percent in mouse models of brain, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers, researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) report in the August 5, 2008, issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers traced ascorbate’s anti-cancer effect to the formation of hydrogen peroxide in the extracellular fluid surrounding the tumors. Normal cells were unaffected.

Is Hydrogen Peroxide a Medical “Miracle”?

By Ty Bollinger

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) ranks up there as one of the best household remedies. Hydrogen peroxide is one of the few “miracle substances” still available to the general public; it is safe, readily available, and dirt cheap. And best of all, it works!

Did you know that you probably had your first sip of hydrogen peroxide shortly after you took your first breath? That’s right… mother’s milk (especially colostrum) contains extremely high concentrations of H2O2. In light of the fact that we know that one of the main functions of mother’s milk is to activate and stimulate the immune system in the infant, the fact that it contains abnormally large amounts of H2O2 makes sense.

Using H2O2 as a Medical Treatment
As far back as the early nineteenth century, hydrogen peroxide was widely used in medicine. Many bacterial diseases (including syphilis) responded to H2O2 when no other treatment was effective. In the early twentieth century, H2O2 was used to treat several common diseases, such as whooping cough, cholera, typhoid fever, ulcers, tuberculosis, and asthma. However, as the pharmaceutical industry began to develop expensive, new drugs, hydrogen peroxide was increasingly ignored and finally discarded as a treatment.

Hydrogen Peroxide and Cancer
H2O2 stimulates natural killer (NK) cells, which attack cancer cells as they attempt to spread throughout the body. In the body’s immune response, hydrogen peroxide is released by T-cells to destroy invading bacteria, viruses and fungi. Blood platelets release hydrogen peroxide on encountering particulates in blood. In the large intestine, acidophilus lactobacillus produces H2O2 which keeps the ubiquitous candida yeast from multiplying out of control. When candida spreads out of the intestine, it escapes the natural control system and can gain a foothold in the organs of the body, causing what is called chronic fatigue syndrome.

During flu season, if the kiddos feel like they’re getting sick, we lay them down on their side and put a few drops of hydrogen peroxide into their ear. After a few seconds, the liquid will bubble, indicating that it is killing the infection. After 5 or 10 minutes, we turn them over and repeat on the other ear. No one yet fully understands the complete workings of hydrogen peroxide, but we do know that it is loaded with oxygen.

Make Sure You’re Using the Right Kind of Hydrogen Peroxide
We know that when H2O2 is taken into the body (orally or intravenously) the oxygen content of the blood and body tissues increases dramatically. Please remember that the hydrogen peroxide that is available at your local pharmacy (3% hydrogen peroxide) should NEVER be ingested orally, since it contains many stabilizers. The only grade recommended for internal use is 35% Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide, which must be properly diluted down to 3% with water. I use hydrogen peroxide each night before bed as a rinse and also a natural teeth whitener.
 
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Perhaps you've already found this paper. It's titled 'Intravenous Vitamin C as a Chemotherapy Agent: a Report on Clinical Cases' from June, 2004. The cases described are quite interesting! Here are the first three (more cases can be found in the attached paper):

Positive effects of IV vitamin C therapy in a patient with adenocarcinorna of the kidney were reported in 1990 by one of the authors (HDR) (1). This report described a 70-year old white male, diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of his right kidney. Shortly after right neprectomy, he developed metastatic lesions in the liver and lung. The patient began intravenous vitamin C treatments, starting at 30 grams twice per week. Six weeks after initiation of therapy, reports indicated that the patient was feeling well, his exam was normal, and his metastases were shrinking. Fifteen months after initial therapy, the patient's oncologist reported that the patient was feeling well with absolutely no signs of progressive cancer. The patient remained cancer-free for 14 years. He died of congestive heart failure at the age of 84.

A second case study, published in 1998 (2), described another complete remission in a patient with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. The patient, was a 52-year old white female from Wisconsin diagnosed with non-metastatic disease in September 1995. In October 1996, eight metastatic lung lesions were found: seven in the right lung and one in the left (measuring between 1-3cm). The patient chose not to undergo chemotherapy or radiation treatments. The patient was started on intravenous vitamin C along with oral nutritional supplements to correct diagnosed deficiencies and a broad-spectrum oral nutritional supplement in October, 1996. The initial dose of intravenous vitamin C 15 grams, subsequently increased to 65 grams after two weeks. The patient was given two infusions per week. Intravenous vitamin C treatments were continued until June 6, 1997. An X-ray taken at the time revealed resolution of all lung metastases, but one. The patient discontinued intravenous vitamin C infusions at that time and continued taking the broad-spectrum oral nutritional supplement. A radiology report on a chest Xray taken January 15, 1998, stated that no significant infiltrate was evident, and there was resolution of the upper lobe lung metastases. In February, 1999 a chest X-ray showed no lung masses and the patient reported being well at that time.

The following patient (suffering from a colon tumor) did have chemotherapy (sadly), but:

[...] The patient and his wife asked the chemotherapist about getting intravenous vitamin C along with the chemotherapy. The oncologist assured them that vitamin C would not be of any value. [Ignorant!] The patient was later evaluated at Pittsburg University Hospital on May, 1997 where he underwent liver resection to segments three and five. During surgery, the stomach was mobilized off the interior surface of the liver and a frozen section of this area was taken and confirmed metastatic adenocarcinoma. The pathology report showed metastatic carcinoma consistent with colon primary within the desmoplastic tissue and adjacent hepatic parenchyma from the stomach wall and liver. Segments three and five both contained multiple nodules. His CEA was 9.8 postsurgery; the Pittsburg University oncologists informed his prognosis was very poor and that he should go home and continue chemotherapy again.

The patient again asked his oncologist if he should use intravenous vitamin C. He responded, "I know of no studies which showed that this (vitamin C) would eradicate or delay progression of cancer". In spite of the two non-confidence recommendations for the use of intravenous vitamin C, he returned to our center for infusions after recovering from surgery in June 1997. He also began receiving weekly 5-FU (1,100 mg) and Leucovorin (1,300 mg) treatments administered by his local oncologist. His first vitamin C infusion was 15 grams over one hour. The dose was gradually increased during biweekly infusions. On September 9, 1997, a postintravenous vitamin C (100 gram in 1,000 cc sterile water infused over 2 hours) plasma concentration of vitamin C was 355 mg/dl.

He was then started on intravenous vitamin C, 100 grams, twice weekly. His wife, a registered nurse, gave most of these infusions at home. In addition to the vitamin C, he was given recommendations for oral vitamin and mineral supplementation to increase levels of nutrients that were found to be low. He kept up his vitamin C infusions until February, 1998, when he traveled to Florida for a vacation. While on vacation he continued the 5-FULeucovorin injections. After a two weeks hiatus from the vitamin C infusions, he began to experience nausea, diarrhea, stomach pain, and stomatitis; common side effects of 5-FU. Interestingly, the side effects ceased when he restarted intravenous vitamin C. He continued on chemotherapy and 100 gm Biweekly intravenous vitamin C until April 1, 1998.

Other than the brief period of side-effects mentioned above, RLL had no other side effects during the year of chemotherapy. He never experienced leucopenia, thrombocytopenia or anemia. During April, 1998 we began to taper his intravenous vitamin C. The doses were: 75 grams, one time per week for 2 months; then 75 grams, one time every other week for 2 months; then 75 grams, on time every month for two months; and the 50 grams, one time per month for 6 months. RLL's CEA dropped into the normal range on July 3 1,1997 and has remained normal (<3.0 ng/ mL). A CT-scan in October, 1998 showed no evidence of metastatic disease. Afterwards during an interview, he described himself as "perfectly healthy".
 

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In Barcelona there are private clinics that administer vitamin C IV in megadosis as a coadyuvant therapy against cancer. Some of their testimonials published in their sites include the halt of the most aggressive brain tumor - glioblastoma multiforme.

Other than that, Vitamin C is available in Spanish pharmacies as IV ampules (1 gram/5ml) that are not for hospital use, meaning anyone can get them with a prescription. The manufacturing pharmaceutical company is Bayer. Higher doses (25 or 50 grams per flacon) are available in North America and Germany.

Attached some relevant papers. The PDF paper that Oxajil posted is very informative too!

Information for practitioners: DoctorYourself.com - Preparing Vitamin C for I.V. administration
 

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There has been a slight shift in the medical community re intravenous vitamin C after the publication of the story of the NZ farmer dying from and then surviving sepsis. In fact, some hospitals now have vitamin C as an optional part of their sepsis protocol. At our hospital this is currently being discussed. And a lot of research has been published in the last 12 months. A quick search on PubMed shows 897 papers published on vitamin C this year. I don’t really hold my breath, though ...

Here in Australia intravenous formulations are available relatively easily. They are quite expensive though (30g vials cost approx. AUD 60, depending on how many you buy). Also they normally don’t come with a very long shelf life (12 months), and while I am generally not much bothered for myself if a drug is out of date, in this case I am not entirely sure if it’s wise to use OOD vitamin C (of which I have still about a dozen vials).

Iv vitamin C has been of some considerable interest for me for some time, but I haven’t really used it myself “in anger”.
 
Based on what I'm seeing in the various papers and websites, the Vitamin C IV thing is a pretty handy tool to have in the bag in the event of any kind of epidemic that might get going especially if the medical system collapses or fails to respond to a person or situation appropriately. It also appears to have multiple effects and uses for a variety of serious conditions.

The link that Gaby provided above is particularly interesting because it tells you how to make the solution yourself and it seems pretty simple.

The Stock Bottle of Sodium Ascorbate
Sterilize a 500 cc IV bottle along with a funnel, the rubber stopper, and a spoon. Then fill the bottle to the 300 cc line with sodium ascorbate fine crystals. (I weighed the sodium ascorbate out one time and 250 gm came up to the 300 cc line.) Then add 1/3 of the 20 ml bottle (6.6 cc) of edetate disodium injection, USP 150 mg/ml. Then add water for injection q.s. 500 cc. Shake up the bottle and if there is 1 mm of crystals left on the bottom, add 1 mm of water to the top. It turns out that sodium ascorbate is soluble to almost exactly a 50% concentration at room temperature. I do not worry about the sterility of this because this is very bacteriocidal. Perhaps it should be filtered to get out particulate matter but I have never seen this to be a problem. The pH of this has always turned out to be 7.4. My nurse discovered recently that if you do not shake the mixture to make it go into solution until after you refrigerate it and are ready to use it that the solution is less yellow. I presume that this is good because sodium ascorbate is clear and dehydroascorbate is yellow. The made up solutions are always a little yellow but refrigeration before mixing results in a far less yellow mixture.

Preparation of the IV Bottle
I recommend that the above stock bottle solution be added to lactated Ringer's such that 30 Gms (60 cc) to 60 Gms (120 cc) this be added to a quantity of lactated Ringer's sufficient to make 500 cc of the final solution to be injected IV. I had been using water for injection some time ago because this solution is several times hypertonic already and I did not want to add more tonicity. However, recently I have found that lactated Ringer's feels better to patients so I use that for the final dilution (not the stock solution described above.)

All a person needs at that point is the equipment and know how, and/or a nurse friend who can administer the drip, etc. Heck, there are websites that teach you how to do even that!

My initial take on it was that it was something that should be considered only in serious conditions but from what I've been reading on the various clinic websites, it appears that a LOT of people are doing this for cosmetic and/or anti-aging type things. The list of conditions that it cures or helps is pretty long even including just making your skin look better!

Look at this one: Vitamin C IV Therapy in Orange County | Vitamin C Infusion Benefits | Vitamin C Drip | Intravenous ascorbic acid Santa Ana | Anaheim | Irvine | Newport Beach | Huntington Beach | Corona | Fullerton | Long Beach | IV vitamin C therapy for cancer Westminster | Boost Hydration Costa Mesa, California

They even have a "mobile IV service" that will come to your home to administer the drip!!!

This one https://www.ivforlife.com/treatments/high-dose-vitamin-c-iv/ says:

High dose vitamin C is especially useful any time you are under greater than usual amounts of stress, feeling excessive fatigue, when your immune system needs bolstering to fight acute or chronic viral and bacterial infections, when your skin needs to be restored to glowing conditions such as after sun damage or surgery and to help improve the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy like fatigue, nausea and vomiting.

Here Can high-dose vitamin C kill cancer cells? you see the Mayo Clinic still pooh poohing it though they grudgingly admit:

More recently, vitamin C given through a vein (intravenously) has been found to have different effects than vitamin C taken in pill form. This has prompted renewed interest in the use of vitamin C as a cancer treatment.

There's still no evidence that vitamin C alone can cure cancer, but researchers are studying whether it might boost the effectiveness of other cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

What is important to note about this admission is that the Mayo clinic did the original debunking study by administering ORAL vitamin C as an "answer" to those claiming that IV administration cured cancer. So they are just basically saying "oh, we debunked this by a very poorly designed study that had no relevance and now we are admitting that the IV administration is possibly helpful because evidence is mounting in favor of it; so, we'll just pretend that our original stance was simply against the oral route... And, of course, it can only be an "adjunct" treatment because we still need to sell our poison and surgery."

As noted here: https://ndnr.com/oncology/may-08-the-benefits-of-iv-vitamin-c/

Large oral doses of vitamin C (18g/day) will increase plasma concentrations only modestly, from 70µmol/L to a maximum of 220µmol/L, whereas IV administration raises plasma concentrations as high as 14,000µmol/L (Padayatty et al., 2006, 2004).

This site: The Benefits of High Dose Vitamin C IV Therapy Explained | Nuuvo says this:

Vitamin C is an essential nutrient that is found in fruits and vegetables. Also known as ascorbic acid, vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant. It helps the body in the formation and maintenance of connective tissues including blood vessels, bones, and skin.

The essential vitamin accelerates the repair and regeneration process of the tissues. The vitamin also reduces the risk of heart attack by decreasing triglycerides and LDL cholesterol. Moreover, it also helps in iron absorption in the body.

And:
Another benefit of high dose vitamin C is that it accelerates collagen production in the body. Collagen is a structural protein that is present in bones. It provides structural support to the arteries and veins.

Lack of collagen in the body results in various complications such as weak blood vessels, ligaments, tendons, and bones. This can result in stroke, ruptured tendons, and ligaments. Administering high dose vitamin C through IV vitamin therapy can prevent these adverse health conditions.

And:

Vitamin C helps in the breakdown of fat for energy. Also, the essential nutrient takes part in the synthesis of carnitine — a molecule that serves as a shuttle bringing fats in the mitochondria that aids in the production of energy. In this way, intake of vitamin C boosts energy levels and reduces fatigue.

And:
It plays a part in the conversion of tyrosine to epinephrine, which is a ‘feel-good’ enzyme. Presence of epinephrine in the body lessens stress by reducing the stress hormone cortisol in the body.

Here Intravenous Vitamin C – the cocktail | LEMMO we learn:

Basic Facts Why Intravenous vs. Oral Vitamin C is Key in the treatment of Cancer:
  • Vitamin C levels in the body are tightly controlled by the bowels and the kidney’s (i.e. the body gets rid of it quickly)
  • Even by taking up to 18000mg per day orally in divided doses throughout the day, the blood levels do not change and do not exceed 0.2 mMol/L
  • Intravenous vitamin C bypasses the tight control by the body leading to a 70-fold higher blood levels with only a 2000mg injection
  • A simple injection of 5000mg of vitamin C produces a blood value of 3mMol/L and the research has shown that you can kill most cancer cells in the laboratory with values between 0.5 to 3mMol/L
Safety of Intravenous Vitamin C:

A 2010 study evaluating the use of vitamin C amongst practitioners revealed, after calculating over 750,000 yearly sales and estimated yearly doses of over 350,000 in 2008, and after evaluating over 9000 patients, only minor side-effects were noted that included lethargy/fatigue, change in mental status, and vein irriation. Clinically, if these effects occur they are temporary and easily corrected.

From this site: https://ellymcguinness.com/blog/iv-vitamin-therapy/

What is a Myer’s cocktail?
A Myer’s cocktail is a Nutritional IV Therapy. It is named so after Dr. John Myer and is commonly misnamed a ‘Meyer’s cocktail.’

It is unknown what the true “Myer’s cocktail” was, as there was no written account of the exact treatment. Patients of John Myer reported that he used a 10-mL syringe to perform a slow vitamin push of various nutrients into the vein. Today, IV nutrient therapy or IV vitamins is used interchangeably with the name Myer’s cocktail and consists of various different vitamins and minerals in combination to treat specific diseases. The Myer’s cocktail is now done in an IV bag, rather than a vitamin push from a syringe. The patient receives more hydration and nutrients this way. Common nutrients found in IV vitamin therapy are:
  • Ascorbic acid (vitamin C)
  • B complex
  • Magnesium chloride
  • Calcium chloride
And this warning:
Patients who suffer from renal disease or renal failure, and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency have an increased risk of adverse effects. All patients should be tested for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency before receiving 10 grams or more of ascorbic acid.

Short list of conditions that can be effectively treated:

In chronic cases, IV therapy can be used to treat diseases such as:
  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Cancer
  • Crohn’s disease
  • IBS/IBD
  • Ulcerative colitis
  • Lupus
  • Chronic fatigue syndrome
  • Asthma
  • Depression
  • Drug addiction
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Adrenal insufficiency or adrenal fatigue
There is lots more online and, like I said, learning about this and getting some skills relating to it might be a very handy tool to have in the bag in future.
 
Very interesting thread. Thank you!
I had a patient with abcess. I prescribe him IV vit C 1g 4 times a day. The pharmacist of the hospital refused to give us more than 1 ampoule a day! Just 1 g is far to be enough in infectious desease. Even medics can't cure like they want; they are submitted to medical or scientific "recommendations". That made me wonder why they don't want us to give people really efficient doses, even at hospital.

I'd like to share another thing: in vit C ampoules, they are adjuvants that can be toxic, maybe their presence prevents vitamines to be really efficients: parabens (hydroxybenzoate de méthyle and hydroxybenzoate de propyle) E218, E215. On this french site E214 - Ethylparabène, Hydroxybenzoate d'éthyle (para-), Esters PHB , you can see that their toxicity is quoted very high ! You can this picture, no need to read french.

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So maybe, if we can't have a pure IV vit C, we can use intrarectal vit C (enema). I tried it a day when I was ill (it's very rare I'm ill), I had vomitings, stomachache, great fatigue, unable to walk, unable to eat, no fever. Unable to sleep. This happened when I discovered the thread on raw meat. I ate lots of carpaccio (and lots of nuts as I love nuts and crave for them) and 1 hour after, I was ill. Maybe a gut infection from raw meat? I don't know. So, the morning, I took vit C (ascorbate, as acide is not good for colon) 3g every 2 hours, then I was able to walk in the house the day after and to drive my car at day 2!
It was pure vit C powder, no additives, in sodium bicarbonate and spring high quality water, and also magnesium.
Maybe it can help if IV is not available. I don't know if rectal ascorbate helps in cancers or other seriuos diseases. I just wanted to share this little experience.
 

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Well, it sounds like a vitamin C or sodium ascorbate enema might be very helpful? Another line to investigate, I think.
 
Well, it sounds like a vitamin C or sodium ascorbate enema might be very helpful? Another line to investigate, I think.

Rectal enema is specifically recommended for unconscious people in an emergency when is hard to find veins. Children are good candidates in this regard.

More info here:

Vitamin C - A cure for Ebola -- Sott.net

Rectal vitamin C

Rectal administration of sodium ascorbate is a method that can be used in emergencies, and in developing world circumstances, when IV is unavailable or unsuitable. Nurses can quickly be trained to mix 15-30 g of sodium ascorbate in 250-500 ml clean water, and give it by enema. It can be safely and effectively used in children. An enema also removes from the bowel material that may be challenging. This has been done successfully with aboriginal people in the Australian outback.
 
Looking around, I found this extremely interesting article on the topic which appears to me to be a way to disseminate very useful info about Vitamin C by incorporating it into a discussion of Ebola. I've highlighted some crucial items that probably apply across the board whether you are dealing with Ebola or anything.

http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v10n13.shtml

Can Vitamin C Cure Ebola?
Commentary by Steve Hickey PhD, Hilary Roberts PhD, and Damien Downing MBBS, MSB.

(OMNS Aug 20, 2014) If there were a drug that worked on Ebola you should use it. There isn't. There is only vitamin C. But you must be extremely careful what you believe, because, as it ever was, the Internet is full of dangerous loonies. For coming up to a decade now the OMNS has reported on nutritional therapies; we leave the medical politics to one side and work from the facts. Here are the facts about vitamin C and Ebola.

1. Taking a gram or so of day of vitamin C won't protect you against anything except acute scurvy; it doesn't matter whether the vitamin is liposomal, nano-particles, or even gold-plated. Beware of websites, companies, and Youtube clips making wild and unsubstantiated claims about the efficacy of vitamin C.

2. Clinical reports suggest that taking vitamin C almost to bowel tolerance every day (in divided doses) will help to protect you against all viruses. Reports by independent physicians have been consistent for decades. However, the doctors also stipulated most emphatically that the dose and the way you take it must be right - or it will not work. There is no direct placebo controlled "evidence" that massive doses of vitamin C will work on Ebola, and nobody would volunteer to take part in that study. But massive doses are reported to have helped against every virus it has been pitched against. This includes Polio, Dengue and AIDS, and it even makes vaccination work better. In the 1980s when no other treatment was available it was reported that full blown AIDS could be reversed and the patient brought back to reasonable health.[i,ii]

At risk or worried about Ebola? This is what you should do.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is the primary antioxidant in the diet. Most people do not take enough to be healthy. While this is true of many nutrients, vitamin C is a special case. Ignore governments telling you that you only need about 100 mg a day and can get this amount from food. The required amount of vitamin C varies your state of health. A normal adult in perfect health may need only a small intake, say 500 mg per day, but more is needed when someone is even slightly under the weather. Similarly, to prevent illness, the intake needs to be increased.

The intake for an otherwise healthy person to have a reasonable chance of avoiding a common cold is in the region of 8-10 grams (8,000-10,000 mg) a day. This is about ten times what corporate medicine has tested in their trials on vitamin C and the common cold. Ten grams (10,000 mg) is the minimum pharmacological intake; it may help if you have a slight sore throat but more (much more) may be needed. To get rid of a common cold, you may need anything from 20 to 60 grams (60,000 mg) a day. With influenza the need might be for 100 grams (100,000 mg) a day. Since it varies from person to person, and from illness to illness, the only way to find out is to experiment for yourself.

Dynamic flow

The problem with oral intakes is that healthy people do not absorb vitamin C well due to something Dr Robert Cathcart called bowel tolerance. [iii] Take too much of the vitamin in a single dose and it will cause loose stools. In good health, a person might be able to take a couple of grams at a time without this problem. Strangely, when a person becomes sick they can take far more without this side effect: as much as 20-100+ grams a day, in divided doses. [iv]

High dose vitamin C has a short half-life in the body. The half-life is the time for the level in the blood plasma to fall back to half its concentration. Until recently, some people claimed that the half-life of vitamin C was several weeks. We have shown that this long half-life applies only to very low doses.[v] By contrast, the half-life for high blood levels is only half an hour. This short half-life means that for high dose vitamin C the period between doses needs to be short - a few hours at most.

The aim is to achieve dynamic flow, to get vitamin C flowing continuously through the body. Dynamic flow requires multiple high doses taken throughout the day. When separated in time, each dose is absorbed independently. Two doses of 3 grams, taken 12 hours apart, are absorbed better than 6 grams taken all at once. Multiple large doses, say 3 grams four times a day, produce a steady flow of the vitamin from the gut, into the bloodstream and out, via the urine. Some of the intake is not absorbed into the blood and stays in the gut, as a reserve against the early onset of illness. As illness begins, the body pulls in this "excess" to help fight the virus.

The idea behind dynamic flow is that the body is kept in a reduced (antioxidant) state, using high doses. There is always vitamin C available, to refresh the body and other antioxidants. Each vitamin C molecule (ascorbic acid) has two antioxidant electrons, which it can donate to protect the body. It then becomes oxidised to dehydroascorbate (DHA). This oxidized molecule is then excreted, so the body has gained two antioxidant electrons. The kidneys reabsorb vitamin C, but not DHA; the vitamin C molecule is absorbed, used up, and then the oxidized form is thrown out with the rubbish.

The effectiveness of vitamin C is not directly proportional to the dose; it is non-linear. There is a threshold above which vitamin C becomes highly effective. Below this level, the effect is small; above it, the effect is dramatic. The problem is that no-one can tell you in advance what intake of vitamin C you need. The solution is to take more - more than you think necessary, more than you consider reasonable. The mantra is dose, dose, dose.

Types of Vitamin C

Straightforward, low cost ascorbic acid is the preferred form of supplement. Vendors may try to sell you "better absorbed" forms with minerals or salts such as sodium, potassium or calcium ascorbate, and so on. These are irrelevant, if not counterproductive, for high intakes. It is worth noting the following:
  1. Timing is more important than form. Two large doses of ascorbic acid taken a little time apart are better absorbed than a single dose of mineral ascorbate.
  2. Mineral ascorbates are salts and do not carry the same number of antioxidant electrons. Ascorbic acid has two electrons to donate while a salt typically has only one. With high doses, the "improved" forms are thus only about half as effective. This is consistent with reports that mineral forms are correspondingly ineffective in combating illness.
  3. Ascorbic acid is a weak acid, much weaker than the hydrochloric acid in the stomach. Mineral ascorbates may be better tolerated, as they make the stomach more alkaline than ascorbic acid. However, an alkaline stomach is not a good idea - there are reasons the body secretes hydrochloric acid into the stomach, including preventing infection. Furthermore, if you are coming down with a haemorrhagic viral infection, mild discomfort will not be something of great concern.
  4. For high intakes, capsules of ascorbic acid are preferable to tablets. This is because tablets are packed with fillers and it is not wise to take massive doses of these chemicals. Check the ingredients - you want to take ascorbic acid and very little else. Bioflavonoids are alright, and the capsules may be made with gelatine or a vegetarian equivalent.
  5. The cheapest way to take ascorbic acid is as powder, dissolved in water. If you do this, use a straw to avoid it getting on the tooth enamel, as it is slightly acidic. You will need a set of accurate electronic scales to monitor the dose. If you do not weigh it carefully, it will be difficult to keep close to bowel tolerance.
Intravenous Vitamin C
Ideally, infected people would be given a continuous intravenous (IV) infusion of massive doses of vitamin C (sodium ascorbate is preferred as ascorbic acid is irritant to veins).
  1. People who are sufficiently ill will not be able to take vitamin C by mouth.
  2. IV provides the highest possible blood levels
  3. IV means continuous drip, not an injection (short half-life)
Unless you are a medical professional who can treat yourself and your family, or are exceptionally rich, IV ascorbate will not be an option in an Ebola outbreak.

Rectal Vitamin C
Rectal administration of sodium ascorbate is a method that can be used in emergencies, and in developing world circumstances, when IV is unavailable or unsuitable. Nurses can quickly be trained to mix 15-30 g of sodium ascorbate in 250-500 ml clean water, and give it by enema. It can be safely and effectively used in children. An enema also removes from the bowel material that may be challenging. This has been done successfully with aboriginal people in the Australian outback.

Liposomes
In healthy people, liposomes help the absorption of oral vitamin C; in some circumstances this is also true for sick people. However, we need to dispel some popular myths.

In a healthy person, higher blood levels (about 600 microM/L) can be achieved using liposomal vitamin C compared with standard ascorbic acid (about 250 microM/L). We were the first to demonstrate this fact experimentally.[vi] However, the two absorption methods are different and if both are used together the resultant plasma levels are additive (something like 600 + 250 = 850 microM/L). Since ascorbic acid is much cheaper than liposomal vitamin C, it is cost effective for a healthy person to start with ascorbic acid and top up with liposomes as required.

When a person becomes ill they can absorb massive doses of standard ascorbic acid, using the dynamic flow approach. So if you are sick, taking a gram of liposomal vitamin C instead of a gram of cheap ascorbic acid will provide little extra benefit. Both will be well absorbed , and the liposome contains sodium ascorbate which is less effective. Liposomes only provide added benefit once the sick person has approached bowel tolerance levels, using standard ascorbic acid.

Liposomal vitamin C is NOT more effective than IV for fighting acute infections. This suggestion is unscientific and unsupported by data. We prefer liposomes for chronic infections and cancer, but this does not extend to acute illness. There is also a lot of hype around the fact that liposomes can be absorbed directly into cells. Many liposomes are absorbed from the gut and pass into the liver, where they are stored and the vitamin C released. Liposomes may also float around in the bloodstream, lymph nodes, and so on, waiting to release their contents or be taken up by cells. But the cells that take up the liposomes are not necessarily those that are most in need of vitamin C. Moreover cells may suffer side effects; liposomes are basically nanotechnology and have additional theoretical issues.

Prevention

To have a reasonable chance of avoiding a major viral infection, a daily intake of at least 10 grams of ascorbic acid is needed. The idea is to start low, taking say 500 -1,000 mg four times a day. Build up the intake to close to bowel tolerance; increased wind and large soft stools will occur before diarrhea signals that bowel tolerance has been exceeded. At this stage, back off the dose a little, to a reasonably comfortable level.

At the first hint of an infection - feeling unwell, itchy throat, fatigue, and so on - take more ascorbic acid. If the hint of impending sickness is mild, take perhaps 5 grams every half hour or even more frequently. Anything more than a hint of infection, take as large a dose as you feel could be tolerated and follow this by taking 5 grams every half hour. The rule is to take as much as you can without going over the tolerated level: you will probably be taking too little, even though you are trying hard to take a massive dose.

If you are already in dynamic flow and want extra protection, then add liposomal vitamin C. Take it at the same intervals as the ascorbic acid; that is several times a day. The limit is once again bowel tolerance - take too much and it will give you loose stools. This will provide the maximum preventive effect, for the lowest cost.

Treatment
We assume that you are not a medical professional and do not have access to IV ascorbate. However, if IV sodium ascorbate is available, it should be given slowly and as continuously as possible. For children, enemas may be the most practical method (we hope to publish practical instructions for this soon). Medical professionals can deal with such things with little difficulty, but others may do more harm than good.

The first important thing is to start the treatment early. The longer a person waits after the initial symptoms, the less effective the treatment will be. Also if the illness is allowed to develop the sick person may become unable to take anything orally.

Once again, the idea is to get dynamic flow going with as much ascorbic acid as can be tolerated. In this case, the doses are massive. Five to ten grams every half hour, through the day, will provide 120 to 240 grams a day. Even at this high intake, the blood plasma levels may be low or undetectable; at most 250 microM/L will be achieved. So the question then becomes how much additional liposomal vitamin C the patient can tolerate.

A practical approach would be to start with 5 grams of ascorbic acid and a similar amount of liposomal vitamin C in very frequent doses. Remember the key is dose, dose, dose. More vitamin C!

How it Works
The mechanism of action of high dose vitamin C is known and understood. In normal healthy tissues it acts as an antioxidant. In other tissues, it generates hydrogen peroxide, the chemical that platinum blondes use to bleach their hair. This happens in sick and inflamed tissues, for example in a malignant tumour. The process is typically a form of Fenton reaction, generating free radicals. The oxidation and free radicals arising from the hydrogen peroxide kill bacteria and inactivate viruses. In other words, vitamin C acts as a targeted bleach and antiseptic.

Vitamin C is unique, because it has low toxicity and can be taken safely in massive amounts. Other antioxidants and supplements will not have a similar effect. Do not be confused and think that Echinacea, for example, will help. Yes, there may be supplements and herbs that provide a little immune system support, but this is Ebola we are talking about - get real!

Note, vitamin C is not some magical antitoxin; this idea is a metaphor. A disease such as Ebola is not caused by toxins that are inactivated by vitamin C. Free radicals are not toxins. Oxidants are not toxins. Vitamin C nearly always acts by transferring electrons, as an oxidant or antioxidant. It is just basic chemistry. Also, it does not matter if you have poor dental hygiene, this will hardly affect how massive intakes of vitamin C tackle an acute viral infection.

Interactions
Sugar interferes with the uptake of vitamin C. If you are using vitamin C to combat a viral infection do not eat any sugar or carbohydrates (long chain sugars) or the vitamin C will not be absorbed properly. We stress that this means no sugar and no carbs, at all.

Smoking releases enormous amounts of oxidants and free radicals into the bloodstream. The vitamin C will expend itself, trying to mop up the chemicals from the smoking. We have no moral objections to people smoking: it is a personal choice. However, smoking will hinder even massive doses of vitamin C from preventing infection. Once infected with Ebola, smoking will stop the vitamin C from keeping you alive. [I doubt this seriously. It's the standard anti-smoking rant.]

It is sensible also to supplement with a little chelated magnesium, such as magnesium citrate, which helps overcome the (largely theoretical) risk of kidney stones.

The reaction that generates hydrogen peroxide in sick tissues can be enhanced a little by taking selenium with the vitamin C. A little caution is needed as too much selenium will cause diarrhoea, fatigue, garlic breath, and hair and nail loss; severe toxicity can have more severe effects but is hard to achieve. Methylselenocysteine is a less toxic form and this would be our choice. The normal intake is perhaps 100-200 micrograms (0.1-0.2 mg) a day; we would take 400 micrograms a day during an epidemic and up this to 1,000 micrograms (one milligram) a day, at the initial onset of symptoms. It is possible to go up to 3 mg for short periods, with medical supervision.

Other supplements may be synergistic with vitamin C. Alpha-lipoic acid can be taken at reasonably high levels reasonably safely. We would take up to a gram or two a day (1,000-2,000 mg) in the short term. Vitamin K also helps with blood clotting and is safe in the recommended amounts - we would get the highest dose vitamin K2 supplement available. Note vitamin K is contraindicated in those with clotting disease or those on blood thinners such as warfarin.

Contraindications
The only established side effects of ascorbate therapy are wind, loose bowels and chronic good health. There are some contraindications; people with kidney disease, iron overload disease, or glucose-6-phosphatase deficiency should not immediately take high doses of vitamin C. In the setting of an epidemic they can start as we recommend but should increase more cautiously, with appropriate medical monitoring.

Why Put This Out?
People need to know that vitamin C is an option for fighting Ebola, and how it works. There is a great deal of misinformation, particularly on the internet, both from vested interests and from "loonies". Moreover, in an Ebola epidemic vitamin C supplements may be hard to source.

This account is intended for intelligent adults, who can make their own rational decisions and take responsibility for their health. We strongly promote the idea that medicine should be based on rational patients, rather than authoritarian doctors. Doctors are there to provide the information for patients, to help them choose between available options. This is information only - what you decide to do with it is up to you.

In our opinion the use of vitamin C in Ebola is a no-brainer. Get the illness and, it is said, you have at best a 50-50 chance of surviving without vitamin C-based therapy. Corporate medicine has no effective treatment. Furthermore, if a drug were available, it would be untested and almost certainly unavailable to you, dear reader. Vitamin C is considered safe and should do no harm. The cost of treatment is low. The clinical reports of vitamin C in viral infection are that if you get the dose right, you will survive. Vitamin C is known experimentally to inactivate viruses. In the event, we hope people make rational decisions.

For further reading:
There are lots of other sources but these make a good fast start for a person beginning an investigation into the antiviral properties of vitamin C.

Hickey S., Saul A. (2008) Vitamin C: The Real Story, the Remarkable and Controversial Healing Factor, Basic Health. The book gives an easy readable account of the story of vitamin C.

Archive of the Journal or Orthomolecular Medicine. Decades worth of clinical observations and reports on vitamin C are available. http://www.orthomolecular.org/library/jom/index.shtml.

Pubmed Home - PubMed - NCBI contains mostly abstracts of medical research papers. Unfortunately, most of these have been selected to exclude observations on high doses of vitamin C.

References:
i Cathcart R. (1984) Vitamin C in the treatment of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), Medical Hypothesis, 14(4), 423-433. Dr. Cathcart at www.mall-net.com

ii Brighthope I, Fitzgerald P. (1988) The AIDS Fighters, Keats.

iii Cathcart R. (1981) Vitamin C, Titration to Bowel Tolerance, Anascorbemia, and Acute Induced Scurvy, Medical Hypothesis, 7, 1359-1376. Vitamin C Dosage in Disease Doctoryourself.com - Titration

iv Cathcart R. (1985) Vitamin C, the nontoxic, nonrate-limited antioxidant free radical scavenger, Medical Hypothesis, 18, 61-77. http://www.mall-net.com/cathcart/nonrate.html http://vitamincfoundation.org/www.orthomed.com/nonrate.htm

v Hickey D.S. Roberts H.J. Cathcart R.F. (2005) Dynamic Flow: A New Model for Ascorbate, J Orthomolecular Med, 20(4), 237.

vi Hickey S. Roberts H. and Miller N.J. (2008) Pharmacokinetics of oral ascorbate liposomes, J Nutritional Environmental Med, July, 10. 1080/13590840802305423.

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Editorial Review Board:
Ian Brighthope, M.D. (Australia)
Ralph K. Campbell, M.D. (USA)
Carolyn Dean, M.D., N.D. (USA)
Damien Downing, M.D. (United Kingdom)
Dean Elledge, D.D.S., M.S. (USA)
Michael Ellis, M.D. (Australia)
Martin P. Gallagher, M.D., D.C. (USA)
Michael Gonzalez, D.Sc., Ph.D. (Puerto Rico)
William B. Grant, Ph.D. (USA)
Michael Janson, M.D. (USA)
Robert E. Jenkins, D.C. (USA)
Bo H. Jonsson, M.D., Ph.D. (Sweden)
Peter H. Lauda, M.D. (Austria)
Thomas Levy, M.D., J.D. (USA)
Stuart Lindsey, Pharm.D. (USA)
Jorge R. Miranda-Massari, Pharm.D. (Puerto Rico)
Karin Munsterhjelm-Ahumada, M.D. (Finland)
Erik Paterson, M.D. (Canada)
W. Todd Penberthy, Ph.D. (USA)
Gert E. Schuitemaker, Ph.D. (Netherlands)
Robert G. Smith, Ph.D. (USA)
Jagan Nathan Vamanan, M.D. (India)
Atsuo Yanagisawa, M.D., Ph.D. (Japan)


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