Meds Vs. Vitamins

How many of you use vitamins? What do you take and did any react with your meds?

So far I only found Vit.K to not go with Coumadin. The rest seem OK. I always used a dozen or so vitamin pills but stopped as my meds. increased. I'm now ingesting vitamins again. Your comments?

7 Comments

vitamins vs herbal supplements

by Tracey_E - 2009-09-11 08:09:26

Most vitamins are going to be fine because it's the same thing in the foods you eat. You're simply supplementing what you should be eating in a perfect world. The only thing to avoid would be the vitamins in any foods you're supposed to stay away from.

Herbal supplements are another story because they're not regulated. I would check the ingredients and run it by your doctor or pharmacist.

An aside, I've always been afraid of too many vitamins. I take a multi, a calcium and salmon oil, that's it. My dad used to take tons of them and he ended up with kidney stones. The urologist told him the binding agents in the vitamins contributed.

Vitamins

by SMITTY - 2009-09-11 08:09:51

Hello GMan,

If I might suggest something, make a list of all the vitamins you take and hand them to your doctor and let him tell you which to take and which to not take. I can see the conflict between coumadin and vitamin K as coumadin is to increase the time required for blood to clot and vitamin K will reduce the time required for blood to clot. I know the proper way to state that is to say one increases the clotting fact and the other reduces the clotting factor, but I'm never sure which is which.

I had an occasion to look up a bunch of meds for a relative recently and I was surprised at how often we can take over the counter meds, that really conflict with our prescription meds.

Smitty

vitamins

by golden_snitch - 2009-09-12 04:09:00

Hi there!

I'm not taking any vitamins. I rather believe in a healthy nutrition including things like eating fruits or vegetables 3-5 times per day, wholeweed bread, lots of organic food etc. I know that many people say their job etc. doesn't allow regular, healthy meals, that they just don't have the time to cook. However, I can't believe that taking those supplements and vitamins compensates a healthy nutrition.

There has been a lot of discussion going on whether those supplements are really healthy and free of risks. Danish scientists came up with a study in December last year (they reviewed about 70 studies that had been done on vitamin suppplements etc.) that raised lots of awareness - at least here in Germany. There are several articles on it in the internet, if you like check out:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/104188.php

I don't think using vitamins in a low dosage will do any harm to you, but still I prefer fresh fruits, vegetables etc. You can hardly compensate everything that is in this food with pills. What's interesting is that we do not have this "supplements/vitamins industry" here. There are not a lot of stores where you can buy this stuff, and the pharmacies have a quite limited choice, too. Everytime I come to the U.S. I'm really staggered by the choice you have there, all those huge stores selling nothing but vitamins etc.

About the coumadin: it is, as Smitty says, a vitamin- k-antagonist so if you take in extra vitamin k, you'll have to increase the dosage of the coumadin. One can generally say that vitamin k is in everything that's green: spinach, cabbage, salad and so on. Everytime I eat lots of that, I take a bit more coumadin. I have a monitor to check my INR at home, and in the beginning I was encouraged to check it more often, especially after eating certain foods. I did this, and now I know pretty well which foods affect my INR how. So I can adjust the dosage.

Best wishes,
Inga

Superfoods

by wiredwoman - 2009-09-12 07:09:26

I take no meds but do take supplements, favoring green superfoods - powders with the various grasses, seaweeds etc - over pills, though I also take a few of those. I also grow and juice my own wheatgrass, grow sprouts, distill my own water and many other things people would consider a bit out there, but they work very well for me.

It would be ideal to be able to get all of our vitamins/minerals from food, but unfortunately soil quality today is much depleted from what it was years ago, lacking in chromium and other trace minerals, while stressors, like pollution, have skyrocketed. Organic produce offers more nutrients than non-organic but many can't afford or sometimes even find this.

Personally, I opt for the most natural supplements possible - and by that I mean concentrated foods, which contain all the minerals/vitamins. Read your labels though and if not sure, ask your doc. Contraindications aren't my forte as I don't take meds.

Good luck!

**wiredwoman







CoQ 10 Carnosine Carnitine D-Ribose

by KarenMI - 2009-09-12 10:09:01

CoQ 10, Carnosine, Carnitine, Magnesium, D-Ribose,

in amounts guided by information in Dr Stephen Sinatra in his book

The Sinatra Solution: New Hope for Preventing and Treating Heart Disease

http://www.amazon.com/Sinatra-Solution-Preventing-Treating-Disease/dp/1591201586#

He also covers what suppliments and herbs may not be for your individual situation, part of this you can read for free by reading the first few pages of his book on Amazon.

You can get a blood test to determine your Co Q 10 levels circulating in your blood, test is about $150, but then you know how much is optimal for you. Co Q 10 is made in the body, but the mechanism for making it is disabled by statin drugs. Supplement Co Q 10 in the form of ubiquinol is not affected by statin drugs. Do your own research, decide for yourself. Lef.org is a big web site, read this months magazine online, cover story, Peggy Fleming: Energized By CoQ10

Blood test link follows:

http://www.lef.org/Vitamins-Supplements/ItemLC120251/CoQ10-Coenzyme-Q10-Blood-Test.html


The best form of CoQ10 is a form sold by Life Extension Foundation It is called Super Ubiquinol CoQ10

Watch the 1:35 minute video comparing ubiquinol with ubiquinone here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDVfE4iJSvE

or read about the specific form here:
http://www.lef.org/Vitamins-Supplements/Item01226/Super-Ubiquinol-CoQ10.html

I sound like an ad for Co Q 10. I think that it is one of the best. I think that Hubby having been taking CoQ10 and was instrumental in his having survived Sudden Cardiac Death without brain damage. We have learned more since 2006, and take higher amounts now than before.

Not a cure all but certainly a big help.

vitamin & meds. complications

by Eperr - 2009-09-12 11:09:15

I wish I could avoid vitamins, but when one has diarrhea - (anxiety and/or gluten sensistivity caused) magnesium and potassium are depleted. I also take Prevacid which causes a lowering of B12. It's a catch 22. Am tempted to take Fish oil, but worry about it causing diarrhea.
Then if one has osteopenia - need to take extra magnesium-- by doing so, my bone density tests have improved. Trick is not to take too much.
So - the timing of vitamins and meds becomes my issue - Must wait 2 hours before or after taking Sotalol. I have had a pacemaker for 9 years for a-fib.

lots

by hotreds - 2009-09-19 03:09:56

Was very surprised when the hospital wanted to now what vits I was talking, not just meds. I told them, but I didn't remember the amounts. Now, I have this with me in my wallet, since it seems to matter. I take a handful every morning including multi, E,C, cinnamon, saw palmetto, folic acid, garlic, MAX EFA, baby aspirin. With lunch I take some Niacin- timed release. And, b4 bed I take CoQ10. It has seemed to help with my leg cramps at night.

They say the placebo effect is strong- maybe I'm just peeing $$$, but hopefully there is some positive to all this stuff!

You know you're wired when...

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