what vitamins or natural medicines do you take?

[neil25]

I am new cfs sufferer and was wondering if i could get some advice on what vitamins or natural remedies people take?

at the moment i am taking vitamin B6, vitamin E, sea kelp, black coush, 1000mg of maginesium 500mg calcium.

Thanks
Neil.

[CS1]

Make sure you spend a good amount of time in the SUN - the SUNS rays boost metabolism.




Regards
CS

[i_remember_me]

Neil, I don't want to preach but my honest recommendation would be to avoid spending too much money and time on supplements. This is because a) each time you try something new it encourages you to continually focus upon the body to see how you're reacting ("Is it working yet? What if it makes me worse?"), b) researching supplements drags you into the online world of bleak and discouraging lab reports about sub-clinical deficiencies and obscure biological problems, not to mention CFS pessimists c) sticking to the schedule of taking more and more pills at the right times only adds to stress and d) it can cost an absolute fortune!

For years I made ALL of those mistakes, and I wish someone had given me this advice right at the start. Yes, the occasional supplement gave me a temporary boost (megadoses of vit C and B12 for energy, magnesium for sleep), but it never lasted and I ended up feeling dependent upon these things.

If you've already had tests and they point to specific requirements, by all means take what's medically advised, but I would urge you not to get sucked down the path of anything more than basic self-supplementation. As I once read - it's what you DO, not what you TAKE, that will make you better. I'm a battle-hardened CFS cynic who's taken probably over 100 different types of supplement, but only Ashok's approach is REALLY helping.

But of course, everyone's different

[neil25]

i agree with some of what your saying, but cos i feel so terrible even the little boost makes my life bearable. I know it can cost a fortune for vitamins but at least i can live a little quality of life i would rather be dead otherwise. i dont live for the future only the present. If i have no money then so be it. We live such little lives even the slightest pill is worth taking in my opinion.

[i_remember_me]

I know what you're saying Neil - in fact I said and felt EXACTLY the same as you, this feels like talking to myself in the past! You can feel desperate for even the tiniest bit of relief. At first I just went crazy researching and trying new things as fast as possible.

Whilst you're working on calming down your anxieties and shifting your focus away from your body, you could look into Vitamin C, it helps some people (powdered from Holland & Barrett is cheapest and you can try high doses). Try sublingual methylcobalamin (type of B12). Immunopro helped me a little too (whey protein you drink, but expensive and hard to get hold of in UK). Don't worry too much about the obscurer stuff. Try cutting down on carbs if you haven't already, as they aggravate sleepiness, but be sure to increase protein/fat if you do. All this stuff helped me reach the point where I could focus instead on calming my mind, which I know sounds far too tame a solution at first when you feel like you need a shot of adrenaline right into your heart just to get going each day, but it's really helpful.

Hang in there.