Supplemental vitamin C has many exceptional health benefits and causes no issues for a large majority of individuals. However if you have dietary oxalate issues, doses of vitamin C above 100mg to 250mg per day may be problematic and trigger pain, anxiety, insomnia, bladder issues and more. This blog, Coronavirus and vitamin C for immune support: new pain or more severe pain due to oxalate issues?, is part 1 of the series which sets the scene and is a fact-finding article. Part 2, Oxalate crystal disease, dietary oxalates and pain: the research & questions (part 2), covers the research behind oxalate crystal disease.
Today we look at some of the research on vitamin C/ascorbic acid being a possible trigger for the formation of oxalates in certain instances. This paper, No contribution of ascorbic acid to renal calcium oxalate stones, has a good summary:
Even though a certain part of oxalate in the urine derives from metabolized ascorbic acid, the intake of high doses of vitamin C does not increase the risk of calcium oxalate kidney stones due to physiological regulatory factor: gastrointestinal absorption as well as renal tubular reabsorption of ascorbic acid are saturable processes, and the metabolic transformation of ascorbic acid to oxalate is limited as well.
But in the large-scale Harvard Prospective Health Professional Follow-Up Study, those groups in the highest quintile of vitamin C intake (> 1,500 mg/day) had a lower risk of kidney stones than the groups in the lowest quintiles.
This paper does however have this precaution:
Recurrent stone formers and patients with renal failure who have a defect in ascorbic acid or oxalate metabolism should restrict daily vitamin C intakes to approximately 100 mg.
My proposed interpretation of this
I’d like to propose an interpretation of this, based on what we know about oxalates. These are the individuals who should restrict daily vitamin C intakes to approximately 100 mg per day (or up to around 250mg per day – more on the range below):
1) If you are someone who is a recurrent stone former or is in renal failure with a defect in ascorbic acid or oxalate metabolism
2) If you are someone with dietary oxalate issues i.e. you have similar symptoms when consuming vitamin C as you do when consuming high oxalate foods. Could we consider that you be classified as having “a defect in ascorbic acid or oxalate metabolism?” I would say yes.
I’ve added #2 above because we need to keep in mind that many individuals who have issues with dietary oxalates are not necessarily stone formers and nor do they have renal failure.
Research is also lacking in this area as you can read in Oxalate crystal disease, dietary oxalates and pain: the research & questions (part 2).
An omission of the 100mg per day restriction
I would like to point out that the study mentioned above was referred to in an article on Dr. Andrew Saul’s site but for some reason the section about the 100mg daily restriction was omitted from the article. It may have something to do with the fact that the author firmly believes that no-one has oxalate issues with any dose of vitamin C. In fact, he even jokingly makes this comment in the article:
Is some clown still trying to tell you that vitamin C is somehow dangerous? Or that you shouldn’t take more than 200 mg/day?
If you are someone who does experience pain when consuming vitamin C (like I do), I’m pretty sure you don’t find this comment amusing.
Vitamin C intake leading to pain, anxiety, insomnia, low mood and bladder issues
Here is some additional feedback from a question I posted on Facebook. This is the question I posted:
I’ve been sharing here about vitamin C being an issue for some folks who have oxalate issues and seeing an increase in pain. I’d love to hear if you upped your vitamin C intake for immune support and saw your mood take a dive or your anxiety increase or your sleep get worse? Vitamin C typically helps because it’s a cofactor for making neurotransmitters like serotonin and GABA and tyrosine but too much of a good thing is not good! Did you also have increased or new pain (as well as anxiety, low mood and insomnia)?
Here are some of the responses from folks who shared about pain, anxiety, insomnia, low mood and bladder issues:
- Fay shared this: “Yes increased pain, insomnia and anxiety with increased C and mouth sores to boot. Taking liposomal C and Ester C to boost antioxidants for health reasons and pain in elbows and knees. Not sleeping well at all either.”
- Lica shared this: “Yes increased anxiety…never thought of it before…felt a bug coming on and took c for a few days…yup anxiety.”
- Nicola shared this: “Increase in body pain, burning bladder, sleep affected and low mood ( not something I usually suffer with). I was taking liposomal C then increased the dose and also added Ester C as I had symptoms of covid. I was taking 1-2g a day of liposomal previously as a preventative and increased to 4g plus 4g of Ester. Only did it for a couple of days. Stopped three days ago and pain is starting to subside but no sleep last night. So I will continue with a break for now and add a very low dose again perhaps of Ester C and see how I go.”
I really appreciate these women sharing their experiences so we can all learn!
What is the upper limit of vitamin C for individuals with dietary oxalate issues?
I’m sure you’re wondering about the various dosages mentioned: the study mentions 100mg per day, Dr. Andrew Saul’s clown comment says 200mg per day and Susan Owen’s TLO Facebook group recommends no more than 250mg per day. You’ll need to figure out what the upper dose of vitamin C you can tolerate – by trial and error.
The big disconnect is always the mention of kidney stones
This is one of many similar studies on the topic of ascorbic acid/vitamin C and oxalates. There are also many studies and articles stating that vitamin C does NOT play a role in the formation of oxalates and cause kidney stones. The big disconnect is always the mention of kidney stones. The missing piece – in the research and in many articles – is that you can have issues with dietary oxalates AND vitamin C when there is no kidney disease/no kidney stones.
I have a number of additional oxalate blog posts planned so please let me know what else you want to hear about.
Here are the 2 previous blog posts on this topic of oxalates, vitamin C and pain:
- Coronavirus and vitamin C for immune support: new pain or more severe pain due to oxalate issues? (part 1)
- Oxalate crystal disease, dietary oxalates and pain: the research & questions (part 2)
Please also share your vitamin C oxalate story and how you figured it out (and if you react in a similar way to dietary oxalates).
Let us know what your ideal dose is (and which dose caused issues) and what form of vitamin C and product name you use/used. Feel free to share if you also have a history of kidney stones.
Feel free to post your questions here too.
Read all posts in this series:
- Coronavirus and vitamin C for immune support: new pain or more severe pain due to oxalate issues? (part 1)
- Oxalate crystal disease, dietary oxalates and pain: the research & questions (part 2)
- Vitamin C causes oxalate formation resulting in pain, anxiety, and insomnia (when there is a defect in ascorbic acid or oxalate metabolism)? (part 3)
- Willow’s survival story: Easter Lilies cause acute renal failure in cats and Peace Lilies cause oxalate issues (part 4)
- Waking in the night due to environmental toxins: impacts on the liver, gallbladder and fat digestion (making oxalate issues worse) (part 5)
I had quite severe symptoms of anxiety,25 years ago. Dr put me on paxil 7.5 mg. I got my life back.i was able to reduce to 5 mg. Memory is a bit iffy, am trying meletonin with some success. Any ideas? Thanks
Is there a test to determine if you have an issue with oxalate metabolism since I do take vitamin C in higher doses than 200mg and am having sleep issues and burning bladder the last 6 months and have been taking more C than I used to take to strengthen my immune system.
Thanks so much for your response
Becky
It’s a matter of trial and error and looking at vitamin C intake and intake of high oxalate foods. Reducing both and observing symptoms is the best way to know.
Apologies for the delay in your comment approval and my response. We had a computer glitch where a large number of comments were hidden from view in a spam folder. It mostly affected new folks who were commenting for the first time but it’s hopefully resolved now.
Thank you so much for this Trudy, we were trying to follow Dr Saul’s vitamin C protocol but myself and my daughter (16) were in excruciating pain and couldn’t work out what the heck was wrong. I have Fibromyalgia and arthritis so I thought I was taking a bad flare up but my daughter literally couldn’t move for pain! A few days later your email arrived about vit C and oxalates, then it all started to make sense. We both came off it immediately and although I still do have a lot of pain, I am so much better! My daughter is the same, no pain! I have never regretted signing up for your email and follow you on all the summits you do, every time I learn something of value that makes a difference. So thank you once again Trudy you really are a blessing xx
Sharon
Thanks for sharing your results and adding to the discussion. Glad you are doing better and hope you continued to improved.
Apologies for the delay in your comment approval and my response. We had a computer glitch where a large number of comments were hidden from view in a spam folder. It mostly affected new folks who were commenting for the first time but it’s hopefully resolved now.
I’m glad to find your article at 1:30am after waking up to a racing heart and impending sense of doom. I’m telling myself it’s a panic attack and that I’m probably not dying but it was the first time I tried Dr Sarah Myhill’s suggestion if high dose vitamin C to bowel tolerance, which I reached this afternoon after a day of taking increasing doses of vitamin C until I got to about 17,000mg. I wasn’t going to blame the vit C solely as I have waning hormones in the early perimenopause but so far I’ve not had a panic attack in my sleep from that, just shivers and chills. A few months ago during an abdominal ultrasound there was an incidental finding that I have a small calcified cyst on my right kidney. I’ve not experienced kidney stones before but wondered if that’s how they start. I’d been taking up to 3000mg of Vit C semi-regularly before that too and wondered if it had contributed somehow. What other underlying factors cause this oxalate problem?
This is an interesting topic. Thank you for sharing.
Trudy
Thank you for writing on a fresh topic which deserves more coverage to help people– like higher dose vitamin C potentially challenging for oxalate sensitive people.
I heard Sally K Norton mention this idea and was shocked.
All should study Sally’s work as we are learning together imo.
What I wish you might help us know and write about is, what is the best way to decide if one may have a lower level sensitivity to oxalates?
I guess if one is very sensitive, it may become obvious –eventually.
But for example, my wife has some history of familiar pains (some from fed ex work history, some from old injuries), and yet since taking many more supplements seems to have some less familiar newer pains, in the mower back, and knees.
She usually takes 2-3 vitamin C-1000 Now brand capsules, three times a day with meals, which means about 6k- 9k vitamin C daily.
She also had about 2-4 vitamin C IV’s over a few months (perhaps 10k each?, cannot recall).
All doctors and we too have believed vitamin C is vital to health & healing goals– it just what if it is the opposite?
We dunno.
So back to my questions….
How to know when the risks of NOT taking vitamin C are less than taking higher doses of vitamin C?
And then I ponder, if we have a long enough trial period without higher dose vitamin C, what would we replace the vitamin C antioxidants protocol with?
Some people say HBOT hyperbaric oxygen chamber is an antioxidant protocol option to replace high dose vitamin C however, one should use it 1-2 hrs daily plus it can be on the expensive side, takes home space and a good Vitaeris 320 model is meant to last only about 10 years.
My best idea after further research instead is:
Perhaps we buy an EWOT MaxxO2 brand, (exercise with oxygen) mask to use for the recommended maximum of 15 minutes a day along with our existing (not currently used) Life Fitness elliptical for 6 months—while NOT taking high dose vitamin C, and learn what happens to these newer back & knee pains.
But to recap, what is the best way to confirm if one has oxalate sensitivity—-especially if one’s sensitivity may be on the lower end of the spectrum, or the non kidney stone one, or the harder one to realize?
Thank you sincerely for all the unseen ways you all help people!
Lisa
So, what do you do when you are sensitive to vitamin C (produce oxalates), but are also severely vitamin C deficient? I read that B6 prevents oxalate formation. Is that the solution to the vitamin C/oxalate problem? If so, what dosage of B6 inhibits oxalate formation?
Erika
Vitamin B6 works for some people. What works best for most folks is calcium citrate and/or magnesium citrate, addressing gut health, improving bile and fat digestion and lowering oxalate intake
Apologies for the delay in your comment approval and my response. We had a computer glitch where a large number of comments were hidden from view in a spam folder. It mostly affected new folks who were commenting for the first time but it’s hopefully resolved now.
I was taking 500mg – 1000mg per day of vitamin C (even before Covid). Would up to bowel tolerance if I felt I was getting sick, which doesn’t happen frequently (though I think my husband and I and a couple of our adult kids did have corona virus last December before it was known). Anyway, I’ve never had kidney stones, but have arthritis in my two big toes and one of my hips. I also noticed the skin around my mouth would get these odd little bumps which weren’t pimples. Couldn’t figure out for the life of me why I kept getting them as I’ve always had clear, smooth skin (even in my teens), and didn’t expect at age 60 I’d being experiencing acne. After reading your first oxalate article, I started wondering if there was a connection between the vitamin C I had been taking and the timing of my skin problem. I looked into the topic and discovered a supplement called Kidney Cop. Someone in the comments section on Amazon mentioned it also helped people with vitamin C issues so I bought some of it and also calcium citrate. Stopped taking all vitamin C and limited foods high in it. I read that oxalate problems manifest as body pain more for women and as kidney stones for men. After about 3-4 weeks of adding KC and Calcium Citrate to my multitude of other supplements, my skin cleared up completely and has stayed clear. I can’t say whether it has helped much with my arthritis pain at all or the lower back pain I get, but I don’t get weird out of the blue body pains that I would get on occasion anymore.
Leah
Thanks for sharing. Kidney Cop is new to me and I look forward to learning more. Hope to hear if all the pain resolves
Apologies for the delay in your comment approval and my response. We had a computer glitch where a large number of comments were hidden from view in a spam folder. It mostly affected new folks who were commenting for the first time but it’s hopefully resolved now.
How do you know/test of you have got problems with metabolism?
Katharina
If you have these symptoms when you eat high and medium oxalate foods or consumer vitamin C
Apologies for the delay in your comment approval and my response. We had a computer glitch where a large number of comments were hidden from view in a spam folder. It mostly affected new folks who were commenting for the first time but it’s hopefully resolved now.
For those of you who have this reaction, does this only happen with synthetic ascorbic acid? Would taking natural forms of vitamin C react differently?
Vivian
It seems to be both natural and synthetic forms
Apologies for the delay in your comment approval and my response. We had a computer glitch where a large number of comments were hidden from view in a spam folder. It mostly affected new folks who were commenting for the first time but it’s hopefully resolved now.
Hi Trudy,
If having trouble with high dose vitamin c giving issues, but at the same time, being very low in vitamin C due to illness and inflammation (have been told by functional MD to take 1000mg vitamin c due to low levels), how does one solve this?
Also wondering – if one has issues with vitamin C, that is not present with for instance sweet potato (high oxalate right?), then is it something else than the oxalates?
Thank you, appreciate your help!
Ingrid
As someone who has suffered so horribly from oxalate kidney stones for decades that during that whole time I couldn’t take any ordinary forms of additional Vit C (I hadn’t tried liposomal Vit C yet), I would agree with Trudy. However having had what appeared to be Covid19 in Mar-April (no testing available here) and had a very severe dose of it, and being afraid it would turn into pneumonia (I’d had that twice before and didn’t want to suffer it again!), I used 12 grams of liposomal Vit C a day for a few weeks with no ill effects at all. Now I am down to 1 gram of Vit C – and not afraid of Covid19 at all anymore!
I also used advice from here and from Functional Medicine doctors to boost my immune system with more Vit D3 (always add Vit K2 to it to help the blood system), Vit A, Vit E, Vit C (liposomal) Vit B complex (esp Vits B6/P5P, B9, B12), zinc, magnesium, selenium, quercetin, Omega 3 and probably a few more (I was REALLY worried about getting pneumonia again – I remembered from before that pneumonia strikes at the body fast, and that both times before it had nearly killed me, so I got everything ready beforehand).
Please do your own research and make your own decisions based on your health, your health history and your research – we are all different, after all.
There is one more thing that (apart from the severity and length of illness from the influenza in Mar-April) makes me pretty sure I’ve had Covid19 – the hideous depression and despair after it – and the accompanying destruction of my decades strong faith in God. Recently I have discovered (to my endless relief) that Acetyl L-Carntine (ALCAR) helps enormously – as does high P5P and Zinc! They appear to work synergistically, apparently the ALCAR works better after 3 days, but I have found some relief to be had even after the first dose – and I am so very, very grateful for it. The liver spots on my hands that had appeared after this influenza/Covid19 have also started to go – apparently ALCAR gets rid of lipofuscin in the skin – and it also gets rid of it clagging up the brain too!
I noted Trudy’s posts on P5P and Zinc – I have never needed these in high doses before, but appear to now, and there was an article on Dr Daniel Amen’s blog saying that this despair in patients post Covid19 had been highlighted by various doctors in Europe, particularly Germany – I wish I could contact them to ask them to research ALCAR and high dose P5P and zinc (the doctor mentioned is a psychiatrist who did not mention nutrition – it is probable that like most doctors her education had not mentioned it at all yet).
(Apparently there have been at least 11 variants of the Covid19 virus isolated so far, perhaps it is the European one which leaves the brain tangled in lipofuscin and other nasties causing truly suicidal despair on a daily basis (cured by ALCAR etc). Oh yes, and the liver really REALLY needs detoxing after all that!).
Wow that is super interesting. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Angela, most kind of you. If my experience could help even one person, it would be worth it! (BTW the pneumonia that I suffered twice before was so severe it nearly killed me both times, that was why I was so scared of it happening again, when I was years older and weaker. I did have some supplements in reserve though – Beta Glucans, which saved me before in the last attack of pneumonia).
One thing I would say to everyone (apart from the rather obvious ‘do your own research and find what suits your individual system, we are all different’), is to stock up on things that you think are helpful before you might need them – pneumonia comes on fast, you need to have supplies to hand, or have someone who can get them fast.
The ALCAR and zinc and P5P continue to be needed twice a day – but if I do that I remain my old cheerful self – thank goodness!
A very interesting blog! I have itchy skin when I eat some oxalate foods and histamine rich foods. Not all of either. Calcium citrate helps to reduce the oxalate itchy reactions and Esterol which is rich in quercetin helps to reduce the itchiness from histamine foods! And in extreme situations like when I sun excema is activated (activating histamine reactions I believe) then the go to is limposomal glutathione which stops the reactions in minutes.
During the worst of the covid-19 restrictions (and I live in Sweden) I was unable to get any of these supplements so I just had to be more careful with food and restrict nuts and seeds in particular. Now that the supplements are back it feels fantastic! Not that I eat these foods every day as I am working to heal my gut.
Soooo I wonder if I am unique/still don’t quite understand what is going on/or do some oxalate reactors (read itchy skin) who don’t have a risk of kidney stones actually do well on quercetin rich C-vitamin despite the information that you refer to? I don’t take C-vitamin in the evening as I have noticed it affects my sleap.
Hallo
wat fijn jou bericht te lezen. ik ervaar ook veel huidjeuk en brandgevoel. weet dat ik histamine gevoeligheid ben en eet ook histamine arm. interessant wat jij gebruikt hiervoor. woon in Nederland. gebruik dagelijks antihistaminicum ook ivm pollen allergie.
I make a clear distinction between vitamin C from a natural source (acerola and other berries) and synthetically produced vitamin C (ascorbic acid, calcium ascorbate, etc.). Our body is reacting with stress (and also inflammation) to synthetically produced vitamin C this is due to its ionic charge and chemical structure and information which indicates that this is an unnatural product and thus viand. Chemically produced vitamin C is mainly used for food conservation. Please check your food on chemically produced vitamin C and avoid it in the future.
Sabine
Thanks for this and yes I agree they are very different. However many folks with oxalate issues react in a similar way to both natural sources and synthetic vitamin C.
Apologies for the delay in your comment approval and my response. We had a computer glitch where a large number of comments were hidden from view in a spam folder. It mostly affected new folks who were commenting for the first time but it’s hopefully resolved now.
If it’s true that ascorbic acid (synthetic Vit C) is sulfuric acid and cornstarch, then we can’t compare it to the whole-food Vit C found in foods like citrus and peppers.
Vic
Ascorbic acid is synthetic
Really appreciate this article, thank you Trudy. I have a shoulder prosthesis and always have significantly more pain when I take ascorbic acid, which is a real bummer because my OATs test showed low vitamin c. The oxalate thing is puzzling as my microbiome test shows fairly good levels of oxalobacter or what it´s called, which are the bacteria that help process oxalates in the gut. I have been taking rosehip powder as a natural form of vitamin c but am wondering if it´s still causing issues as I´ve been having weird little occasional stings down below but no pain when urinating or otherwise and my shoulder is still in pain caused by limescales at the ligaments that attach to the shoulderblade, although I have no idea if that´s related to oxalates/vit c. Do you find transdermal vitamin c to be a valid option? Cheers!
Dani
It seems all forms of vitamin C can be problematic in susceptible folks, even rosehip powder and also when used in IVs.
I’m not familiar with transdermal vitamin c so don’t have feedback on that one. May I ask what company makes this?
I’m also curious which lab shows oxalobacter levels?
P.S.: Would also love to hear your thoughts on or people´s experiences with IV Vitamin C!
Trudy – I love how you write and am looking forward to solving some of my issues using your work. AFTER reading these pain and insomnia accounts above, especially Fay and Lica:
‘Fay shared this: “Yes increased pain, insomnia and anxiety with increased C and mouth sores to boot. Taking liposomal C and Ester C to boost antioxidants for health reasons and pain in elbows and knees. Not sleeping well at all either.”
Lica shared this: “Yes increased anxiety…never thought of it before…felt a bug coming on and took c for a few days…yup anxiety.” ”
Is it also possible that copper can come into play here? When I take vitamin C too late in the day, I have insomnia but understood that to be because of the release of copper that combines with my “overmethylation” and creates … adrenaline. (as per Mensah Medical team / Walsh Institute). ALSO – the mouth sores could be connected to low zinc and an undiagnosed kryptopyrrole. So now I only take Vitamin C before 3pm and no later if I can help it. I also don’t take zinc after that since it can also push copper out in circulation.
Best –
Leah
Glad this is helpful. I haven’t looked into copper being a factor in any of this as yet but thanks for sharing your experiences.
oh – PS – and with the high copper comes high tension in my shoulders and upper back. … that can be painful…
I have had a high oxalate diet w/o enough calcium and ended up with some kidney stones.
Leah
Don’t forget about GABA for high tension – more here https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/gaba-for-easing-physical-anxiety-and-tension-some-questions-and-answers/
Hello Trudy – at last! HOPE! I’ve been following your interviews on the Anxiety Summit 5 and have now started reading your blogs too. My son had a stroke (it affected the speech centre of his brain, making it difficult to say words properly, and follow others’ long sentences). He has had and is again having speech therapy. His biggest concern, however, is insomnia. He’s struggled with this for many many years (he’s now 35). His psychiatrist has weaned him off dopaqual (at his request – he hates having to take anything!) and put him on zolpidem and 4mgs of melatonin at night. Still, he sleeps poorly, wakes often. Then there is definitely an issue with anxiety which is worse now since the stroke. Before he has a “big” day the next day, his sleep is even worse. A “big” day can simply be going shopping, or attending to chores – anything that takes him away from his home. Worse still, having proceeded on his day (already tired) he then gets terribly nauseous. I’ve just watched your interview with Anne Louise Gittelman and am keen to see if some of her advice will help him. He is also on warfarin by the way (he has an artificial – metal – valve in his heart, the source of the clot that shot off and gave him the stroke).
Do you have any advice?
Thank you, SO SO SO much for your wonderful work and for making it so accessible to us! Bless you 🙂
Delle
I’m sorry to hear about your son. With sleep issues and anxiety, I always start with addressing low serotonin with tryptophan or 5-HTP and low GABA with GABA.
The best way to determine if someone may have low GABA/serotonin is to look at the low GABA/serotonin symptoms, rate them on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being worst, do a trial of the respective amino acid and rate the symptoms again right afterwards (in the next 2 to 30 minutes). Here are the symptoms https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/amino-acids-mood-questionnaire-from-the-antianxiety-food-solution/
Be sure to listen to my interviews on the summit where I go into the amino acids in more detail
– GABA & Tryptophan: Gut-Anxiety Connections
– Glutamine, DPA and Tyrosine for Anxiety and Sugar Cravings
And at the same time as addressing low brain chemicals we start addressing other root causes as Ann Louise has talked about. I’m not sure what questions you have about what Ann Louise shared other saying that bile health is really important for fat digestion, hormone balance and neurotransmitter functioning. And yes, nausea can be a sign of poor bile function.
Hello Trudy,
I have one kidney stone which doesn’t bother me but somehow have developed calcium deposits through the tissue of the kidneys. My doctors are not worried about it as my function is perfect yet it fills me with concern because kidney disease runs in the family.
I have two questions, how does calcium deposit throughout the tissue and how do you get the kidney to release the calcium?
Thank you so much.
Ava
My advice for anyone with kidney stones that are calcium oxalates is to lower dietary oxalates
Thanks for this article! Again you’ve helped me. I’ve been experiencing severe anxiety. I’ve recently added high dose vit c. and horrific anxiety. The same symptom with camu camu.
Irene
Thanks for sharing. let us know if it goes away when you stop
Hi Trudy,
Thank you for this very helpful information.
I have a history of kidney stones and I’m trying to reduce the absorption of oxalates within the body whilst also being dairy free.
Can I use calcium supplements to replace the lost calcium from dairy? I once read that dietary calcium helps to bind to oxalates but calcium supplements can actually exacerbate the problem! Is it a specific type of calcium (like carbonate) that does this? Is calcium citrate okay and if so, what should the dosage be? Many thanks for your help!
Ash
Calcium citrate is the best form when dealing with oxalate issues. I have seen 150mg to 300mg work well
Hi Trudy. Thanks for this very informative article and discussion. I’ll try to keep this short. I had an OAT test recently and discovered high oxalates (all 3 metabolites were high). This explains a lot. Also discovered a Vit C deficiency. I’ve been unwell for over a decade and a half and have low adrenal function now. I’ve been using an adrenal cocktail (lemon juice, potassium, salt) which is helpful. I seemed to cope with the lemon juice. Started Vit C supplementation (Vit C plus rose hips) 2 days’ ago. Within hours I became aware that I was deteriorating. It took me 1 1/2 days and 2 distressing nights to figure it out, hence my research today. My question is that I need much more calcium citrate than the 150-300mg mentioned above. How high can I go? It really helps. I’m on a low oxalate diet as well. The more calcium I take, the more magnesium I have to take. I already ran into that problem and have had to up my already high magnesium intake. Any advice you may have would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks for all your helpful articles and discussions.
Karin
Thanks for contributing to the discussion and sorry to hear about how vitamin C affected you. I don’t know how high a dose of calcium citrate can be used. I personally use 3 x 150mg capsules and have had clients do up to this amount too. I have found that the timing is key for me. I don’t use mine before a meal but take it about 1 hour after dinner and a few hours before bedtime magnesium.
It’s also important to look into gut health, fat digestion and vitamin B6 status.
And the Facebook group Trying Low Oxalates is very helpful to brainstorm with others
Hiya, thanks for this article. I think it’s great to be looking at people’s actual experience around these issues.
I now generally avoid high doses of vitamin C as I always found that it had the effect of bladder/kidney pain and burning when peeing. Your article has gone some way to helping explain what might be happening. I haven’t noticed sleep or anxiety problems with it but I will keep an eye on that if I take Vitamin C again. I’ve had kidney issues after an infection several years ago, now thinking to look at oxalate intake now to see if it helps.
Emma
This is a common cause of bladder/kidney pain and burning when peeing and dietary oxalate changes can often help even more
Do keep us posted
I had bleeding issues when I got cuts on my hands as my skin is thin. Probably from incessant gardening which can damage the skin. (even though I am still in my 60’s) I read online that taking vitamin C can staunch bleeding in a faster time and at 250 mg, which I started taking, it definitely worked. Then I up’ed it to 500 mg a day to see if it would speed healing time up for these cuts. Had no problems at 250mg. Then took it for about 3 wks at 500 mg and didn’t even think about it being correlated with the anxiety that I began experiencing and the insomnia. About 2 wks ago I researched Vitamin C and and anxiety as it was the only vitamin/supplement I had changed. After much research and many articles on how it helped anxiety I found a few on how it caused anxiety. So I backed off to 60 mg a day which is in my multiple vitamin. Now I am sleeping so much better and the daily anxiety which was getting really bad is almost down to none. I remember many yrs ago when I was around 26 I started taking vitamin C at 2000 mg a day to avoid 2x a yr cold sores and instead I ended up with them constantly. I went to the doc and he told me to discontinue the vitamin C, which I did, and they only appeared about twice a yr again. Apparently I am sensitive to Vitamin C!
Karen
Thanks for sharing and glad you made the correlation
Just out of curiosity, has this all happened for everyone since covid?
The reason I ask is because I’ve been taking high doses of vitamin c for 15 years without any issue but ever since this virus came about I dont seem to be able to tolerate any supplements…
it’s also another supplement that causes me shortness of breath and a fainting feeling like low blood pressure… really not sure what’s happened.
Any insights would be fantastic
Matt
This has always been an issue with vitamin C. Oxalate issues (with vitamin C and/or high oxalate foods) often seem to come out of the blue but are often triggered by illness, injury, kidney issues, food sensitivities, adrenal issues, poor gut health etc
I was surprised to read that Vitamin C may not always be beneficial, and I wondered whether Dr Robert Cathcart MD may have provided the explanation.
Fast forward to 3.35:
“this works with 100% of the people” BUT later on he lists gastrointestinal problems that will stop it working.
Fast-forward to 24.28 to hear Cathcart describe people who could take oral Vitamin C. He put them all on an anti-candida diet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkkWDDSti_s
Gareth
Does he also mention oxalate issues?