Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion Helpful Tips Immune support

I was taking Echinachea supplement for 2 month that is for built up your immune system cant this be harmfull?????

You should not take any herbs that stimulate your immune system. I made the mistake of taking echinacea on one occasion, when I thought I was run down, and I developed a very nasty bout of iritis. With AS, our immune systems are over active, so if we stimulate them more, it can cause a nasty flare. So I never take this anymore-if I get a sore throat, I now use Oil of Oregano, which seems to be safe... (PS-it has a very strong flavour-be aware of this)...

can i have serious damage because I took it for 2 month ???

well, now i have a question:

after full blood tests, my doc said that my trombocite count is lower than usual (on the results it says i have about 130, and "normal" is btwn 150 and 400...)

should i work on my immune sustem, or is this fine like this?

Is is safe to take large doses of vitamin c daily? In the last week I've been experimenting with taking 3 grams a day, one per meal. I'm not noticing any harm to my body so far, but C is supposed to enhance the immune system.

Petra sent me the same question via PM, and I answered there-since this was also posted here, this was my reply for those interested:

No, I took it on and off over several years-if you were going to flare up, it would have happened at the time... (I really took a lot of it at the time the iritis flared up-it was only then I realized the connection)

I would not take anything that would over stimulate the immune system-other than that, I believe we need to pursue healthy lifestyles. I do not have a direct answer to your question-I'm not familiar with this kind of biology...

Vitamin C does a lot of good things for the body-keeps gums and teeth healthy, good for the bones, needed for muscle and tissue repair, I believe. It's good you are taking it in divided doeses-the body can only use so much at a time, and since it is water soluble, you'll pee out the unused portions. However, if you take too much, it can cause diarrhea. Also, a better form is Ester C-it is buffered with calcium and is more potent, and a lower dose will be more effectively used by your body. However, if you are anemic from meds that reduce stomach acid, such as Nexium, Pariet, and the like (proton-pump inhibitors), which we take to protect our tummies from our N-SAIDs, AND you are supplementing with iron tablets, you must take iron together with regular vitamin C in order for your body to absorb and utilize the iron, since iron is cancelled out by calcium (so do not use ester-C-it has calcium in it), and is better absorbed with vit. C.

I am curious though-why are you taking so much Vitamin C? I usually take 1 G daily.

This link will explain:
http://www.orthomed.com/titrate.htm

I've cut back to 2 grams a day - more than that leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

I've bookmarked this link-thanks. Let us know how this works for you...