@IdopathicPN

You want to make sure your kidneys are working normally with all those supplements.

And check your multivitamin to see if it has selenium in it.
If so 200mcg daily extra is a bit much... you could take it every other day instead. The new suggestions on selenium today are more conservative than they were 5 yrs ago. 100mcg daily is
now the suggestion upper limit.

Oh, thank you so much Mrs. D for this "warning". My multivitamin has Selenium (as Sodium Selenate) 55mcg and says that its 79% of daily allowance. Now, I think I will stop Selenium. The only reason why I started on it recently - it says it protects the liver. I am concerned that with all the medications and supplements I am taking, I would want to protect my liver.

Selenium also is a cofactor in conversion of T4 to active T3.

So some IS needed. I would keep it at 100mcg a day by using the 200mcg only occasionally. As I figure it 325mcg a week (7 day period) would bring you up the the RDA.

So taking 1 of those 200mcg selenium a week would do it pretty closely.

I am a little confused about the selenium. My daily multivitamin does not contain the selenium. I do take daily:
100mg. R-Lipoic (empty stomach)
2mg. MethylCobalamin (empty stomach)
150mg (2x's a day = 300mg's daily)
3,000mg's D daily (per doctor/tests)
Multivitamin (no selenium)

A while back ago, I purchased from iherb:

Best Ubiquinol (Kaneka QH) 100 mg softgels

Bluebonnet Chelated Magnesium 200mg+
(buffered magnesium glycinate chelate) VCap)


I have not taken any of the above because I was unsure if I should take them or not.

I am on Oxycontin, as well as Percocet for breakthru for PN pain.

Should I add the selenium to my daily diet? Also should use the Ubiquiol and the Magnesium?
Thanks for your help,
(Ger)

If you don't eat nuts, or fresh produce, whole foods, you might need the selenium. It is mostly critical for thyroid people.

It is one of the cofactors in converting T4 to T3 in the tissues.

Most multivits have some selenium in them. The mega types, can go as high as 200mcg each. But in the recent past has been
suggestions to keep multivits below 100mcg.

You could just use a Centrum Silver, as it has lots of minerals for seniors including selenium.
http://www.drugstore.com/centrum-sil...omsrch=centrum
Less than Idiopathic's formula, in fact.

Taurine is one supplement recommended by some doctors for diabetics. Dr. Jensen, MD, recommends this in her book.
http://obesitysanswer.com/

Taurine has a value for older patients who can no longer make it for themselves:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taurine

This monograph is very good:
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supple...ntName=TAURINE

I really think for our purposes here, 1 to 2 grams a day is probably enough.

Taurine is inexpensive and has no side effects to speak of.
It is something to think about here, if you are older, have glucose control problems, or are very overweight. Taurine is very helpful for sluggish gall bladder issues, and I've used it myself for that. I also supplement my cats, when they have
human food/or tuna because cats cannot make their own taurine.

There is a product called magnesium taurate...by Cardiovascular Research. It supplies both magnesium and taurine, and is used by
cardiac patients, and some Tourette's patients.

http://www.magnesiumtaurate.net/
It used to be more expensive, and difficult to find. But both of those issues have changed. It is one option some readers here might
consider.

I had also mentioned, in my post, purchasing the Chelated Magnesium 200mg+ and the Doctor's Best Ubiquinol100mg featuring Kaneka QH. I had purchased them thinking this would be good for the PN, but was a bit concerned because of all the other supplements I am already taking, so I have not been using them. Again, would appreciate any input you could give me regarding using these supplements as well.
Thanks,
(Ger)

Magnesium is always appreciated by our bodies. 200mg a day is about 1/2 the RDA and a good dose to start at. If the magnesium loosens you that shows some is not being absorbed.

The ubiquinol is also easily tolerated. You don't need high doses of this like with regular CoQ-10. So as far as side effects go you should not have any at 100mg a day.
If after a month or two you don't see any response from the ubiquinol, you can probably stop it. People taking statins or other drugs that deplete it need to supplement it.
(diuretics, antipsychotic tranquilizers, long term amitriptyline/nortriptyline, beta blockers, some of the oral antidiabetics)

Both will work together to help your mitochondria and also
the metabolism of essential fatty acids from your diet.

Dear Mrs. D,
I will start the Benfotiamine today.
I will also order online the R-Lipoic and Acetyl L-Carnitine this week.

Assuming I have a reactive hypoglycemia, are these supplements safe to take?

Can the Acetyl L-Carnitine be taken together with my other supplements?

You mentioned in one of your posts in this thread that our body makes CoQ10and if no improvement is "felt" after so many months, it is safe to discontinue. But if one would want to continue using it, is it safe to use for a longer period of time just like Vit E and C?

What about Benfotiamine, R-Lipoic and Acetyl L-Carnitine, can they also be taken for a long period of time?

Thank you so much Mrs. D!

As far as your R-lipoic goes.... you should be able to take 100mg a day. If you have side effects, you can do it every other day.
But if you just make sure you have a snack in the morning and one before dinner, and one before bedtime, say a small snack.
Some cheese, 1/2 of a protein bar (there are new ones available from Nature Valley now in most stores), or some other protein thing, like Kefir or yogurt, you won't get low. Watch your sugar intake and you'll be less likely to get low. The new Chobani yogurt is quite high in protein for example. You got low on the glucose drink and regular food is much different.

Benfotiamine is safe by all accounts in the studies. I wouldn't worry about it. Same with the acetyl Carnitine. The biggest issue for most, is the cost. You should feel more energy on them all, and have more stamina. I have seen carnitine papers for both hypo and hyper thyroid states so I wouldn't worry about it either.
500mg a day is a good start for the carnitine.