Learning To Cope

You would have noticed that of late, I have not been posting regularly. The main reason is that I have been getting lot of pain and hence could not concentrate so much and spent much of my time resting. Actually, I am not as strong as some of you put me to be. I am not accomplished spiritually nor am I a psychoanalyst. I am just an ordinary person learning to deal with my new condition as and when it happens. What I know is all from personal experiences.

At the moment, I am facing two main challenges, namely pain and appetite/indigestion. Since March 2012, I experienced much elevated pain levels at my abdominal area. I also realised that different doctors have different pain management regime. Last Thursday, I visited my urologist and he started me on a completely new pain management regime. I don't quite agree to his regime (after reading documentation from pain management specialists' sites) but decided to give it a try. I regretted my decision because I was suffering from severe pain for the whole of Thursday evening and also on Friday. My urologist put me on an opioid analgesic regimen but I think the problem is that he started me on a low dosage so much so it is not effective. Of course, I can increase the dosage but that would make me nauseated and cloud my mind. In the end, I decided to go back to my old pain management regiment.

Last Friday afternoon, my nurse from Hospis Malaysia visited me for the first time. I gave her an update about my disease and my condition. She wanted to know what was my intention of contacting Hospis. I told her I have two objectives. The first is that I hope to learn more about pain management and hope to find an easier way to get my regular supply of painkillers. Currently, I will have to see my specialist doctor just to get a prescription. It takes a lot of time. The second objective is in the event my condition deteriorates, I would require palliative care from Hospis. We spent sometime talking about my current pain management regime and she suggested that I stopped taking the painkillers that was prescribed by my urologist. She said she will bring her doctor and meet me on Monday and start me on a different pain management regime.

Making Your Own Sodium Ascorbate Solution
I have been thinking about John's suggestion on making my own ascorbate solution but using Sodium ascorbate instead of Calcium ascorbate. As usual, I can't seems to find a supplier to buy Sodium ascorbates crystals locally. Readers from Singapore, if you know of a supplier, please do let me know. Thanks. So after checking online, I managed to find a few suppliers. 1.7kg of Sodium ascorbates sells for US$79 or about US$4.65 per 100gm excluding shipping costs. Shipping is going be expensive but I believe it's still worth the effort.

Since I intent to do IV vitamin C on a long term basis, it make sense to make my own solution. This way, I not only save on costs but I hope other cancer patients who currently cannot get hold of this solution can make their own and also benefit from taking this therapy. My doctor told me that some patients found it expensive and hence could not afford to take this therapy. I understand my doctor gets  his supply from a third party. I will follow the instruction from Preparation of Sodium Ascorbate (non acidic vitamin C) for IV and IM Use by Robert F. Cathcart III, M.D. You can download the guide here. You can also see a video instruction here.

I plan to import 1.7kg for my trial and this will translate into about 34 bags of 50gm 500ml Sodium ascorbate solution. It will last about 17 weeks at 100gms per week.

Intravenous Dosage Guidelines
One gram per kilogram of body weight is a general guideline, which would be about 20 to 25 grams for a 50-pound child and 100 grams for a 220 pound-adult. However, according to vitamin C experts, just giving most adults 50 grams at a time for most conditions works out well.

Rate of infusion can range anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours, depending upon comfort of the IV, the amount being administered, and the condition being treated (toxins, more rapid, infections, cancer, etc., less rapid). The more rapid infusions will often be associated with hypoglycemia, which can usually be easily addressed with a little fruit juice or even a candy bar. But it is best if the added glucose/sugar can be avoided.

Dosage is always empirical, as in give more if the clinical response, especially in infections or poisonings, is not adequate. Note: Ascorbic acid should never be used intravenously and can damage veins. The sodium content of sodium ascorbate (113 mg per gram of C) may be of concern to those with hypertension or water retention problems. Interestingly, sodium ascorbate is used in intravenous drips where dozens of grams/day of sodium injected directly into the blood stream doesn't seem to be a problem. Recent research indicates that only highly refined sodium chloride (table salt) may be the real problem for heart patients. Sodium ascorbate is also routinely used as a sugar-free, additive-free, substitute for toothpaste (brush and swallow).

Source: http://www.vitamincfoundation.org