Took my first C of the day this morning at 9:30, and while nothing dramatic happened, I must admit I was having my usual hectic Friday morning, and I was able to keep a more "even keel" mentally than usual.

Methinks.

Took my evening C, then a couple of hours later, my yogurt fruit and walnuts, which seems to work. But it seems the C has an suppressant effect on my appetite.

Good sleep again! I really cannot get over how deep and refreshing it is. That, more than anything else, is what is convincing me that this supplement is having a beneficial effect.

Even when I was down to 2 hours of sleep and frightened my doctor and got my HRT and got the first good night's sleep in a year... that wasn't as good as last night.

And... skipping coffee (AUGH!) and just taking my C with some cold herbal tea. Coffee is supposed to be a no-no with adrenal fatigue, and while I didn't use it to get me through my day, I do like starting my day with it!

And... without my coffee, I poked around on the laptop for a while, set up a pot roast in the crockpot, and went back to bed. 2 1/2 more hours of sleep.

As I say to Mr WereBear when he complains he slept "too long," you must have needed it.

Now, with brunch completed (ham & cheese omelete, cherries on side) I can have that coffee!

Because I have to monitor its effect

And... I felt better before the coffee. SO tomorrow, no coffee.

Jeezum Crow! Am I to be left no vices at all?

Yer prying my dark chocolate out of my cold fat hands, I tells ya. Just picked up some stevia sweetened kind from the health food store yesterday.

I do it all for Science.

I don't think the store-bought stuff really did much for me which is odd since it is a much higher encapsulation % than anything DIY, by far. But due to price I wouldn't take more than about 3g per day which is probably why.

It suggests that the mass sunflower lecithin dose in the DIY version is a good deal of my results, not just the ascorbic. I don't know that I noticed a lot until I was taking a decent amount I would never have been able to afford in the commercial stuff.

I sleep better too. But I often forget the difference it makes because except for the sudden none-to-lots shift in taking it -- I actually do notice that after a day or two, especially as it's a slight diuretic so I tend to carry a little less water weight when taking it regularly which at my size is noticeable, as I feel more limber and have less lipedemic-thigh-interference in walking -- but except for the suddenly-on-again period, I don't always notice a major difference when in the middle of taking it, like I must just not pay enough attention to myself, because later when I'm off it again and I can tell the difference. I tend to run out and not get around to making more. But my teenager notices in me. I am calmer, less stressed, more pleasant, and a little more energetic (not from the DIY-LipoC but just from the body seeming like it has more integrity) so I'm more prone to 'do' stuff. She thinks it makes a major difference in my personality.

I think how people respond depends in part on how much they need it of course, but also on how much they are taking in a given day -- there is a big diff between 1g and 10g; and also depending on the formula, because as noted, the lecithin is a substantial supplement in its own right (especially after a life of people eating bad fats and transfats) and many of my initial obvious-symptoms from taking DIY Lipo-C were clearly from the lecithin as opposed to the Ascorbic. Some of the effects that ascorbic has, lecithin does as well, so it would be tough to tease their results apart in the DIY formula.

Don't forget if you take high-dose C, it is a heavy metal chelator, so you'll want to (separately) take minerals as well, as it will chelate magnesium out of you right along with lead for example. Taking other vitamins for context and eating well will matter. Since otherwise it mostly serves to try and deal with whatever you're eating, in your digestive system.

I've gotten the making of the stuff -- DIY Liposomal C is not the same thing as commercial C, but it has a little overlap -- down to an art at this point. I use a magic bullet hi-speed blender. I blend and store in glass milk containers lots of AA (foil around jar to keep out light) and Lecithin in the fridge, lasts for eons frankly, so when I want to make some it's a much shorter process, everything's ready to pour.

When I want to make it (I make a 3-batch size in a 2 litre sonicator) I just pour 860g lecithin-water into a big pyrex measuring bowl, nuke it for 4:11 which on my microwave gets it the right temp (I want it >110F and <120F), measure out 3x 135g of AA-water, and then pour 285g heated lecithin water into the large bullet cup, add one of the 135g AA water into that cup, shake and then blend for 40 seconds and then dump in a bowl. (The AA water is cold. This causes the temp to drop and the liposomes to encapsulate their liquid medium. I do that part fast.) Do it three times which is all the ingredients, then dump the bowl of stuff into the sonicator which has 8 minute cycles.

I do one with the lid off to keep it cooler, and then I just do another cycle as I walk past, with rest time in between to keep it cool, until I've done probably 5 cycles or enough that nearly all foam is completely gone. Sometimes it takes me two days to get around to finishing it if I forget. As long as the room temperature is cool it's fine. I once let it sit in the sonicator for a week because I forgot about it. It was fine, since it was cold in the living room where it is. If it is made properly, it will not separate.

I dump it all back into the big pyrex measuring bowl w/spout, pour some into a tiny measuring cup w/spout, and then pour it into 8oz boston brown bottles. I keep those near and take a big gulp (2-3 big swallows) whenever I'm thinking of it.

It tastes vile. I talked to my liver after I had a dream where my body referred to it as "The liver food and repair juice" and told me to take more of it throughout the day and more consistently for ongoing periods. I asked my body every time I'd take it after that, to make it taste better to me, and to my astonishment, after some days my intense reaction to the taste has actually dropped drastically. I can just take a big swig and then drink a few gulps of water now and I'm ok. Previously I had to have orange juice, and then managed to use cranberry-blueberry-cherry juice (still carby but not so bad as OJ I figured as it's pure and I dilute it and add zero sweetener) but now I can just rinse my mouth with water and it's ok.

PJ

I've noticed that, too. It's not just the exhaustion... almost as though the needed brain chemicals are missing.

Thanks so much for the fantastic info!

I'm sure I'll be making my own pretty soon, but my husband is squirrelly about that, safety-wise and mayhem-wise. Right now, he's happier with me doing the pre-made and "if I like it" I can be a chemist. It's been less than a week so I'll let the concept simmer.

It doesn't help that we have what I call a "Barbie Dream Kitchen." If I were ten inches tall I'd have plenty of counter space!

Thanks for tip about my minerals; I take chelated magnesium, kelp, and spirulina which helped somewhat with the adrenal fatigue, so I'll increase those.

This is the best response from anything I've tried, and it's been two years now with the bouts of exhaustion and frayed nerves and just a struggle to get the concentration I need for bigger creative projects.

So I'm not letting go of this opportunity. It all makes so much sense!

Okay, since the weather was lousy, the fridge was full, and we had no appointments, I declared this weekend "rest up time" and that is what I did.

I took 3 doses on Saturday and 4 on Sunday, and just did very little but browse on my laptop and watch TV. Aaaaah.

Back in the day, what is happening to me was described in novels as "then her health broke, and she took to her bed." Rest and lowered stress was about all medical science could offer, but I'm willing to see how well it does.

Today I'll have at least 3 C doses, yesterday was an experiment with 4. I did wake up with a slight headache that was gone in a couple of hours... caffeine withdrawal. Those roasted beans are on hold until I feel well again.

But I love the way it affect my appetite! Perhaps, now that I'm getting enough nutrition, my body's calls for more food have been muted. This is a pet theory of mine: that a lot of the raging hunger I used to suffer was because my body wasn't getting nearly enough nutrition.

Stress handling seems to be better. When something stupid happens, I am annoyed, but don't feel overwhelmed. Stress literally "burns up" the stress chemicals we need to cope with it. Perhaps, now, I have something in the tank.

It's been a week.

Went with three doses today. I'm still tired, but with a difference.

I don't have that nothing feeling any more. Before, when I reached for more energy or coping, or patience or balance, there was not a lot there.

I feel some resiliency, now. And the better sleeping, which has really smoothed out lately, is doing me lots of good.

Back at work, and not daunted by the trips up and down the stairs to the basement bathroom. This is real progress!

I was getting light-headed on the way up last week. It made me put off trips and not get coffee for tea and such.

And when I got up this morning, I didn't dread the "whole thing" of showering and dressing... I felt up to it.

I'm still very far from okay, but this is a real improvement, and in just one week!

Okay, I'm now at 4 doses a day. This seems to fit into my schedule, leaving room for my usual 2 meals a day.

But that's pricey!

Well, it is, and it isn't. I've gone as far as I can with my own doctor, who did all kinds of tests and found "nothing wrong." He's a good guy, but for him to go out of his zone I have to show him PubMed kinds of studies, and I'm not finding any. Plus, the supplements and strategies I discovered on the web are things I can get on my own. And they worked, last time.

A few months ago I was trying to line up a compatible doctor who took my insurance, and could not. I searched for alternative practitioners in the area, and found some 2 hours or more away. But I'd have to pay full price for these visits, on top of whatever testing they needed and acquiring whatever they recommended.

I would be willing to do that, but the thought of taking a day off, making the drive, dealing with all of that... I didn't have the energy. I was dragging myself home after work and going to bed. We were living on cold cuts half the time because I couldn't do a long shopping at the grocery store. My husband is starting a new treatment for his serious illness and couldn't help out that much. I was seriously worried that if I pushed it too far they would find me collapsed on the floor crying -- I had nothing left.

So, the monthly cost is about the same as a once a month office visit to a practitioner I'd have to pay out of pocket. And I was willing to pay that, to get well. I just couldn't jump through all the other hoops that were set before me to do that.

So it's kind of like I'm paying that... only it's free delivery to my door with online shopping.

I've been all over the web and I have literally tried everything else.

And we'll see what happens.

Rolling along, took 3 Liposomal C's before lunch (no food, as usual but worse, NO COFFEE!) spaced out two hours at a time.

I've got a work/social thing tonight and I can't risk crashing. There's probably no food I can have and I'm not drinking until I'm well, so the company better be good

In ten days, this stuff has worked a transformation on me. I'm not well yet, but I can get through my day without shaking and stressing and feeling light-headed. I do errands after work without feeling like I'm being asked to roll boulders uphill. The sleep is nothing short of incredible.

My stress handling went from the low thirties back into the mid-eighties. And this is before I feel back to my old self again!

I took a week and a half off during the holidays, and aside from a party at the beginning, we did very little and I rested. I was hoping that would help. And yet, it did not. I probably need 3 months like that, and who is going to be able to get that in this day and age?

Had an 11 hour day yesterday.

Went directly from work to help with a networking party, which went very well. But I didn't get home until after 8pm. But I felt okay. Wow. AND there was good low carb stuff at the party, for which I will praise the organizer later today!

I think one of the hallmarks of how much better I feel is that it now seems rather baffling that such an event would have, in the past, resulted in me dragging my own behind up the 3 flights of stairs to my apartment and going immediately to bed, nerves-a-jangle and brain screaming. It was sheer willpower that got me through such days in the past.

There are limits to willpower.

My fifth day of five a day!

I feel up for a theater outing with dinner afterwards with a girlfriend, plus a grocery shopping expedition, tomorrow.

After my 11 hour day yesterday.

I'm winding down for bed after writing a whole Powerpoint presentation -- and I came up with this complicated idea in one day. Today.

I'm the same person who spend the holidays lying on either the couch or the bed, hoping to get my energy back... and not succeeding.

Sunday is a rest day... trying not to do too much, too soon.

Had a busy day yesterday where I caught took some photographs of the ice castle going up near me, met for a matinee showing (movie of the play) of the British National Theater's Frankenstein, with a girlfriend, then early dinner, wound up talking and talking and talking (been a while since we've seen each other) and then going grocery shopping, gone all afternoon and into the night!

Also ate my two meals at different times from the usual. But I'm finding no difficulty fitting my Five a Day into whatever schedule, which is good, because I often don't have one.

Got home and felt tired enough to just read and go to bed at my usual time, but I wasn't exhausted.

I wasn't exhausted.