Supplements

• Personal testimony of one person with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: Not all people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity are able to tolerate supplements, so please use caution.
  
  The supplements which seem to be helping me the most are the following:
  • Check out noni juice (there are many brands available, some more pure than others). Noni has helped my fatigue, pain, mind (brain fog), etc.
    
    
  • Proanthocyanidins, from either or both maritime pine bark and grape seeds, are found under various brand names including Pycnogenols. Proanthocyanidins are a powerful antioxidant and can be purchased in your local health food store. The normal recommended dose is 1mg per pound of body weight. My personal experience with this supplement is that it enables me to breathe easily (I have reactive airways from having been poisoned). It also lessens the spontaneous bruising. The dose is a personal thing. I know a chemically sensitive person who must take a very low dose or she gets sinus problems. Personally I take a slightly larger dose than recommended and I understand that it can not be toxic. Also this supplement seems to make collagen more supple, allowing you to stand up, after bending a while, with much less pain.
    
    
  • l-Glutamine, an amino acid available at health food stores, was a wonderful discovery for me. I have had hallucinations (black moving spots, like peripheral flies, bats, or things crossing the road in front of the truck) since being overwhelmed by toxins. I have found in my personal experience that l-Glutamine makes the hallucinations go away.
    
    
  • Shortly after I was first poisoned, the doctor measured my DHEA level and it was lower than the bottom of the reference numbers for the oldest part of the population. After taking a Dioscorea complex (a necessary biochemical precursor to the body's natural production of DHEA) for one year, the doctor measured my DHEA level again. My DHEA level was in the middle of the range for someone ten years younger. DHEA naturally decreases with age and is considered to be the 'mother' hormone in that the body can apparently use it to create sex hormones or adrenal hormones as needed. There are probably many brands of Mexican Yam, Dioscorea, available on the market.
    
    
  • Vitamin C is a necessity daily for me. If I plan on leaving the house (I am usually house bound), I take an additional two grams which helps me quite a bit. You can get vitamin C in a less acidic form, made from Cal-Mag-Potassium Ascorbates. I particularily enjoy Emergen-C Lite drink which is available in health food stores.
    
    
  • For red sore eyes, you might try preservative free artificial tears. Seems to help me a lot. I was told once that the symptoms of dry eyes can be present even when tears are there due to the wrong balance of proteins, carbohydrates and fats in the body.
    
    
  • For nausea or reflux, one of my doctors (a neurotoxicologist) recommended 'Tri-Salts'. It is made up of calcium, magnesium and potassium. It is available at health food stores and works quite well. It is a powder which you mix in water.
    
    
  • Liquid colloidal minerals. In some literature which I received with a product, it says that for Depression and Fibromyalgia, to take as directed. It has really reduced my muscle aches and depression. I've also discovered that avoiding EMF (Electro Magnetic Fields) significantly reduces the all over pain.
    
    
  • One of my doctors recommended Borage Oil and Flax Seed Oil so that I would get enough essential fatty acids. Also Borage Oil is apparently good for the myelin sheath (nerve sheath). My skin near my finger nails used to just crack and bleed. When I am regularly taking these oils, my skin heals and my nerves have less pain.
    
    
  • Lipoic Acid seems to relieve the peripheral neuropathy (numbness in hands, feet and face) and is available in the health food stores. I learned of it via a book by Dr. Rogers (her books are listed at this site and are easy to read).
    
    
  • Aquagen, a liquid oxygen supplement, seems to relieve my fatigue substantially.
    
    
  • I've found that shark cartilage removes much of the pain from my knees and allows me to walk normally. It is available in many brands from your health food store.
    
    

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  • What I've listed here are just a few personal testimonies and may not be at all appropriate for you. Please use caution in selecting supplements. My doctor recommends that you try one new supplement at a time for a couple of days to see how you do on it prior to adding any. Also I want to acknowledge that I realize that people with MCS or chemical sensitivity or CFIDS or whatever usually don't have any money for supplements, or very little, and need to chose carefully. I know of one person with MCS who can not tolerate any supplements or herbs except Detox tea and nonii Juice.
  
  
• The Right Dose, by Patricia Housmann, M.S. Rodale Press, Emmaus, PA. How to take vitamins and minerals safely.

These listings have been gathered from various sources and are presented here with the intent to provide hard won information to anyone whom it may help. If you find that the names, phone numbers, addresses or such are out of date in any way, or you feel there is a significant change or addition which should be made to these resources, please be so kind as to email us .

Disclaimer: We do not endorse people, products or services. We do not give medical advice. What works for one person does not necessarily work for another. Please check with health-care professionals of your own choice. I am not a doctor and I do not give medical advice. The author is a chemically injured person who is extremely chemically sensitive (reactive) and who has just had a lot of personal experience in trying to survive chemical insults and toxic exposures.