Vitamin C to reduce cholesterol

[Frank]

My wife just received her blood test results with cholesterol at 7.9mmol/L (304). She was also, promptly given a script for Lipitor.

I convinced her to delay taking the Lipitor until she can try using Vit C to reduce her cholesterol. I do believe that it works because of what I have read in this forum and elsewhere, but also because my cholesterol level has dropped since I've been taking Vit C.

The only question at this stage is how long does it take to fall significanly?
Thanks

[ofonorow]

Some people faster than others, but it seems to work more gradually than a drug. It is dosage dependent, so if she is able to take 10,000 mg daily, she will see the effect sooner than if she only takes 5,000 mg daily. Why not start her on the 500 mg every 4 hours and work from there?

[Frank]

It is awkward taking Vit C every 4 hours. She is starting gradually. 1000mg in the morning only for a few days. Then add another 1000mg in the evening for a few days. Then add 1000mg at lunch time for a few days. Then double up the morning dose for a few days etc etc. That will get to 6000mg per day in a little while. If she doesn't reach bowel tolerance then introduce another dose before bedtime. This will get to 8000mg per day. She needs to take it slowly because she tried taking Vit C before (about a year ago) and she took about 6000mg on the first day and got a cold straight away. She doesn't get colds often so concluded that Vit C causes colds and stopped taking it. I don't want this to happen again.

This time she is taking it for the specific purpose of reducing cholesterol. The reason for my question as to how long should it take to noticeably reduce the cholesterol was to know when to do the next blood test to see if there is a result. The doctor told her to go back for a blood test in 2 months for another blood test taking Lipitor.

My next obvious question is, if she continues to take the Vit C instead of the Lipitor for the next 2 months, and then takes the blood test, should we see some result in reduction of cholesterol?
Thanks

[ofonorow]

She might even see an increase, but perhaps not as long as two months. (We speculate that this early increase is cholesterol that is being dissolved from the arterial walls.) You might consider a home cholesterol monitor. For maybe $1/day, she can take her readings daily and watch how she reacts to vitamin C and various foods.

[Frank]

Thank you Owen.
Just ordered a cholesterol monitor. We'll get it only at the end of the month.
When we get some meaningful results I'll post them.
Thanks again.

[Ralph Lotz]