Another Vitamin C Personal Testimony.
June 10, 2011
I am writing this on June 9, at 6:40 a.m., for publication on June 10.
I have been suffering from the worst cough I have ever had. It has gone on for about three weeks. It began about a week after I got a cold that affected my sinuses. My sinuses remain somewhat more clogged than normal.
On June 8, I went to my physician -- someone I rarely visit. I described my cough. As it turned out, a coughed a couple of times of necessity as I was talking to him.
He checked my chest with a stethoscope. He said nothing, so I assumed he found nothing serious.
He asked if I wanted an antibiotic. Got that? He asked me! This is unique. He did not simply prescribe it. I said yes. I told him that I do not recall ever taking one before. I always figured that I did not want to take one and have my internal bugs build up a tolerance for it. But this cough calls for drastic measures.
He asked if I wanted a cough medicine. I said no. I don't want to use a codeine-based product.
I took my first pill at about 10:30 a.m. I took the second 12 hours later, as prescribed. I went to bed.
I could not sleep. The cough is worst when I lie down, less when I sit, and not a big problem when I stand. This cough produces wheezing when I lie down. I do not recall anything like it before.
I then remembered. I had taken only one gram of vitamin C at about 10 a.m.
I went to my ancient plastic container of granular ascorbic acid, one of about a dozen that I bought at a penny a gram in the early 1970s. I put about half a teaspoon full in a glass of water and drank it.
I was still suffering from a wheezing cough an hour later, but it was declining. Then, when I lay on my right side, the throat itching stopped. On my left side and back, it was still a problem. I went to sleep.
I woke up at about 5:30. The cough was still gone. I shifted to my back. No cough. Then I shifted to my left side. No cough. I lay there for an hour as a test. No cough.
I got up at 6:40 and started writing. I coughed a couple of times. Then it stopped.
I will take another 5 grams this morning. I will probably take 5 more an hour before I go to bed.
I report this as a testimony. For this cold, which has not gone away in a month, a heavy dose of vitamin C before I go to bed is a way to control the cough without side effects.
Without the vitamin C, I would not have been able to sleep last night. The itching and the coughing were too great. Within an hour of taking maybe 4 to 5 grams, the coughing stopped. That's cheap self-medication.
There comes a time to take an antibiotic. The vitamin C controls the worst symptoms, but it was not getting rid of the cough. But if it's vitamin C or a codeine-based cough medicine, I will go for vitamin C every time.