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Supplements making me sick to my stomach

Messages
35
Hi. So, like most of you I'm taking a LOT of supplements. The problem is that they are making me feel really nauseous all the time. I take-

1 x l-carintine fumerate
1 x Same
1 x TMG
2 x metafolin
1 x B-complex
3 x omega 3
3 x vitamin c
2 x Zinc
1 x Calcium/Magnesium
1 x vitamin A
1 x vitamin D
1 x vitamin E
1 x alpha lipotic acid
1 x anabol naturals dibencoplex
1 x potassium
5 x enzymatic therapy b12 sublingually

I divide all these up and have them with meals but I still feel really, really sick. It's gotten to the point that even the thought of taking them makes me want to vomit.

Does anyone else feel like this? Any tips on a better way to take them?
 

PennyIA

Senior Member
Messages
728
Location
Iowa
I've so been there.

The first time I hit that - I took a month off. The second time I hit it, I stopped for almost a year. I wondered at that time if I was taking something that maybe my body didn't want/need any longer, but I didn't have the knowledge/skill/medical resources to work it out. Looking back at it now? I was taking Folic Acid and Cyanocobalamin, as well as B6, all of which I shouldn't have been taking.

NOW - since I NEED my methylfolate and methylB12 - I take a holiday. If there are any that are not 100% necessary for you to function? I take a day off. Just one day - maybe once a month - maybe once a week if it gets bad (it seems to help me a lot). If you really, really need a couple of them and it's not good to take time off? Just take those essential ones.

For the days I am taking it, if I have any issue - Since my diet is really restrictive, I've found that I need something really SOLID and filling, not just a light meal before I take the bulk of them. And then I find that another time I'll have an issue is when my stomach empties. Frequent, small meals keeps something in my stomach frequently which seems to stop a lot of the indegestion - nausea symptoms at bay. I used to eat crackers - now I found some gluten-free crisp bread that I can nibble on when I have to.

If none of this helps? I'd recommend reviewing the list to verify that what you are taking is right for your current health status.
 

Crux

Senior Member
Messages
1,441
Location
USA
Hi Arizona;
If stomach acid is low, then almost anything can cause nausea.
Personally, I've gotten nausea from taking too much zinc, calcium, and vitamin D.
Generally, B complex may help to increase stomach acid, but too much of certain B's may cause nausea. I really like niacinamide, but with too much....nausea.
 

SOC

Senior Member
Messages
7,849
You can take some of your supps in sublingual form so your stomach doesn't have to deal with them. I know you can get liquid Vit D and liquid or sublingual tabs of B12.

You might want to consider a balanced electrolyte drink instead of only potassium, too. You can mix your own or buy something like Electro-Mix. You can then spread the potassium (and other electrolytes) over the day highly diluted in your water.

You could also try lower doses of some of your 1x daily supps and take several over the course of the day. That way there's not so much of anything irritating all at one time.
 

Red04

Senior Member
Messages
179
You might try skipping one supplement at each dosage and see if the nausea subsides. Once you isolate the "culprit" you can switch brands and timing of when you take it.

My wife battled this and I think switching the B-complex accidently fixed this. You may try that one first.
 

Little Bluestem

All Good Things Must Come to an End
Messages
4,930
Zinc is one I have trouble with. I cannot take it first thing in the morning or at bedtime. Vitamin B6 may reduce nausea from zinc.

Take vitamin D with some fat.

I find that taking a digestive enzyme helps prevent nausea from supplements.

Take the supplements with a full meal (protein, starch, veggie, fruit). Try eating the first 1/4 of the food without any supplements, interspersing the supplements in the next half of the food, then eating the last 1/4 of the food. Take oil based supplements near the end.
 
Messages
35
Thanks for the suggestions guys. If nothing else I'm going to get fat with all this extra food I'm having eat in order to stomach all these tablets :)
 

NilaJones

Senior Member
Messages
647
Thanks for the suggestions guys. If nothing else I'm going to get fat with all this extra food I'm having eat in order to stomach all these tablets :)

Inorite? Last night I had to eat at bedtime just so I could take some potassium (leg muscles freaking out). I was so not hungry and didn't want to eat!

On your list, potassium and folate are the ones that make me nauseous. Spread them out, and any other 'culprits' you find, over as many meals as you can. I do 5 small meals per day.

If I do still get some nausea, I take 1/4 to 1/2 of a DGL tablet. It's licorice product, and triggers your stomach to make a bit more of its normal protective coating., I dunno if this decreases absorption a bit, but it fixes the nausea. I only have to take it once every few days, when I slack on the eating ;).
 

caledonia

Senior Member
Betaine hydrochloride is what to take for low stomach acid. At one point, I was taking two with each meal. I take all my meds and supps with meals regardless of whether you're supposed to or not. They all seem to still work fine.

Once I got a bit of methylation going, I didn't need the betaine any more. The Baking Soda Burp Test is supposed to show if you have low stomach acid or not (google it).

It seems like you could get a lot of those supps in a multi vitamin which would cut down on the amount of pills to take.
Ben Lynch sells a nice multi through seekinghealth.com. That one only has methylfolate. I had my BF try the Thorne multi, which is what I take, but he puked it back up. He's tolerating the Seeking Health multi fine.