ilivewithcfs
Senior Member
- Messages
- 158
Hi, everyone. I want to write about my difficult fight to overcome horrible side effects of choline.
I started to take choline bitartrate about a month ago. It seemed to help at first, but after a few days I started to have trouble sleeping. I gave up choline right away, and yet my insomnia kept getting worse and worse. I took handfuls of various sleeping pills, which didn't work. I felt like I was in hell, I had suicidal thoughts all the time. My doctor had no idea how to help me, he just increased the dosage of sleeping pills, and that didn't work. Couple weeks ago I started to take anticholinergic medications (dimenhydrinate and oxybutynin), and after that I finally had some improvement. At the moment I'm still taking anticholinergics and lots of sleeping pills, and my sleep is much better, although still not normal. When it comes to CFS symptoms- my baseline is much worse, than it had been before choline. I've been sick for many years, and I got used to the fact, that many supplements don't work/stop working, but it's the first time, when I got so much worse after a supplement.
I know, that we are all different. Just because I had this horrendous experience with choline, doesn't mean you will too. Just make sure, that if you do get nasty side effects, then give up this supplement and start anticholinergic meds ASAP. There are ton of them on the market, some are OTC.
I started to take choline bitartrate about a month ago. It seemed to help at first, but after a few days I started to have trouble sleeping. I gave up choline right away, and yet my insomnia kept getting worse and worse. I took handfuls of various sleeping pills, which didn't work. I felt like I was in hell, I had suicidal thoughts all the time. My doctor had no idea how to help me, he just increased the dosage of sleeping pills, and that didn't work. Couple weeks ago I started to take anticholinergic medications (dimenhydrinate and oxybutynin), and after that I finally had some improvement. At the moment I'm still taking anticholinergics and lots of sleeping pills, and my sleep is much better, although still not normal. When it comes to CFS symptoms- my baseline is much worse, than it had been before choline. I've been sick for many years, and I got used to the fact, that many supplements don't work/stop working, but it's the first time, when I got so much worse after a supplement.
I know, that we are all different. Just because I had this horrendous experience with choline, doesn't mean you will too. Just make sure, that if you do get nasty side effects, then give up this supplement and start anticholinergic meds ASAP. There are ton of them on the market, some are OTC.