High Dose Vitamin C
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is an essential nutrient best known for its antioxidant role and its importance in collagen synthesis, immune function, and iron absorption. In supplement form it ranges from modest “daily support” doses to high-dose oral protocols (often grams per day) and, in clinical settings, IV vitamin C (much higher exposures under medical supervision). Oral high doses are limited by absorption and commonly cause GI side effects (loose stools/diarrhea), while IV dosing bypasses the gut and produces very different blood levels—so it’s useful to distinguish oral “high dose” from medical IV use when discussing anecdotes.
Mechanistically, vitamin C intersects with a few pathways that people in PFS/PSSD/PAS communities care about, even if the leap from mechanism → outcome is uncertain. It participates in redox/antioxidant cycling, supports catecholamine biology (it’s involved in norepinephrine synthesis), and it can influence endothelial function. Some theories frame high-dose vitamin C as potentially supporting nitric oxide (NO) / vascular function indirectly (which could matter for ED) and as a “system support” lever when oxidative stress/inflammation feels high. You’ll also see people mention “methylation” or broader metabolic support, though vitamin C itself isn’t a direct methyl donor—those discussions usually reflect an overall “metabolic support stack” mindset rather than a clean vitamin-C-specific pathway.
Anecdotes (Community Reports):
https://www.reddit.com/r/PSSD/comments/1kmg0z5/mega_dose_of_vit_c_powder/
https://www.reddit.com/r/PSSD/comments/1boh8vz/recovery_by_unmethylating_dna_with_natural/
How to Interpret This Page
This page summarizes anecdotal reports and community observations, not medical evidence. “Risk” here refers to how frequently severe or prolonged symptom worsening is reported, not to proven causation or population-wide probability. Individual responses vary widely, and absence of issues in some users does not rule out significant reactions in others.
Community Reports: Mixed Outcomes & Variable Risk Signal
Overall pattern: High-dose vitamin C is generally discussed as a lower-risk experiment compared with hormone-active or strongly serotonergic substances. Some people report small improvements—often framed as slightly better energy, reduced “sick/poisoned” feeling, improved circulation/ED support when paired with other blood-flow strategies, or better resilience during crashes. Many others report no noticeable effect beyond GI changes.
Worsening reports: Severe or lasting worsening is not a common theme in community discussions, but some people do report feeling worse—most often due to GI upset, reflux, sleep disruption from “wired” feeling, or “histamine-like” intolerance to acidic supplements. A practical pattern you can mention is that if someone is prone to gut-triggered flares, high-dose oral vitamin C can backfire simply by irritating the gut or causing diarrhea/dehydration.
Why the variability makes sense: If any benefit exists for someone, it’s likely indirect—via inflammation/oxidative stress tone, endothelial function, or general nutritional support—rather than “fixing” the core syndrome mechanism. So it tends to be a modest-support tool at best, and inconsistent across individuals.
Practical Caution Signal
Even though it’s usually viewed as lower risk, “high dose” still isn’t automatically benign. Oral megadoses commonly cause diarrhea (which can worsen fatigue via dehydration/electrolyte loss), and high-dose vitamin C can be inappropriate for certain medical conditions (e.g., kidney stone risk in some people, iron overload disorders). Some people try high-dose vitamin C as supportive care and tolerate it well, but it’s not a reliable lever.