# Connection between cortisol and vitamin c?



## M494 (Mar 26, 2013)

Greetings! Currently I have Chronic Anxiety that started out as Generalized anxiety w/ panic disorder.

I think I found a connection between vitamin c and my anxiety. I'll start off by giving you a bit of my background.

In January 2012, I stopped taking Celexa and Lamictal because I felt it was making me tired and numbing me too much. I was also pretty constipated and found it difficult to pass bowels.

I used laxatives for a few months, and functioned well without the medication for about a year. I had a manageable level of anxiety. 

Eventually I got exhausted from dealing with laxatives and timing around social events, so I looked for an alternative. Around September 2012, I noticed a tall glass of orange juice(about 240% RAD) was just enough to give me a laxative like effect. I was feeling better because my electrolytes weren't being drained.

In December I noticed that the orange juice wasn't working as well, so I slowly lost faith in it and stopped drinking it.

My anxieties became a bit too much, so I was prescribed Prozac. I tolerated it for just over 2 weeks before I broke. The side effects were uncomfortable and I was experiencing much more anxiety. (Strangely enough, it regulated my bowels very well!)

Since December, my condition has deteriorated rapidly. I got two stomach viruses, the flu, and a couple of colds within 2 months. I wasn't really eating while I was sick. I was also experiencing severe anxiety about going out because I was light headed. After I got over my sickness, I experienced extreme anxiety at school and work. 

I have agoraphobia and obsessive thoughts. I also notice that even when I'm tired, not too anxious, and falling asleep at night, my heart is pounding. I have absolutely no libido.

I believe that all of the symptoms I've been having(no libido, constant racing heart, suppressed immunity) are a result of increased cortisol. I was under a lot of stress suddenly in December as well, because I was working 50 hours a week and going to school full time.

Thoughts? I've seen the research online suggesting vitamin c reduced cortisol and consequently anxiety; has anyone else had experience?


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## andyh94 (Sep 25, 2013)

I haven't tried vitamin C but I have done http://www.reddit.com/r/NoFap/ - this helped me a lot in conjunction with learning to unconsciously breathe using my nose and breathing into the lower regions of my lungs. Also, I'll be trying Vit C and B-3 (1,000 mg + each daily) over the next several weeks but I'll forget to come back and tell you how that went so do some research on B-3, as niacin not niacinamide


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## andyh94 (Sep 25, 2013)

in case my link gets removed, it was NoFap on reddit


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## alacazam (Jan 6, 2014)

Phosphatadylserine lowers cortisol, and as far as I know there are virtually no side effects/few interactions. Could try it out?


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## Justmeandmyguitar (Nov 24, 2013)

I took vitamin c years ago when I had a bad chest infection and found I felt calmer, but never connected the dots. Years later I began getting into naturopathic medicine and discovered there is definitely a link between the two. I find L-glutamine helps too.

Here's an interesting and helpful link:

http://strengthreliance.com/articles/how-to-reduce-your-cortisol-levels/


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## strictlyresearching (Jan 6, 2014)

I found one study in which vitamin C lowered cortisol in marathon runners (stress). I have a serious doubt vitamin C would treat your anxiety. If vitamin C were about to treat anxiety they would heavily advertise it as such.


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