Norm,

Sorry you're having a rough time.  What brand of calcium citrate were you taking?  Some formulations contain calcium carbonate that makes it less effective as a buffer and the calcium carbonate can easily cause a GI disturbance unless taken with meals. 

In addition, the Kirkland brand of calcium citrate most of us are using also contains magnesium and zinc.  All three of these minerals are an important part of the regimen as they act as co-factors to improve the efficacy of the vitamin D3 therapy.

I understand you've tried oxygen therapy several time without any luck, but at what flow rate? 

If you've tried oxygen therapy at ≥25 liters/minute early in an attack using one of the O2PTIMASK™ kits with a 3 liter reservoir bag without getting an abort, you may have one or more comorbid conditions that override the oxygen therapy and making the anti-inflammatory regimen less effective... 

You're not alone on this count.  There are three other heavy hitters having similar problems with the anti-inflammatory regimen.  However, all three are successfully aborting their CH with oxygen therapy at flow rates that support hyperventilation.  They think the anti-inflammatory regimen has has helped shorten their abort times.

Take care,

V/R, Batch

Hey Matty,

Good question.  I make my own lemonade and sweeten it with Splenda™ an artificial sweetener to cut down on the carbohydrates.  I use a ratio of one part lemon juice to 4 or 5 parts water and one part Splenda™.  If you don't have Splenda you can use another sweetener or sugar then adjust to taste.

The following link has a great recipe for lemonade:

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It's important to understand the rationale for drinking lemonade with the calcium citrate supplements that also contain magnesium and zinc is to elevate arterial pH.   

If the arterial pH is below the normal range, this condition tends to stimulate vasodilation and that makes the CH triggering mechanism more effective so we tend to have a higher frequency of CH and they tend to be more severe.

An arterial pH at or slightly above the normal range of 7.35 to 7.45 tends to stimulate the vasoconstriction we need to help slow down and possibly prevent the onset of a CH.

The combination of citric acid from the lemon juice and calcium citrate forms a chemical buffer that will elevate the stomach's gastric juices from a pH of 1.0 - 2.0 up to a pH of 3.9 and stabilize it at that level for 5 to 6 hours. 

I've found that taking the calcium citrate tablets washed down with lemonade or orange juice in the morning, then drinking a glass of lemonade with lunch and another with dinner has the best results.

If you take this concept one step further, you can make a few simple changes to your diet during a CH cycle that can also help reduce the frequency, severity and duration of your CH.

In general you want to eat more alkaline forming food types and cut back on acid forming foods.  The simple formula is to cut back on red meat, (eat more fish and chicken), and eat more veggies.  Staying away from foods containing gluten, i.e., bread and peanuts may also help as these two food types have a habit of stimulating inflammation throughout the body and brain…

Barry_T_Coles posted the following link that provides an excellent acid-alkaline food list.

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Hope this helps.

Take care,

V/R, Batch