calcium, a loss of
which can cause osteoporosis.
vitamin D, which is
essential for the absorption of
calcium.
zinc, which is
fundamental to the healing process,
and the ability to tolerate stress.
folic acid, which is
important to the process of making
new cells.
vitamin C, the loss
of which can lead to bleeding and
bruising easily, hair and tooth loss,
joint pain and swelling.
Since prednisone depletes these
nutrients, it is necessary to restore them by
taking vitamin and mineral supplements. Diet
alone will not provide enough nutrients to lessen
the impact. In addition to the symptoms listed
above, a lack of zinc can cause depression,
insomnia, anxiety, and mild to severe mental and
emotional disorders, which are also associated
with prednisone in some cases.
A level of calcium equal to
1200mg/day, along with 400 IU of D, is
recommended by most doctors and nutritionists who
are aware of the loss of calcium, and the
potential risk of osteoporosis, that results from
the use of prednisone. "Calcium/D" tabs
can be found in most pharmacies and health food
stores, and the latest recommendation is to take
it in divided doses. There are many brands that
contain 500-600mg calcium, and 200 IU's of D, in
a single tablet, that can be taken twice a day.
The easiest way to ensure that
you are getting enough zinc, folic acid, and
vitamin C is to add a daily "stresstab"
to your diet. The most popular brands, also
available in pharmacies and health food stores,
contain the following vitamins and minerals, with
minor variations:
Vitamin C..............500mg
Vitamin E...............30 IU
Thiamin..................10mg
Riboflavin...............10mg
Niacinamide...........100mg
Vitamin B6.............5mg
Folic Acid..............400mcg
Vitamin B12...........12mcg
Biotin.....................45mcg
Pantothenic Acid....20mg
Calcium..................70mg
Zinc........................23.9mg
Copper...................3mg
A balance between zinc and copper
is important. There are some brands of stresstabs
that do not contain zinc or copper. That is
misleading, since zinc is so important to our
ability to handle stress, making it the most
important element in a stresstab. It is possible
to maintain an optimal level of zinc (between
22-25mg) by taking a multi vitamin, such as
Centrum, which only contains 11mg of zinc, and
adding a 10-15 mg zinc tab, or by taking Centrums
twice a day.
An Exception:
Niacinamide is not one of the
vitamins that is depleted by prednisone, but it
is a very important factor in the way food is
broken down in the body, and to what extent the
vitamins and minerals we get from food are
assimilated or absorbed. A severe lack of
niacinamide causes a wide variety of disorders,
and the vitamin has been used to treat arthritis
(which is also an autoimmune disease),
depression, alcoholism, anxiety, schizophrenia,
and a number of related illnesses. It is almost
always used with equal amounts of Vitamin C.
As a treatment for schizophrenia,
niacinamide has been used to control
hallucinations. Drs. Abram Hoffer and Humphrey
Osmond discovered that under stress,
schizophrenics produce a compound known as
adrenochrome, which causes hallucinations. Stress
leads to the release of adrenaline, which is a
normal reaction, but in the schizophrenic,
adrenaline is converted into adrenochrome, which
can cause hallucinations. The schizophrenic
"sees" things and "hears"
things that are not there, and cannot distinguish
between what is real and what is not real. Hoffer
and Osmond knew that niacinamide, or Vitamin B3,
can block the conversion of adrenaline to
adrenochrome, and began treating their patients
with large amounts of B3 (1000 mg or more, 3xday)
along with Vitamin C, B1, B6, and E. To their
credit, they chose only the most severe cases of
schizophrenia, and were the first to admit their
surprise when the treatment worked.
The importance this might have in
the treatment of pemphigus lies in the knowledge
that with pemphigus, the immune system appears to
be seeing things too. It attacks healthy tissues
and cells as if they were foreign to the body,
and needed to be eliminated. It can no longer
distinguish between "good" cells and
"bad" cells, and begins to act in a
very bizarre fashion, in much the same way that
schizophrenics behave when they are
hallucinating.
This idea might not seem so
far-fetched, considering the work being done in a
relatively new field of science and medicine
known as "psychoneuroimmunology."
Psychoneuroimmunology studies the relationship
between the immune system, the mind, and the
nervous system, which carries signals to and from
the brain. To say that pemphigus is an
"immune system disorder" may not be
entirely accurate. The disorder does not
necessarily begin with the immune system, but
could have its origin somewhere farther up the
line, or even as a result of miscommunications or
misguided impulses carried over the nervous
system.
Niacinamide is used as an
anti-inflammatory agent when treating pemphigus,
but it may turn out that what is really behind
its effectiveness is its ability to counter the
effects of stress and whatever hallucinatory
compounds, such as adrenochrome, might be causing
the immune system to act so erratically.
In orthomolecular medicine,
niacinamide and C are used to treat a variety of
illnesses, not as nutritional supplements, but as
a means of correcting biochemical imbalances. The
addition of niacinamide and C (500-1000 mg each,
3xday), along with a single 22 mg tab of zinc
each day, might be useful when added to a
conventional treatment plan for pemphigus. This
approach would also be beneficial to people
allergic to fillers, and ensure an adequate
amount of zinc.
As a Supplemental Treatment:
The standard approach to
pemphigus is to shut down the immune system, or
limit its activity, using prednisone and other
immunosuppressants. The treatment works, but not
without a price. Some of the more common side
effects include fatigue. aches and pains,
depression, "moon face," etc., but
these are only the outward signs of changes that
are taking place on a much deeper level. By
depleting some of the more important vitamins and
minerals essential to good health, prednisone can
alter our energy level, how we perceive things,
the way we think and feel, and even lead to
additional medical complications such as
osteoporosis and diabetes. Although prednisone
and the immunosuppressants are life-saving
measures that cannot be ignored, they too are
"foreign" to our natural biochemistry,
and in some ways, in conflict with it. The use of
supplements should not be considered an
alternative or substitute for conventional
treatment, but as a way of counteracting the
serious nutritional deficiencies that can develop
from long-term use of drugs such as prednisone.
There is evidence to suggest that an adequate
level of zinc, for example, might actually
shorten the duration of conventional treatments,
and lead to remission. For more information,
click Here.
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