Anyone use L-Carnitine? Does it work? Does it help?

While the half life of L-carntine has been tested at around 15-17 hours, the half life of acetyl L-carnitine is less than 1/3 of that, with a half life of around 4 hours. However, we have someone who is an expert on the use of L-carnitine in Bigg, whose health issues are directly affected by L-carntine in a dramatic way. Just as I feel that my experience with the use of vitamin C twice daily for close to 35 years tells me that regardless of what anyone may say about half life, my experience tells me that vitamin C does indeed need to be replenished more than once per day. (It is one of my greatest disappointments in working with thal patients that I cannot recommend much vitamin C, because it would be of such value for so many of the problems thals encounter but they are unable to take it because of its iron enhancing properties. I do believe that one day, researchers will find a way around this paradox).

On the subject of L-carntine, I will definitely defer to Bigg as far as its actual use and how to use it to its highest level of effectiveness.

Hi Manal
What should be the dose for a 3 year old. The L-carnitine I have has appx 33.33gm/ml.

thankyou
maha

Hello Maha

All the studies made on thal and benefits of L-carnitine were made on the dose of 50mg/kilo diveded to two or three times a day.

This is the dose i give to my son. But the important thing is that it MUST be given 5 days in a week and you have two days off.

In the Egyptian conference, Prof. El Beshlawy gave a very informative lecture on its usage with the PHT patients and how it has improved their conditions. Also in Syria, the Iranian doctors are starting using it with their patients too

Good luck with it Maha

manal

However, we have someone who is an expert on the use of L-carnitine in Bigg,  

Heh, let's not exaggerate with this expert knowledge. I just employ common sense in what I do, where experts and doctors follow strict guidelines and turn their common sense off. Often these guidelines are old or simply do not match the disease exactly... So it's just a common sense to take L-carnitine 2 times a day instead of one - it won't hurt, and it may help somehow - before any researcher can even get to it.

(It is one of my greatest disappointments in working with thal patients that I cannot recommend much vitamin C, because it would be of such value for so many of the problems thals encounter but they are unable to take it because of its iron enhancing properties. I do believe that one day, researchers will find a way around this paradox).

Hm, about that... a little brain teaser for Andy...
I was wondering about absorbability of vitamin C.
If vitamin C promotes iron absorbability, then what about taking it in shots?
When it is taken orally, it is in high concentration in stomach, when taken in shots - there would be low concentration and no vitamin C in stomach, only in bloodstream...
But shots are somewhat dificult to use. So the next idea is to use it sublingually and to wash your mouth after it dissolves under tongue. However I have no data concerning sublingual absorbability, or mechanism of iron enhancing properties and it would probably take a long time to search for the data, so that's the brain teaser for you Andy...

B.

Same "absorbtion problems" concern vitamin D, although these problems do not affect many people (one study showed that less than 1% of people taking vitamin D is affected). These "absorbtion problems" are one of the causes, why hipercalcemia may occur. Local increase in concetration of vitamin D in intestines causes higher calcium absorbtion. If your calcium absorption regulation system (hormones, parathormone is the most importane) does not work well, it may cause you some problems. The simplest solution, like home remedy actually, is to take vitamin D in divided doses and not to eat diary and calcium supplements while doing vitamin D supplementation. This is at least recommended when starting vitamin D supplementation to give calcium absorption regulation system some time to readjust (without vitamin D a lot of parathormone is produced, with vitamin D it's production has to be reduced, and this is not always that easy for parathyroid). You may take your calcium supplements in normal dose later, after one month for example. Stopping calcium supplementation should not be a problem, of course if you are not severely deficient (osteoporosis, etc.). This simple approach would probably knock the aforementioned 1% of side effects to 0,1%...

B.

Hi Manal
Hassan weighs 14.5kg and on the basis of 50mg/kg, the dose would be a huge 725mg. Considering the adult dosage as written on the bottle as 1000mg /day isn`t 725mg just too much for a 3 year old. Would it be useless if I decide to give 200mg or so.

thankyou
maha

Don't worry Maha. It is even  given at 100mg/kilo but as i told the research concerning thal was given on the basis of 50/mg.


Many children i know and including my son are prescribed by this dose. Ahmad is taking 1000mg daily divided to 2 doses

manal

There is a second problem with vitamin C in thal majors besides adding to iron absorption. Large amounts of C can mobilize more free iron in the blood which can lead to reduced heart function. For this reason, thals with high iron loads have to be very careful about taking even the small amounts of vitamin C that are often taken along with desferal. Umair has told us about having had this experience when his iron load was quite high. So, even taking vitamin C by IV could pose a danger to thals in terms of reduced heart function.

And back to the half life issue. I do think we need to pay attention to the real life experience of people using supplements. Not much is known about how most chemicals work in the body and just because a test shows a certain amount in the bloodstream, it does not mean that the bloodstream is where ALL the effect of that chemical takes place. Much of the need for some nutrients takes place in the digestive system and once its absorbed by the blood, these functions have already taken place. I don't think we can rely on half life measurements to make our decisions. There is a good example of how the body actually works in the iron overloaded thals. Even though there may be a tremendous iron load already in the body, the gut will absorb even more iron from food because that iron is more easily directed towards the immediate needs of the body, even though the organs may be swimming in iron. Quite often, the need for the nutrient is in the digestive system and once the nutrient has passed through digestion these functions cannot take place so the need for that nutrient is renewed.

Bigg, I will continue to defer to your experience using L-carnitine because your condition is directly affected by L-carntine and your experience in how to use it to its maximum advantage is something we will never get from measurements. It is something that can only be found through actual use.

The use of L-carnitine is strongly recommended by the center in Oakland.  We have seen positive results in lil A since we began using it.  It is difficult to associate it with lil A's hg because other factors have affected his hg, but his LVEF has increased from February 2009 to July 2009.  I think that it is beneficial to his cardiovascular health. 

Currently, he is getting it 5 days a week. 

Sharmin

I know this is an old post, sorry for reviving it

Is L-Carnitine something you should give to your child on a doctors recommendation only? Can I try a low dose of 500mg a day with my almost 3 yr old son? What would you guys suggest? He is 10.8 kg.

Is it in tablet form or syrup? Do you know if its available in all countries or should I try getting it online?

Thanks for your advice!

L-carntine and L-arginine are both available in liquid form. Search google for "l-carnitine liquid". These are naturally occurring substances that are already found throughout the human body. They are instrumental in fixing nitric oxide (NO). NO is essential for the health of all blood vessels and the heart. NO helps to maintain the flexibility of the blood vessels, making it easier for blood to flow throughout the body, thus lessening the stress on the heart.

I have started taking L-Caritine along with Folic acid.  I will give it 30 days and let you know.

Any side effect on this whether this would increase Uric acid in body?

Research shows that L-carnitine lowers uric acid levels in the body. Also, its importance in heart and circulatory function is immense for thals, especially as they age.

Research shows that L-carnitine lowers uric acid levels in the body. Also, its importance in heart and circulatory function is immense for thals, especially as they age.

Andy, when you are free can you point me to this research article. 
We are in the process of working on many different uric acid reduction use cases and I would like to add this to some potential research documents.