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Wednesday, February 17, 2010

not.for.me.

why do certain medications that you take for something have to mess with you in weird ways? i don't think that i can answer that, but i think i have experienced things that i don't want to anymore.
my regualar eye doctor as well as the retina specialist, have both requested that i get on vitamin A to slow down the progress of my RP. first of all, i questioned taking it and talked to alot of people to see what their input is about it. i know several people that have RP as well and they have both told me that vitamin A does not work. after thinking things over and realizing that i want to keep my vision as long as possible, i decided to give it a try.
the dosage amount that i need to take is pretty high. it is 15,000 UI. i think the highest is 25,000 UI but i could be wrong. you can buy it at the store over the counter, but with the dosage amount that i needed, it is really hard to find. i ended up looking online and buying it there for a good price.
when i talked to the retina specialist about it, i asked him about side effects just so i would be prepared on what to expect. he told me not to worry that it is safe with minimal effects. i started taking the vitamin around the first of January 2010.
during the first couple of weeks of February i started to feel extremely tired and very irritable. irratable as in everything bothered me that anyone was doing. not just certain people... but everyone!!
i got online to see if i could find something about the vitamin and its side effects. needless to say, i was feeling some of the effects that they had mentioned on several of the sites that i went to.

this is what i found out on WebMD:
Long-term use of large amounts of vitamin A might cause serious side effects including fatigue, irritability, mental changes, anorexia, stomach discomfort, nausea, vomiting, mild fever, excessive sweating, and many other side effects. In women who have passed menopause, taking too much vitamin A can increase the risk of osteoporosis and hip fracture.

There is growing concern that taking high doses of antioxidant supplements such as vitamin A might do more harm than good. Some research shows that taking high doses of vitamin A supplements might increase the chance of death from all causes and possibly other serious side effects
it is unfortunate that i am no longer taking the vitamin A. i did not like how i was feeling at all. i was seriously falling asleep at my desk at work on a busy day and just being very ornery and irritable for no reason at all. i didn't like it.
for now i see how fast or slow the RP progresses. hopefully its alot slower than fast. i will admit that it does scare me. i don't want to lose my vision, but in the long run i will take what i can get for now.
thanks for listening. :)