less than 4 weeks away!!

Ok so I am reaching a point less than 4 weeks away from my DS....I swear I am becoming a nutcase lol. I have been cleaning the house more, debating if writing a will is self jinxing and trying to get everything in place for when I come home.

So this leads me to ask..What is CoQ10? My doctor told me to start taking them daily with my multivitamin. So I went to Amazon.com and started to look at my options, they seem to range from $7 to $150. The doctor just said 50mg, they dont seem to have just 50mg, and I dont know if I should get gel, chewable, or magic bean style. So any advice would be awesome on CoQ10 (please not, I am fairly broke right now so I am leaning towards cheap.)

Thank you inadavnce

Jason the excite nutcase!

Who is your doctor??

I am 9 years post-op, been on this forum longer than that, on others as well, have never taken CoQ10 and never heard of this recommendation before. I seem to have survived without it. If you feel you must get it, just get whatever's cheapest and call it a day.

Larra

It's not a DS requirement so I would go with something cheap. I don't take it so I'm not sure 
what it really helps but since it looks like you will be taking it after the DS you should avoid gelscaps
and do anything else. Capsiules are probably the best but veggie caps or some kind of tablet would be fine too.  

This stuff has been on my list to research and so you helped me actually get to it. 

If you want the short answer:  The VitaLady sells it:  Puritan's Pride Co Q-10 120mg veggie caps 30/btl for $14.99.  She recommends one a day.  http://www.vitalady.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=1415X030.

From the Vitacost site ..

What is CoQ10?

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a fat-soluble, vitamin-like compound found in every cell of the body. It’s used by the mitochondria (“power plants”) of cells to produce energy. CoQ10 is found in highest concentration in cells of organs that require large amounts of energy, such as the heart.  CoQ10 also functions as a powerful antioxidant

Seems like "common wisdom" says to take this for "prevention".  Theoretically, this will help you feel more energetic, help with your blood pressure, reduce leg cramps, calm migraines and increase heart health.  The science behind any of these claims is murky, seems like there are studies showing both positive and no results.  Only side effect seems to be dietary distress.   

Wikipedia, which is always the place to go if you want to read the negatives of any supplement, doesn't seem to have much use for the stuff.  They do say that specific people can become deficient in it, but that wide spread supplementation hasn't really been proven to make anything better.  They also say  "The observed safe level (OSL) risk assessment method indicated that the evidence of safety is strong at intakes up to 1200 mg/day."  50 mg seems so small in comparison, but I'm not a doctor, nor do I have a clue why your doctor wants you on this.  You might want to ask him/her.

It is a short intestine digestible thing.  Wikipedia also says "Statins can reduce serum levels of CoQ₁₀ by up to 40%. Some research suggests the logical option of supplementation with CoQ₁₀... [may] likely benefit against very small risk."    It is often sold suspended in oil, which isn't a big deal for you pre-surgery but after surgery will matter a great deal. 

Hope this was helpful.  I think I'm going to pass on it right now, but may reconsider after my first year when the DS life style starts to seem routine. 

This is the first recommendation I've seen for it, too.