C Shortage 😧

At the turn of the year, McGuff Compounding Pharmacy ran out of ascorbic acid. January came, and everyone wanted more. Including me. I had to get in the queue and wait. 😡

McGuff gave me an estimated ship date. I surveyed what was left in my fridge. If I changed my injection schedule to every other day, I would have enough to last. I never go more than one day without, or maybe two. That is the dose that has gotten me this well. I do not want to mess with it.

Even so, I wanted a back-up plan.

I got a fresh prescription written by Dr. Plance. I found another pharmacy that could ship it to me, but each bottle would cost three times as much as McGuff. I found a pharmacy in Beverly Hills that could fill it, with each bottle costing six times as much as McGuff. 😡

I decided to wait for McGuff. They are compounding their own C, which is why it is less expensive than the commercially available products. The batch they cooked up was still being tested, McGuff told me.

I would probably be fine with less C in the short term. Nonetheless it caused me great anxiety to cut my dose in half, even for a couple of weeks. The dose I have been doing lo these five years is only a guess, one Dr. Plance firmly objected to at first. He thought I might hurt myself injecting so much. I tried it anyway. No faulting Dr. Plance here. Who would believe injecting C would make a difference when oral C did not? No one. It is a ridiculous notion.

I do not benefit from oral C, at least not much. I had tried high doses for extended periods. I bruised a little less but that was about it. I guess whatever deleteriously coded gene no one can find that is causing my collagen disaster is affecting the metabolism of digested C? How curious.

On injected C, no more do I have mysterious bruises from interacting with life. In fact, I can hit something really hard and barely bruise. Recently, I collided wth a fire hydrant while walking to the LA Metro Bundy Station (I love public transportation!) and it hurt so bad I almost cried. I had the faintest bruise. This is from injecting C, not eating it. How curious. But most of what happens in the body is a mystery, so whatever.

There is no test for vitamin C deficiency, only symptoms of scurvy to go by. Maybe I could get by with injecting less. I do not want to try to find out. I do not care how much those shots can burn sometimes. This is the dose that has reduced my symptoms of scurvy, and gotten me off pain medicine, high-functioning and out looking good and having fun. I really really do not want to mess with it. It makes my heart pound and my palms sweat to think of going without injectable C. Or even with a little less.

I would rather die than go back to my old disabled life. it hurt too much. It was too hard. I was too sick to function. I was not out looking good and having fun. I was trying to survive each miserable pain-filled day at a time without losing my mind. There’s a skill I wish I could monetize. It is horrifying to even remember. Sometimes I still have nightmares about it.

Then, as I was working on this post, an email popped up.

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Two weeks early, my C was coming. I had a feeling McGuff would come through. I have been dealing with them for many years, and they have always been wonderful. 🤗

No need to parse out my remaining C. I went right back to doing my C shots. Every. Single. Day. HOORAY!!!!!!