My Experience With Coenzyme Q10

A few weeks ago a friend of mine on Facebook posted an article on Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10).  I'll copy the article at the end of this blog with a link for it.

Basically the article says the CoQ10 can be very good in patients with Fibro.  It is supposed to help with fatigue and pain levels.  Apparently we all produce this antioxidant, but those of us with Firbo tend to have lesser levels, the production also declines as you age.  It helps with numerous things, but notably for those with Fibro is cellular energy production.

Coenzyme Q₁₀, also referred to as CoQ₁₀ or ubiquinone, is a vitamin-like compound which is present in all cells.  It occurs naturally in the body and is found in highest amounts in the mitochondria, where cellular energy is created.  CoQ₁₀ levels are highest in the hardest-working tissues of the body, especially the heart.

Coenzyme Q₁₀ is an antioxidant, that is, it helps to protect cells from damage caused by the body's own free radicals.  The body produces free radicals in the normal course of energy production.  However as we get older our bodies generate an excess of free radicals.  This can be deleterious for individuals whose bodies are not producing enough Coenzyme Q₁₀ and other antioxidants to control these free radicals.


Usually when I see articles like this I totally ignore them.  I think to myself what isn't the 10-15, depending on the day, pills I take a day enough???  SO like I said usually I just ignore and go on my way.  With this particular one though I decided to read through it.  Basically the only medication I am on for my Fibromyalgia is my anti-depressant, which helps with my pain levels, but not my fatigue levels.  I have to say that lately my fatigue has been worse than usual.  SO I decided to give this a try, and amazingly I felt so much better.  It was still very hard to get out of bed, but once I got up and started moving, I felt so much better.  The first thing I do is turn the kettle on for my tea, then I take the CoQ10.  By the time I get home from taking the kids to school I was ready to handle what needed to be done, and not feel like I had to have a nap to accomplish something.  It looked like the extra pill was making a huge difference in my life.

Well being the silly person that I am I decided to fore go the CoQ10 for a couple of weeks to make sure.  I mean why pay extra for something that may not actually be doing anything?  Shouldn't I try eliminating it and seeing if if was just a fluke that my energy levels had gone up?  Maybe it wasn't really the new pill, but that my body had just decided to be nice to me for a change.  Yeah I actually thought that, I know, INSANE...  I did go a week without the CoQ10 though, and let me tell you, I WAS A HUGE MISTAKE.  In the few days that I didn't take it I couldn't even drag myself out of bed.  So I am back on them as of today, I am not sure how long it was before I noticed a difference before, but I thought I would chart my results this time.

Now I will say that I am only on half the dose that was used in the study, and I have noticed a big difference.  After the article there are a few links on the page.  One of them talks about the dosing of the CoQ10, apparently the dose has made a difference in people. The relief from fatigue seemed to start at a dose of 150mg a day.

http://www.timeforwellness.org/blog-view/coenzyme-q10-for-fibromyalgia-220

The first study to investigate treatment of fibromyalgia with coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) has demonstrated improvement in major symptoms such as fatigue, pain and migraines.

Surprisingly, there are no clinical studies of CoQ10 for fibromyalgia despite evidence to suggest CoQ10 supplementation may be of benefit. However a newly published case series suggests that CoQ10 may indeed relive fibromyalgia symptoms.

Five fibromyalgia sufferers ranging from 21 to 66 years old were treated with 300 mg of CoQ10 daily given in three divided doses. All had daily episodes of intense musculoskeletal pain and fatigue, stiffness, anxiety, sleep disturbance, and depression and three of them had daily episodes of migraine. The patients were then evaluated after nine months of treatment.

CoQ10 supplementation resulted in marked clinical improvement in major symptoms including fatigue, pain and migraines. Additionally CoQ10 treatment raised blood CoQ10 levels and decreased oxidative stress.

The investigators concluded that “the results of this study indicate that oxidative stress could be implicated in the severity of the clinical symptoms in fibromyalgia and suggest that CoQ10 and antioxidant therapy needs to be examined as a treatment in fibromyalgia.”

CoQ10 is extremely safe, non-toxic and well tolerated. While further studies are needed, CoQ10 at a dose of 100 mg three times daily could be considered as a treatment option for fibromyalgia and expected to produce improvements when used over several months.

Reference:

Cordero MD, Alcocer-Gómez E, de Miguel M, Cano-García FJ, Luque CM, Fernández-Riejo P, Fernández AM, Sánchez-Alcazar JA. Coenzyme Q(10): a novel therapeutic approach for Fibromyalgia? case series with 5 patients. Mitochondrion. 2011 Jul;11(4):623-5.