5 replies to this topic

[MuteDonkey]

After reading about Pycnogenol I decided to try it out and see if it worked for me for overall health benefits.
I decided to order from zip-vit as I like the way they put their products in fully labelled ziplock bags, which makes my travelling lifestyle a lot easier (Much less space and no rattling/stuffing bottle with tissue).
Yes, I could simply take a selection of the supplements I want in a pill case or something similar, but no I dont fancy explaining what each of the 5-10 different funny smelling pills/capsules are to a customs agent.

Anyway, there were two varieties on offer:
30mg Pycnogenol
125mg Pine Bark Extract - containing 122.5mg Proanthocyanins

I opted for both as I had no idea which would be more effective, intending to simply take one of each.
So, my ziplock bags arrived and I take 1 of each. Now I am not allergic to anything I know of or have taken, but I could feel my lungs tighten up shortley afterwards and breathing become slightly more of an effort. The odd thing was, this would clear a few minutes later.
The only conclusion I can come to is that I have a mild allergic reaction to one of the substances, yet the anti-allergy affects of them counteract themselves. I have not yet had the time to try taking doses of one or the other stand alone to see if its one or the other, especially given the other contents of my stack.
I would be very interested to hear any countering opinions or experiences as I havnt experienced allergic reactions before and have no idea what to expect. Anyone?
I would like to gain the health benefits of such a substance, but I dont wish to cause myself any unnecessary harm by exposing myself to allergens.

[niner]

That's a pretty scary response, and the way these things usually go is that the allergy will get worse with repeated exposures. I've never heard of zip vit, but my first inclination would be to try some pycnogenol from a different, hopefully more reputable vendor. You might consider having some Benadryl on hand the next time you try either of these, along with someone who could call 911 for you, preferably a medical professional...

[ajnast4r]

i would suggest you throw them both out and never look back.

[quarter]

That's a pretty scary response, and the way these things usually go is that the allergy will get worse with repeated exposures. I've never heard of zip vit, but my first inclination would be to try some pycnogenol from a different, hopefully more reputable vendor. You might consider having some Benadryl on hand the next time you try either of these, along with someone who could call 911 for you, preferably a medical professional...

zip vit is a UK company so your accompanying medical professional probably needs to dial 999.

[FunkOdyssey]

I'm kind of surprised that you thought buying supplements in zip-lock bags was a good idea.

[MuteDonkey]

Just an update - It was definately a reaction to the 'pine bark extract' and not the actual labelled pycnogenol. Also the reaction was not strong enough to warrent panic, just strong enough for me to notice until it passed after a couple of minutes.
The pycnogenol is fine and REALLY helps reduce muscular ache after exercise aside from anything else.

Funk - As I said, I dont like walking around with my travel case rattling and I dont want to take handfuls of unlabelled pills around with me. The ziplock bags are fully labelled and official looking so I feel comfortable going through cutoms with them and the key thing is they take up a LOT less space.
zipvit products have been fine with quality up till now with the pine bark. Although if I am taking anything for which I know the quality makes a huge difference I buy the brand names separately and take the hit with the travelling.