SIDE EFFECTS

[BETTER BUT WITH SIDE EFFECTS]  12/14/2007: Linda from Concord, CA writes: "I began using VCO on doctor's orders to help combat hypothyroid. My skin, hair, energy levels were all positive results. I also used VCO as a deodorant. However, after a few days I began gaining weight, got dizzy spells and some diarrhea. My blood pressure soared! After continued trials for a couple of weeks, my doctor advised me to stop using it. This was disappointment as I got good results in other areas; however, every attempt made to try it again caused my BP to go higher. I do full body cleanses once or twice a year. Possibly it might help if I did just liver cleanse? I'm 60 years old, exercise daily, eat healthy foods, do drink 1.5 cups coffee in morning and am Blood Type A. Disappointed as not being able to use coconut oil due to HBP. Would appreciate any comments on my HBP problem to be answered on this site. Any insight would be beneficial. Thanks, a CA gal"

[BETTER BUT WITH SIDE EFFECTS]  11/07/2007: Shane McManus from Sunbury, Victoria/Australia writes: "I've had mixed results taking coconut oil. It cleared my eczema and improved my skin but have been light headed and dizzy after 2 weeks of taking it. Also my hayfever has come back where i was fine before. A herxheimer reaction should have settled after 2 weeks. I'm wondering if others who have had reactions are Blood group O, as according to the blood group diet coconut oil does not agree with type O blood."

10/10/2007: DD from Phoenix, AZ writes: "re Coconut Oil Side Effects -- Do you think maybe that heart palpatations, nausea, achiness and headaches are candida die off? A good search to do is "Candida Die Off" whebnever you experiencing a healing crisis when taking an antifungal."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  09/27/2007: Jess from London, England writes: "the many times I tried massaging my head with coconut oil, if I leave it on for too long on my head, I end up with a fever. After many years of not using it, I used it a few days ago. Left it on for many hrs and the next day, I had the worst flu and still am feeling very lethargic, weak."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  09/23/2007: John from Virginia Beach, Virginia writes: "it has now been over two weeks since i started taking VCO, i had stomach pains and diarrhea at first but the pains have subsided. I havent experienced any weight loss but i havent gained any weight either. It does give me a little bit of energy."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  09/12/2007: John from Virginia Beach, Virginia writes: "vco has been giving me bad stomach pains and diarrhea. I've only been taking it for several days now but i'm hoping these side effects subside in the near future..."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  09/01/2007: Sco from Jefferson, NJ writes: "I've used one 29 oz bottle of coconut oil inconsistently over a 6 month period. Used it to cook eggs & yam fries. Also regularly put 1 tbs in my hot oatmeal. Haven't noticed much change in my weight, but I eat a lot of junk food at night, every night, cause I'm always on the road. Yesterday I had some negative side effects that I'm guessing came from the VCO. In the morning I had it in my oatmeal along with green tea extract and raw cocao. No problem. Later in the day I tood two spoonfulls prior to heading out for work. About ten minutes later I stopped at Wendy's and got a small chili and downed that following the instructions of a popular TV Cure-All guy who says to eat it before a meal for weight loss. Well, not sure if the added saturated fats in the chili meat affected me or the VCO or both but soon after eating the chili I started feeling light headed, weak (like I wanted to pass out), dizzy and chest pains. Thought I was having a heart attack. Finished work, went home and right to bed. Slept pretty well but upon arising still felt dizzy & weak. Ate only veggies all day today and no VCO and still had the symptoms most of the day. Around 8 at night symptoms started subsiding noticably. Now at 2 a.m. i'm feeling pretty much back to normal. I'm thinking the two spoonfuls was too much too fast. I never took that amount before. Forgot to mention, the night prior to waking up and having it in my oatmeal and later taking the 2 spoonfuls before the chili, I did use it as a spread on my dark wheat toast with honey about an hour before bedtime. Noticed a very restless sleep, as though I'd drunk a cup of coffee before bed. All-in-all it seems like I o-d'ed on VCO. I'm going to try reintroducing it orally in a more gradual and regular regiment and see what happens. Also - I've been using this stuff on my face after a shave in the winter and it really gives my face a glow. Haven't experienced any zits; but I only shave every three days so I'm only apply the VCO that often."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  08/02/2007: Nina from West Midlands, UK writes: "I took coconut oil last year for my CFS. I ended up off work for 4 months because it made me so ill. I think it works if you have a slight underactive thyroid, but it made my nerves bad."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  07/02/2007: Anna from Kahului, Hawaii writes: "I read all of the information and people feedbacks on your web site. Now TED is saying only hydrogenated coconut oil will cause heart palpitations etc. That is so NOT true! I took virgin coconut oil for one week and my heart started to race. Please watch what you advise people."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  06/07/2007: Janea from Grand Prairie, TX writes: "I have hypothyroidism. I started taking EVCO. For a week, I was fine. No real improvements noticed. But the second week, I started having heart palpitations. I can only point this to the EVCO. I will go off of it and see it the palpitations stop."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  04/19/2007: Cynthia from San Diego, CA writes: "Coconut oil, and I used virgin non-hydogenated which I bought at a whole foods store, caused similar reactions in my body to the reactions sheena from belize had. I got tachycardia which went into atrial fibrillation which landed me in the hospital. I feel this is a serious problem that some get and should be researched and addressed."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  04/02/2007: Shawna from Springfield, MA writes: "I mixed about a spoonful of coconut oil in a protein shake before going to bed. In the am I had terrible stomach pains and diarrhea."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  04/01/2007: Deborah from Swansea, SC writes: "I and also my dog have tried the coconut oil capsuls. I took them as directed, 3 with a meal...for the first 2 days I was a little nauseaus, but not too bad..the 3rd day I became severely bloated with terrible gas...my heart raced some but not bad. I have stopped taking them now, but wanted to give them to my dog because I read where it would cure his bad hip problem....I gave him one coconut pill a night, for the first 2 nights he felt great and walked better, after the 3rd dose, he feels terrible has diareaha and his hip problem is so bad he can hardly move and cries if he does. I was shocked to see so much negative feedback on coconut oil and realized I wasn't alone, but don't understand why it continues to be praised as a miracle cure. I am all for natural cures and continue to try different things, but I firmly believe coconut oil does more harm then good to people and pets."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  03/21/2007: Sheena from Belize, Belize writes: "I first tried coconut oil to combat the symptoms of hypothyroidism 2 weeks ago.By the first day, I had fantastic energy and felt like I've never felt before! One week ago however, I started having heart palpitations, high blood pressure and tachycardia (rapid heart rate), even at rest, that landed me in the ER. I had never had these problems before and I am wondering if the oil boosted my metabolism so much that it is causing these symptoms. Is there anyone else that has experienced this? I feel great otherwise, but my unbelieving doctor has told me to stop taking the oil and put me on antihypertensive meds. I was taking a tablespoon with every meal. Was this too much? Can somebody please help me?"

[SIDE EFFECTS]  01/11/2007: Tammy from Roseburg, Oregon writes: "I avoid anything with coconut oil in it! It gives me terrible migraine headaches. My whole family runs this allergic reaction. Now, I don't know if it's "virgin" - it's the C.O. you see in lots of products (candy, esp.) A small amount can set me back for a day; more has caused me a visit to the ER! I did not run across anyone else who said they had the same reaction, but my dad, aunts, cousins, etc. all are allergic to C.O."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  12/10/2006: Julie from Mackay, Qlad, Australia writes: "I thought I was doing my friend a favour by massaging his back and face with organic cold pressed coconut oil. Two hours his skin was burning. The next morning his face had come up in numerous blisters which took a couple of weeks to heal. Please test for allergic reactions before using."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  06/24/2006: Kerry from QLD, Australia writes: "I tried coconut oil to kill intestinal parasites but it made me feel ill..I used Parachute 100% coconut oil...Is this Ok to use, it doesn't say whether its virgin or not...Do i persevere when feeling sick? Thanks"

[SIDE EFFECTS]  03/23/2006: Lizzy from Suffolk, UK writes: "Reading the feedback on nausea following the first few days of the oil was helpful if only i had found it earlier starting slowly is so important as after initial dose of only one dessert spoon i was sick with terrible headaches almost ten minutes after first dose felt sick rest of day. so i am now proceeding with a little caution.... as I don't want to miss out on all the benefits i read about. will update on progress soon."

03/18/2006: J from Knox TN writes: "Coconut oil helps me with digestive problems and sinus issues. I have less upset stomach than before. I would highly recommend that you don't just eat the oil with food... but use it to cook food like veggies or eggs. You will still get the benefits. Think about it. You wouldn't dip into a tub of butter and just eat it... or drink vegetable oil. Treat this the same way... use it in food or to cook food.... you may find that you tolerate it much better this way. Also do not confuse coconut oil with coconut milk or juice... they are three different things."

[BETTER BUT WITH SIDE EFFECTS]  03/06/2006: Mary from Nevada City writes: "My son and i are both celiac - so we must totally avoid gluten. Even so, we still had lingering health problems. I bought coconut oil and used it as a replacement oil in cooking and baking. (It's great that way) In about three days my son and I both had a herx "die-off reaction" of some sort and then things seemed to go better for us. He really started to look healthy. It was a few years ago - so that it all I recall right now. It took may things to bring our health back. Later, I cut back on coconut oil and I have only recently re introduced it to fight a serious cold in the sinuses and the throat and the lungs. It helped immensely. But i believe it is important to keep other known healthy oil in the diet, too. Olive, fish, etc."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  02/24/2006: Joanna from Los Angeles writes: "I put a teaspoon of organic virgin coconut oil in my tea after dinner a month or so ago and within 30 minutes I was throwing up! Yuck. Now I can't stand the smell of coconut oil. But I do rub it on my hands every day (and rub in another moisturizer on top of it to mask the smell). I have the softest hands now!"

02/22/2006: Yvonne from Lancaster, PA writes: "I have a question for the people who say that they got a severe upset stomach and/or diarrhea. What type of coconut oil did they eat? I have been using coconut oil in cooking and only use organic Virgin Coconut Oil and my family has never experienced any symptoms like that. I understand there is a huge difference between Virgin Coconut oil and coconut oil."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  02/11/2006: Kelly from Center Line, MI writes: "Coconut oil also gave me and my mom both major stomach discomfort and diarrhea. We were told it can do that the first few times, but it will quit. I just cut my dose to 1 tsp instead of one tbsp. Starting off real slow, then building up the dose."

[SIDE EFFECTS]  02/11/2006: Kylie from Melbourne, Australia writes: "I tried Coconut Oil for the first time yesterday. It gave me an upset stomach, and felt quite nauseous. Nibbling on food helped. About 8-10 hrs later I had terrible diarrhea and continued to feel nauseous. I don't know whether this is an initial reaction... and if I try again I will tolerate it better?? Whilst I didn't mind eating it neat yesterday - the thought of eating it again now makes me feel ill. The sad thing is that I am on Thyroxin for an under active thyroid... and really hoped this would help. :("