A starting schedule
Liposomal vitamin CCommunity starting schedule1 g = 1,000 mg
Read the cautions first if you have kidney problems, iron overload, G6PD deficiency, or take iron supplements.
Preload
Start 3 days before your quit date. Increase only if tolerated.
| Day | Morning | Lunch | Evening |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 12 g daily total | 1 g | — | 1 g |
| Day 24 g daily total | 2 g | — | 2 g |
| Day 36 g daily total | 2 g | 2 g | 2 g |
Acute withdrawal
2 g per doseEvery 2–3 waking hours.
Example at 2-hour intervals:
Morning
- 8 am2 g
- 10 am2 g
Afternoon
- 12 pm2 g
- 2 pm2 g
- 4 pm2 g
Evening / night
- 6 pm2 g
- 8 pm2 g
- 10 pm2 g
Optional overnight
Only if awake with symptoms.- 12 am2 g
- 2 am2 g
Skip if asleep. Keep doses at least 2 hours apart.
This is a starting point. People report relief at lower and higher doses.
Reduce your intake as symptoms ease.
Standard vitamin C (ascorbic acid) can cause diarrhea, nausea, and stomach cramps at these doses. Reduce or stop if you develop these symptoms with any form, including liposomal.
Researchers haven’t established the best liposomal dose for withdrawal. See Schauss’s higher-dose protocol for the historical schedule.
Where to buy
Liposomal options:
- LivOn Labs Lypo-Spheric Vitamin C (Amazon). 1,000 mg packets.
- Quicksilver Scientific Liquid Liposomal Vitamin C (Amazon). Liquid.
- Aurora Nutrascience Mega-Liposomal Vitamin C. 3,000 mg packets.
We have no affiliate relationship with these vendors. Buy elsewhere or choose another brand you trust.
If liposomal isn’t accessible
Buffered powders cost less. Schauss used sodium ascorbate, a buffered form of vitamin C. Some people tolerate these less acidic forms better, though high doses can still cause diarrhea.
Pair it with
Vitamin C can be an adjunct alongside Suboxone, tapering with leaf, or cold turkey with helper meds.
- Vitamin E. The 2000 Evangelou study used C + E together as antioxidants (~5 mg E per kg body weight per day).
- Magnesium glycinate. For restless legs, sleep, and anxiety. See Helper Medications.
- Electrolytes. Replace losses from sweating, vomiting, or diarrhea during withdrawal.
- The rest of the supplement stack. L-tyrosine, NAC, B-complex, omega-3. See Vitamins & Supplements.
Don’t do this if
- You have a history of kidney stones or kidney disease. High-dose vitamin C can increase urinary oxalate, a concern for stone formation and kidney injury. Discuss this risk with your prescriber before trying it. Buffering does not establish kidney safety.
- You have hemochromatosis or take an iron supplement. Vitamin C sharply increases iron absorption.
- You have G6PD deficiency. Rare, but high-dose vitamin C can trigger hemolysis in this group.
These doses exceed the adult upper intake level of 2 grams per day. Medical use above it calls for clinician oversight of kidney and iron-related risks.
High-dose vitamin C can also interfere with glucose, occult-blood, and other lab tests. Tell your doctor if bloodwork is coming up.
If you use 7-OH or opioids with other substances, get professional medical supervision for withdrawal. FindTreatment.gov lists treatment services.
Higher doses in Schauss’s protocol
Schauss used sodium ascorbate in a small heroin-withdrawal pilot, with nurses adjusting doses. His 2012 paper (PDF page 5) gives this schedule:
| Day | Sodium ascorbate per dose | Daytime frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1: first preload dayDay 1Preload | 0.5 to 1 gram0.5–1 g per dose | Every 2 hours until bedtimeDaily total: 4–8 g |
| Day 2Day 2Preload | 1 to 2.5 grams1–2.5 g per dose | Every 2 hours until bedtimeDaily total: 8–20 g |
| Day 3: final preload dayDay 3Preload | 5 to 7.5 grams5–7.5 g per dose | Every 3 hours until bedtimeDaily total: 25–37.5 gWith 2 overnight: 35–52.5 gWithdrawal began at bedtime. |
| Day 4Day 4 | 2.5 to 5 grams2.5–5 g per dose | Every 2 hours until bedtimeDaily total: 20–40 gWith 2 overnight: 25–50 g |
| Day 5Day 5 | 1 to 2.5 grams1–2.5 g per dose | Every 2 hours until bedtimeDaily total: 8–20 gWith 2 overnight: 10–25 g |
| Day 6Day 6 | 1 gram1 g per dose | Every 2 hours until bedtimeDaily total: 8 gWith 2 overnight: 10 g |
Calculated examples for 8 am–10 pm: 8 daytime doses, or 5 on day 3. Overnight totals add 2 doses.
Participants drank each dose in six ounces of a half-juice, half-water mix. On nights 3 to 6, the protocol called for that day’s dose every two hours while awake if withdrawal symptoms occurred, until they eased.
The 2020 review lists 7 grams per dose at the upper end; Schauss’s original paper lists 7.5 grams. Researchers have not validated this historical schedule for liposomal vitamin C or 7-OH withdrawal.
Research support
Schauss’s historical pilot is the source of the higher-dose schedule described above. His observations suggest possible benefit, but an open-label pilot cannot separate the supplement’s effects from expectations and other care.
Evangelou and colleagues (2000) studied 70 men with heroin dependence. The researchers gave 30 inpatients and 10 outpatients 300 mg/kg/day of vitamin C plus 5 mg/kg/day of vitamin E for at least four weeks. For a 70 kg adult, that vitamin C amount equals 21 grams per day. The treated inpatients also received diazepam and an analgesic; 30 control inpatients received conventional medication without the added vitamins. Major withdrawal occurred in 10 to 16.6 percent of the vitamin-treated groups, versus 56.6 percent of controls. The combination treatment prevents us from attributing the result to vitamin C alone.
The 2020 review attributes a different result to Newmeyer and colleagues at the Haight-Ashbury Free Clinic: half of 60 participants reported at least 60 percent symptom relief with buffered vitamin C during detox from opiates or stimulants. That result comes from a separate report, not the Evangelou study.
Some liposomal forms absorb better, but researchers haven’t established matching withdrawal doses for liposomal and buffered vitamin C.
These small studies suggest possible benefit. Researchers have not established the best dose for 7-OH withdrawal or a maintenance dose for post-acute withdrawal.
Probable mechanisms
No single confirmed pathway. The plausible candidates:
- Adrenal support. Vitamin C is concentrated in adrenal tissue and depleted under stress.
- Antioxidant action. Withdrawal generates oxidative stress; vitamin C is the body’s main water-soluble antioxidant.
- Endorphin modulation. Some evidence that high-dose C inhibits endorphin-degrading enzymes, raising endogenous opioid tone.
- Histamine reduction. Vitamin C lowers histamine, which contributes to some of the discomfort of withdrawal.
The “vitamin C occupies opioid receptors” hypothesis from the 1960s doesn’t hold up under modern receptor pharmacology. Don’t expect this to “block” opioid use the way naltrexone does.
See Vitamins & Supplements for the broader supplement context, and NAD+ IV Therapy for the much pricier infusion-clinic adjunct readers sometimes ask about alongside vitamin C.