Acetyl-L-carnitine, or carnitine, helps your body transform fat into energy. The body's ability to manufacture this nutrient on its own means that you typically do not need carnitine supplements to ensure adequate levels. Carnitine's role in energy production suggests supplementation might provide benefits for conditions that affect the heart and muscles, which have high energy requirements. Other purported uses include treating diabetes-induced nerve damage, hyperthyroidism and chronic fatigue syndrome, but not enough evidence exists to firmly establish therapeutic benefits. Talk to your doctor before using carnitine to treat any health condition.
Side Effects
Drugs.com has outlined some reported side effects from a prescription carnitine treatment, primarily occurring in patients with kidney failure. While these effects were reported from a particular carnitine treatment mainly in a specific patient population, there is a potential for experiencing these same adverse reactions from a store-bought nutritional supplement. Gastrointestinal upset is a common complaint with 41 percent of patients experiencing nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, constipation, dyspepsia and altered taste. Other potential adverse reactions generally affected only a small number of people and include seizures, insomnia, anxiety, dizziness, elevated triglyceride levels, body odor, swelling, weight loss, decreases in weight, elevated potassium and calcium levels, swelling, headache, muscle pain, itching, cramps, urinary tract infections, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure and depression.
Effects on Thyroid Function
Limited research suggests carnitine supplements might treat hyperthyroidism or overactive thyroid activity by suppressing thyroid hormone production, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. If you suffer the exact opposite problem -- low thyroid function -- using carnitine supplements might worsen your condition.
Medication Interactions
Acetyl-L-carnitine might react with anticoagulant drugs. These medications have been dosed very specifically and using supplements that affect their actions even slightly might require changes to your dose. The website eMedTV advises against combining two treatments without talking to your doctor first, who might want to perform periodic blood tests.
Other Safety Considerations
Your body makes carnitine in the kidneys and renal disease may cause a deficiency. If you have kidney disease, however, never use any supplements without talking to your doctor first. While it is always prudent to check with your doctor before using any supplements, it is particularly important before using carnitine if you also suffer from seizures, diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, high blood pressure or cirrhosis. The presence of these health conditions might make you particularly vulnerable to potential adverse reactions of carnitine.
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