I saw a commercial on TV about Zinc Toxicity. It had to do with people who use adhesives such as Fixodent. These adhesives contain Zinc. There are symptoms related to Zinc Toxicity that are similar to lyme and MS. Please review your Zinc intake and see if you may need to have your zinc levels tested.
"Health Risks from Excessive Zinc Zinc toxicity can occur in both acute and chronic forms. Acute adverse effects of high zinc intake include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and headaches [2].
One case report cited severe nausea and vomiting within 30 minutes of ingesting 4 g of zinc gluconate (570 mg elemental zinc) [76]. Intakes of 150-450 mg of zinc per day have been associated with such chronic effects as low copper status, altered iron function, reduced immune function, and reduced levels of high-density lipoproteins [77].
Reductions in a copper-containing enzyme, a marker of copper status, have been reported with even moderately high zinc intakes of approximately 60 mg/day for up to 10 weeks [2].
The doses of zinc used in the AREDS study (80 mg per day of zinc in the form of zinc oxide for 6.3 years, on average) have been associated with a significant increase in hospitalizations for genitourinary causes, raising the possibility that chronically high intakes of zinc adversely affect some aspects of urinary physiology [78]."
"Zinc is an intestinal irritant, and the first sign of zinc poisoning is usually intestinal distress. This includes vomiting, stomach cramps, diarrhea, and nausea.
Further symptoms of zinc poisoning are low blood pressure, urine retention, jaundice, seizures, joint pain, fever, coughing, and a metallic taste in the mouth.
If these symptoms appear and exposure to zinc is suspected, the person affected should be given lots of milk or water and taken to a hospital. A poison control center can give a referral to a hospital, along with other suggestions for making the patient comfortable. "
Posted by seibertneurolyme (Member # 6416) on :
It would be unlikely that anyone with Lyme would be deficient in zinc unless they had some specific risk factor -- borrelia uses that mineral I think, plus if your immune system is working then zinc is fairly rapidly depleted by the immune system.
Bea Seibert
Posted by SForsgren (Member # 7686) on :
Agree with Bea. MUCH more likely that we are zinc deficient, not toxic.
Posted by Blackstone (Member # 9453) on :
Agreed with Scott and Bea. Zinc is eaten up by lyme, and used by the immune system. Many suggest supplementation, especially when ill. Personally, I take ZMA, which is a combination of zinc, magnesium, and B6 which is not only good for the immune system, but can assist in proper hormone function for men. Women require slightly less zinc, but it may still be advantageous.
If you're worried about binding up/using up your copper, try tossing in some chlorophyll supplements every 5 days or so. They contain copper and very little else. Of course, in all cases be sure that none of the supplements or medicine you are taking interact.