Eye doctor highly recommended taking supplement Preservision. I cleared with hematology re peginterferon but after buying it, researching ingredients and checking interactions am concerned. Twice a day ingredients: C = 250 mg, E = 90 mg, zinc= 40 mg, copper = 1 mg, Lutein = 5 mg. Except Lutein, all the others are triple digit multiples of recommended daily intake for just 1 dose. One dose Zinc at 364% and copper at 111% and E at 600% scared me. The two metals do conflict with high blood pressure med metopropol so have to separate by 2 hours. Also found reference to possible liver impact that am already treating with milk thistle due to peginterferon side effect. Reaching out for comments. Anyone else in need of eye supplements and can share results of your investigation of drug ingredients? Thank you!
Update: I had a second eye doctor do an exam and pleased to confirm the Preservision while still recommended for overall good eye health is not a problem to reduce dose or frequency. He agreed there has been no obvious impact from peginterferon after a year plus. My circumstance beyond MPN is very good vision, no macular nor retina nor anything else going south at this time. I asked specifically about the dose, the very high amounts of everything in this combo drug. He agreed since I am not at risk, to focus on lutein, copper and zinc. The former is most important for eyes and minerals may be found in daily vitamins or other supplements, just be sure to get the minimum daily allowance. So I double checked what I take and decided to get something else that covers lutein and leave minerals and rest of contents to vitamins I have available. Removing the large amount of minerals means no more conflict with my blood pressure medicine. Another example of questioning things and how grateful I am to this forum for guidance and support to do that Thank you!
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Mishie14
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I'm no expert here but I'm assuming it's the lutein that you need can you not take just that? Or does it need the other vits to be absorbed? I would go back to your eye doctor and ask ,I would be concerned regarding the blood pressure meds.
You are correct. The others are to help absorption and zinc is supposed to be an anti oxidant and aid for immune system. It can also mess with copper, however. Overloading on C and E remains questionable—why so much? I have eye doctor appointment follow up later this week which may help add further detail to this adventure. Thank you!
You are wise to consider both the dosing and potential for interactions with any supplement.
I would suggest consulting with an Integrative or Functional Medicine doctor about these questions. There are also some pharmacists with good insight into the issues regarding supplement-medication interactions.
Generally speaking, taking to much of most vitamins will not hurt you. It just makes very expensive urine since your body will just excrete it. There are exceptions to this. "Unlike water-soluble vitamins which get excreted via urine when taken in excess doses, fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the body. Excess intake can lead to an overload of vitamins such as A, D and E." eatingwell.com/article/8053....
I would have to look it up. Could be a simple search engine or AI search. There are multiple references on this topic. This is just one. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK5....
The short version is that these are the fat-soluble vitamins.
Yeah those doses are high. Zinc being of particular concern. I’m also not a huge fan of vit E as I’ve seen data that’s shows at higher doses it can drive cancer acceleration(solid tumor). Paradoxically considering it’s an antioxidant. To be clear only in a subset of cases from what I remember but none the less gives me pause. At normal doses it’s probably fine.
Also I don’t trust supplements of almost any brand given it’s unregulated. It’s far more likely to cause problems than help.
With that said I would think you could find another supplement with same ingredients with better dosages. Not that those dosages will be harmful that I can see, they are a bit high.
thank you very much for adding more info about high doses and vitamin E in particular. Not aware it could tie to cancer. I was very concerned about the minerals but E being 600% of daily req in one dose is definitely puzzling. I will circle back to hematology after speaking with eye doctor later this week. So far after two weekly blood tests since starting preservision my liver enzymes have moved up 5-7 points after being consistent, stable for months. Other results good but didn’t have specific tests for C, E, zinc and copper. Thank you for expanding my knowledge.
My ophthalmologist also recommended Preservision. I decided to take a Senior multivitamin with no iron and and a soft gel containing 10mg of lutein and 4mg of zeaxanthin. I don’t think I’m getting excessive doses of anything this way. The ophthalmologist is ok with this.
Excellent idea. I have been noodling a downsized combo, too. I’m not interested in taking anything not needed nor too much than is required. Thank you very much for sharing your solution.
when my cataracts were removed it was discovered that I had macular degeneration. I was prescribed Ocuvite to slow the progression to blindness so I take it. There is excess zinc and vitamin E but I want to keep blindness at bay so what to do. It seems to me that there is often a toss up between the condition and the treatment.
I take 750 mg of Natural very strong vitamin C a day. When I have a cold coming on, I take 16 vitamin C capsules during that day and the following day. That kills the cold before it has a chance to grip me. I’m on Besremi.
I take 20 mg of zinc every day for the past six years no problem
NIH says: Vit E Doses of up to 1,000 mg/day (1,500 IU/day of the natural form or 1,100 IU/day of the synthetic form) in adults appear to be safe.
I take about 30-40mg of Zink, in supplements and food.
copper supplements are 1-2,5 mg per day according to NIH and Mayo Clinic. Our bodies don’t store too much copper.
Vitamin C only stays in the body about two hours this is why when I’m fighting something off I take two capsules that is one and a half g of vitamin C every 2 1/2 hours I’ve never had a problem with that anagrelide or interferon.
I take only natural forms of supplements.
you’re very clever to check out interactions between supplements and your medication!! You are doing absolutely the right thing. I do think it is important to keep a check on the levels of nutrients with blood tests. Synthetic vitamins can cause a lot of problems. my daughter and I both got vitamin B6 poisoning from a very expensive vitamin company in Austria that had substituted the B6 with a synthetic which gets stuck in the body. Our deficit became poisoning.
! Figure out how long your medication stays in your body and then you can find out when you should take the antioxidants vitamin C and zinc so as not to interrupt the medication. it’s easiest to find the half-life then you know how long the med stays in your body. Also know the interactions!! A good functional doctor is worth gold and you’ll feel safer. I double and triple check everything I take. I feel great despite my illness. The supplements ensure me a wonderful quality of life! Don’t forget we are ALL different and we have different deficiencies. I always stay safe with natural substances
111% is absolutely nothing. it’s a tiny bit over the norm
364% I cannot believe that. a normal zinc supplement is 15 mg and people who have cancer usually need more. That means 364% is about 50 mg.
I definitely do 60mg of Vit E in my diet. Our family of three goes through 1 L of olive oil a week. That’s what Greeks do! 😃 it’s more when I eat fish, etc.
Thank you for educating me on supplements. I am so appreciative to learn about your approach. You also helped to calm some of my fears. I feel well prepared for follow up with eye doctor tomorrow. Bless you, Anag.
Hi Mishie14 - I have wet macular degeneration in both eyes diagnosed seven years ago. At first my optician advised me to use drops somewhat like yours but the UK version. I did so after the first eye was diagnosed but the drops did not stop me developing AMD in other eye within a year. I stopped using the drops when I was diagnosed with ET in 2021. I still have good eyesight at a level which allows me to continue driving. I get injections into each eye every 12 weeks.
I do not know what your eye diagnosis is but I do feel that a good all-round diet is just as good as taking additional vitamins. As others have advised perhaps you could just take some of the vitamins but not the ones which might cause you trouble. Anyhow good luck with your eye situation and I hope you will only get very slow progression of the condition as I seem to have.
Thank you so much, Jelbea. My eyesight has been excellent since getting cataracts removed three years ago and premium lenses implanted. I don't have to wear glasses either as no other issues like glaucoma or retina or AMD. I am definitely pursuing reduced number of supplements and for sure reduced dose to not exceed daily requirements. The preservision supplement is supposed to be for continuing healthy eyes and vision but here I sit with a near opposite opinion after researching the ingredients and hearing from others like you who have greater experience. You added another perspective. I appreciate your valuable assistance.
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