elevated zinc

[Gosierunn]

hi all sorry I have been posting quite a bit over the past few days!

I had a message from the GP to say my zinc results came back slightly elevated and to stop taking supplements and test again in a month.

I’ve asked for a call back to get results along with other results of tests I had at the same time including Vit d, b12 etc So will report back

My question is that I can only seem to find info that shows elevated zinc in relation to supplements - which I’m not taking - or deficiencies regarding thyroid so I’m a little bit confused. Does anyone have any experience of elevates zinc in subclinical hypothyroidism?

[Jaydee1507 Administrator]

There have been a few zinc related posts in the past few days including one of mine.

I saw humanbean saying she had only seen 1 member before with high zinc and all the rest like me were low/ deficient.

That would suggest to me that you are low in copper, but I am not an expert.

Check out copper rich foods and see if your diet contains them.

Sorry I can’t help more.

[humanbean in reply to Jaydee1507]

I'm relying on a distant memory now, but the person with high zinc/low copper was born with a problem with her production of ceruloplasmin which made her ill and she had an unusual form of anaemia. It was when she was treated with extra iron (because of the anaemia) that she became seriously ill because her problem was due to low copper, not just low iron. Her high zinc/low copper results weren't the result of supplementing.

Please don't assume my memory of this person is totally reliable, and remember I'm not a doctor.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerul...

...

People who are hypothyroid usually end up with low zinc/high copper. The reverse (in hypothyroid people) appears to be rare.

When I tested my own zinc and copper the zinc was well below mid-range but my copper was actually slightly over the range. Neither result was "dramatic", they just weren't optimal. I make sure now that I never take any supplements which include copper - some zinc supplements I've seen include copper, and I avoid those. All I did was to buy some quite low dose zinc picolinate tablets and take them when I remember. This all occurred quite a few years ago, and I have no idea why I chose zinc picolinate - there may be better supplements.

I'm probably long overdue for another test by now!

[greygoose]

Yes, I agree with Jaydee1507 . If your zinc is high then your copper is probably low.

Copper and zinc should be balanced, but a hypos symptom is to have one elevated and the other low. It is usually the zinc that is low, but in some people it's the copper. So, best to have both tested at the same time.