Suspected Copper Deficiency. Thoughts And Ideas

[Luann]

How long did it take for you to really notice a difference? And what do you consider a medium-high dose of copper?

Seconded? @Sinjin

 

[Douglas Ek]

Ok so I've gotten some test results back and would be happy to hear your guys thoughts:

So my T4 and TSH was:
S-T4, free (ModE) 19 pmol/L Ref range: (12-22)
S-TSH (ModE) 3,0 mE/L Ref range: (0,3-4,2)

So to me they look good?

The things i did notice was that my iron and my ferritin levels was on the low side:
P-Iron 12 mikromol/L Ref range: (9-34)
S-Ferritin 53 mikrog/L Ref range: (30-350)

I have been eating heme iron tablets the past 5 days before the test + copper which should help with iron metabolism so I can imagine what my levels was before probably around the 9 and 30 mark. I've noticed a boost in energy so far from supplementing. Tomorrow I will get the results back for my copper, zinc, vitamin D and testosterone levels and i will post them here.
But I can imgaine that my zinc will be on the higher side, copper on lower side and that the copper deficiency caused my low iron levels which all in all have given me the symptoms I've had. Tired, fatigue, restless legs, low sex drive.

 

[Douglas Ek]

Ok so I've gotten my ceruloplasmin levels back now aswell wich reflects body stores of copper. The reference range was 1.5-3.5 and i had 1.5 so just on the border. Ceruloplasmin stores copper in the body and also helps your stomach to absorb iron so this would explain why I have kinda low ferritin and iron stores. Im pretty sure now once i get my zinc results back it will be on the high side. Im gonna quit zinc completely for awhile and only take copper and iron then go test myself again. I've noticed i feel way better within couple of hours of taking both iron and copper and last night i tested takin 30mg zinc picolinate and woke up this morning feeling fatigue and joint ache straight away. So crazy

 

[prider90]

Results look good Douglas. I think zinc/cooper supplementation is overrated. 2 years ago i started taking ZMA for 'testosterone' purposes and felt more aggressive but also more quickly tired/moody after workouts.
Keep us posted.

 

[Douglas Ek]

Results look good Douglas. I think zinc/cooper supplementation is overrated. 2 years ago i started taking ZMA for 'testosterone' purposes and felt more aggressive but also more quickly tired/moody after workouts.
Keep us posted.

So finally got my testosterone levels back:
32 nmol/L ref range: 8.9 - 29 nmol/L
This would convert to 923 ng/dl

And i havent really feelt its the cause of my problems since last year i have very long morning wood, waking up with morning wood and easy to get muscles. Have also noticed a lot more chest hair and beard growth. So i think my low energy and sex drive is probably from low estrogen taking to much zinc.

 

[Luann]

I can already tell that using the copper bisglycinate i bought is working as all my symptoms is almost gone now. Its ****** crazy and feels unreal because for once in a long time im starting to feel really good!

That's great. I went six months without dietary copper and even now eating liver twice a week is not helping. Hospitals treat copper deficiency with 8mg of copper a day and additional IV once a week. You must have taken a large enough dose to recover like Sinjin recommended.

 

[churchmouth]

Hi @Douglas Ek , how is that copper supplementing going?

 

[ddjd]

Seconded? @Sinjin

Look into mito energy copper. It's expensive but I think it works

 

[ddjd]

Sorry I meant mito synergy

 

[Douglas Ek]

That's great. I went six months without dietary copper and even now eating liver twice a week is not helping. Hospitals treat copper deficiency with 8mg of copper a day and additional IV once a week. You must have taken a large enough dose to recover like Sinjin recommended.

Update on how I've been doing. I started eating 400 grams of liver twice a week so thats a lot of copper and iron. On top of that i also supplemented between 6-10mg of copper bisglycinate everyday and also took 60-90 mg iron bisglycinate. 3 months later I am completely cured. I've never had this much energy in my life, my joint aches and pops have completely disappeared. I also got very easily over trained and also aching feets at work. That has also gone away completely. I feel like a new person. And according to my ceruloplasmin and ferritin test my body stores of these minerals are what they are supposed to be. My iron levels didnt go up until my ceruloplasmin had gone up. I think that is because copper is needed for proper iron metabolism. Anyway I'm happy to provide pictures of my results if anyone doubt me. It's funny how people say that copper and iron is toxic. Without adequate levels youre dopamine and thyroid levels will drop like crazy.

 

[Luann]

That's fascinating @Douglas Ek and I'm elated with your success story. Nice to hear good news. How important was taking iron to your recovery? I am trying to use vitamin A to keep my iron status at a good place rather than take iron directly. Thanks for the update!!

 

[Douglas Ek]

Hi @Douglas Ek , how is that copper supplementing going?

Hi! Very well thank you. I feel better than ever before. Would like to remind people that this is all thanks to me actually getting my levels tested. I've went for such a long time shooting in the dark regarding diet and supplements. It's crazy and dumb. If you suspect any type of mineral or vitamin deficiency go and get them tested it's the wisest decision you can make and it will save you both time and probably a lot of wasted money on supplements.

 

[Douglas Ek]

That's fascinating @Douglas Ek and I'm elated with your success story. Nice to hear good news. How important was taking iron to your recovery? I am trying to use vitamin A to keep my iron status at a good place rather than take iron directly. Thanks for the update!!

I think it was actually quite important. Like I told you my ceruloplasmin was the first of the them to rise to normal levels and I felt better at that point but only 25% I would say. This was one month ago I got that lab result and at that time my ferritin was still low at 50. Now December following up until today I actually didn't take anymore copper at all and focused only on Iron. And I must say that I've seen the most improvement the past month. I got my lab results yesterday for my ferritin and it is now 134. Where as 100-130 from what i understood is optimal for a male.

 

[Douglas Ek]

That's fascinating @Douglas Ek and I'm elated with your success story. Nice to hear good news. How important was taking iron to your recovery? I am trying to use vitamin A to keep my iron status at a good place rather than take iron directly. Thanks for the update!!

At this point instead of keep taking supplements I will eat liver 1-2 times a week. From what I've understand the liver makes the ceruloplasmin protein from Retinol, Vitamin C and Copper. So eating liver probably aids your own livers ability to make the protein

also would like to add. If you suspect low copper and iron go and test yourself. Don't assume that taking this and that will help you. If you feel crap then there's probably something going on.

 

[ddjd]

Update on how I've been doing. I started eating 400 grams of liver twice a week so thats a lot of copper and iron. On top of that i also supplemented between 6-10mg of copper bisglycinate everyday and also took 60-90 mg iron bisglycinate. 3 months later I am completely cured. I've never had this much energy in my life, my joint aches and pops have completely disappeared. I also got very easily over trained and also aching feets at work. That has also gone away completely. I feel like a new person. And according to my ceruloplasmin and ferritin test my body stores of these minerals are what they are supposed to be. My iron levels didnt go up until my ceruloplasmin had gone up. I think that is because copper is needed for proper iron metabolism. Anyway I'm happy to provide pictures of my results if anyone doubt me. It's funny how people say that copper and iron is toxic. Without adequate levels youre dopamine and thyroid levels will drop like crazy.

High copper is connected with high Estrogen and Cortisol. Cortisol can cause pain relief and increased energy etc. You're sure it's not increased Cortisol?

 

[Nick21]

Update on how I've been doing. I started eating 400 grams of liver twice a week so thats a lot of copper and iron. On top of that i also supplemented between 6-10mg of copper bisglycinate everyday and also took 60-90 mg iron bisglycinate. 3 months later I am completely cured. I've never had this much energy in my life, my joint aches and pops have completely disappeared. I also got very easily over trained and also aching feets at work. That has also gone away completely. I feel like a new person. And according to my ceruloplasmin and ferritin test my body stores of these minerals are what they are supposed to be. My iron levels didnt go up until my ceruloplasmin had gone up. I think that is because copper is needed for proper iron metabolism. Anyway I'm happy to provide pictures of my results if anyone doubt me. It's funny how people say that copper and iron is toxic. Without adequate levels youre dopamine and thyroid levels will drop like crazy.

Amazing! Could you relay if you are still feeling well? I am about to start with 2mg copper glycinate.

 

[Douglas Ek]

Amazing! Could you relay if you are still feeling well? I am about to start with 2mg copper glycinate.

Yes! Still feeling great. I believe though that Iron is not necessary to supplement and would be better to take between 2-6mg copper glycinate, Animal-based Vitamin-A (Ceruloplasmin production) and taurine that also aids in copper metabolism. All these supplements should help increase copper and ceruloplasmin status in your body and lead to a better metabolism of iron and better iron status without adding more iron from external sources. This is something I've learned and changed my opinion about. Also, you can eat a lot of liver. I found a combination of liver, copper, taurine and vitamin A to be the quickest and most efficient way to restore my well being. I believe originally I did induce both a copper and vitamin A deficiency by taking supplemental Vitamin D (Depletes liver retinol) and taking Zinc in high doses. This lead to a low ceruloplasmin that handles both copper and iron metabolism in the body. My zinc was borderline low even after taking huge amounts of zinc for a long time and now it's on the upper side after I quit taking zinc and just taking copper.

 

[Captain_Coconut]

Yes! Still feeling great. I believe though that Iron is not necessary to supplement and would be better to take between 2-6mg copper glycinate, Animal-based Vitamin-A (Ceruloplasmin production) and taurine that also aids in copper metabolism. All these supplements should help increase copper and ceruloplasmin status in your body and lead to a better metabolism of iron and better iron status without adding more iron from external sources. This is something I've learned and changed my opinion about. Also, you can eat a lot of liver. I found a combination of liver, copper, taurine and vitamin A to be the quickest and most efficient way to restore my well being. I believe originally I did induce both a copper and vitamin A deficiency by taking supplemental Vitamin D (Depletes liver retinol) and taking Zinc in high doses. This lead to a low ceruloplasmin that handles both copper and iron metabolism in the body. My zinc was borderline low even after taking huge amounts of zinc for a long time and now it's on the upper side after I quit taking zinc and just taking copper.

That is interesting about zinc going up after switching to just taking copper. I wonder if this could be from an effect copper has on gut microbiom?

 

[Douglas Ek]

That is interesting about zinc going up after switching to just taking copper. I wonder if this could be from an effect copper has on gut microbiom?

 

[Dave Clark]

Look into mito energy copper. It's expensive but I think it works

One thing that confused me about Mitosynergy was: they tell you to take the supplement 30 minutes before a meal, and not to take other supplements for an hour after taking the Mitosynergy copper, yet they make a formula called Mitosynergy Advanced that has eleven other nutrients in its blend! So much for taking the copper away from other supplements!