some research on copper

Susannah · 03-15-2004, 02:16 AM

I posted this on a Yahoo message board I am on for PCOS, but thought I would post it here, too. I took a supplement called molybdenum to get rid of the excess copper in my system, and I really think it had a lot to do with getting my periods back and regulated.

I'm going to try to get the links about copper for you. It really
took a lot of digging, so I'll try to find my convoluted path
through the web again. Basically, I first was looking for what can
cause high testosterone, because when they first tested me, my
LH/FSH was fine, the only blood test that was off was the
testosterone. So, I found snippets of things on the web that
referred to how high copper's associated w/ high testosterone. Here
are a couple of the links:

"Reduced serum copper levels are associated with decreased
Testosterone levels, therefore, vitamin C may indirectly influence
your Testosterone levels."
http://www.t-mag.com/nation_articles/161vit.html

"The missing element in most zinc and magnesium supplements is the
incorporation of Copper. We've added Copper tartrate, which has been
shown in animal studies to boost Luteinizing hormone.5 Luteinizing
hormone stimulates the natural production of testosterone."
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/ec...clomitrol.html

Anyway, there are lots of little sites like that that mention it.

I didn't at first pay much attention to this, but I started (this
was coming at it from a different angle) doing research on the
effects the birth control pill has on you. This was because I
really didn't have problems like I have now before going on the
pill, and I've corresponded with many other people with PCOS who
experienced the same thing, they came off the pill, and now they
have the symptoms of PCOS. I understand that the pill will mask the
symptoms of PCOS, but these people were OK before the pill.
Something happened while they were on the pill. I've also never
been very convinced by the research they do on a drug before they
start using it extensively. I especially don't trust things with
hormones (artificial or natural, it's still adding extra hormones to
your system), with all the new research out indicating it
contributes to getting cancer, etc. Anyway, here's the link I found
where it says the pill can make you store copper (and depletes you
of a ton of other things). I REALLY like the websites these people
do, by the way, they stress that everything's interconnected, and
the causes can be very complicated for things:

"Copper and Zinc. Copper is generally increased and elevated copper
is associated with an increased death from cardiovascular disease.
Copper and zinc tend to antagonistic, so an elevated copper level
will result in a lower zinc status."
http://www.diagnose-me.com/cond/C378603.html

So, the next step for me was to schedule a hair mineral analysis,
because I've read a lot of literature that says that hair mineral
analysis more accurately reflects what's going on in your tissues,
better than the serum. This actually makes sense to me. So, I
scheduled one. Well, my copper came up as being very high. I was
kind of expecting that at this point. So, the next step was to do
something about it. There's lots of information about getting rid
of copper on the web if you look up copper and chelation. The most
suggested thing is zinc. So, I started on that, but was actually
already taking it anyway. Then, I did some research on molybdenum
(once again, for a different purpose). On one of the Yahoo groups
I was on for onion allergy, a guy suggested that an onion allergy
might actually be a molydenum deficiency, and that supplement with
molybdenum sometimes makes the allergy go away (actually, not really
an allergy, they just made me REALLY tired after eating them, or
garlic). So, I started researching why. Molybdenum is essential
for breaking down sulfites, which onions and garlic are rich in.
Here's one website that says it:
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocente...ls/molybdenum/

So, I also found out while doing that research that molybdenum is a
VERY potent at chelating (getting it out of you) copper. Plus, if
you have high copper, normally you have low molybdenum. This also
held up with my hair mineral analysis. High copper, low
molybdenum. So, I decided to try chelating the copper with
molydenum supplementation. Here's one website that supports that,
although there are others (for background on the website, Wilson's
disease is where your body stores too much copper):

"Because molybdenum can increase excretion of copper,
etrathiomolybdate and tetrathiomolybdate are used to treat Wilson's
disease. They form a complex with copper and protein. In the
intestine, this blocks absorption. In the blood this renders copper
non-toxic. As molybdenum intake increases, so does urinary excretion
of copper."
http://www.naturalhealthnotebook.com...lsons_disease.
htm

I think I took about 1000 mcg per day of molybdenum, I found a
website somewhere that said this was a safe dose (actually higher
would have been okay). In about 2 weeks, I no longer had any
reaction to garlic or onions. Also, in about a month my periods
came back and continued to be normal. I was also on the South Beach
diet at the time because of PCOS, so I can't say conclusively which
helped, or if it was a combo of both. I also took d-chiro-inositol,
which has shown GREAT results in trials for PCOS in restoring your
period, but I only took it for a little while, I had to buy it in
bulk powder, and it was just too much trouble to put it in capsules
every day, so I don't think that was what "cured" me.

My husband and I figured out one day when my onion/garlic reaction
had started happening, because I know when I first met him, I was
okay, because I would go to the Italian restaurants and get stuff
loaded with garlic. He said he thought it was about 2 1/2 years
into us knowing each other. I started the pill about 2 years after
meeting him, so I really think the pill had something to do with the
onion/garlic allergy and the PCOS, and I think the connection is the
increased copper storage.

I'm sorry this got so long! It really was a tangled web to follow
to do the research, I hope some of this helps you! Let me know if
you have any more questions, and I'll try to answer them.

Susannah

thing1 · 03-17-2004, 01:48 PM

Hi Susannah!

This is great info. I haven't checked out the websites yet, hopefully I will have more time this afternoon.

As a parent of an autistic child, I am familiar with the evils of copper (gadzooks it's everywhere!) and benefits of zinc supplementation. Most autistics have inverted ratios (my son has 2x more copper than zinc) and most of their parents will say it's intially caused by heavy metal poisoning (vaccines-which could certainly be possible but I won't go into that now).

Honestly though, it's interesting that you posted this as it's just another similarity between autism and pcos. One day when I get my crap together I am going to organize my info and send it to Kat. Between this and the B vitamins, magnesium, vit c, EFA's, and so on, it's scary. I mean, literally, pcos'ers and autistics are taking the SAME exact stuff.

Thanks for bringing this to everyone's attention, a high copper level is not something to take lightly.

Suze

Susannah · 03-17-2004, 02:04 PM

Suze,

I think the mineral body in our balance can cause a whole host of things. I also agree with you that vaccines might not be the best thing in the world, and mostly not because of what the vaccine is doing (even though I have read good evidence that it might cause autoimmune disorders or even junvenile diabetes later on), but because of how they are made. I've even read reports that the AIDS virus might have resulted from viruses that got in with I think it was the polio vaccine in Africa, because they were using monkeys to produce the antibodies. I thought about not vaccinating my future children, but it looks like they can be refused insurance because of it! Ugh, we don't REALLY have choices in life, do we?

Anyway, back to copper, I REALLY think it was the pill that made my copper high, after doing the research, and it makes me so mad all of the stuff I read about how the pill DOES NOT make you infertile, period. I think it's a bunch of crap, really, especially having read SO many stories of women who went on the pill and never got their period back after years, which is my story, but luckily I finally did get it back. I think the moral of the story is that you really have to do your own research and learn not to trust anything except hard research. There are too many entities that are out there that really only exist to make money, but they are doing it in the name of our health, but really are risking our health. Mostly those entities are pharmeceutical companies, but I have been to doctors that seem to suffer the same problem, and also the government seems to fall into that category all too often (flouridation of the water supply comes to mind here...).

It's funny, before all this started, I trusted the medical establishment and though things were going wonderfully, wonder drugs were being come up with everyday, etc. And, it's not that good stories don't exist. It just seems that medicine is the one part of the news where you hear all the good stuff, and none of the bad stuff, and the more I look into it, the more it seems that there are many more failures by the medical establishment than there are success stories.

Okay, off my soapbox for now!

Susannah

walnut · 03-18-2004, 03:39 AM

This is really interesting information. There's 2 mg of copper in my multi-vite. Do they make a multi-vite that doesnt have copper in it?

I think it's crazy that you can be refused medical insurance if you decide not to vax!! I'm lucky enough to live in a Canada, and vaxing isnt mandatory here. http://pages.ivillage.com/suschi/vac..._info/id1.html There's some state by state info about exemptions on that link.

Susannah · 03-18-2004, 12:00 PM

Hey, Walnut. Here's a message I got from one of the other ladies on SoulCysters, Julie, about the vitamin she uses that doesn't contain copper or iron. She gets it from the Vitamin Shoppe at http://www.vitaminshoppe.com . There's also another one from that same site that I've used, that's a liquid and doesn't contain copper or iron. It's called "Liquid Multi-Vitamins" and is made by a company called Innovative Natural Products.

Hi Susannah! I use Amni's "Added Protection III (without copper and iron)". It is a Multi-vitamin/Mineral/Trace Element Supplement and I LOVE it! It's the best multi I've ever taken and I got on suggestion from someone posting in the Natural Remedies section of SoulCysters. I bought it off of Vitaminshoppe.com and have been buying all of supplements from there since I started this vitamin. The one thing to consider is that ONE serving is 6 pills. It's a lot to swallow and some people are sensitive to that. It doesn't bother me at all and I take them at night since my tummy is sensitive to vitamins. I've had no nausea issues since doing it at night. I HTH!!

Julie