Zinc/copper panel test #5

This test underscores the importance of regular testing.  It cost me $139 but it was worth every penny and MAYBE some day soon, I won't need to test so often.  The plan of alternating Thym-Adren with the liver pill will NOT work long-term.  Here are the raw numbers:

Ceruloplasmin- 21.1 (PR).  1st time I've posted a score above 20.

Copper-74

Zinc-68

Bound copper- 63.3 (21.1*3)

Unbound copper-10.7 (74-63.3)

Unbound Cu percentage- 10.7/74= 14%

Zinc/copper ratio= 68/74= 0.92

Ceruloplasmin-  This is a rise of 1.2 points in the last 5 weeks although I had only taken the liver pill for less than 2 of those weeks.  I said that I would be pleased with anything north of 20 and I got it.  As recently as late September, it was only an 18.2 so it's up by 2.9 points even though during that time, I took the liver pill for a grand total of less than 4 weeks.  That is still sub-optimal however.  It needs to be at least 25.  This is especially important as I clear the unbound copper.  Even if all of the unbound copper is gone, the total can drop no lower than 75 and if it drops to 5 units, my total copper will be at 80, which is the low end of the healthy range.

Total copper- This was a big surprise.  Total copper fell from 85 units (healthy) to 74, which is low which means that while bound copper rose by 3.6 units, unbound copper dropped by a staggering 14.7 units.  What to make of it?  I credit the glutathione, which is a much stronger detoxifier than taurine and too strong to be taken without the liver pill.  The optimal range of unbound copper is 5-15 units or 5-20% so as of today, I AM NO LONGER COPPER TOXIC!!  Still, I remain 6 units below the optimal.  As posted above, all I need to do is get the ceruloplasmin up and I've got it.

Zinc-  This is the source of the recent suckage and a reason to vent not just about my situation but the millions of people who are within the lab's reference range but feel terrible.  The reference range is 56-134 but the optimal range is 90-120.  I am 22 units below it.  I believe the liver pill, which has been great for building ceruloplasmin, has depleted my system of zinc.  I was 113 as recently as September 30 of this year and have lost a mind-boggling 45 units in just 9 weeks. No wonder I've been strugg-a-ling so much!   Now on to the rant:

A patient could come back with lab values of 60 in zinc and 140 in copper with a ceruloplasmin of 20 and be told that they are normal.  That would mean that 80/140 units are unbound (15+ is toxic) and a zinc/copper ratio of 0.43 (healthy is 1.0-1.3).  That's right, it's possible for a patient to be "normal" with a ratio less than half of ideal. Mine is 0.92, which is low but not terrible.  It's better for both zinc and copper to be low than have one healthy and one deficient.  Consider the following analogy:

A healthy weight for a 6 ft tall man is about 160-180 pounds.  Does that mean that a 350 pounder is "normal"? Why not?  He's less than twice the upper end of the optimal range. The "reference range" for height and weight would probably be 5 ft. 4"- 6 ft. 6" with a weight "reference range" of 120-320 lbs.  Can you imagine telling a man who is 5 ft. 4" and 320 lbs or someone else who is 6 ft. 6" and 120 lbs that they are "normal" in terms of body composition?  People with severe chemical imbalances are just as sick on the inside as an obese or anorexic person appears on the outside but often look healthy.  I hear it all the time.  "You have such a nice build. OR You look fast.  I'd never believe that you were sick."  That's why I call an MD a "mineral denialist."

Plan:

Thym-Adren-  This will raise my zinc and take care of any deficiency that I have and do so quickly but especially if I remain on the taurine, the copper will continue to fall and ceruloplasmin will remain flat.  In other words, I'll always be copper deficient.  Not so good.

Liver Beef- Will raise both my copper and ceruloplasmin but exacerbate the zinc deficiency to extreme levels.

In other words, my system will reject the Thym-Adren because of copper issues and reject the Liver Beef because of zinc issues.  No win situation right?  Wrong.   I'm going with 15 mg of zinc in addition to my liver glandular.  MAYBE that will solve it.  Again, ceruloplasmin will rise almost a full unit per week on the liver.  Within 5 weeks, it ought to be very close to the magic number of 25 units.  From there, all I have to do is maintain.

I've ordered a hair test but may not know the results until after the end of the year.  I'm not worried about my adrenals going haywire without the Thym-Adren.  The liver pill contains Vitamin A, copper and choline, which are all good for fast oxidizers.  There's got to be a reason why my system rejected Thym-Adren + liver this time around but did not last round.  COULD IT BE THAT MY ADRENALS ARE NORMALIZING?  I'll know soon enough.  I'm not getting my hopes up too high but there could be a light at the end of the tunnel.  These past 2 years have been horrible overall and have sucked too!