Graves' Disease Support Group

Oh dear...! :-( I most certainly have.

See, I didn't know I had a problem with the Copper and Zinc imbalances. I thought I was low in copper and high in Zinc. So I supplemented with Copper and no Zinc. Well, it turned out after I landed in the hospital for three days with a suspected thyroid storm, that I had my Copper and Zinc tested, I found out I was very, very, very, sky high in Copper levels and had hardly any Zinc level.

Since then I've discovered that I am one of those unusual Gravesians...I cannot take a Copper supplement, either by itself or in a multivitamin. I have to watch out for the Copper in my diet and such. I must supplement with Zinc. I get Copper and Zinc blood serum tests done yearly to see where I am at.

Please make sure to get your Copper and Zinc levels tested first before you supplement with either one to see where you are at.

Not everyone with Graves' Disease has a Copper Deficiency because I surely didn't...! :-(

{{{hugs}}}

Wow, mm. That's too bad. Now, I have a follow-up question. If you get your minerals tested through blood serum, doesn't it only give a profile at that instant? Isn't hair-analysis more reliable?

I will definitely get myself tested, but am trying to figure out the best way. Hair? or Blood?

I feel blood tests are more reliable than a hair analysis. You could always go for Copper/Zinc tests more often. I did back then. Now I just do once per year cuz I know where I'm at with the supplements/vits and the foods/drinks to stay stabilized as possible.

{{{hugs}}}

Hi!
I take copper (2mg) of copper 2 gluconate a day, along with an extra 1mg in my multivitamin. This extra 2mg is to make it so I'm taking as much copper as I have zinc a day. I don't know if I was deficient in copper, as my endo only tests my TSH and FT4, so after reading the advice, I thought, eh? Why not? I am in remission right now and am still taking it. I'm really not sure if I can credit it with my remission, or not, but I do know that dietary changes made a very big impact in how I was feeling.
I kept a food journal and practiced biofeedback and it really helped. There were no-brainer things that helped right away, like not taking too much coffee (switched to decaf) and had to eliminate stuff like seafood and kelp. I made more eliminations as time went on, and to help my TED I had to stop eating dairy and rice and lettuces. I finally decided to tinker with eliminated gluten and my autoimmune kidney disease went into remission shortly after. Diet makes a big difference for me.
Take care!
Hannah