Selenium symptoms and conditions

Lisinopril robs the body of Zinc. I have been viciously researching this med and I found that a lot of symptoms posted here are zinc deficiency symptoms. Maybe a zinc supplement will help especially with the hair loss.
Signs of Zinc Deficiency
• behavioral and sleep disturbances

• dandruff

• delay in wound healing

• diarrhea

• different kinds of skin lesions such as eczema, psoriasis and acne

• growth retardation

• hair loss

• hang nails

• hyperactivity

• increased allergic sensitivity

• inflammation of your nail cuticles

• inflammatory bowel disease

• loss of appetite

• loss of senses of taste or smell

• loss of sex drive

• mild anemia

• pre-eclampsia (toxaemia) in pregnancy and post-natal depression

• pre-menstrual syndrome, disturbance in your menstrual cycle

• reduced fertility

• skin dryness and rashes

• white spots on fingernails, transverse lines and poor nail growth

Help!! I need some advice. I'm 47 and have been diagnosed with HBP. I'm 6'2", 250 lbs. My Dr. has prescribed Lisinopril, which I'm suppose to pick up today. I've never been on any prescription medicine before. Don't have any known allergies. My BP averages 138/90 in the am and 170/117 in the evening. My fear is once I start taking this medication, am I on it forever? The side-effect described on this board are frightening. Any advice??

I've been on Lisinopril/HCTZ about 2 months, and am losing lots of long hairs. Will my body adjust to the medication and grow new hair? Does anyone know if total baldness will result? (82 year old female) My blood pressure is now excellent!

I was first diagnosed with hypertension in the late 80's and have been on several different medications to treat it. I think that Lisinopril is the worst that I have been on. I have extreme fatigue and severe dry and burning mouth, sore tongue and difficulty breathing and flu like symptoms. I have anxiety and PTSD so my symptoms have been blamed on that. With all these symptoms,
I sometimes wonder if it would be better off to have the hypertension.
Sometimes my mouth and throat is so dry and sore, I can't eat and I have difficulty breathing which is not addressed with asthma medication. Daytime symptoms are bad at night but when night time comes, it is almost impossible to sleep.
I would be interested if anyone has these symptoms and would like to hear from you.
Jenny

I have been taking 100 mg Depakote ER for several months and had noticable hair loss combined with dry, itchy skin.

How I cured it: One tab Centrum Silver multiviatmin per day provides the zinc and selenium you need to avoid this side effect. Also take an extra 40 or 50 mcg tablet of just selenium, because the amount of selenium in Centrum Silver is too low. That did it for me.

I have heard it takes six months for lost hair to grow back.

In the past I had taken two separate three day courses for diverticulits, it worked right off, no problems. Last time I had diverticulitis, my doctor prescribed 10 day course of combo levaquin and flagl. After 7 days, I started to get hip joint pain, foot joint pain, and mild numbness in fingers on both hands and toes on one. I called doctor, and stopped the levaquin, and fortunately, the divertiltis was gone. However, the joint pain lessened after stopping but is taking weeks to fully go away.

I have found that silica (usually found in horsetail or oceanic) is helpful against the joint pain. (I had also tried selenium, msm, but were of no help for this joint pain.) Most of the joint pain is gone after several doses of silica, but the numbness, though lessened, lingers on a bit.

i don't think I'll take levaquin again for diverticulitis unless I'm dying. I've found that garlic tablets (I like solary's) very helpful, as is vitamin-c, for fighting back my intenstial bugs, and if I use garlic & vit-c for 5 or more days, it seems to cure the problem. Also I've heard that bacteria do not build up immunity to garlic, that it is a broad-spectrum antiboitic and antiviral, and so even if I stop taking it too soon and the bug comes right back, I can just get back on the garlic for a longer time, no worries about mutant bacteria.

I have been on lisinopril for 7 years and and have gradually become aware of side effects coming on slowly - and now worsening allot of late. I was moved from 10mg to 20mg and things have gotten quite bad - allot of joint pain, generalized fatigue, and just lately I have broken out in hives in a huge way - on my torso and appendages - but these just do not go away - I take huge doses of anti-histamine, and it barley touches it. I just had to stop taking the drug - so I did not take my dose last night, but today I still am covering with welts and hives. I had my wife take digital pictures of the really bad areas that look almost scarred now from the recurring welts - cortisone cream doesn't help at all - I can hardly go to work like this. I don't know when this will stop but I have stopped taking my 20mg

Started Lisinopril a week ago (20mg) and so far, so good. Had been on HCTZ for several years but it really didn't work very well. My Doc, who is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and also practices Integrative and Holistic medicine, said that my blood test indicated that Diuretic BP meds are not what I need, rather, I need something to ease the tension in my circulatory system. Hence the Lisinopril. Only side effect so far is slight tingling in right hand and foot in the evenings. Not bothersom, just noticible. BP has gone from 195/105 to 128/18 so it's really working. I feel bad for those having bad side effects. It's working for me.

I have been taking Lipitor 20 mg for 4 months. Six to eight weeks ago I developed exema, allergic conjunctivitis and burning/swelling of my lips. I saw a PA at my doctor's office today and we are stopping Lipitor for 10 days to see if it is the culprit. Has anyone else experienced these problems while taking Lipitor?

I started taking Lisinopril for my bp about 2 1/2 months ago and even though it did lower my bp, I started having strange side-effects. It started out with drowsiness throughout the day, no matter how much sleep I got. And, waking up feeling drowsy even after 8-10 hours of sleep. Then, I started getting strange aches and pains throughout my body, like I was getting over a stomach flu. My asthma also flared up and I started having to use my inhaler for the first time in almost 15 years (usually I just need it after exercise.) The side-effects continued to get worse over the next months with increased fatigue, drowsiness, coughing, anxiety, muscle aches, poor concentration, feeling like my nerves were "shot," headache, weakness, tightness in my lungs, numbness in my hands and feet, and just plain feeling bad.
I made an appointment to see my doctor because I thought there was something seriously wrong with me. It crossed my mind that I might be feeling this way because of the Lisinopril. I stumbled across this website and after reading everyone's testimonials, I decided to stop the Lisinopril. I haven't taken it in 3 1/2 days, and I am already feeling much better. I would rather try a more holistic approach to lowering my bp then taking Lisinopril.
I hope this helps someone else out there who might be going through the same thing.

How long does the fatigue and weakness last after switching off Lisinopril. My dad was on it less then a month and he started suffereing from extreme fatigue and lightheadedness. He's been off it now for a week or two and still seems to be suffering from these side effects. They've switched him to a different low blood pressure med now.

Feeling like one is not all here, and, shortness of breath are a symptoms of thyroid system problems caused by lisinopril that I have had, along with weight gain, favoring sweet sugary foods (I've traditionally a meat eater, no dessert, no sugar, few starches).

The most likely action seems to be that the lisinopril creates a chemical toxicity that overdrives the immune system, which then runs the body low on or out of zinc and selenium. (Of course then there is the more direct lung dammage that lisinopril causes too.)

I have found the following helpful: Zinc, selenium, L-Cysteine, tyrosine, iodine, boron, and other trace minerals help and nourish the thyroid system. Manganese and molybdebum help the lungs function better (they are used in asthma treatment). Iron, copper, and chromium sometimes also helps the lungs work better. Sulfur (MSM), L-cysteine, and silcia (found in horsetail form or oceanic form) nourish the lungs as they are found in high concentration in the lungs. Calcium and magnesium, vit-e, vit-c, vit-b are also helpful. Since I'm in the hbp camp, I also try to get plenty of magnesium, which relaxes muscles including arteries, and potassium, which helps transport other nutrients into the cells.

I developed shortness of breath after using lisinopril for 3 months. I quit lisinipril because of all of the other side effects it gave me (stomach pains, the hit by a truck feeling).

For me the cough didn't get serious until near the end when I quit because of the other problems. After I quit the cough kept getting worse as did the bouts of shortness of breath.

It took me a long long time to figure out what was happening, which as near as I can tell goes something like this: the cough irritates the lungs and causes direct damage. However, as the immune system kicks into overdrive trying to clear the lisinopril and associated toxins out of the lungs, liver & rest of the body, it uses up zinc and selenium reserves.

When the body runs low on selenium (from the immune system using it up) then it can no longer effectively clear the lungs, causing more lung damage. But even more is happening, since selenium is also used by other systems, and they begin to suffer too. One such system is the joint protection mechanism. Another is the thyroid system, both in the thyroid itself as well as the thyroid receptors in the various organs all over the body.

The thyroid receptor problems cause weight gain, energy problems, etc... Combine the thyriod system having problems with the lung damage and that resulted in my shortness of breath.

To combat this problem long term I found zinc & selenium helpful. In the short term I also used tyrosine & iodine & boron & cal/mag as needed to help stimulate the thyroid along with the zinc & selenium.

I also found that the traditional asthma support to be quit helpful in the short term, which are molybdenum and manganese.

I'd prefer to get my nutrition from food, but minerals are hard to absorb in the quantities needed after such a brutal, toxic chemical assault on the body, so I choose supplementation to help me.

Best of luck to all.

Re:guest no.0222.
I meant nothing in a bad way,,I had to ask my dr. to take me off of lisiniporil, taking the poison for six yearsor better,
having been off since jan.i ended up with lotrel5/10 have heard bad things about it also, but i tried three other poison's
before the lotrel. but back to you. i have looked for the brand
you are talking about other than ordering form web. which i don't like doing,but have found some other brands taht are tolerable.my bp is staying down currently and since i am off the poison i feel totally brand new, seems like the symptoms
except the sex. drive has returned,i have been takin oregano oil, aloe vera oil,a multi-vit.e,coral calcium,and selenium,looking fot teh chelated mag.and zinc,i went to have blood work done and dr. called said your cholestrol is the problem, I replied yeah i figured it was bad, he said no it's better,was 195 dropped to 165 i would like to see it a little
lower keep up the diet, well i haven't exactly been on one,
need to drop and will as soon as weather warms up to walk.
But had i not found this site with everyone who has taken this
poison and seen what each has done to overcome,or is trying to i would still be taken the junk,this site and everyone who is
trying to rid their system i "COMMEND". If i can get the sexual desire back I would be happy any Idea other than more poison??? where did you get these country life brand??
and once again I apologize if i offended in any way.

Hi-

I also took lisinopril for 3 months, and the cough endured for a long long time. Its now three years later, and I still have side-effects, such as lung pains and shortness of breath and a bit of ahem sticky throat. I often cough in the mornings. The good news is that the symptoms are less and less each year, and also, I have found several things that have helped me.

Please note that I am a patient, not a doctor, and, that I speak from my situation only. My situation was that the cough was accompanied by increasing bouts of shortness of breath and energy/stamina issues, all caused by lisinopril, and likely due to nutritional depletion (minerals especially) as a result of an overworked immune system.

First, zinc: I like Country-Life Target Mins Zinc, 50mg tablet. This is not the highest dose, but still a lot of zinc for long term use. For me, I'd split the tablet into quarters, and take these quarter pieces as needed. When I found the zinc, my lungs were in so much pain from the lisinopril (even though I had quit), and, I had no other help, so I was taking quarter tablets 6 times a day (i.e. 75mg/day). This really helped with the pain, but was too high a dose for sustainable use. For long term use, I've cut down to 2 or 3 quarters per day (i.e. 25-37mg/day), the lower the better, but as needed for benefit. At 2 quarters (25mg/day) I pretty much don't need to worry too much about taking too much zinc. I take this zinc on an empty stomach between meals to avoid absorbtion conflicts (zinc tends to inhibit copper, calcium, etc... absorbtion, so best when taken alone).

Second, selenium: I like Country-Life Vegetarian Selenium in a yeast bound forumulation, 200mcg. This is also a pretty high dose for extended use, but again short term use can go even higher, and I used it effectively at 2 tablets per day for a while. Just like the zinc, after that, I have found that a steadily decreasing dose of, say, 3/4 of a tablet per day and of late 1/2 tablet per day or 1/4 tablet per day to be helpful. I take this with food.

Both of these may seem to make the cough worse at first, but I think that is due to stimulating the immune system (the immune system runs on zinc & selenium especially for chemical attacks), and what happens is that the cough becomes more effective at clearing stuff out of the lungs.

You might also consider L-Cysteine, as it is one of the main proteins found in the lungs. I like NOW Foods L-Cysteine w/ vitamin b6 and c, 500mg tablet; I find that it is an effective formulation, and I can take it up to 3 times per day short term and once per day long term. I take this, like most amino acids on a pretty empty stomach, in my case just before bed time.

You might also consider MSM, as sulphur is also found in the lungs in high concentrations. I like NOW foods MSM 1000mg capsules. Short term, I found I could take 3 per day, and long term 1 per day. Take with food for least stomach irritation.

You might further consider Horsetail for silcia also an important mineral for the lungs. I take a 40mg Solary version, but only a few times per week.

I also like very much Country-Life Iodine/Kelp Trace Mineral supplement. I found that taking 2-4 per day for short term use and 1-2 per day long term use has been helpful. Works best with selenium, if taking larger doses of selenium, I take larger doses of this one. The trace minerals should not be ignored!

Also, I started taking vitamin-b: I like Country-Life Basic B (a b-25 formulation). I took at 3 per day (spread out) for a while, and later cut down to one per day. For quicker action try Country-Life CoEnzyme B (also b-25) but quicker acting. I wouldn't recommend this quicker acting one for long term use since it may increase joint/wrist pain.

And also I take vit-e (400iu) twice per day, and vit-c (500mg w/ bioflavinoids) twice per day, as both of these are associated with healing.

Whenever beefing up one mineral for long term use, you should also beef up the others. These other minerals have also helped me out: iron, calcium, magnesium, manganese, copper, potassium, boron, molybdenum, chromium. (Chromium was always helpful short term, but I always got headaches long term until I started taking a bit more iron.)

In addition, I have found that Beta Glucan is has short term effectiveness in stimulating the immune system. I found that my immune system would get lazy and used to the mild cough after a while, and that if I took this beta glucan, it would get very aggressive about rooting out the problems. I wouldn't take this without also taking zinc and selenium, no sense in boosting the immune system if it doesn't have the nutrition it needs. So far, I have only taken beta glucan for less than a week each time (about 3 or 4 times now). It has helped me after 3 days or so, but then seems to stop helping, and I don't want to overstimulate my immune system, so I stop taking it for a while. I like Solgar Beta Glucan 200mg. I take up to 2 tablets (each at different times) per day for several days, until it seems to be no longer effective, then give a long rest.

Best of luck to all!

tommy,
My experiences taking lisinopril convince me that my immune system was hurt by the drug. In trying to clear out the cough, my immune system used up my body's stores of zinc and selenium, which weakend my immune system, let the cough get worse, and also caused other problems since zinc and selenium are used for other functions too (like thyroid system) and those then suffer too.

For your dad, you might consider getting off the lisinopril, and, taking extra zinc, selenium, vit-c, vit-e, vit-b, and, bioflavinoids and betaglucan. I personally have found zinc & selenium very helpful with clearing up my lungs - these minerals are key to the functioning of the immune system. Also vit-c and vit-e are good for healing. Bioflavinoids are good for certain kinds of sores. And betaglucan stimulates the immune system. (If you beef up with these minerals for an extended time, you might also consider beefing up all the other ones too somewhat to avoid imbalances.) These things helped me a lot, I hope something in the list helps your dad.

Any further info re cysteine / selenium depletion ? Also sources if possible.
Also, any info re muscle tension, fragility ?
I stopped Lisinopril earlier because of muscles tearing.
On taking it again, old muscle tears re-opened, forearm and back musles very tight.
Thank you.

There is something seriously wrong with this generic drug, maybe quality control. It now has 68 pages of complaints, and continues to grow rather fast. It seems even worse than other ACE inhibitors, even the brand-name/non-generic versions of this same med, like zestril or prinivil. It is obviously toxic for some people, like me. I compare this to other meds I know about that have 1 or 2 pages of complaints.

For what its worth, a bit of extra zinc and selenium seem to help a lot with the cough, also with other problems from this med. Also vit-c and vit-e. Best of luck to all.

my 60 yr. old husband experienced hand tremor and tingling, muscle twitching and jerking of legs esp. at night and immediately upon awakening, slowed reaction times, walk without swinging of arm on right side. He was diagnosed with parkinson's disease last week. my niece's husband (57 yr. old) was diagnosed with parkinson's 3 weeks ago! when it was discovered they had the same symptoms and had one major factor in common: BOTH HAD TAKEN LIPITOR FOR 4+ YEARS, i made my husband stop the drug and began researching. since statins result in incredible decrease in the body's ability to manufacture coenzyme Q10 he began on 100 mgm/day of the drug. on his own. when he was diagnosed by the neurologist with parkinson's the physician recommended my husband take coq10 at a dosage of 1200mgm/day! ( He also is taking vit c, selenium, & folic acid)It is still way too early to determine if any benefits will result, but the night and early morning twitching and jerking of his lower extremities has stopped for the past 2 days and the hand tremors have definitely decreased.