Lisinopril robs the body of Zinc. I have been viciously researchi...

Disclaimer: I am a patient and lisinopril sufferer, not a doctor(pusher).

I have suffered much from lisinopril. I used it for 3 months; that was over 4 years ago. I still have shortness of breath and tight chest on occasion. I was really in a bad way for a while and could barely function for several years, but am gradually getting better. I started experimenting with nutritional supplements; I had basically nothing to lose. My experiments led me to hone in on the supplement category of minerals, which were the most helpful for me. I suspect that my body can absorb vitamins from food more easily than minerals. Eventually I found several minerals that help combat the lisinopril side effects. It turns out these 4 are all important to immune system function and some especially for chemical detoxification and poisoning (e.g. lisinopril).

These 4 minerals are zinc, manganese, selenium, and copper. To get an idea of where I was at and where I'm at now, I'll show the quantities I take (and I'll also share the brands I like). I did a lot of research on the quantities as I didn't want to overdo any dosage, but desperately needed help that the medical community was unable to provide. I have found personally (as well as have read) minerals are difficult to absorb, so the amount needed for therapeutic benefit is usually a lot higher than the RDA. When I first tried supplementation, I experimented with dosages. At first, they didn’t help because I wasn’t taking enough. I finally garnered the courage to take higher dosages and eventually then found ones with great benefit for me.

My routine these days is to take most of the extra minerals at lunch, and with dinner I take an ordinary multi-mineral/vitamin. Zinc I take on empty stomach. (Copper and zinc conflict in the gut for absorption, so I try not to take them at the same time.) If I cut back (which I do once a month or so), I find that the tight chest and shortness of breath returns, though over the years, I’ve been able to cut down significantly. My dosages are not going down as fast anymore as when I first started. These days I break tablets into quarters and take only as much as I need to keep my lisinopril-caused conditions under control. These days the dosages are: zinc: 12-25 mg/day; manganese: 6-12mg/day; selenium 50-150mcg/day; copper 1/2-1mg/day. Note that these are all in addition to food & daily multi.

When I first found the minerals to be helpful, I was very short of breath in the way that is typical of lisinopril usage, along with the super sticky throat, painful lungs, etc.... I could still jog or run upstairs, without making the shortness of breath worse, but would often get short of breath just sitting around. I noticed that when I ate more I breathed easier, which eventually led me to supplementation. I discovered these minerals with many months in between. If I had found them right away after lisinopril side effects, I might have been able to get by with smaller dosages. As the above poster mentioned, lisinopril depletes these minerals; however, I believe that the action is that they are not just directly flushed by the body due to the lisinopril, but instead used up by the immune system in trying to purge the toxins. All nutrients have multiple uses in our bodies, so when one is used up, all systems that depend on it suffer. So, not only is the immune system unable to do its job due to lack of key nutrients, but also other systems, like the thyroid system, also suffer.

When I first found the various minerals (not all at the same time), I found the following dosages very helpful for me: zinc: 60-75mg/day, manganese: 25-37mg/day; selenium: 200-400mcg/day; copper 2mg/day. I’d generally cut a tablet into quarters and take several of those quarters per day. With the zinc, it was the most relief I found from the pain in the lungs. I would take 12 mg zinc whenever my lungs hurt more than a little.

I have tried many brands and come to like the following: Country-Life Zinc Target Mins 50mg, easy on the stomach, can be taken on empty stomach, I take 1/4 tablet at a time. Country-Life Yeast-based Selenium 200mcg, also easy on the stomach, I take 1/4 or 1/2 tablet at time. Country-Life Manganese 50mg, also easy on the stomach, I take 1/8 to 1/4 tablet at a time. Solgar Copper 2.5mg, somewhat hard on the stomach so take with food, I take 1/4 tablet at a time. In general I also like the Now Foods brand of products. I found L-Cysteine helpful, I try to take some EFA, Vit-E & C are helpful, some carrot juice, vit-b also good. Some calcium, magnesium also helpful. I also take a Country-Life Kelp trace mineral tablet, as at one point I found it very helpful.

Side effects can also be had from minerals. The good news is that I have found that usually cutting down causes the symptoms to go away after a day or three. Too much zinc without manganese will also worsen my shortness of breath. Too much manganese can make my heart a bit jumpy. Too much calcium can worsen my shortness of breath. Too much selenium can makes me tired and increase yawning. Too much copper will irritate my stomach.

As always, best of luck to all!

You neglected to mention that ringing in ears can also be caused by zinc deficiency

Lizzyquinn,you are right and the zinc deficiency is caused by Lisinopril.

I am still having this short of breath.It is a weird kind of short of breath. Not the kind you get like if you have been exercising. It is almost like your lungs are stuck together.