Visit the Microscopic Colitis Foundation Website
AREDS2 (copper?) caused CC flares, maybe secondary to CKD
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
AREDS2 (copper?) caused CC flares, maybe secondary to CKD
Can med-induced decreases in kidney function impact IBDs? I was diagnosed with CC about 8 years ago (celiac 16 years), it was controlled by diet, exercise, and managing stress until I got covid on March 2023, followed by norovirus that December. The norosvirus resulted in stage 3a Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Doctors were throwing NSAIDs and Lisinopril at me for long covid (LC) and kidney issues, which resulted in flares, so I was on Budesonide from 11/24 to 4/5/25. It normalized my GI tract. However, Feb. of 2025 I was diagnosed with dry AMD (eyes) and the doctor put me on over-the-counter AREDS2, which are extremely high in zinc, copper, and vitamin E. I had to go back on Budesonide in June due to flares, my kidney function decreased from 53 eGFR to 33 over the next few months, and I had minor to extreme fatigue. It didn't occur to me that AREDS2 might be a factor until I read that it shouldn't be used by people with CKD. I replaced it with a supplement without copper, zinc, or E, and my GI tract started to normalize after a few days; now instead of cow plops 1-3x a day it is formed. Next month I will find out if my kidneys improve from the current 33 eGFR to where it was before AREDS2. My fatigue has also improved, but some of that is LC.
Re: AREDS2 (copper?) caused CC flares, maybe secondary to CKD
Hi Debora,
Welcome to the group. I hope your kidney function is improving. Please be aware that the reason many of us develop compromised kidney function (or CKD) is because of magnesium deficiency. MC depletes magnesium, budesonide depletes magnesium, even coffee depletes magnesium, and various other items, particularly some medications. I learned the hard way that magnesium deficiency can very easily develop, even if we're taking a magnesium supplement, if were not taking the right kind, or enough. A magnesium deficiency is never (and I do mean never) on doctors' radar. Not even ER doctors. Eventually, my deficiency became so bad that I would wake up in the wee hours of the morning sweating like a pig (in a cold room), with a heart rate around 115, a systolic blood pressure in the 80s, and gasping for air with rapid, shallow breathing. This went on for weeks. I would go to doctors trying to discover the problem, and they would just stare at me like I was some kind of freak. One day I felt so bad that I couldn't even force myself to eat breakfast, so I went to the ER. They performed all kinds of tests (including magnesium), looked at the results, told me the results were all fine, and sent me home.
Fortunately, I had the good sense to check my results online, and when I looked at the magnesium test results, the lab had them flagged as low. I doubled my magnesium supplement dose, and the next morning I was fine. My eGFR was in the 30s while I had the magnesium deficiency. It promptly recovered to the normal range after I corrected my deficiency. Your symptoms make me suspect that you have magnesium deficiency, because you certainly have the symptoms, so I doubt that the main problem was the AREDS2. It's true that the product might have caused you to react because of some of the ingredients, but your kidney function problem surely wasn't Initially caused by that. You are correct that the AREDS2 may have caused problems because you had compromised kidney function, but the reason you had compromised kidney function is almost surely because you have a magnesium deficiency.
There's no telling how many thousands of patients develop CKD and require dialysis treatments, only to depart this earth prematurely (Dialysis treatments leave a lot to be desired, and most patients usually don't last long), simply because they have a magnesium deficiency that could be easily corrected by a few dollars worth of magnesium supplements. Most doctors tend to ignore the problem because there's no profit in treating magnesium deficiency. I don't blame the doctors, because the're required to do what the research shows. The problem is, because there's no profit in treating magnesium deficiency, there's no research regarding treating magnesium deficiency. Why? Because the big pharmaceutical companies finance most of the research trials these days, so that they can promote high dollar drugs that only rich people can afford. Why would they want to waste several hundred thousand dollars on a trial just to show that magnesium deficiency can be easily resolved by magnesium supplements that will quickly eliminate all sorts of health problems. If that knowledge becomes widespread, and patient start using more magnesium, healthcare needs will quickly decline, and prescriptions for high dollar drugs will decline even faster.
Another problem with magnesium deficiency is that it will skew the results of certain important medical tests, and this compounds the problem if doctors actually try to discover the cause of the problem. Been there, done that, and it wasn't much fun.
I hope this helps, and again, welcome to the group.
Tex
Welcome to the group. I hope your kidney function is improving. Please be aware that the reason many of us develop compromised kidney function (or CKD) is because of magnesium deficiency. MC depletes magnesium, budesonide depletes magnesium, even coffee depletes magnesium, and various other items, particularly some medications. I learned the hard way that magnesium deficiency can very easily develop, even if we're taking a magnesium supplement, if were not taking the right kind, or enough. A magnesium deficiency is never (and I do mean never) on doctors' radar. Not even ER doctors. Eventually, my deficiency became so bad that I would wake up in the wee hours of the morning sweating like a pig (in a cold room), with a heart rate around 115, a systolic blood pressure in the 80s, and gasping for air with rapid, shallow breathing. This went on for weeks. I would go to doctors trying to discover the problem, and they would just stare at me like I was some kind of freak. One day I felt so bad that I couldn't even force myself to eat breakfast, so I went to the ER. They performed all kinds of tests (including magnesium), looked at the results, told me the results were all fine, and sent me home.
Fortunately, I had the good sense to check my results online, and when I looked at the magnesium test results, the lab had them flagged as low. I doubled my magnesium supplement dose, and the next morning I was fine. My eGFR was in the 30s while I had the magnesium deficiency. It promptly recovered to the normal range after I corrected my deficiency. Your symptoms make me suspect that you have magnesium deficiency, because you certainly have the symptoms, so I doubt that the main problem was the AREDS2. It's true that the product might have caused you to react because of some of the ingredients, but your kidney function problem surely wasn't Initially caused by that. You are correct that the AREDS2 may have caused problems because you had compromised kidney function, but the reason you had compromised kidney function is almost surely because you have a magnesium deficiency.
There's no telling how many thousands of patients develop CKD and require dialysis treatments, only to depart this earth prematurely (Dialysis treatments leave a lot to be desired, and most patients usually don't last long), simply because they have a magnesium deficiency that could be easily corrected by a few dollars worth of magnesium supplements. Most doctors tend to ignore the problem because there's no profit in treating magnesium deficiency. I don't blame the doctors, because the're required to do what the research shows. The problem is, because there's no profit in treating magnesium deficiency, there's no research regarding treating magnesium deficiency. Why? Because the big pharmaceutical companies finance most of the research trials these days, so that they can promote high dollar drugs that only rich people can afford. Why would they want to waste several hundred thousand dollars on a trial just to show that magnesium deficiency can be easily resolved by magnesium supplements that will quickly eliminate all sorts of health problems. If that knowledge becomes widespread, and patient start using more magnesium, healthcare needs will quickly decline, and prescriptions for high dollar drugs will decline even faster.
Another problem with magnesium deficiency is that it will skew the results of certain important medical tests, and this compounds the problem if doctors actually try to discover the cause of the problem. Been there, done that, and it wasn't much fun.
I hope this helps, and again, welcome to the group.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Re: AREDS2 (copper?) caused CC flares, maybe secondary to CKD
Thanks, I do take calcium/magnesium citrate and eat a lot of Ca/Mg rich foods. My metals bloodwork are all within normal range, but no Mg tests. I will add more Mg and see if that helps, and request a RBC magnesium test. One of my tests that was off was thyroid; TSH was 2.4 and I do better with a TSH of around 1. Now that the higher Synthroid dose has kicked in and I've stopped to AREDS2 my energy levels have increased, and my GI tract has calmed down to 1 BM a day. I'm a retired research geochemist, so delving into CC is interesting, but I wish medicine was more integrated. So many things, including very high levels of copper in supplements is one of many factors. I juggle the FODMAP and kidney disease diets, avoid stress, NSAIDS, alcohol, caffiene, processed foods, simple carbs, but there is always piece to our puzzles.
Re: AREDS2 (copper?) caused CC flares, maybe secondary to CKD
If you research the medical literature, you'll find that undertreated hyperthyroidism often leads to compromised kidney function, and that, in turn, can lead to cardiovascular issues. When my doctor cut my thyroid treatment in half because my TSH results were below range (I suspect those results were skewed because of a magnesium deficiency at the time), my eGFR dropped into the 30s, and this eventually led to an arrhythmia, followed by a stroke. I survived, and relearned how to do everything, but when I had another arrhythmia about a year and a half later, I did the research, showed it to my doctor, he restored my thyroid treatment, and I've been fine ever since. That happened 8 or 9 years ago.
Tex
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Re: AREDS2 (copper?) caused CC flares, maybe secondary to CKD
Actually, I have the opposite, hypothyroidism. My kidney disease was scarring from getting hit by a perfect storm two years ago. I was dealing with blood pressure spikes from long covid (my BP is normally 120/70) when I was hit by norovirus with high fever and dehydration from diarrhea and vomiting. My collagenous colitis had been controlled by diet for ~7 years before that hit me. My low thyroid has been controlled with levothyroxine for about 25 years.
Re: AREDS2 (copper?) caused CC flares, maybe secondary to CKD
My apologies. After I had a stroke (about 8 years ago) I couldn't use the keyboard or a mouse on the computer. I was so shaky, I was wild as the wind with the mouse cursor, and I couldn't touchtype anymore. I made so many mistakes that it took forever to type out a simple message. So I bought DragonDictate Pro so that I could dictate my messages. And it's so convenient (and faster than I can type) that I continue to use it. But the darn thing is certainly not perfect, so I have to edit my messages, and sometimes I overlook mistakes. My last message was one of those. I said, "hypothyroidism". But DragonDictate transcribed that into "hyperthyroidism", and I didn't notice the mistake.
So, as I tried to say the last time, undertreated hypothyroidism can lead to compromised kidney function. It certainly did for me.
I hope this makes more sense.
Tex
So, as I tried to say the last time, undertreated hypothyroidism can lead to compromised kidney function. It certainly did for me.
I hope this makes more sense.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.