update.

i got a very fast response from janet...the reporter. she would also like to know if this comes to anyhting on our part. she is such an advocate for people. she is the health reporter. ( i did not give her what forum we are on) here is part of her email to me:

Curious,
Thank you ever so much for posting this information, it was over 3 years ago when I started using this product and in six months time my feet and legs began their burning and numbness. I started taking Zocor at about the same time and have been chasing the information on statin side effects. You sure have given me a big uplift and a different sense of direction. Will get a test done next week as I also developed BPH at about the same time. Many, Many THANKS
Lanny

lannny..janets email addy is on the post. she would LOVE to hear from anyone like yourself. she is NOT going to let this drop.

i am so sorry for you pain.

and can not find any papers about zinc excess and neuropathy.

Here is an example:
http://ceramic-materials.com/cermat/education/291.html
Now, this incident may be very unique. Or a scam. Zinc also produces gastrointestinal side effects. And anemia. Anemia is not mentioned on that news story.
Could not find anything here either:
http://www.intox.org/databank/docume...lt/ukpid89.htm

and this:from http://jn.nutrition.org/nutinfo/content/zinc.shtml

Arsenic DOES cause neuropathy however, and so do some other heavy metals. A contaminated batch perhaps? Poor manufacturing practices?
I tend to think that more likely....GSK has had severe manufacturing issues with Paxil CR (FDA intervention) and Citrucel bulk laxative.

Given that PN can be very idiopathic...there may be more to this story and the other ingredients in PolyGrip. I would like to see some documentation of this issue...I could not find any papers on PubMed for example.

Here is another link:
http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/cc/zinc.html#risks
It states that 40mg daily of ELEMENTAL zinc is the upper tolerable limit. The word elemental is important here. Since zinc SALTS dilute the effect. i.e. there is usually a little bit of zinc with ALOT of salt (carrier molecules). Zinc tastes really BAD... affects the whole mouth. Try a Cold Eeze lozenge http://www.coldeeze.com/clinical_info/safety.html and see how your mouth reacts! I just did one a couple of weeks ago for a severe sore throat, and I can tell you even with flavorings..the zinc was powerful and somewhat "nasty". It took a whole day to recover taste and normal mouth functions for me. But it did nip that nasty virus for me. So the trade off was worth it. If PolyGrip were so high in zinc, then
the perceptions of taste would be significant and noticeable, IMO. Notice also that PolyGrip was reformulated in 2006 to improve "taste"...this might be a change in the zinc concentration. (notice one of the media articles was from Feb 2006).

Zinc requires active transport in the small intestine for absorption. It is not well passively absorbed without "help". These are called ligands. Skin absorption may also occur, but over LARGE areas...for example the "butt creams" as we compound in nursing home providers, are used on the skin in large areas, for long periods of time. I have never seen a case of zinc toxicity from this use. I searched and searched buccal (mouth) absorption for zinc and minerals, and came up with nothing useful basically.

i found this site on my first search..just remember..it's just a site i found..i can't vouch for it.

http://altmed.creighton.edu/pelvic2/toxicity.htm

<FONT size=5>
<FONT size=4>Zinc is an essential mineral, but too much is not beneficial. Symptoms of zinc toxicity include nausea/vomiting, fever, cough, diarrhea, fatigue, neuropathy and dehydration. Further signs include growth retardation, altered iron function, anemia, copper deficiency, decreased immune function, decreased HDL (high density lipoprotein), increased LDL (low density lipoprotein), and increased HgbA1C.

I looked alot for documentation. That is what I could not find.

Zinc toxicity is preceeded by common side effects, so it may not be common to see it progress as far as the neuro symptoms.

One does have to be careful with Alternative sites/books. That book Nutritional Healing has good and not so good stuff in it for example. It can get very confusing.

I think the timing of the PolyGrip change in formula is also worrisome. They may have removed the zinc for example(improved taste)...but we will not find evidence of that, since drug companies (especially big ones like GSK) cover themselves really well.

mrsd..janet..the reporter has more information and was going to update her blog. i am sure she would share whatever info she has with you. like if the ingredient list was from the current stuff.

hehe..i added my little disclaimer. it's just what i found on a search.

This also makes me wonder about BPH in bite splints? You know, the stuff they found in baby bottles....bis-phenols? I stopped wearing my bite splint wondering if it is giving off BPH. I read something that they DO have BPH but 'that amount' won't hurt.

I also am upset with the addition of Vitamin D to foods. IF, and this is an IF, I am facing neurosarc, I don't want anymore D in my life. I have high levels of D already. Let ME decide what I put in my mouth without having to drive 30 miles to Whole Foods or own a goat!

Why put vitamins in food when we can take a pill?

All this crud is marketing....it is competition....some one gets a concept, wants recognition, writes some paper and gets some pharmaceutical company on board and off they go...Sell, baby sell.

Now I understand that the new talk is every one is deficient in D. I do understand some people don't absorb D. Is it possible we don't understand D. Vitamin D is a secosteroid that activates the immune system. It is lipid soluable, so it stays in our bodies.

I understand many don't get the sunshine they used to, but some people do, and some people have diseases that D is not good for. There was a guy on NPR, a doctor who was doling out advice to people and the moderator of the program ended up telling the audience to speak to their OWN doctors before implementing these very high doses of D. Perhaps they should check people for D related diseases prior to pushing D.

With so many people with autoimmune disease, I don't think we should add D to foods without knowing what all these people have.....how many folks have had T cell panels? This is not routine....heck, it isn't even done when you are sick with some odd thing!!

Why can't we just have natural foods anymore?

I would have assumed Polygrip is totally safe!! Well, at least as safe as my mercury/silver fillings! Bahhh....I am so disgusted with the lack of regulation. I am going to go sulk.

Never mind that Quest diagnostics just admitted that most of their Vit D tests were done wrong!

You won't want to read about the mercury in high fructose corn syrup then.

BenGay is not safe either. A young female athlete just died last year using too much of that too.

Unfortunately given that people are all genetically different, there will be exceptions to many things the majority can benefit from.

The autism community knows this very well.

Frustration and anger are very understandable with disease.
I sure was angry after suffering from hypothyroidism thru my pregnancy and for 15 yrs after!

I kind of remember that one. Didn't she like put it all over her? That certainly wouldn't be the thing to do.