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← Return to AREDS 2 - Does it help?
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@eyak1950
Just to help clarify:
The medication you mentioned , tacrolimus, is an immunosuppressant used after major organ transplants (most often kidney or liver) to prevent rejection of the transplanted organ. Because tacrolimus suppresses the immune system, transplant patients routinely undergo cancer screenings regardless of what supplements they take.
This is separate from AREDS2.
There is no evidence that the medical community has found AREDS2—with or without zinc—causes cancer. The monitoring you described would be related to long-term immunosuppression, not to the AREDS2 formula or the switch to a zinc-free version. No cancer warnings on Areds2 bottles like on a package of cigarettes because there has been no evidence it is linked to cancer.
In my case with the CFH gene with double Y alleles the zinc in the original formula can cause me to advance to GA or advanced AMD quicker some studies have shown. The CFH gene regulates inflammation which contributes to my AMD. Well the medical community is just not really sure about genes and AMD quite yet and there are conflicting results in the research articles and opinions so no DNA testing is performed on AMD patients when prescribed AREDS2. The original AREDS involved no DNA testing. Later peer reviewed studies showed the zinc in AREDS is harmful if the subject had the CFH double Y alleles. However the AREDS2 committee reviewed the newer subsequent DNA study evidence and determined it was inconclusive- so no duty to warn.
I was upset that this expensive supplement had been prescribed to me without any reservations to its ingredients whatsoever. It only helps 25 percent of intermediate AMD patients by only slowing down the disease progression for a few years.
Replies to "@eyak1950 Just to help clarify: The medication you mentioned , tacrolimus, is an immunosuppressant used after..."
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@sjs1 I started on areds 2 nearly 10 years ago AMD diagnosis. I had no side effects and there seemed to be no noticeable progression of AMD. However 5 + years ago I was fortunate to get a kidney transplant after a 5 year wait on dialysis. The transplant team examined the supplements I took and there was no recommendation for change. However as I was doing research on the web concerning areds 2 I came across 3 interesting issues concerning its high level of zinc. 1. That taking areds 2 for a long period of time that even though it contains high copper additive , copper deficiency can occur. 2. That a areds 2 without zinc supplement maybe just as effective. 3. That through my experience can be highly deferments to yout health because zinc can drop suddenly and does not always return to normal levels while leaving copper levels also low. So invariably continued supplementation is needed. These low levels can play havoc with many systems in your body as well as the adrenal system and possibly result with tumors which my medical team is evaluating. Since I take tacrolimus for my transplant and zinc has tendency to alter the efficiency of that drug there is also concern as to how any change in zinc supplementation will affect that treatment. So again emphasize the need for expansion of caution labeling on the product. This product has definitely shortened my life span.