AREDS 2 and side effects

Posted by sally1b2b @sally1b2b, Jul 15, 2018

My eye doctor put me on Areds2 .it is causing an upset stomach, has anyone else had this ?

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@caldonia1

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I can't quite figure out your "code"! 😂😉
P

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@mosaics

I went to my retina/MD doctor this week. He concurred with my optometrist who told me last week that my MD was slightly better than it was this time last year. I didn't know that was even a possibility. I thought the best we could hope for was for it to remain stable, but that it usually just progressively gets worse. I got this report despite being off the Preservision AREDS for six months.

Both doctors told me that I could switch to another brand of AREDS. But I told them I don't think I'm willing to risk getting sick again. I don't think my retina doctor really took me seriously when I said it made me sick. I didn't describe to him all the symptoms and he didn't ask. But he said if I'm not going to take the AREDS, then I should at least take lutein. He suggested two tablets a day, which would equal 10 mg.

When I came home and researched it, I found that 6 mg. is the RDA, although 10 wouldn't hurt. Since I hate swallowing pills and I don't have any confidence in supplements anyway, I'm going to try to alter my diet and get the lutein the way God intended...through food. Foods high in lutein are dark green leafy veggies (kale, spinach, broccoli), yellow colored foods (corn, egg yolks), and pistachios (that surprised me, but they are green, so I guess it makes sense).

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I started using AREDS2 seven months ago with no problems. I ordered it from iHerbs as AREDS never entered the European market, and now I couldn’t order it from anywhere even from the manufacturer, B&L, as they don’t take orders outside of the USA.
Elderly are not able to absorb all the nutrients from the food and even if they are, tons of food should be ingested to achieve the necessary amount of vitamins. In Africa and Asia healing plants have been used for thousands of years, also the native Americans.

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@oneofyou

I started using AREDS2 seven months ago with no problems. I ordered it from iHerbs as AREDS never entered the European market, and now I couldn’t order it from anywhere even from the manufacturer, B&L, as they don’t take orders outside of the USA.
Elderly are not able to absorb all the nutrients from the food and even if they are, tons of food should be ingested to achieve the necessary amount of vitamins. In Africa and Asia healing plants have been used for thousands of years, also the native Americans.

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Wondering if anyone has tried using marigold tea for eye problems? The Areds main ingredients Lutein zan whatever come from marigolds. I am now searching for stress with only those ingredients because there is too much zinc in a lot of the dress supplements

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@mydogsbestfriend

Wondering if anyone has tried using marigold tea for eye problems? The Areds main ingredients Lutein zan whatever come from marigolds. I am now searching for stress with only those ingredients because there is too much zinc in a lot of the dress supplements

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I haven’t tried marigold tea, but there are many foods that contain lutein. One serving per day of some of them give you the full daily dosage. Foods that are yellow, orange, and dark green are high in lutein. Kake, spinach, pumpkin, yellow corn, egg yolks, etc. even yellow popcorn and pistachios have some lutein. I believe in getting vitamins from food rather than pills. https://www.verywellfit.com/learn-about-lutein-2505909#toc-high-lutein-foods

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@mosaics

I haven’t tried marigold tea, but there are many foods that contain lutein. One serving per day of some of them give you the full daily dosage. Foods that are yellow, orange, and dark green are high in lutein. Kake, spinach, pumpkin, yellow corn, egg yolks, etc. even yellow popcorn and pistachios have some lutein. I believe in getting vitamins from food rather than pills. https://www.verywellfit.com/learn-about-lutein-2505909#toc-high-lutein-foods

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I already eat most of those foods you mentioned. Breakfast today was eggs ( with yolks) with kale and spinach. Supper will include beet greens. I also feel vitamins from foods are the best source. But wondered about marigold tea.

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@pkh3381

I can't quite figure out your "code"! 😂😉
P

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no this was not helpful

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@mosaics

I haven’t tried marigold tea, but there are many foods that contain lutein. One serving per day of some of them give you the full daily dosage. Foods that are yellow, orange, and dark green are high in lutein. Kake, spinach, pumpkin, yellow corn, egg yolks, etc. even yellow popcorn and pistachios have some lutein. I believe in getting vitamins from food rather than pills. https://www.verywellfit.com/learn-about-lutein-2505909#toc-high-lutein-foods

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I stopped all the Areds & Areds 2 that was giving me problems, gastrointestinal mostly but nausea and lack of appetite. I also stopped taking any other supplements (I only was taking a multivitamin maybe a couple of times a week) and continue with my 2 Rx meds which do not bother me. I do believe I was overdosing on the zinc, esp. in the B & L Areds and Areds 2. I looked at ALL the Ared type stuff in the store yesterday and could not find one with only Lutein and Xeaxanthin, they all had zinc and some had more than the recommended daily dosage. So I went online and ordered Carlyle Visi-gold with 40 mg of Lutein and 2 mg of Xeaxanthin. I will start taking them this weekend with NO other vitamins or supplements. The Carlyle brand I had read up on, it was only available (easily) on Amazon . I'm not thrilled with ordering anything which has to be swallowed, from Amazon, so I'll see how it goes. No zinc!

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@mosaics

I’ve been taking Preservision for a few years. Found this site in my search for why I’m having intestinal issues. For the past about 18 months, I’ve been having random days, about every 4-8 weeks, of terrible stomach pain, diarrhea and nausea. In the past couple of months, the incidences have increased to at least once a week. The only common denominator I have been able to identify is the Preservision. I take one in the morning with breakfast. About an hour after that is when the pain starts. It usually lasts a couple of hours, but can last all day. I’m looking for answers and wondering if others have experienced something similar. It seems that most commenters have had immediate adverse symptoms rather than delayed after years of taking Pres. Would like to hear from others.

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I took Preservision and a similar supplement for about three years - initially with no problems but my intestines seem to have had enough. After month of a riotous abdomen, I have started taking a supplement with lutein and zeaxanthin but without the zinc and copper. My stomach is less reactive but I am also eating differently. My eyes have been fairly stable so I don’t want to give it up completely. Best of luck!

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@tide

My ophthalmologist prescribed Preservision AREDS2. The first time I took it I had neurologic side effects (have tremor, tiredness and weakness) and stopped taking it after a couple of days. The second time I tried to take it I took it for several days and all my neurologic problems increased and I felt terrible. I stopped taking it and will not take it again.

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I have been taking AREDS since Oct 2022. In Dec 2022 I developed tremors. It took a while to get back to my Dr. who ordered blood work to determine if I had any deficiencies that might cause tremors. I had a high level of folate- 17 was the normal high and my level was 23. After I saw your post I stopped AREDS. The tremors improved but aren’t gone. Also, muscle weakness. I see a neurologist in March.

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Walgreens carries ICaps by Systane. Each SoftGel contains only 12.5 milligrams of zinc. This amount is half that in Preservision. The AREDS2 Study found that the lower amount of zinc was equally effective. I have taken one SoftGel per day for 7 years without issue. The recommendation is to take two SoftGels per day, but I was concerned about the excess zinc. My vision is excellent.

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