How do you know you're boring deficient?
Good point!
I don't know for sure as I have no testing but in discussion with others about their symptoms and in researching hypoparathyroid symptoms I have them all!
Boron is essential for proper parathyroid function.
Also through research on acu-cell in particular, I think I have found that I have been taking too many boron antagonists as part of my oxalate protocol. These include higher dose Vitamin K and E, calcium citrate as well as manganese.
I also have been supplementing iodine for a while and that's another antagonist. I tried taking it yesterday and some of the symptoms returned last night but not as severe.
I have also been on high dose b6 (P5P) , folate (L-MTHF), and b12 (methyl and adenosyl) for a long time and I think that may have contributed. According to Fredd he experienced extreme boron deficiency as well but with slightly different symptoms. I have had some tooth pain as well.
I was also concerned that the lithium was to blame as it can affect the parathyroid but the preponderance of literature states lithium causes
hyperparathyroidism which is the exact opposite of my symptoms and I only ever took 5mg per day and only for a few months. This shouldn't have caused any permanent damage at such low doses.
This website
https://www.cedars-sinai.org/health-library/diseases-and-conditions/p/parathyroid-disease.html talks about lithium and Parathyroid Hyperplasia:
"Parathyroid hyperplasia is a different condition than hyperparathyroidism. With hyperplasia all four parathyroid glands grow larger, but an adenoma does not grow inside the glands. There is no known cause. Long term use of Lithium (a psychiatric drug) may increase the risk of developing hyperplasia."
I also have many of the symptoms listed there for parathyroid issues but again this is in the context of hyperparathyoidism which results in high calcium blood levels. I seem to have the opposite as taking calcium actually makes me feel better. Could this be paradoxical?
So for these reasons I'm pretty sure my parathyroid gland is acting up and hopefully it's temporary but I will need to get this checked soon.
So I'm concerned I've broken something with this protocol or lithium so I've cut out the lithium, b6 and b12. I'm still taking folate but in much lower doses as well as B2(R5P) B5 (pantethine) niacin and inositol. Yesterday I tried the B6 and had symptoms again. So the iodine and B6 seemed to make things worse yesterday.
I am also feeling better taking high dose Boron but you're right I'm not 100% sure at this point.
How would you test for a Boron deficiency when it isn't even considered an essential nutrient?
I just had my kidneys and thyroid checked recently and everything came back clean. Ultrasound, bloodwork, urine, TSH levels all normal.
They didn't check my parathyroid or calcium levels which I will see about next if I can't solve this problem with boron supplementation.
Any other ideas on what might be causing my symptoms and what else can cause hypoparathyroidism?