Wounds Do Not Heal

[collegeusername]

Hey, I'm 9-10 months with CFS now and of the MILLION strange symptoms I have, this is one that really frustrates me and makes me think i have no hope: my wounds heal extremely slowly, become much more painful after-the-fact, and become yellowish and inflamed. and im no wimp!- I used to be a freestyle skier who would walk off broken fingers and gauges in my legs from falling. This applies to any size and location wound, from paper cuts to knife cuts- anything that draws blood. When I first got this, it was a lot worse, so that a paper cut was literally a 3 or 4-week commitment. Now it's not as bad, but still very slow and very unhealthy.

Does anyone else experience this and what is your story? Thanks

 

[Seewell]

Im to knacked to write anymore CUN,im no expert, but i think B vitamins are good for wound healing.If that helps

 

[Rand56]

Possible zinc deficiency?

 

[Hip]

Yes, I had the same problem for several years when I caught he virus that triggered my ME/CFS.

One thing that works very well to re-start / speed-up slow wound healing is topical zinc powder on the wound. Zinc powder can be obtained by crushing up zinc supplement tablet. You dab this zinc powder on the wound. You only need a small amount.

Topical arginine is worth trying too.

 

[lef07003]

have you had your coritsol levels checked?
I had surgery on my foot prior to becoming really ill and while the scar healed, it healed pretty poorly. The surgeon saw it this past summer (almost a year later) and commented that it looked like crap. I have done a million other nutritional things so I can't say for certain but it looks much better now and I have finally brought my cortisol levels down. I had elevated cortisol for almost a year (probably due to the stress the body is under) and a classic sign of prolonged elevated cortisol is poor wound healing ...just a thought.

 

[Sherezade]

When i first got sick in february 2012 I had the same problem. Little wounds would not heal at all. Then i started taking magnesium and zinc and problem solved!

I take 650 mg of magnesium and 50 mg of zinc daily.

 

[adreno]

Sounds like zinc deficiency, as Rand suggested.

 

[collegeusername]

I take heavy supplements, which include 50 mg of all B vitamins+ 45 mcg biotin, 500 mg Ca, 250 mg Mg, .5 mg Cu, 2.5 mg Mn, daily intakes of vitamins A C D and E, and a total of more than 15 mg Zn (which is the maximum daily absorption for an adult). I have not yet tried Zn powder, however

 

[adreno]

15mg zinc is not the maximum absorbable dose. I take 60mg daily. 15mg would have me into deficiency quite quickly.

 

[collegeusername]

I asked my doctor, and he said 12 mg is all that my body can absorb (23 yr old male, small-medium stature); we went through all the vitamins

 

[Hip]

I have not yet tried Zn powder, however

Topical zinc wound dressing has quite a bit of research behind:

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17244314
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2275309
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1617499/pdf/annsurg01474-0112.pdf

 

[adreno]

I asked my doctor, and he said 12 mg is all that my body can absorb (23 yr old male, small-medium stature); we went through all the vitamins

Well, that is simply wrong. Or how do you think zinc toxicity occurs?

Zinc toxicity can occur in both acute and chronic forms. Acute adverse effects of high zinc intake include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and headaches [2]. One case report cited severe nausea and vomiting within 30 minutes of ingesting 4 g of zinc gluconate (570 mg elemental zinc) [80]. Intakes of 150–450 mg of zinc per day have been associated with such chronic effects as low copper status, altered iron function, reduced immune function, and reduced levels of high-density lipoproteins [81]. Reductions in a copper-containing enzyme, a marker of copper status, have been reported with even moderately high zinc intakes of approximately 60 mg/day for up to 10 weeks [2]. The doses of zinc used in the AREDS study (80 mg per day of zinc in the form of zinc oxide for 6.3 years, on average) have been associated with a significant increase in hospitalizations for genitourinary causes, raising the possibility that chronically high intakes of zinc adversely affect some aspects of urinary physiology [82].

http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Zinc-HealthProfessional/

Doctors say a lot of things. Some of them are accurate.

 

[Rand56]

I asked my doctor, and he said 12 mg is all that my body can absorb (23 yr old male, small-medium stature); we went through all the vitamins

This is just nuts. Time for another doctor maybe?

 

[Sherezade]

This is what i take daily:

Vitamin A: 15.000 UI
Vitamin C: 1.500 mg
Vitamin D: 2.000 UI
Vitamin E: 100 UI
Thiamine: 25 mg
Riboflavin: 12 mg
Niacin: 60 mg
Vitamin B6: 12 mg
Folic Acid: 400 mcg
Vitamin B12: 50 mcg
Biotin: 5.000 mcg
Panthotenic Acid: 75 mg
Calcium: 150 mg
Magnesium: 650 mg
Zinc: 50 mg
Selenium: 100 mcg
Copper: 1 mg
Manganase: 10 mg
Chromium: 100 mcg
Molybdenum: 25 mcg
Potassium: 40 mg

I found in Amazon one complex that has all those vitamins and minerals, so i only have to swallow four pills. It's called CFS Support Formula by Douglas Labs. It also contains a mix of herbs like echinacea, shiitake, chamomile, licorice, golden seal and many others. I can't say that it has helped me with the fatigue, but certainly it has helped me with my hair, nails, skin, and with the candida. And with the wounds healing. Anyway, i'm not selling anything, but i can give you the link if you are interested.

 

[Shell]

I have the same problems. Drives me crackers. I use sudacrem a lot as it's high in zinc. I did try taking zinc tabs as well but to be honest the only thing I can do is just wait it out.

 

[WillowJ]

Another thing slow wound healing could be from is collagen problems, such as connective tissue disease. Many connective tissue diseases (such as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome) are hereditary but there are acquired kinds such as SLE, scleroderma, and undifferentiated connective tissue disease. A genetic CTD (which comes in various severities) makes getting an acquired form more likely.

It is my belief that ME could be a form of CTD.

 

[Tammy]

Silica

 

[rlc]

Hi collegeusername, there are large number of possibilities that can cause poor wound healing, rigthdiagnosis lists these possibilities, see http://www.rightdiagnosis.com/symptoms/poor_wound_healing/causes.htm

And diagnosis pro lists these possibilities, see http://en.diagnosispro.com/differential_diagnosis-for/delayed-poor-wound-healing/33878-154.html

My recommendation would be to print out these lists and take them to your doctor, and see if there is anything that they have not tested you for, that are on these lists, and hopefully they will find the cause of your suffering.

Hope this helps

All the best