ZMA Overdose?

[TruffleShuffle]

Ok this is going to sound like a right newbie question but:

Last night I tried taking ZMA but i didnt have any sleep benefits till about 4-5 am when i suddenly had about 10-15 short 'mini-dreams' (what felt like 10 secs or less kinds things). I was obviously sleeping before this but it took me ages to drift off to sleep and i woke a couple of times in the night.

I took the recommended dosage that night and so i'm thinking of up'ing it and seeing what happens but i've been doing some reading and apparently ZMA has ALOT of zinc in it compared to your RDA so taking too much could actually cuase my immune system more problems.

Also and i know this sounds daft but apparently the amounts of Magnesium + Zinc are taylored for best absorbtion so taking more may actually do nothing or even worse mean less happens.

Could someone please clear up all these myths or half-truths for me? i cant search th threads cause ZMA is too small a search criteria.

[cable626]

search ZMA*
the asterisk (*) is the wildcard.

[hugegod43]

You can certainly take too much zinc be careful!

[DRIFTER]

Yeah,ZMA just made me piss every hour and i couldnt sleep a wink
and i tried two different brands w/same results.

[anabolicfreak]

Zinc is a heavy metal and it can be toxic. Symptoms of zinc poisoning are similar to lead poisoning.

[Iron Warrior]

Some books I've read suggest you're looking at side effects when you go over 100 mg daily. The RDA requirement is 15. I take 30 because it's good for your prostate and immune system

[anabolicfreak]

Some books I've read suggest you're looking at side effects when you go over 100 mg daily. The RDA requirement is 15. I take 30 because it's good for your prostate and immune system

The 100mg seems to be sticking in my head as well. I think I've read a couple of places that more than 60mg per day is not recommended for long term use as zinc builds up in tissue over time similar to other heavy metals. I did some research on this a while ago so my memory isn't fresh but from what I remember one study used 200mg per day and nearly all subjects showed symptoms of toxicity pretty quickly.
I would stay under 100mg per day just to be safe. I usually keep mine intake under 60mg per day.

[-2z-]

Make sure you're not taking it with anything that has calcium in it. Calcium supposedly reduces absorption.

Also...if you're looking for sleep benefits, try melatonin and plain magnesium. It works and it's cheaper.