Suffered from bad skin for years, yadda yadda yadda. Tried zinc in the past as Opti-L-Zinc with a bit of copper in it, never noticed a difference. Stopped using it, continued trying other stuff, never managed to cure my skin. Got to a point where new marks were rare but old marks never went away and my skin was generally dry, flaky and damaged-looking. Also suffered from depression, anxiety, and digestion/bowel problems. Once had my zinc levels tested in a blood test and came up deficient. Tried using a sun screen with zinc oxide as the main ingredient this summer, and it actually seemed to have a very positive effect on my skin.
About a month ago, I decided to try oral Zinc again, this time Chelated zinc gluconate from Nature's Bounty. Hoping it would help my skin heal up a bit. Was unaware of and not expecting any other possible health benefits (rules out placebo). Well, within an hour I felt high. I was all alone and had every reason to be depressed, as I had been for weeks. But for some reason I felt really happy and goofy. Another immediate effect was my bowel problems more or less disappeared. It used to be that within 10 minutes of eating anything my stomach would start making awful noises and I'd have to use the bathroom. Stool was never solid. That's all better now. I'm not quite as happy as I was the first day, but my suicidal thoughts are pretty much gone.
BUT, I've been breaking out in cysts all throughout my scalp. And around my mouth I have some sort of staph or impetigo infection going on. It's very gross and very painful. Should see a doctor, haven't yet. It started right after I started taking the zinc, and hasn't slowed down. I'm terrified the cysts will move to my face or that the staph infection will never go away. I can't fully prove that it's related to the zinc, but I have a feeling it is. Does anyone know why it might be causing this?
I just re-read this thread, which I remember seeing a long time ago http://www.acne.org/messageboard/topic/344935-staph-in-my-nose-caused-my-pimples/
And it made me think: I had a very bad cold at the same time as when I started taking zinc. Nose was running constantly, I was always blowing it. Blowing it was messy, there was so much drainage. I'd clean it up after, but didn't wash with soap or anything. So if I have staph in my nose, then it makes sense it would have spread to my upper lip area, where this all started. And then after my cold went away I kept picking at the area, touching it, spreading it, etc. So that's why it's still going on even though I'm not sick any more. How did it get to my scalp? Well if I had the staph bacteria all over my hands I suppose I spread it there by scratching my head. I've trained myself not to scratch my face, but I remember being really stressed out with school and scratching my head a lot, picking at the flakes and stuff. Yeah, this makes sense. I've been putting antibiotic ointment on the infection anyway but I haven't tried putting it right up my nostrils like this thread suggests. Will start tonight. I really hope the staph and cysts have nothing to do with the zinc because it's worked wonders for my mood and digestion.
I'm sorry to say that your acne could be caused by zinc, as it happens sometimes, specially in men. It's related to testosterone levels, apparently. However, don't despair! You could try taking a different type of zinc, you might not have the same reaction. Alternatively, have you ever taken vitamin D supplements? They help with acne and are great for your mood too!
To me, Zinc helps healing acne wound faster but not significantly reduce to pimples. You should try to find the best Zinc form to enhance absorption. But everybody has different reaction to Zinc. Mine is fine, not sure about yours. If it causes acne, there is no reason to use it, no matter how many benefits they said it has. Try it. Get feedback. Adjust accordingly.
I also care about my BM too (It's awkward in the middle of the meeting or in class, you feel the urge to visit the bathroom). Search & try Psyllium Husk (not metamucil). Mix 7-10g of it with 300 ML water. Drink 2 hours before bed (probably you don't want to wake up in the middle of the night answer the call of nature).
It turns out my original suspicion that the zinc caused my staph/folliculitis was correct. Check out my new thread https://www.acne.org/forums/topic/383682-staphfolliculitis-cleared-by-stopping-zinc-and-taking-iron/