Hello everyone! I recieved Cutler's book a few days ago. I read it in one night. Wow,was that ever scary! I contacted him for some clarification and he is being very helpful. I cannot see,at this point,taking the chelating agents he says work. Except for the ALA,but I don't know if that will be enough. Anyone have any comments?The side effects seem horrible. My main problems with the mercury have been psychological and the heavy-duty chealators make that worse. Anyone chelate "naturally"?

HI Alison, don't be afraid. Alpha lipoic acid is a natural substance already contained in food. It is simply a fat soluble powerful antioxidant that just happens to have a very high affinity for mercury and arsenic also.

However, trying to chelate mercury by eating foods containing alpha lipoic acid would be not overly effective, considering it would be insignificant compared to what is necessary to really start chelating mercury.

So this is why we get it in the potent complete form in supplements and are able to use it for mercury detox. DMSA and DMPS are optional, ALA is necessary.

So long as your blood levels have reduced enough to where there is not much free floating mercury or extra cellular mercury, you can start using ALA. DMPS and DMSA are simply used initially to reduce blood/urine and I think tissue mercury. Basically mercury that is on the outside of cells (extra cellular), the body will do this on its own over time, but using those drugs reduce it much faster and much more effectively. And they can be good to use initially to make sure mercury levels are definitely reduced in those areas.

So long as you are 3 months away from any recent mercury exposure (ie. amalgam removal or other mercury exposure) you are free to use ALA on it's own to cure yourself of mercury poisoning.

It is also good for the liver, being an antioxidant and increases the glutathione levels int he body naturally. So it has many other natural health benefits. But unfortunately it can increase copper in the body and zinc I think, so hence the necessity for breaks inbetween chelating and making sure you are not using supplements with high copper or zinc.

Alpha lipoic acid is extremely effective for mercury chelation. It will chelate brain, plus body mercury (organs). Just so long as you use it in the frequent dose regime and use it at low dose until you are ready to increase. A good starting dose for many is about 12 mg or so. and then increasing later as tolerated.

Another tip. If you have had a bad redistribution of mercury, say from taking a potent garlic supplement or something else that may have spun mercury widly all over the place, causing terrible effects in some people, it is not wise to use ALA until that has settled back down again, or you can increase the problem. DMSA can be a good one to use to reduce that for a while, or simply waiting it out and once the reaction has subsided, you can use ALA again.

HOpe this helps a bit. But remember, ALA is a healthy natural substance and many use it simply as a supplement for health, heart and antioxidant benefits and for the heatlh of their liver. But if you are mercury toxic? You can't simply use it as a supplement, as you might move that mercury into worse areas if it's not taken every 3-4 hours around the clock.

Hope that helps a little.

Thank you.DMPS and DMSA seem way too strong for me. I just got the last of my amalgams out yesterday. I had a total of thirteen since I was ten years old. So I can wait a few months before I begin chelating? I am taking magnesium,large amounts of vit C,selenium,zinc and borage oil.As soon as I can afford it I will take more daily from what Mr.Cutler recomends. I feel kind of doomed. I have fought depression since I was seventeen and many hospitalizations for suicidal ideation. Bulumia,self-mutilation and manias. I have been stabilized for over two and a half years WITHOUT psychiatric drugs. The whole time looking for answers to my health problems. I believe I have found them. Also,is there a national meeting or regional for people affected by amalgam illness? If not we need to form one. For support and recognition.

Big congratulations Allison about getting all your amalgams out!! Did you have them removed with all the precautions? Just wondering what led you to the conclusion that you were mercury toxic? Best of luck with your detoxification - please let us know how it goes.

Bex, just wondering about the 6 month crash thing. I am still way off that as I start removal in 2 weeks. Do you think that people who detox more aggressively using DMSA and DMPS etc tend to have a more pronounced 6 month crash or could it be the other way around?

Hi Rachie, it's the other way around. usually those who do not chelate, and simply do amalgam removal can get a surprise later down the track when their body will attempt to rid itself of the storage, and problem is, it's very slow and very unpleasant.

Not everybody gets it of course. But it's wise to chelate so you can reduce the mercury levels right away and continue to do so, so that you will be lessening the storage before it can dump into the blood stream and make you feel repoisoned.

Hi Alison, yeah if you don't wish to use the chelating drugs, that's fine. You can wait it out and just concentrate on supplements and diet. Make sure you're following a diet that will help support your body by reducing yeast levels, and rebuilding tissues and helping you to heal and detox easier naturally.

This is no sugar, no gluten grains, no yeast etc. Limit or eliminate fruit and milk if you are having problems reducing yeast levels properly, because they still contain natural sugars (as does potatoes).

And the supplements of the antioxidants, minerals and essential fatty acids are good too. Maybe you could try some algin? It does appear to help some people.

Just some ideas, in case these things might help you to cope easier.