I have been bedridden for 2 weeks because of mercury detox that has hit me real hard. So hard I couldn't get myself up to the bathroom. The symptoms are severe, I couldn't eat anything and had lost what little weight I have. Today is the first day that I am able to type, so I beg for some advice.
I have a tooth with amalgam left in that has a cavitity that I believe has made me severly ill. There is no holistic dentist that will help, and the one that I saw was of no help.
At this point I believe that my only choice is to get the tooth out at any dentist. Will this make me worse? Or will this finally make me better??? Any suggestions, please help...
I saw many docs in the past 2 weeks and everything they did made me worse. I need a solution ASAP but Im afraid that pulling a tooth may be difficult for my weakend body.
thank you <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" />

Hi Nina, I'm sorry to hear this. It has happened to me too. I was bedridden for weeks for a massive load of mercury release and could hardly eat.

I do not think it would be wise for you in your state right now to rush in and go and have local anaesthetic put into you. You may need to wait until things settle again.

Were you given any kind of mercury detoxes? This can REALLY do it and you would be wise not taking anything that is going to stir up the mercury inside you! Some people can handle it just fine, others cannot and it can cause you to become severely ill and crash.

If I was you, I would probably take vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, milk thistle and selenium (in the form of selenomethione and not too high doses to start) and algin to help mop up any mercury that's floating around in areas the algin can grab onto.

Nature's Sunshine is the brand of Algin I would get. These I would say are kind of emergency supplements. But again, start at a level and work up to see if you tolerate them.

Diet is of upmost importance. Yeast can overgrow massively in a toxic situation and cause many of the symptoms as well as mercury. So that toxins may continue to circulate and make you ill. You need to be on a strict NO sugar, no yeast and no gluten/wheat diet. You may even need to limit or eliminate all fruit and grains too temporarily until things are under more control.

This is what I would do NOW. So your body can better process the toxic overload. I had to do this, I was so sick that my gut and liver could not handle the extra load and toxins went around and around. The diet helped reduce yeast and improved gut and liver, so they could process toxins easier.

Antioxidants are VERY important because mercury uses them up and you require them for protection and help during toxicity. And the algin may help mop some of this up.

Then, if/when you start to gain some stability, I would look at getting the tooth removed. I am shocked that no "holistic" dentist can help you????? Why are they not offering to remove the amalgam? Why the tooth?

At any rate, if you have no choice, then I would remove the tooth itself, but request a NON vaso constrictor anaesthetic. Vaso constrictors restrict blood flow to the area, but also in doing this they frustrate circulation to the area and healing and can be a cause in the forming of cavitations (jaw bone infection). Also ask that the peridontal ligament be removed with the tooth (another cause of possible cavitations). These two things are necessary to do to prevent these possibilities.

HOpefully they will do this for you!

Sorry I could not be more help to you, but mobilising mercury with detox agents is not the answer if it's making you much worse!!! I had to use andy cutler's protocol (DMSA every 4 hours) to counteract my reaction to a previous detox attempt. It helped move the mercury out of me and settle things down, but I had no amalgams, so I can't say it's the best move to do this if you still have amalgam in your mouth. Andy does not advise it. But it is the best protocol I have tried!! And can settle reactions too. It can cause detox symptoms as well, but usually at a tolerated level.

Bex is right, you should not rush out and get any dental work done while you are feeling as bad as you do. (that’s assuming that your teeth themselves don’t hurt, that you don’t have tooth ache.)

In order to help you, we need to know what “mercury detox” you have done recently and what supplements you have been taking.

What specifically are your symptoms?

What are you currently taking and what have you stopped taking?

I am only taking 4-6 Algin per day, Magnesium, Vit C. Too weak to put much and overburden my body.

They gave me Vit B through IV to rehydrate me but I feel this only made it worse. I have taken e/selenium a few times, but don't want to overdo.

I am drinking lots of liquids, I have not done any chelation, was never able to. I feel the tooth, but it doesn't hurt terribly. I just want the amalgam out of me.

Any other supplements that can help?? I am on a good diet, so this should not be causing any problems. No sugar etc for me. I am able to excrete it through the stool, which is a good thing.

My symptoms include tremors, panic attacks, sweating, strong heart beats, weakness, muscle and joint pains, intestinal problems (was not able to digest). Just starting to eat now again.

Ok, Nina..i will give you some recommendations that I would do. These recommendations I did when I was in the same situation as you last year.

A) Take Vit C upto bowel tolerance. With me its about 15-16 grams. Yes grams per day. Take divided doses at breakfast, lunch, dinner & bedtime. Work up slowly. If for example you take 1 gram per day now, move up to 5 or 6 grams on first day and gradually work up. 2+1+1+1 something like that. You are looking for a softening of the BM’s. When they get loose, then reduce downwards the dosage by a gram or two until normal bowel movements.

B) Keep on drinking lots of fluids, these really help flush out toxins and keep you hydrated.

C) From my experience amalgam removal screwed me up real bad, so rushing to the dentist is not what I would do, but you will know yourself much better than me, if you can handle that. I would wait until I recovered a bit first.

D) Have a 20-30 minute warm bath with one cup of Epsom salts in it. If you like this, then there is another thread I started called “detox baths” but to start with just add one cup of Epsom salts in a nice warm bath and relax for 20-30 mins. You can do these baths every day. This helps excrete toxins and helps alkalise the body. This should help a lot, its cheap and easy to do.

E) Alka-Seltzer gold is supposed to be real good for brain fog. I can never find the stuff so I take 1 tsp of Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda) in a glass of water. Sip this for 30 mins…nice and slow. Do not glug it down. This is emergency measure to be taken in times of distress, i.e not every day.

f) Vit E is ok, but you are right to take it easy with Selenium. Its ok, but just in small doses.

G) Digestion! Not able to digest! Ummmmm? Your diet is already good! ummmm? Ok…..have you ever given your digestion a break? Some time off from all the digesting it has to do? Maybe this could be a good time to reduce the stress at bit. Why don’t you stop eating food and just eat a liquid diet for a short time. This really cuts down the workload on yr compromised digestive system. Homemade soups are great. If you have juicer, go juice crazy. Just juice all your vegetables mix it with water and drink loads. All the nutrients from the veg are in the juice and it’s the fibre that is left behind. The fibre is hard to digest and missing out that bit is not the end of the world. You have to juice a lot more vegetables to get a pint of juice so you are super-boosting your nutrient intake by doing this. This massively helps alkalise the body.
If that seems a bit extreme then why not just do 1 meal per day that is 100pct liquid. You will be amazed at the effect this will bring you.

H) new supplements can be introduced by they should be introduced slowly to make sure you don’t react badly to one of them. These are the Cutler protocol supplements that he advises as a starting point.

Buffered vitamin C 1/2 to 2 grams 4 times a day

B complex equivalent to "b25" or "b50" 4 times a day

Zinc 50-100 mg

Magnesium 500-1000 mg in divided doses

Milk thistle extract 4 times a day preferably w/meals

Vitamin E 1000-3000 IU daily

Mixed carotenes, lycopene, etc.

flax 1 tbsp - 15-50g

borage oil 1-4grams

Selenium 200 mcg as selenomethionine.

Chromium picolinate 200 mcg with every meal.

Molybdenum about 1000 mcg a day.

CoQ10 100-400mg

Hydergine 10-20mg/day

I guess you don’t know what to introduce first, so I will suggest: Molybdenum, zinc, CoQ10 (expensive!), Mutli Vit B, chromium. If you are already taking some of these supplements then make sure you are taking enough. Cutler favours megadosing, which just means taking a high dosage. Mercury causes so much stress you body is in need of as much energy, vitamins as possible.

…..if I think of anything else I will post again.

Good luck Nina.

Hi Nina, I didn't realise you were already following a good diet. Are you eating enough proteins (eggs meats) and good fats (butter, extra virgin olive oil, pure fish oil?)? Hal Huggins suggests this in his book, as well as ousting all milk, wheat, caffeine etc. Sounds like you're already doing the diet, but not sure if you're consuming enough protein and fat which can really help. Seriously!!! They help heal you up inside. My digetstive was absolutely crap and I could hardly eat, until I started eating these proteins and fats and suddenly I felt my appetite go up more. It also increase bile flow, helps protect you and heal cells.

I know this might sound bad considering you are asking what other supplements to take, but you've just said that you cannot handle anymore than you're already doing....so perhaps you should stop ALL supplements for awhile and just stick with diet.

wait for things to hopefully normalise a bit more. Then I would start ONE supplement at a time and only add another one after a few days when you are CERTAIN the supplement is not causing any further problems in you.

When you are this poisoned, it doesn't take much to stir it up. Vitamin C is great, but even that used to set me off and I had to keep stopping it and take breaks. It actually encouraged further toxin release, which is...great, but if it's doing this with you, you will need to take breaks in order to rest from this.

That means any other supplement.

If things settle, look at the supplement routine Sunshine has passed on from Cutler's recommendation and perhaps try each one by one before adding another one to the regime. I could only take vitamin C and E for a while. Anything else gave me problems. Even vitamin C for a time as I said. Selenium caused too many symptoms, but was helpful over time.

I know this is REALLY frustrating because you do not know which way to go or what to do. Mercury is very very difficult and can cause wild symptoms to say the least. Suffering beyond belief too.

The fact is, if algin isn't helping much or at all? then stop taking it for a while and see what happens. Some people feel heaps better on it, but not all.

The only way you will know is by ceasing intake and giving your body time out from these things (maybe for a week).

That is just what I would do. I just think it sounds like your body is already overwhelmed and may need a complete break. If you try Sunshine's suggestions of consuming fluids instead, I hope this might work for you.

I wonder what else was in the B vitamin IV they gave you.....sometimes they add things that can cause big problems. At any rate, don't go near that again obviously. It sounds like it's somehow stirred up everything in you even worse!

I wish there was an antidote to this. Perhaps acidophilus yoghurt (plain/sugar free) might also be a helpful addition.

As I said, for myself I had to use DMSA Cutler style in order to help me because I was so poisoned. But to do that, you may have to wait for the last amalgam to be removed (or tooth). If you try it with the amalgam in place, that's up to you. It's not advised by Andy and he does not want it on his head if people decide to give that a go.

I wish there was something to eradicate your symptoms and calm things down, but it sounds like there has been a massive redistribution of metals somehow, from IV or otherwise.

I would give yourself another week at least and see if things begin to settle again. Maybe up to two weeks. Keep us posted on how you are.

Nina

if you have been bedridden for two weeks you probably need adrenal support. I would look into some adrenal cortex extract (ACE), licquorice or ginseng as a first option. ACE got me out of bed when I was bedridden two years ago. I was also able to put on weight.

I used this Adreno Lyph Plus

http://www.totaldiscountvitamins.co...p;SubfolderID=76&AssocID=froogle

which I got from Nutri something in the UK. You would have to google it.

I was taking all the supps and doing the diet at the time of my crash, but these are not going to do much good if it's hormones you need. ACE is derived from adrenal glands and gives you the mix of hormones you need, as well as helping to rebuild the adrenals. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/byebye.gif" alt="" />

Best
Nicola

Just wanted to say hang in there and my prayers are with you!!!
Rachel

The great fatigue is probably due to candida. I suggest that you try using some antifungals such as garlic, olive leaf extract, oregano extract, caprylic acid, etc. Also go on a low carbohydrate diet. Take vitamin and mineral supplements.

Nina,

I'm sorry to read that you've taken a turn for the worse, but hang in there. This may sound extreme, but if you can't find a dentist who uses the proper safety measures for mercury amalgam removal, then you'd be better off pulling the tooth than exposing yourself to the harm of the mercuy vapor that would be released by a regular dentist drilling the filling out, just to fill it again with amalgam or some other harmful substance.

As for supplementation, in my experience, I'd be careful taking things like milk thistle because if you're a slow detoxifier, milk thistle can make you feel worse instead of better. It's important to keep your bowels moving and your kidneys flushing, so at least try to keep plenty of water and/or fresh vegetable juices going.

My own suggestions would be to take lots of vitamin C in divided doses (which I believe was already mentioned), some vitamin E (maybe 800 IU - just make sure there's not too much selenium - an average amount seems to be 25mcg with 400 IU), and definitely algin in divided doses (I take it at night before bed, first thing in the morning, and when needed throughout the day in between meals, which is when I take my other supplements).

It also sounds like you may be suffereing from magnesium deficiency, hence the tremors, weakness, muscle pain, panic attacks, which can all be symptoms of this. Magnesium citrate and magnesium malate are more absorbable/bioavailable forms than magnesium oxide, so look for these if you can.

Here's some info about magnesium to help you:
Magnesium Complex

Adrenal support may be a good idea, so here's some info for the nutrients to look for to help your adrenals:
Adrenal Support

Candida issues are very common with mercury toxicity, but while some people do quite well with anti-candida nutrients, others do quite poorly, so if you try these, go slowly and see how you react. The suggested anti-candida nutrients are all good ones, so here's some additional info about them:
Olive Leaf Extract
Caprylic Acid w/Immune Boosters (Caprylimune)

You might also try "drinking" your food in the form of gently warmed homemade soups (really just juiced vegetables that are warmed, but not too hot so you don't destroy the natural enzymes). Russ makes a killer tomato drink that is awesome whenever you feel sick or feel like something is trying to "get" you:
Spicy Garlic Tomato Soup Immune Shocker!

I hope this helps, and please keep us posted on how you're doing <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/byesad.gif" alt="" />

I am surprised at how many people here get teeth extracted. Imo extraction should be the absolute last resort. What do people do after an extraction? Do they get an implant?

Hi Laura, I take milk thistle because I cannot detoxify properly. My problem is extremely severe, so much so that if my body tries to detox, the toxins almost explode via my face in tears and uncontrollable salivating....

Milk thistle supports the liver and encourages growth of new liver cells. I have an imbalance in my liver detox pathways. Liver phase I is overactive and liver phase II is underactive. So my body makes toxins more toxic and then cannot keep up and eliminate them. Hence they just go in but don't come out properly. Which is why I can remain extremely ill for a long period of time after one toxic exposure.

I was given milk thistle by a dentist who has studied in the area of health and detox. I think it does help, but again it may encourage some elimination too so may cause some symptoms.

Selenium is "ok" sometimes, but I have to watch that one. Can cause too many symptoms in those very toxic.

JK98, I think that people do all they can to avoid tooth extraction, but some live in areas where they don't have many dentists to choose from and some of those dentists are refusing to remove the amalgam....so it is very difficult. It means leaving them in or travelling a long way to find a dentist that will (many do not have the finance for this).

I'm surprised that any dentist could possibly have an issue with removing an amalgam! The only reason he/she could have an issue is if the tooth itself was literally being held together by the amalgam and would probably not survive the removal. So extraction maybe the only other option in that case.

Some may opt for implants, but they are ridiculously expensive!!! But hey if you can afford it, then that is at least something to replace the tooth with. Some opt for bridges etc.

I would do all I coudl to avoid extraction also, but sometimes one does not have the luxury of choice.

I had 3 molars extracted. I didn't do anything with them. you get used to them being gone after a few months. I actually dont even realize they are gone by now, learned to chew with the remaining teeth I guess.

They were really messed up teeth. Full of huge amalgams, all cracked up. Well one probably could have been fixed but the dentist that started to fix it simply messed it up and then it was extremely sensitive and filled with who knows what so i had it pulled.

Lots of people have problems with implants. Not a route I would go, nickle or titianium screws in my jaw.

I suppose I could get a partial or something. I don't know, all the plastics and other chemicals in hardware don;t thrill me at this point either. I am just real happy to have my health back.

The cracked amalgam filled molars leak mercury I think, I am quite sure in my case that was true. getting them extracted was the right choice in my case. I wanted them out and the mercury out of my jawbone beneath them too. So they got pulled and bled a day or so and I felt much better after each and eevry one.

Could you better describe "intestinal problems (was not able to digest)"?

Hi Nina. Your symptoms sound similar to mine, although mine was less serious. And yes, I am somewhat intolerant to most B-complex as well, in addition to megadoses of vit C, E and selenium, they mobilized too much toxins up for me.

As usual <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> , my recommendations are different from people here, but the following is based on own experience.

The symptoms you have (tachycardia, heart palpitations, joint pain, brain fog, flushing) are those of acetaldehyde poisoning - a toxic waste product of candida. Everyone can experience some of these symptoms by taking alcohol and antabus together. Acetaldehyde gets easily deposited all over in your body, if your body is not good at detoxing it. If you want to stick to ordinary supplements, nothing else helps more than pantothenic acid (B5) and molybdenum. Both are necessary, but pantothenic acid is the more important. If you cant stand a strong B-complex, you have to buy a supplement with only pantothenic acid. I got myself a 500 mg supplement of B5, but I'm not crazy enough to take that amount at once. Initially, perhaps a few ten mg's per day is good, and then working your way up to 100 mg per day (this may be too high for you), divided in several doses per day. B5 is also excellent for adrenal support, I could literally feel it hitting the adrenal glands when I started taking it. There is no way you're getting enough B5 from food or from weak supplements, it didn't work for me at least.

There will be some side-effects of course, nothing works without them. You can get a severe hang-over, if you take too much B5, including trembling hands, feeling fluey, aching joints etc. (I had only a mild hang-over, because I realized to not take too much). Molybdenum especially makes quite strong joint pains and headache - but all are symptoms that acetaldehyde is being detoxed. It will also relieve you from your brain fog (I assume you have it too). Unfortunately, when acetaldehyde is being detoxed, it is converted into acetic acid, which is otherwise harmless, but it is an anti-fungal as well, so better be careful.

I wouldn't recommend this, if I hadn't tested it myself, it was the only way to rid myself of the accumulated acetaldehyde quickly within a week to tolerable levels. I also wouldn't recommend too much vit C, E, or selenium, it made me only worse, by killing off more candida, and flooding myself with more acetaldehyde. There appears to also be a significant difference in how well people are at detoxing acetaldehyde, some definitely need to support their acetaldehyde detox pathway carefully, in order to survive this dangerous game. Just thought this alternate plan could be helpful, the usual way recommended by others here did unfortunately not work for me at least, and your case sounds quite similar to mine.

Here are some more refs to the acetaldehyde detox:

http://candidapage.com/aldehyde.shtml

DMSA and acetaldehyde:
http://onibasu.com/archives/am/203523.html

Note: apparently DMSA can be used for acetaldehyde detox as well.

PGM,

I lot of good information in your post. I'm curious about your view of B5 (stated above). I have a B5 - 500mg supplement. I take one a day. Should I be dividing that dose over the course of the day? I don't feel any ill effects from it.

Sregan, are you a sufferer of CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome) or something similar? For them regularly nothing usually works, which is a bit disappointing. I know this from before.
Regarding the dose splitting, I don't think you will have any benefits from B5 if you're not feeling anything with that megadose. The dose splitting is just to make it more effective, take less, but more often.

One addition to the previous message: acetaldehyde is known also to cause a metallic taste in mouth. This sure sounds familiar to me.

Thanks for everyone's advice. At this time I feel it's best not do much however, occassional Algin, vit C, and magnesium. It seems that this has it's course to run and there is nothing I can do to stop the wave, but ride it out until I get better.

I am going to acupuncture which helps me get some of my energy back so I am walking around the house (improvement!) and I am also seeing a lady that is helping me with fear as this is one of my worst symptoms, so I need to learn how to cope with it so I can cope better with the situation. With a bit of a stronger body and mind I think I can beat this. I want to return to my life ASAP, I am so sad to cause so much grief to my husband and family and to be out of work. It's hard to see everyone else leading their lives and me sitting at home and suffering beyond belief. I am thankful for this forum and your support. I will continue to update you on my progress, which is slow, but at least somewhat better the past two days.

Would anyone recommend ionic foot baths to help me detoxify at this point, or would they only worsen the symptoms? I have had positive results in the past but when I was feeling a lot less toxic. I am not sure why the sudden toxic attack, after 3 years of improper drilling. This mercury thing is such an enigma! I have had a period last year where I almost felt completely better, and now this. Could it be the old filling starting to leak with a part of amalgam in it? It's the only thing I can think of since the tooth now has a cavity on it.

Nina

Yes, a leaking filling would re-expose you to mercury all over again. It's possible that over the last three years your body cleared enough of the mercury body burden for you to feel better again, especially if you have been taking supplements and eating a clean diet. But if you haven't done any chelation, you will remain susceptible to being dragged down by mercury or other environmental toxins again and again, as you haven't really cleared enough of the mercury to be properly free of it. Or, if your adrenals are very fatigued, as they are in most people with mercury issues, any stress, physical or emotional, could push you down.

IMO, you need to sort the tooth out, support adrenals and thyroid, and chelate properly with the Cutler DMSA / ALA protocol. Many people are following this protocol with good results - I personally feel much better after 34 rounds of DMSA, and I haven't really started on the ALA yet. There is a lot to take on board though - you need to do your research on it. As a first step I would recommend buying the Amalgam Illness book either from Russ, or www.noamalgam.com and finding out what you need to treat. Then chelate. Many of us here are doing this.

If you have been made sick by mercury to the extent that you have been bedridden I think it is unrealistic that you will recover permanently without chelation. Leave the footbaths and all other 'witch doctor' detoxification protocols - many of them will damage you further.

You are on the right track with thyroid / adrenals. Ideally you would get saliva testing to confirm what your levels are before starting to treat. There are many forms of adrenal support, from glandulars to steroids, depending on how weak your adrenals are. You need to support adrenals before you can treat thyroid, otherwise you risk making things WAAAAY worse. I'll put some links in your other post for reading. I'm sure others will contribute too.

Good luck <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/byebye.gif" alt="" />
Nicola

Nina,

Your symptoms are classically adrenal fatigue-including the fear that you mentioned. I also suggest that you don't do anything to promote any more detoxing right now or any anti-fungal as you are too sick for that right now . Candidia can be the cause (in addition to hg) of adrenal fatigue and you don't want to make them worst.

Nutritional therapy proabably won't be enough for you at this point- it wasn't for me. Go to Dr. Wilson's site for adrenal fatigue and go to all the links. I can't remember if the dianos-techs link is on there, but that is the lab that did my saliva test and their site describes the different levels of adrenal fatigue. Once you are pretty bad, you just have to have supplemental help for your adrenals. I am taking Isocort-it is a natural cortex replacement. I still take the nutient (vitamin C, magnesium, and pantothenic acid) as well.

Hope you start feeling better soon.
Missy

Here's a good website for adrenal info: www.adrenalfatigue.org

Thyroid: www.drrind.com, www.hlmcenter.com and/or www.stopthethyroidmadness.com. Re: stop the thyroid website, please proceed reading this site with caution as they advocate a very high dosage amount of the thyroid med Armour. My suggestion is to read the info on thyroid meds and adrenal info and then find yourself an MD who can prescribe armour if that's what you need. You may want to try glandulars first. If you are looking for a good MD to help with this area this is a good link: http://www.geocities.com/chrisgj@sbcglobal.net/Recommended_doctors.html (worldwide).

PGM,

Yes CFS for over 4 years and I concur nothing has seemed to work regularly for me although I am getting better results now that I am aware of mercury and how it can explain some of the results I've had with certain supplements and why I can feel better for a few days than worse again.

Regarding dose splitting, I've read that things like ALA have a short half life in the body and are better to supplement small amounts more frequently. I know I've been getting GOOD results taking my 80mcg of selenium before bed which is helping me sleep quite a bit instead of in the morning.

Sregan, are you taking undenatured whey protein? I've seen this is about the only thing that helps CFS people in the long term. You start getting Herx-reactions after about two weeks of usage (on average), meaning that your body starts killing pathogens. A new thing that appears to be strong stuff is liposomal glutathione. Absorbs well, in contrast to ordinary glutathione. These two are the only things I know for sure that can make a big difference, even cure CFS in the end. You probably need to use these a long time.

I have suffered CFS for many years. one thing that really helped me was increasing my salt intake.

JK98, what kind of salt do you take? I'm trying to do the same thing and got "redmonds real salt"...but though it's good, it's not the best out there.

I am thinking of getting proper celtic sea salt or hymalayan salt when I can. Going to use the redmonds one up first though!

I take about 1/4 - 1/2 a teaspoon in a glassful of lemon juice and vitamin C, once or twice a day. I also salt my food pretty liberally too.

Is it OK to take undenatured whey protein if you have given up dairy on an anti-candida diet please?

Hi Mati,

On one candida forum I belong to, the answer is yes...that it is ok to use! They actually advocate it.

I think the only way is to judge your own responses. E.g. I found out that I was unable to even have a piece of fruit or even a bit of milk in my tea. The reaction for me happened quite rapidly, but only when I had already been on the strict diet for weeks. So I knew the signs that it was feeding, and I stopped quickly.

It is hard sometimes because you have to figure out the difference in your symptoms, whether it's from feeding candida or from candida dying off.

Hi Bex

thanks for that. Yes i know, the thing is to be able to tell the difference between die off and candida growth.I think that i can do it now. With die off, although i feel lousy, inside me there is feeling that it is good, like some sort of expansion of the spirit. I take care now that I never have die off that is going to get me down. I have also learned not to spoil my immune system - to keep it on its toes. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/armed.gif" alt="" />

Eight years ago I got really ill from moving into a brand new house. It nearly killed me. I got on a strict macrobiotic diet as it as all I knew, as none of the alternate practitioners were able to do anything at all to help me - despite homeopathy, magnetic beds, all sorts of weird and wonderful therapies, which bless them, they did for free. I went really strict and anti-candida, and started out improving but found that the slightest break in the diet caused terrible problems so i got stricter and stricter until my body was ruling me. I also ate kelp which made my hpo thyroid go hyper so I lost a lot of weight in fact far too much and i became seriously ill.

This time I am the boss, and i am eating fruit every day nearly, and a little fermented product here and there, so as not to spoil my immune system into expecting me to live like I was before and having things just toooo easy. I am not going to kill the candida off at present so i let it have a little snack but not the bad things, no no.

For a treat I grind some cacao nibs add maca powder carob powder, ground sesame seeds, ground desicated coconut chopped goji berries, almond slices, and mix it with agarve syrup (well today it has to be maple syrup). New recipe today. It is ok, does the job.

I am aiming at holding out for a healing response without going ballistic. I am getting a little die back, with p'au thingy tea but just a little. The molybdenum has been great, and next i am getting some B5. I was on a pile of supplements but stopped them as they were not helping me at any discernable level, so I am going slowly and carefully. I will put the denatured whey on the list.

I found out yesterday that i too have been sleeping on a toxic bed, the frame being MDF. I could not believe it! I am highly sensitive to fomaldehyde. So it went out this morning and I am on the floor on a futon pad.

Also I am trusting God to show me if i am doing anything wrong, and what I should try next and just clinging onto trusting that he is healing me and wants me to be well for the first time in my life. I am also coping with the trauma of being with an abusive partner for 23 years, who i left 4 years ago, and from the discovery of the fact that he has slowly alienated my children from me during the whole time and now I am totally alone in the world.. Despite all of this, I am definitely in healing mode, but it is tough to keep going some days. But our bodies really want to heal and once we have learned any lesson that we have to learn the way is open for the healing.

Toxic bed 'mare <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" />

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/skullandbones.gif" alt="" />

Just an update, I am back on my feet moving around again. I even went for a walk today. I feel ill during the night mostly and cannot get enough sleep, and get weird symptoms that wake me up from sleep or do not let me go back to sleep.

I am able to eat now and have therefore been able to uptake the supplements which is a positive sign and will help me fight back better.

I am really wondering if one leaking filling could cause such a strong relapse or would a relapse have happend anyways? It's a puzzle that I cannot solve and will never be sure, until every last bit of amalgam is out.

I have ordered adrenal support from Laura, and I am hoping that this will also help in the get well process. If I wasn't so exausted from doctors I would check out the gland function, but I am not able to deal with that at this point and will do what I can to recover on my own.

I'm looking forward to trying out the supplement and hoping it will lessen some of the symptoms I now have. In time, when I am ready, I will go to the dentist and have the tooth pulled, once I confirm that amalgam is still left underneath, as I suspect, and which got me ill again.

I just keep echoing Russ's words in my head to get me through this. Mercury detox is not a game of speed, it's a game of endurance. How apsolutely true.

Thanks for any input/suggestions to Bex, Nicola and others. I find this website very useful. I have even written to the holistic dentist who refused to help me when I asked for help before this "episode" and told him to check out this site if he is sceptical about suffering mercury toxicity can cause. I surely hope he will check it out.

Nina

your symptoms really do sound adrenal. Possibly my worst time was two years ago before I got on to adrenal support. My adrenals were totally crashed from T4 only thyroid meds, and I hadn't fully realised what had happened or researched it all. Every night I would wake at 3am, and be unable to go back to sleep - my body just wouldn't let me. This went on for months, and I felt absolutely desperate. I now know that cortisol was dropping too low at night, and I was hypoglycemic. The brain needs a constant supply of glucose to function, and will not let you sleep if you don't have it.

I still have the insomnia problem now if I don't get my cortisol dose right, but it is much much better, and I sleep much better.

You really sound like you need adrenal support - you may be beyond glandulars already - and a protein bedtime snack would also help maintain blood sugar through the night. Getting rid of that tooth / amalgam is a priority before it damages your adrenals any more.

Nina, are you able to get any adrenal testing done, in order to find out exactly what is going on? The best testing is a 4 times a day saliva test, which gives a good indication of how much cortisol your adrenals produce over a 24 hour period. Cortisol should be highest at 8am, and slowly fall during the day, and lowest at night (but not too low).

http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/adrenal-info/?PHPSESSID=57e9c3422c020537a824d17a90c1568d

this link will give lots of info about adrenals, and how / where to get them tested.

Please be gentle with yourself. You are sick, even if you don't look it. Low adrenals are very serious, and can be completely debilitating. Been there and done that, but much better on adrenal support.

Good luck Nina. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/byebye.gif" alt="" />

Nicola

I wish you well too Nina. It takes time and patience for sure. I have just ordered an adrenal test. Thanks for that tip Nicola, I eat very early and might try having a bedtime snack. I have had two rough days since getting rid of the toxic bed.

- Are you feeling worse after getting rid of the toxic bed? i wonder why?

Get well soon Nina

Nicola,

What would be a good bedtime snack to keep the glucose level during the night?

Also, I am not as informed as you on this subject, how do you get the cortisol that you need?

Do you believe that adrenal support supplement will assist? My blood levels are always in the normal range for all T3, T4 and TSH. I have not done cortisol testing through blood. I am not sure about the saliva test, I think that one would be hard to find here.

I have contacted the holistic dentis again, and will see him on Friday just for him to reconsider the possibility that I still have some piece of amalgam left in my mouth. I believe that is the answer to all this suffering.

Also, when you said glucose, do you mean sugars? I am sorry I am so uneducated on the subject <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Sunshine

I can only think that the removal of the bedbase, reduced formaldehyde in my blood stream, easing things for my liver so it improved in detoxing the candida toxins from the anti-candida diet so intensified die back. I feel a little better today but have had little sleep and feel very cold..

Hi Nina, you're welcome! I'm glad to hear that you are a bit stronger than you were.

Yes, I think one leaky filling could cause a relapse, as well as being rundown or taking something that may have released too much mercury/toxins. And the fact this amalgam is leaky is causing you increase exposure too 24/7.

I would be interested to hear how things are after you have them all removed.

Hi Nina

eating right for your adrenals means no sugar, alcohol or caffeine. Sugar - both refined and sugars produced by carbohydrates (potatoes, white pasta, flour, etc) - stresses the adrenals, because they control blood glucose. If you eat a lot of sugar, your adrenals get stressed because blood glucose gets too high, they signal to the pancreas to produce insulin, the pancreas produces too much insulin to deal with the sugar spike, and blood glucose goes lower than before and you become hypoglycemic. Which stresses your adrenals again.

The aim is to keep blood sugar as level as possible, which means eating low glycemic index foods. Protein (meat, eggs, fish), low carb vegetables, good fats, some people do OK with a small quantity of complex carbohydrates like brown rice or oats - I steer clear of those for now.

Eating low glycemic foods will not give you low blood sugar. Your body produces glucose from everything that you eat, not just the sweet things. Making glucose from meat and vegetables is less stressful to your body than making it from sugary things. Your brain needs glucose to function, and it will wake you up if it hasn't got enough. This is what happened to me, and still does on occasion. This may be why you wake up at night and can't get back to sleep.

Your adrenals produce cortisol, which is a hormone that is essential to life. Without it, you die. Cortisol controls blood sugar, the immune response, the stress response, and drives thyroid hormone into the cells.

You probably have some level of adrenal fatigue. Most people with mercury toxicity do. There are seven stages, ranging from mild fatigue to severe, near death. I think in the first few stages of fatigue the adrenals increase cortisol output, to deal with the stressors in a person's life, but their cicadian rhythm is disturbed, so a person may have too much cortisol at the wrong time of day, ie at nighttime, so s/he can't sleep. As adrenals become more fatigued, eventually their output of cortisol falls, and becomes too low to meet the body's needs. When you have severe adrenal fatigue, you are debilitated, shaky, hypoglycemic, stress intolerant, very depressed, and prone to infections. That was me two years ago. Total adrenal failure is called Addison's disease.

In the early stages of adrenal fatigue you may get away with good diet (= no sugar, as above), lots of Vitamin C, Vitamin B5 and sea salt. Some people take licorice, and adaptive herbs like ginseng, or ashwaganda. With more serious adrenal fatigue, you need to replace the cortisol that your adrenals cannot make, to help your body function, to use thyroid hormone properly, and to give the adrenals a rest, so that they can heal as far as they are able. Some people do OK with Isocort, most people with serious adrenal fatigue need hydrocortisone. For people who are really bad (that was me!!), they need something longer lasting than hydrocortisone, which only lasts 3-4 hours. I take 6mg of prednisolone every day to get me out of bed and functioning with my three children. I would be bedridden without it.

A good bedtime protein snack would be a bit of cheese, peanut butter on oat crackers, a bit of chicken, an egg. This will bring up your blood sugar without causing a glucose spike and subsequent over-correction from the pancreas.

It does not surprise me that your thyroid tests are normal. Most hypothyroid people have 'normal' test results. You can have the right level of thyroid hormone in your blood, even high levels, but your body cannot use them it if your adrenals are not producing enough cortisol. The best way to test thyroid and adrenals is the 4x saliva test, and preferably a clinical assessment. I see Thierry Hertoghe in Belgium (where I live) and he gives me a clinical examination every time I see him to assess my thyroid / adrenal status. He is one of, if not the best, thyroid doctor in Europe.

You may do OK on just good diet, vitamins, lots of rest and no stress - if that is possible. The events of the last few weeks may have been an adrenal crash, and you may need stronger adrenal support than herbal remedies. This is why testing is so important. It would definitely be worth exploring the testing opportunities in the UK, for example. I know of a lab in the UK which takes samples from Europe.

I have had to become an adrenal expert out of necessity!! My adrenals were so weak by the time I realised what was going on I don't think they will ever heal properly. I expect to have to take cortisol for the rest of my life. Bummer. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> That is why I urge people to treat their adrenals before things get really bad. That way you have a chance of healing them and getting back to normal. That is why you need to get that tooth sorted asap.

Hope this is helpful NIna.

Nicola x

Mati: So you think you are having a healing crisis? Cool! That’s a good thing if it is a healing crisis. Fingers crossed that it is. You should feel better than before when u do recover.
get well soon <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/flu.gif" alt="" />

Thanks Sunshine though not sure if it is. I felt bad then not as bad so I will have to wait it out to see. I had a healing crisis once on a macrobiotic diet and felt like death for 5 days then loads better. Feeling very cold though so maybe. I cancelled the organic mattress btw and am sleeping on the futon for now. It is well outgassed. Might get a latex overlay though.

I haggled like mad on my mattress and I confirmed the order monday. Delivery should be tomorrow, but prob next week. I ordered the latex mattress from here http://www.abacaorganic.co.uk/abaca-matt.html

Fingers crossed it will be non-toxic.

For Sale : One Tempur Foam Mattress. King size. One careful, clean, non-smoker owner. £700 ono. Pick up only. Only one child conceived on this mattress <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Hope the mattress is OK for you. Well done for haggle. I do it all the time, even on the high street.

I had a few bad teeth extracted, it helped me enormously. I was in pretty bad shape when i went in for the first two, it was such a relief to be rid of that. I would not have been able to recover with those teeth... like you, the dentists were making me sick and sicker. I prefer my overall health to a a few old teeth. Sometimes fixing them, really fixing them, is not really possible, the dentists don't like to tell you that I think.

Colon cleansing is also very helpful and will help you regain your strength. toxins accumulate in the colon making it difficult to detox.

As it turns out I am dealing with more than one issue that has affected me so horribly. Mercury was not the main issue, so here is the order of things that are affecting me and that I am addressing"

1) have chlamydia bacteria (in blood)
2) have intestinal parasites
3) candida
4) mercury toxicity

I am currently at stage one, taking antibiotic. Tomorrow I take tablets to kill parasites which have given me horrible digestive problems, nausea and blood in stool.

I have a question, anyone used mycoseb to treat candida? THat is number 3 medication I received on my list from the alternative medicine doctor I saw who I am really happy with.

For mercury absorbtion she recommended supplement based on zeolite called MEGAMIN based on nanotehnology.

Any feedback much appreciated as I dive in steps 2 and 3 to regain my health!

hi nina ; I am going to try zeolites also to and see how it works for chelation of my mercury , just waiting for my order to arrive , dmsa and ala are way to extreme for my mercury detox I need something a little more mild but effective , I am finally starting to feel a little better after my crash from my last chelation round , I wish you all the best