Hi,

I have only posted once or twice some time ago.

However, I have had my mercury fillings removed, and am happy to report that I have made significant progress in several areas. On the other hand, my progress has been slower than I hoped.

I will post my experience so far, with the hope others can tell me whether my progress seems good given the time frame and other factors.

My wife and I began about 18 months ago. I had 4 fillings left of about 12 since my teen years. (Am now 51.) As an aside, the dentist told me he would make no guaranties that removal of the amalgams would have the desired effect (which I described to him.) I pointed out that I was merely hiring him to do a job I could not easily do for myself. He is a regular dentist taking only normal precautions, that is, rubber dam, vacuum with water, and so on. I don't know if it helped, but I took a deep breath and held it during the times he was drilling. I thought, no point in sucking up more mercury fumes along with the dentist and his assistant. Bad enough if one of us dies of mercury poisoning.

Went home after each session and took loads of vitamin c and Algin, which I got from Russ.

I have since been doing rounds of chelation according to Cutler's protocol. Started with 50mg of DMSA and 25MG of ALA every 4 hours, rounds varying from 4 to 10 days. I am now up to 100mg of DMSA with 200mg of ALA every 4 hours.

Progress:
-Brain fog nearly gone. Can think more clearly, visualize better (important to me as an artist), play pool better.
-short term memory much better, but still not what it could be.
-improved speech - tongue less swollen, can enunciate much better, word searching rare; before, word searching was constant.
-better conversations; before, my mind would often just be freewheeling, and generate nothing of interest.
-hand tremors gone.
-tinitus is less, but it comes and goes, and is the first symptom to appear during a regressive cycle and is never completely gone.
-circadian rhythms are in line again, and my sleep is more restful. Fall asleep easily, which often took hours before.
-Back muscles are much more relaxed, which relieves the headaches that were becoming the norm before.
My wife:
-in addition to the above, my wife reports that her mind has become razor sharp, able to remember shopping lists, and do all but the most difficult logic puzzles.
-hair loss has been halted. Sometimes she thinks it is growing back in.

I have observed that progress is like the stock market - 3 steps forward, 2 steps back. But overall, improvement is unmistakable.

My target:
At times during this walk, I have experienced exceptional lucidity. I am smarter, and I know it. I can think with crystal clarity, remember names I didn't even know I knew. I can reach conclusions in seconds that might take me days of pondering normally. I am funnier and more fun to be with. I become more outgoing and it is easy to make new friends. I hope eventually, I will be like this most of the time.

I have been doing chelation for over a year. I would like to hear from people who are farther along than I am. I have specific questions:
1)Does there come a point when you know you are done with chelation?
2)How long did that take for you?
3)are there other questions I should be asking?

Will

docmanic@gmail.com

Hello Will

I am further along than you in terms of the time I have had my amalgams out (2 1/2 years), and I have been chelating for nearly 2 years, but you are WAY ahead in what DMSA / ALA doses you can tolerate! I have done about 60 rounds of DMSA at 18mg, ten of which included ALA (between 6.25mg - 12.5mg). I have had to back off the ALA for the time being because it mobilised more mercury than I could handle and made me sick again. I was / am very sick, and it will take me a long time to chelate all the mercury - years.

Cutler says to chelate, chelate and chelate, and then chelate some more. When you think you are done (in terms of symptom reduction, or disappearance) chelate for another 6 months. I think he himself is still doing the odd round, just to make sure.

It sounds as if recovery for you will be quick, but keep going. There is a specific forum for the frequent low dose protocol

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/frequent-dose-chelation/

you could try asking others there. Certainly, they will be interested in your progress.

Best

Nicola

hello docmanic!

Nice progress.

How many rounds ALA have you done?

I also noticed intellectual improvement from the lipoic acid chelation. I am close to round 31 now but still not doing so well.

You are lucky that you can tolerate such a high dose of lipoic acid. I can not do more than 25 mg and even this is a bit too high for me.

Is it safe to do rounds lasting more than 5 or 6 days, especially at such high doses as 100 mg DMSA and 200 mg ALA? ALA seems to suppress the elimination of copper and zinc. I am chelating now just with ALA at 25 mg, but even so I decided to stop taking zinc supplements and iron supplements during the chelation cycle(I think I read that ALA chelates iron as well, so I wouldn't want the ALA to chelate some iron and chelate less mercury).

Wow! Those were some pretty quick responses.

I have not logged my rounds, but estimate maybe 15. The only downside I have noticed increasing ALA is more sulfur smell in urine, and the tinnitus ramps up. Is it safe? I can only speak to my own experience, and have not noticed problems.

I suppose I am fortunate that I never became uncomfortably sick. I consulted the doctor about a few issues, which he put down as aging. I now believe they were the beginning stages of more serious amalgam illness.

Thank you for the responses.

Has anyone read the new book by Hal Huggins "Uninformed Consent?" I read the whole thing and found what may explain some of my more persistent and recurring symptoms.

I apologize if I belabor what is probably obvious to many of you.

He says there are primarily 4 sources of dental toxicity:
1)Amalgam
2)Root canals
3)"Stainless steel" dental appliances
4)Cavitations

1)He says amalgam is the most common source of dental related disease. But we all know about that.

2)Most of us probably know about the dangers of root canals, but for those who don't, I will mention a bit about it. According to Huggins, when the nerve is removed and the cavity filled, the process seals off all the tiny blood vessels in the tooth that serviced the nerve. The blood stays in there and rots; bacteria trapped in there become anaerobic and generate waste that, ounce for ounce, is more toxic than cyanide. According to his research, this waste often triggers certain types of cancer along with a host of other problems.

3)"Stainless steel" dental appliances - this includes partial dentures made of metal, porcelain crowns (the metal under the white porcelain) and bridgework.
It turns out dental 'stainless steel' is 70% nickel, a known carcinogen. Nickel also interferes with the part of the brain that processes vision. In addition to this, nickel exacerbates the toxic action of mercury.
Plain nickel crowns are frequently used on baby teeth. Huggins says the appearance of 'coke-bottle' glasses on small children frequently coincides with the installation of nickel crowns on the baby teeth. A nickel crown has about a nickel's worth of nickel in it.

4)According to Huggins, cavitations occur when a tooth is removed and the cavity in the bone does not heal properly. Most often, the periodontal ligament is left behind by the dental surgeon. As long as the adjacent bone cells sense the presence of the ligament they do not fill the void left by the tooth. The gum usually grows over the wound and all appears well, but the void underneath soon harbors the same anaerobic bacteria as the root canals, and the slow poisoning begins.

Thank you so much, Dental Industry.

While I have reaped significant benefits from amalgam removal and chelation, This book explained why the improvement seems limited.

I recommend 'Uninformed Consent' without reservations. Huggins also has another book about dental toxicity as it relates to MS, specifically. I have not read it.

For my part, I despair over my future health. In addition to the mercury, the dental industry has saddled my immune system with all the challenges mentioned above. I cannot see my way clear to dealing with all of them.

Will