Hi Alison, I've been down the road of antidepressants and was put on many different ones and alll I got from them were side effects and any initial improvements disappeared. Though, if a person needs them and one works, then sometimes it is necessary to keep them going.

I gave up myself and was close to suicide. Not once did I attribute my depression to toxicity of mercury and candida, until I was put on a diet that excluded sugar, yeast, gluten grains. I went through hell as my body was basically trying to eliminate the toxins and my head felt like it woudl explode as the toxins were literally coming out of my brain.

I also craved the very things I was not allowed to eat and I was weeping from the craving. I held on and finally got through it and improved. THe depression lifted and I felt alive again.

Howevr, this was years ago before I had other things occur to my health which have happened since and harmed me far more.

I've had to go on this diet again, because I had let it slip a little and didn't realise these other things that had occured were hurting me enough to hwere I had to go on this diet strictly in order to alleviate some symptoms.

So I did and it helped. It's hasn't cured me, but it is definitely a help.

One lady on a candida website has the best diet I know of for candida, but also for detoxing the body of all sorts of things. She claims that her diet and fats and protein alone can reduce candida (eliminate it), plus chelate out heavy metals. I'm dubious about the heavy metal claim, but she is adamant it works if a person follows it properly and oddly enough, there are people on their claiming that it's helped them no end and one is saying that her hair test for mercury, since dong the diet has shown that mercury is coming out of her since the diet was used.

My view is, that the mercury that woudl come out from this diet etc alone, would be mercury that is more readily available for excretion like blood/tissue mercury and the body being aided by the diet, able to rid itself easier of toxins, would more readily eliminate metals. But I do not believe it is a cure for brain and deep organ mercury personally, as I think a person in that situation would need more proper chelation to strongly pull out the deeply imbedded mercury.

But the diet is definitely something to look at. Her website is
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/candidasupport/

If you click on that link, you can go check out the files and links sections and have a nosy at what it's about and what it can do for a person's health, including those of us who are very toxic and/or metal toxic.

The best and safest chelation for mercury that I've heard of so far (i'm sure there are others that work just fine for people too), but this is one I know of, is on this website - http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/frequent-dose-chelation/

So that is another option to look at if you want to. I consider both those sites for information invaluable for a person who is toxic with candida and mercury (both usually go hand in hand). And are looking for a good solid and tested information ground.

I hope this might help and sorry if this is not related to what you're going through or you are already doing some of it. But if any of the info is of help, it'll be worth checking out.