hi all,

I have been detoxing from mercury with DMSA for 2 months now. I have done 4 rounds of it, and have 3 more to go before I go back to my Gp. Two days ago after I finished my DMSA I decided to treat my body and myself to a massage. That night I ended up with a migraine and all of yesterday felt terrible.

anyway, I am thinking about slowing down the cycles of detox (GP told me to take DMSA for 3 days, then 11 days off).
Does anyone know if this is ok? Can I not take any over the christmas period and then start again in the new year? what are the disadvantages of this???

thanks for any advice

You can take it when you feel like it. There is no issue taking a break. All that does is my pause up some further chelation, but it's no big deal. The body does it's best to chelate 'some" mercury naturally, but is aided alot by DMSA.

Actually, believe it or not, a lot of detox can happen AFTER you've done a round of chealtion and stopped. It is still coming out and now that you've stopped, some of it gets reabsorbed again, as some is still coming out at the sametime, so symptoms can get worse.

You might do yourself a favour by using this break and taking care of your diet and building yourself up, plus taking a lot of antioxidants as well. The massage may also have encouraged some release of mercury from the muscles etc too. Another thing that can help and encourage some mercury elimination is taking hot baths and using epsom salts or sea salt and baking soda. This encourages sweating, plus some toxin release via the pores of your skin as you soak in the water. It's a very good thing to do, alongside using a candida diet to reduce yeast in your body and toxins, plus using antioxidants.

The best and safest method of chelating with DMSA seems to be Andy Cutler's way of using it every 4 hours around the clock to cut down on the redistribution effect of moving mercury out. This allows for more safer and more effective mercury chelation. This is because taking DMSA every 4 hours keeps the amount of DMSA in the blood stream even. If the time is extended beyond that, the DMSA levels in the blood then drop and chelation then becomes more risky and erratic and in doing that, mercury can end up being moved randomly and can often migrate into the gut and brain etc.

Though some do ok on other DMSA chelation, you might want to check out the every 4 hour method after this break. Only if you are interested (and of course only if you are not already doing it).

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

I had a massage once when I was really sick and it really knocked me around! I felt so bad I thought I was going to die!
I was on a similar protocol to you with DMSA and took a break with no ill effects.

hello,

thanks for the replies. I unfortunatley dont have a bath tub to use!!! but am careful with diet and taking supplements.

hope everyone will get well

Hi. I took a very low dose of EDTA 2 times a week for about 6 weeks. The last 2 weeks I felt worse and wasn't tolerating it very well. I saw my doctor and he told me to take it twice a week every other week and added in DMSA. The first time I took them both I felt terrible then I added in the algin and I am really starting to feel better. I also started taking extra Mg the day before and after I take the DMSA. I am also considering not taking it over the holiday. I am scheduled to take it the day I fly out of the country to visit inlaws and I'm worry to take it then. Taking a chelation agent and then sitting on a plane for 10 hours doesn't sound like a good idea.
I also have trouble tolerating massages and sometimes get headaches. I haven't had one since I started the chelation. I do spend 30 min a week in an infrared sauna which helps a lot. It actually will get rid of a headache if I have one. My skin looks a lot better too.
chigirl

Chigirl. You might want to look into your dosing schedule. If you are taking DMSA twice a week then you may be running the risk of redistributing mercury. See earlier posts in this thread

Yes, taking DMSA randomly, or periodically (any schedule other than every 4 hours around the clock) WILL result in redistribution. There isn't any doubt that this happens and some people have ended up far worse for it.

Andy Cutler (biochemist) even goes so far to say that if you want to make yourself permanently worse, just keep sticking to periodic DMSA dosing (pariticularly the typical 500 mg, every day or so).

He also warns against the high sulfur supplements like garlic, cysteine/methionine, chlorella etc. He's seen people end up far worse for it and some permanently. This is because these things mobilise mercury wildly, but do not ensure safe or effective detox. Those that do well on these things are usually low in sulfur and respond favourably when they supply some sulfur to their system.

Some people can get away with doing almost any mercury detox, so long as they mobilise mercury, their body seems to be very adept at doing the rest. other people can suffer horrifically from it.

I would not risk it. Mercury is dangerous enough without repoisoning yourself even worse with erratic chelation.

I am taking it the way my doctor recommended but I will definately ask him about the 4 hour dosing. My Doctor is pretty big on what the latest research is, so I will be interested to hear what he has to say. I take 250 mg of DMSA on friday and then another 250 mg on Monday. I do not do this again for another 2 weeks. I really don't think I could tolerate 500 mg every 4 hours. Is that what you take when you do it every 4 hours? That really seems like a lot. I know I could not tolerate that.
chigirl

I wouldnt trust what Drs say just because they say it. They do have a track record of making mistakes! 500mg one off doses of DMSA , no wonder you are getting to feel unwell.

When I have taken DMSA its 12.5 mg 4 hourly for three days. Even that can feel a bit too much and It has been two and a half years post removal for me. I would also question your Drs use of EDTA I know. I know Andy Cutler does not believe it to be effective for mercury chelation. Good luck

Chigirl, Reread Bex's post! She was NOT suggesting you take 500mg 4 hourly!!
I was using a 3 day on 11 day off protocol of DMSA (100mg 3 x day) but after reading what Cutler had to say I took the book to my Dr who also likes to be up to date and it was decided that it certainly wouldn't do any harm to change where as not changing might do harm (according to Andy anyway). I used 50mg 4 hourly but some people go as low as 12.5mg.
I get very concerned re the anti Dr attitude on this forum anon. Not every Dr is a moron although I admit some are! I have a fantastic Dr who is busting her gut to help me and even if she did make a mistake I still believe I am far better off than some people on this forum who have no support and noone to bounce ideas off that have any chance of knowing what they are talking about. If nothing else she instills in me that I will get better and gives me the required optimism that many here lack.

HI sorry, I didn't mean using 500 mg every four hours! I should have been more clear.

When I was talking about the 500 mg dose, I was meaning this in the context of doctors often using this dose and telling the patient to take it once at night, about three times a week (even your 250 mg is bad enough). This is the way to cause possible damage in a person and Andy Cutler has had to deal with many done in by this specific protocol. May not happen at first, can happen later. May not happen to you at all, but it is a sure fire way to risk it.

The way Andy Cutler suggests using DMSA is about 50 mg or less every 4 hours around the clock (yes even at night), for about 3 days on and taking a break for about 3 days or more if necessary and continuing that cycle. (or you can do one week on, one week off, whatever is easier).

The doctor you have may not be open to hearing Andy Cutler's protocol and many of them are sadly ego driven and get VERY put out by a patient questioning their protocol or giving another suggestion. So don't be surprised if you get told "The protocol I've given you has been researched and is the main one used by most doctors for mercury detox" this is a typical response.

I hope your doctor would be open, but I would have my doubts. You can research this protocol yourself if you want. The man who created the every four hourly protocol has a book that is very good called "Amalgam Illness, Diagnosis and Treatment" and his name is Andrew Hall Cutler.

When I was initially put on EDTA I did question my Doctor about using it. The kind he uses does help with mercury. It is in the delivery system. I can not remember the exact explaination, but it uses lecithin as a mechanism for getting it in the cell. I mix/shake it in some juice, but can not use a blender due to this delivery system. My doctor tested it using a 6 hours urine test after his patients took it and proved that it does chelate the mercury.
I had my share of trouble with Doctors, but it took me over a year and a half to find this doctor and I do trust his judgement. That does not mean I will stop educating myself on all this, but it is nice to have the guidance. I felt like I was wondering around and constantly guessing before. I will definately ask him about the protocol you mentioned. I was having trouble tolerating it before I started the algin, so it is worth investigating.
chigirl

Hi Chigirl, it is really hard to find a doctor to help, so I see what you're saying. So long as you feel it's helping you, that is all that matters.

Certainly though, if your doc is open, let him/her know about Andy's protocol and the reasoning behind it.

Here is a link by someone on the curezone forum who has pretty much outlined Andy and his protocl better than I ever could and they have provided very helpful links also if you wish to check those out. You could pass this onto your doc if you wish.

Here is the link - http://curezone.com/faq/q.asp?a=3,76&q=102

I take 100 mg DMSA on and off....I stop when I get constipated which never happens anymore since I started eating sauerkraut and using a probiotic called Healthy Trinity by Natren...between the 2 of them, things are going really good.

Garlic is ok for me, but not in a concentrated formula..that stuff made me just about go over the edge...man that was a scary time. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Sandi
xoxo

Hi Sandi, you're lucky you can tolerate intermittant DMSA, some people have been badly injured by it (me included) and it is not usually advisable, but some do ok and I wish I was one of those. An example of what that can do is I remember I would take a 50 mg capsule, intermittantly (not every four hours) and the symptoms could be so horrific, it could drive me to the point of insanity. I coudl be up all night with it. Another time I did this, it redistributed mercury so badly, I was hyped up and nervous and afraid constantly. I had to get on the four hourly regime to try and passify the mobilised mercury and luckily it worked (alongside the candida diet). Another one that can do this is overdoing exercise (which also mobilises mercury), or using chlorella or like products. One lady I spoke to used one capsule of 100 mg of DMSA and ended up hospitalised. She recovered from using TINY doses of DMSA every 4 hours, but she could not even use andy's recommended 50 mg, she had to use about 12.5 mg if I recall. This started to undo the damage.

I'm glad to hear you are going good with what you're doing though and keep it up.

Oh I know, don't get me started on the garlic supplement thing. That nearly killed me twice over! I was so glad to hear I was not the only one (though of course not glad someone had to suffer horrifically from it also).