Hey all,

I'll breif you on the story. Did a number of cleanses and finished with a heavy metal and amalgum removal. During the heavy metal cleanse I started having severe depression problems, crying fits, mood swings, etc. Had the amalgums removed and continued the detox for one month as that was all I could stand. All those problems still persist, though I have brief periods of well-being. I had a nervous breakdown after the detox, about 6 months, and was recently diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and severe Chronic fatigue syndrome. All of this seems to correlate with the mercury detox as I was never like this before. I was a healthy, vibrant 26 year old. Now I'm a sick, emotional wreck of a 28 year old. I wish I never attempted the mercury detox as I'm sure this is the problem.

What can I do? and will I ever be back to normal? I just want to feel like I used to, before I ever messed with my fillings and I'm scared to death that it will never happen. I'm now on Wellbutrin to cope with debilitating chronic fatigue (also helps with the depression) but can I get back to my old self before all of this happened? Please help...

For those of you wondering, I'm positive that this is related to the mercury/amalgam removal. It was not until that cleanse and removal that any of this started...it is hell, and has not gone away <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Yes this will go away, but it's going to take time. You would have so much stored mercury in you, that this mercury has begun to erupt out and circulate in you. Amalgam removal alone can set this process off, either from increased exposure during removal and/or simply the stored mercury starting to shift.

Im afraid that you will have to go through this, there is no way around it becuase that mercury has got to come out. All the crying etc, is your body trying to eliminate that mercury. I have been through it also.

I had to use DMSA every 4 hours around the clock to help this process and sometimes it can help control symptoms also (if you tolerate the DMSA itself). But it must be taken every 4 hours (even at night), so the blood levels of DMSA are kept at the same levels, which means mercury will be shifted more evenly and safely, rather than more wildly and unpreditably moved around by random detoxes.

At least it worked for me. IT does for many other also. It was all i coudl tolerate, but I made sure I didn't start on too high a dose and you can take it for 3 days like this, or up to a week. Most take it for 3 days. You then take a break and rest from it for the same amount of time you spent on it (or longer if you want). and then repeat and continue the same on and off cycle until you reduce the blood of mercury.

This can take about 3 months. Then you can use a stronger chelator that can detox the brain (Alpha lipoic acid), But that should not be done until you have reduced the blood mercury first.

I hope this is helpful. You can order DMSA online if you want. Let me know if you're interested. Yes you will get back to normal, but again, it does take time and a safe tolerated chelation protocol will help that process.

Anything you can suggest I will try....any other respnoses appreciated.

Also, if I do this, does anyone know how long before I start experiencing some relief? My email is claythrow1@hotmail.com

Here is a link to DMSA if you wish to try it, you can order it from here:
http://www.vivagen.net/detoxprods.htm?

If you scroll down the page a bit, you will see the bottle of DMSA. It's the second one from the top, containing 120 capsules and they are 25 mg ones. This is a good dose to start, becuase it's not too high. Though some people have to start even lower, so they split the capsule in half if that is the case. And take about 12.5 mg instead. But 25 is a pretty good dose.

If you do get them and wish to try them, I would recommend to take them according to Andy Cutler's method (every 4 hour dosage). many people are doing this and finding relief. Some do not tolerate DMSA, so they may need to give it a miss. But to my mind it is well worth a try, as it will start reducing your blood levels of mercury and may provide relief, at last over time.

It is hard to predict how long it will take for you to improve. If the DMSA suits you? you may find yourself improving over time. Some find it can help them immediately, some have to wait a while. Usually it can take months to reduce enough mercury to where people start seeing more results, but again DMSA can sometimes provide immediate relief because it can also help suppress symptoms if it's taken every 4 hours because it acts to keep mercury more stable, as it's removing it at the sametime.

It depends on the person. Some find it may increase some symptoms instead, as it's moving mercury. So you never know which way it'll go. Symptom increase isn't a bad thing, so long as it's not beyond tolerance. Mercury being moved is not always possible not to notice it because mercury is so toxic, therefore moving it in anyway will usually aggravate symptoms. It also depends on how poisoned you are, so side effects are not always avoidable.

Since most of my problems seem to be mental/emotional (I have other ones but I don't care bout them) do you think its in my brain and I should start with the ALA? I just ordered andy cutler's book....

If I take a dose low enough to not experience severe sides will I still be doing any good?

This sucks.

My opinion, you definitely should not go the ALA routine on your own. You should make haste to find a good DR who deals with heavy metal toxicity on regular basis and follow his advice,. Everyone is different and you may have a combination of things (metals) going on. Your Dr can test for that.

Do not give up chelating, the first several weeks are always very difficult. But you definitely need to take the time and spend the money with a specialist Dr. This is your life. You can spend it screaming or you can spend some money which I know you hate to part with as much as I do, but we only have so many days and years to live so make the most of them. there's not really any reason to suffer.

And sue the dentist, please.

It is not wise to start too early with ALA, if your blood mercury is still high from recent exposure (e.g. amalgam remoal within the last few months). You are ok to start ALA about 3 months post amalgam removal or exposure, but not beforehand. If you are 3 months or more away from mercury exposure, you are free to use ALA and will effectively chelate yourself from that alone. Some have cured themselves from ALA, so yes it is effective and yes even on a very low dose. Wise to start low until you tolerated larger doses.

ALA is the main chelator, and is essential according to Andy. DMSA is great, but does not chelate organs and brain like ALA. It is more effective for reducing the blood/tissue first, though the body will naturally attempt to do that by itself, it's slow and often intolerable and DMSA can speed that up and often help symptoms as you go. Though it can create them, at least you are chelating much more than if you did nothing and waited it out.

Not all doctors or health professionals have had success with chelation either, there are plenty stories of patient backfires from them. Some absolutely horrific. But sure, it is hoped that one comes across one of them who has the track record that gives evidence their protocol can be trusted. But that has not always been the case. I have a friend that went to a doctor who was supposedly up on chelation and made him much worse. He needed psychiatric help because of it, yet had been improving before it.

So yeah, you have to be careful and find someone with a tried and tested method who has treated many patients, mostly with success. Not wise to be a guinea pig, though to some degree, we are becuase there is never any complete perfect answer to this toxicity or magic bullet. There is always some element of risk involved.

I would say too that your mental symptoms might not necessarily mean brain mercury either. Some people get a surprise to improve their mental symptoms simply from body detox with DMSA alone or other body detox. Sometimes mental symptoms can be caused by mercury in the liver/gut etc. And some physical symptoms can be caused by brain mercury.

Here is what Andy says on this matter. Brain V body mercury.

"It is pretty clear from case reports (from patients, not MD's).

Endocrine problems, especially poor stress tolerance: brain.

Emotional volatility, difficulty teling what people are about: brain

Difficutly getting along with people, attention deficit: brain

Brain fog is about 70/30 body/brain. Mostly it does go away even without
brain detox.

Yeast is actually a brain related problem (it is controlled by inadequate
hormone levels, especially hydrocortisone) and while it improves with body
detox, it doesn't go away until the brain is cleared if it is a real bad
case.

Allergies, food sensitivities, chemical sensitivities do mostly go away
with body detox.

Fibromyalgia seems to be mostly body tox. Chronic fatigue seems to be about
70/30 body/brain.

Andy Cutler

I think you and Andy are exactly right on this one, Bex! I read some of Andy's posts and he said that brain mercury has a strong tendency to accumulate in the hypothalamus and pituitary and the adrenal glands and thyroid gland can only operate as well as the hypothalmus and pituitary are operating. Adrenal and thyroid hormone underproduction seems like the most likely result. And like you mentioned, low levels of adrenal and thyroid hormones (especially cortisol) have a detrimental effect on our mental sphere.

Be well

your symptoms sound thyroid and adrenal related caused by mercury.
www.stopthethyroidmadness.com
if you go to the forums you'll see that people there are suffering the same issues as you and treating themselves with thyroid and adrenal meds and feeling better.Fibro, chronic fatigue, depression are thyroid related.
I hope this helps you.

I found that chelating was difficult and made me suicidal before i got on proper thyroid meds, now i can even handle ALA in small doses Andy Cutlers way.

I think sosick is right get some advice from someone trained and experienced in the area of heavy metal detox. I would also add be wary of DMSA it can make things feel worse. You could try Algin which is supposed to mop up mercury in the gut. I have found this helpful for me.

Plus whats your diet like? You might want to try an anti candida diet and see if things improve with that. Bex on this forum is knowledgable about that.

The tests that I have had done show normal thyroid levels, that page seems to convey that the specific test that I had done doesn't mean much. A saliva test I did with a naturpath showed low testosterone (I'm a male in case you didn't know) and low seratonin. So it does seem pituitary related. I have done a couple candida cleanses and my diet consists of many raw fruits and vegetables, no refined sugar and very little gluten, lots of filtered water, Meats in moderation and not daily. I don't think Candida is the problem as I never was like this until the heavy metal detox.

I had the fillings removed in november of 2005. I was taking a packaged "heavy metal detox" kit, consisted of chlorella, spirulina, glutathione etc, I'm sure you've seen them. Was also attempting my own detox with pure Cilantro extract and chlorella but was getting too tired to continue with it...do you think I mobilized too much and now it is stuck where it landed? Hopefully Andy's book will give me some help.

Would there be a downside to taking that thyroid stuff if I really didn't have a problem? It seems like I could, being so tired all the time...

Also, the naturopath test showed yeast and parasites. I did another candida cleanse, and a pretty intese parasite cleanse but never rechecked them due to cost. Also didn't thnk it was necessary since everything was during the heavy metal cleanse.

How did you get your fillings removed Anon? What protocol?

Symptoms could be candida/hypoglycemia related. or even parasite related.

What are you taking at the moment supplement and medication wise...maybe you should stop detocing for at least a month to see if the supplements might be causing you symptoms.

The dentist that did it did all the precautions, mouth dams, vacuums, oxygen etc. I'm sure that her end of things was good as she is well known for her work and she used all the necessary precautions. I have tried stopping supplementation all together and it doesn't change anything. I have been experimenting since I had the fillings out and nothing has helped...save the wellbutrin. Right now I/'m taking source of live vitamins, 300 mg of wellbutrin, 10mg of dhea, vit E, and 600 mg of chlorella.

How would I find a doctor who can help me with this? and is this the kind of thing insurance would cover?

I guess the question that worries me the most is if I can detox w/o side effects? This has already taken a huge toll on my relationship w my girlfriend and I can't afford to make things worse right now <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

I would def consider Diet changes if you suffer fibro...Do an ALCAT test and or YORK test and it can show you foods to avoid...also do a candida and hypoglycemia diet for at least 3 weeks...it will help and its not permanent just to fix your gut issues which can cause an array of symptoms.

Also you could try a neurotransmitters test which is done eithe rthrough blood plasma or better urine(Amino acid therapy)..Better than taking drugs....Also wellbutrin is good but it affects dopamime only and doesnt do anything to serotonin and heard it can cause anxiety but its good for add and concentration etc.

The information here may help the original poster as well (hopefully):

http://mercurytalk.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Index

Thank you everybody for your continued support. I think I stumbled upon something after doing much more research now.

While I was detoxing I became vegetarian. I was eating soy and tofu but not huge amounts...could it be that I continued to mobilize w/out being able to excrete and that is why I'm having these problems now? Or is the protein factor not super important... And if I did just mobilize and not excrete, I think I would have massive amounts in me now, deposited all over the map...is that damage permanent? I just want to be mentally stable like I used to be <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

I have done the candida diet a few times, cleanses a few times, I take a probiotic now etc. I'm not worried about candida...All of this was instantaeous with the heavy metal detox.

I am not sure it's wise to try to simultaneously candida cleanse and chelate. I would think chelating is the priority.

B vitamins are really good for moodiness, you may have a shotrage in that category. I use this powdered multi supplement which is loaded with very absorbable vitiamin B's and lots of other good stuff. It's the All-1 product on this page: http://www.healthmasters.com/products/ingredientsA-D.shtml It's got very low copper and no iron and very compatible with chelating (take it on days you are not chelating though).

You might want to also consider a good quality cod liver oil also, helps protect your cell (and brain cell) membranes against damage, very important during chelating. I take that every day, especially prior to chelating meds and it helps me a lot. A good quality Vitamin E and a bit of extra selenium may be helpful. I sometimes take a double dose of that powered multi mix and find that that also is a very good lifter upper.

In general, pharmaceuticals contain poisonous metals (aluminum, titanium dioxide for example) that will work against your chelating efforts, possibly a dangerous situation also since metals in combination can create new ranges of toxicity. Pharmaceuticals are also generally not good for your kidneys in particular.

Simply staying away from sugar is good to keep candida at bay. Xylitol is a well known safe and excellent tasting sugar substitute that also helps raise your body's ph and helps keep bacteria at bay. We generally use the pure birch variation here. Honey is also a natural anti-bacterial you can use intsead of sugar or cane products, local fresh again is best. Likewise coconut oil is an anti-bacterial and provides fatty acids which your body needs (like cod liver oil) to protect cell membranes against oxidative damage by things like toxins and heavy metals.

It sounds like you need better nutrition, those B's should be at the top of your list, and more cell membrane protection.

I would not use any pharmeceuticals, only a mask not a cure, may create new problems downline.

Just my 2 cents.

I would have to second so sick on these suggestions. I agree that it's wiser to concentrate on diet and supplements and fats, rather than attempt to get too heavily into candida cleanses.

Chelation is the cure, candida diet is the most important first step of controlling candida, plus is healthy as well. aNtifungals and candida cleanses maybe too much for you and could actually release too many toxins at once.

Diet at least does it slowly and gradually. and the added bonus of coconut oil being a natural antifungal as sosick said, plus you can include garlic in your diet. Those things are natural and will also help reduce candida.

Often that is more than enough on its own to cause candida die off symptoms, so it's wise to stick with that, rather than rush into anything more. Again chelation is the answer, if in fact it's all be caused by mercury.

In one of my posts above I listed my diet and supplementation. The vitamins I take have a full range of B and most other important vitamins, all absorbable and high concentrations. I take cod liver oil everyday, vit E, a cal/mag tea everyday at night, DHEA, Chlorella, spirulina (included in the vitamins) I eat mostly raw fruits and vegetables, some meat, excellent fats, no sugar, very little gluten. I assure you, diet and supplementation is not the problem...everything in the last two posts I have been doing for months.

I appreciate the diet suggestions, but everything that people are suggesting I am already doing <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> I eat cleaner and wiser than Adam and Eve, always have even before cleansing as I am a health nut.


I have ordered Algin, DMSA, and selenuim. The vitamin E I used is the best in the world and the only acceptable vit E IMO (unigue E is what its called if you want to research it) As far as the pharmacueticals, is there a way to find out if Wellbutrin has metal in it? Unfortunately there is no way I can stop that at this point, its the only thing keeping me alive and functioning. Its not even a question of if I can tough through it, I am suicidal w/o it, and the chronic fatigue is so bad I am not functioning w/o it.

As a side point, 600 Mg daily of Chlorella makes me tired. I've experimented on and off it, and it definately has that effect, hopefully I'm chelating some already. I just hope I can get past this soon, maybe by the end of this year would be nice.

Diet is one thing, but it won't help much if its hormones your body needs. Most people with amalgam illness have thyroid / adrenal issues, and possibly low sex hormones. As well as doing the diet, I take thyroid and adrenal support, and replace the female sex hormones that my body can't make any more. Skewed hormones will make you feel depressed and fatigued.

You might want to look into doing a hormone panel, to find out where you are low, and get your thyroid and adrenals tested. The link Dawn gave earlier on is excellent and should give you all the info you need.

Best
Nicola

Anon... If it helps and your doctor wants you to take it, keep taking your Welbutrin. There are other experts in Mercury detox that say you might have to take anti depressents, for a time, while you chelate. Andy Cutler says, in his book, that due to your mercury poisoned metabolism you may have a need for things like this for a time. He says that when mercury poisoning causes metabolic defects that make you suffer by making your brain work improperly, these medications and/or supplements help your brain work properly until your detoxed, like you would do for your kidneys or liver.

Wellbutrin can cause serious problems when you stop it suddenly. It is possible that your doctor could look into another medication. I know someone who took Welbutrin, but changed dramatically for the better when the doctor put her on another anti depressant.

Otherwise, good for you. Sounds like you are doing all you can with diet and supplements. Just a possibility...I've read where some can't take Chlorella.

Exactly, Diets for candida can help but make sure you keep your sugar levels balanced if your hypoglycemic. Also food allergy tests like ALCAT and YORK test for IgG and cellular changes (2 diff tests).

Also Hormones, play a big role and make sure you arent chelating too much as you are losng more minerals and should do a HMA test Hair mineral analysis.

Nicola... BTW, I agree with you on hormones. They can create havoc on a person emotionally. And chelating too much can create it's own problems

I've tried other anti depressants and they didn't work. The Wellbutrin is not for depression, though I suffer from that severly since the heavy metal cleanse, but rather for the chronic fatigue. Other antidepressants just make me more tired.

I think that the people who can't tolerate Chlorella are due to stomach problems. I'd be very interested if some just couldn't take it due to its chelating properties.

Does the Chlorella loosen merc by itself? Or will it just chelate what is already free? Wondering why when on it I get more tired and notably depressed.

Before I found my Dr, a really good one, I researched merc poisoning on the net. I got some good ideas at Curezone, ideas about cilantro, chlorella etc. I started self treating. I am not recommending you do that. I don't think it actually made things worse, but for sure it didn't really help. I waited several weeks (not really sure about being mercury poisoned but the symptoms seemed to match everything I had read) before finding the Dr. I went to him because it was becoming evident to me that things were not getting better despite my self-treating. I was afraid i would end up a permanent cripple. I would wake up in the morning feeling like I was about to die. My internal organs ached all this time. I started doing the fruit smoothies with fiber and that helped a lot, but I was not getting better. I was ready to write my last will I kid you not.

I found the Dr, they ran the tests. I had to wait another 3 weeks for the test results before going in for treatment the first time. I limped in. They put me straight onto IV EDTA. It only took about 2-3 weeks of 2 per week IV EDTA treatments before I started feeling noticeably, noticeably better. I stopped limping, the numbness in my limbs began to recede, everything. Then they started 1 IV DMPS along with the EDTA every week, again noticeably better all the time. Then I finally got up the nerve to go in for a colonic, just a few weeks ago for that really, and that made a major difference also. The aching legs and hips disappeared within 3 short days of the very first one. My stomach feels almost normal by now.

The IV treatments that a good heavy metal DR can do with you will enourmously reduce your chelating time. There are also other benefits to the IV chelation that make it easier for your body to heal quickly.

Your nutrition regimien sounds great.

I tried a parasite cleanse, lightly, only for 5 days a couple weeks ago after the colonic lady started telling me about parasites. I am glad I did it but couldn't bear to finish the regimen (I bought Paragone at the health food store), it made me feel real lousy again. I still have it on the shelf and will try that again in maybe 4 or 5 months when my metal burden is much lower.

I use chlorella every day btw. It does not make me depressed. I have been tired a lot but the DR says to expect that as a matter if routime when chelating, it is tiring for your body to chelate, essentially you are healing and simply need more sleep. your body likes to heal while you sleep.

Just a tip: I would not take cilantro with the presence of another chelator. Cilantro generally moves mercury in the brain and central nervous system into "shallower" stores that are more easily accessible by sulphur-based chelators.

Cilantro... Good, but with chlorella or another chelator and usually later in a detox program. It's powerful.

Hope this helps someone.

I agree. With all due respect to sosick, who is under the guidance of a health professional with a particular regime/protocol, advising cilantro to someone else under another protocol of another health professional (who does not advise cilantro ordinarily), throwing cilantro into the mix of their protocol may not be the wisest move, as the person is then following two different things at once.

Sosick, I know it's working for you, but again you are also under someone different who does things very differently from Andy (IV as an example). And all their stuff combined maybe why it is working (as you suggested on the other thread). This person is using Andy's particular protocol, and if they start deviating from that to do a bit of this or that, it may not work so well or they could risk themselves in the process.

Andy gives some caution on cilantro, though he says people can use it if they cannot use ALA or do not tolerate it, he feels it's better used much later on in the programme.

Here is a link with his comments on this, which I think are very reasonable and logical. Bear in mind, he's qualified and has been working in mercury chelation for many years, successfuly chelating adults and children around the globe, so he does know what he's talking about!
http://onibasu.com/archives/am/2414.html
But certainly he feels it is safe to first reduce blood levels with DMSA and later start using stuff that can reduce the brain/nervous system mercury, which can be used alone or alongside the DMSA. DMSA is usually a really good idea to use alongside ALA or Cilantro, becuase DMSA can keep things more stable and sometimes the mercury these other chelating agents are pulling out of the brain and central nervous system, the DMSA can then grab onto it, so it does an extra cleaning job and again, can be safer than using those products on their own.

As you can read, Andy is not explicitly against cilantro, but he's advises some caution.

Dietrich Klinghardt MD, PhD, Neurologist...on Cilantro :

This kitchen herb is capable of mobilizing mercury, cadmium, lead and aluminum in both bones and the central nervous system. It is probably the only effective agent in mobilizing mercury stored in the intracellular space (attached to mitochondria, tubulin, liposomes etc) and in the nucleus of the cell (reversing DNA damage of mercury). Because cilantro mobilizes more toxins then it can carry out of the body, it may flood the connective tissue (where the nerves reside) with metals, that were previously stored in safer hiding places. This process is called re-toxification. It can easily be avoided by simultaneously giving an intestinal toxin-absorbing agent. A recent animal study demonstrated rapid removal of aluminum and lead from the brain and skeleton superior to any known other detox agent. Even while the animal was continuously poisoned with aluminum, the bone content of aluminum continued to drop during the observation period significantly.

Dosage and application of cilantro tincture: give 2 drops 2 times /day in hot water in the beginning, taken just before a meal or 30 minutes after taking chlorella (cilantro causes the gallbadder to dump bile - containing the excreted neurotoxins - into the small intestine. The bile-release occurs naturally as we are eating and is much enhanced by cilantro. If no chlorella is taken, most neurotoxins are reabsorbed on the way down the small intestine by the abundant nerve endings of the enteric nervous system). Gradually increase dose to 10 drops 3 times/day for full benefit. During the initial phase of the detox cilantro should be given 1 week on, 2 -3 weeks off. Fresh organic Cilantro works best (as much as person can compress in one hand), when given in hot Miso soup. Miso contains synergistically acting amino acids.

The cilantro seems to help me. I have mentioned this before, I take chlorella w/some fiber about 20-30 minutes before eating a small bunch (1 teaspoon or so) of cilantro with a couple of DMSA 25 mg tabs. Then maybe add another 25 mgs DMSA 30 minutes later. I think I will change that a bit given the info above from Dental Holocaust. I think i will take a DMSA tab with the chlorella about 20-30 minutes before eating some cilantro and taking a coupple more DMSA tabs. I only do this once a day, in the evening.

Cilantro is an ingredient in many DMSA chelation formulas. There is also EDTA in those formulas, and a good amount of the DMSA and EDTA in oral chelation formulas remains in the stomach and is not absorbed into the bloodstream so I think i am covered pretty well there. Must be, I feel better when i add the cilantro, and as I have also mentioned before, it cures my headaches. Really. The DMSA formula alone is not as effective.

I actually went kayaking today. Feeling rather well as a matter of fact. No numbness in my arms or fingers, no headaches, no limping, nothing. I can't imagine this is bad for me.

I am aware of cilantro's excellent mobilization properties and that is why I add a bit of fresh. Ummm, I love miso too, sounds wonderful.