Hi Everyone,

Thank you so much everybody for all the comments and suggestions.

Here’s my update:

I saw Dr Garcia on Wednesday. I’d been so looking forward to having my recent mercury filling out and replaced with something non-toxic (she uses cerac), but it turned out that due to admin/scheduling confusion as a result of one of the office staff being away on holiday, they had booked me for a consultation only (although on the phone, I’d been confirmed for the consultation and replacement all in one visit).

They began by taking full mouth x-rays with a special x-ray machine that emits only 10% of the usual amount of radiation. After that, Dr Garcia talked with me and gave me the following facts and recommendations:

1-The molar that has had that recent amalgam filling (that caused my body to have such a violent reaction to its toxicity) is sandwiched between a molar with an old root canal and another molar with an amalgam filling.

2-She feels the root canal tooth should be extracted.

3-Once extracted, the root canal tooth would be #1 in a trio of teeth that I’ll label thus: #1) root canal tooth, #2) recent amalgam molar, #3) an old amalgam molar.

4-Therefore, the solution--for this part of my mouth—is to have a bridge made for the empty spot where the root canal tooth was (spot #1) that would be held down by the other two amalgam teeth (spots #2 and #3), except they won’t be amalgam fillings any longer because she will replace both those amalgams with cerac.

5-Once that bridge job is done, she will go on to replace the rest of my amalgam fillings over time.

And of course the whole thing is going to be VERY expensive, but I knew it would. We can’t afford this, but have to do it anyway. Fortunately, Dr Garcia’s office has a no-interest long-term payment plan.

Fortunately, I only have the one root canal, and my total number of amalgam fillings is 8 (not 10-12 as I’d suspected from peering into my maw in the mirror).

Although I was there because I just wanted to get that latest filling out of my mouth asap (and then proceed, over time and as budget permits, with replacing all the rest of my amalgams), in the end I was glad we sat down to talk it over given the situation. This somewhat slower plan makes much more sense, because as she pointed out, I’d have to get the root canal tooth out at some point anyway (sooner rather than later; and she believes it is a causal factor in my health problems) and, if I just get the one amalgam replaced now, it would have to be re-replaced at that later point when the bridge is being done.


(On a side note, my husband pointed out that a lady who was there at the same time as us is a regular patient who had flown in from Israel to get dental treatment… we were rather impressed by what this says about Dr Garcia.)

I tried to describe all that as clearly as possible but I’ve a feeling it may not be all that clear... It does all make sense to me, though.

I now have an appointment for next month for the extraction of the root canal tooth. I couldn’t handle scheduling it any earlier than that because I have my big exam coming up. I am disappointed not to have this bloody “battery” out of my mouth by now as I’d hoped, but this whole thing—severe toxic reaction to it and ensuing research research research until I had some answers, information and a general plan {THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU RUSS AND LAURA FOR THIS AMAZING FORUM RESOURCE AND FOR ALL THE DATA AND MATERIAL YOU HAVE RPOVIDED--AND THANK YOU TO EVERYONE ELSE FOR SHARING ALL YOUR QUESTIONS, TRIUMPHS AND LOWS. ALL OF IT IS JUST INVALUABLE TO “NEWBIES” LIKE ME WHO ARE GROPING IN THE DARK}, has already stolen a huge amount of my studying time.

So, I’ll be off-list for a while (except for an occasional lurk and perhaps a post or 2) until my exam is done.

OP


P.S.

Hey Elvis, my area of scholarship is dance history—more specifically, death and dance in all its manifestations (dancing at funerals, dancing as grief and trauma therapy, dance in which death is represented, and the list goes on). It's not as gloomy as it sounds! A second area of specialization is world dance and dance and human migration. I’m from Montreal originally but am now back and forth between Toronto and Illinois until my PhD is finished (!) and then will be permanently in the US.

Boldylox, my grandmother, too, died of colon cancer. And I have her body (well, not literally! You know what I mean! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />) and so, especially now and as I age, I must actively try to keep that from happening to me… There’s also a lot of ovarian/reproductive cancer in the women in my family tree… I *try* not to worry, and am trying to do the right things to avert that fate… I feel *so much* for Sandi, in her battle with OC. My mother is currently battling OC as well. She was diagnosed in 1999 and is, several rounds of chemo later, still doing great, and very very healthy—KNOCK ON A MAASIVE PIECE OF WOOD (a cathedral door will do! [trivia tangent: did you know, actually, that the expression “knock on wood” originates from a custom in the middle ages wherein desperate pursued/persecuted people would knock on the cathedral door for refuge?])

Russ, I read your story: it is just amazing—a wealth of informative and inspiring material. Thank you so much for writing it all up in such rich detail and sharing it so others could benefit. And again, thank you for running this forum resource. It is such an amazing "place" and is so brilliantly providing that crucial support which is so particualrly needed when we are facing scepticism and ridicule from all around us in our dealings with people who ought to be supportive (doctors, family members, etc.). You are a giant hero in this "amalgam battle" landscape.

Re colonics, meridians and zapping… I have respect for all of these therapies/theories, although I need more information about the latter two… Interestingly, my husband tells me he had an acquaintance in Toronto who was Korean-Canadian who had two molars pulled rather than have fillings (of any kind) put in. He told my husband that he felt really great after the extractions and that this approach was common practice back in South Korea. I think that’s an interesting anecdote when you consider that the meridian system is Asian in origin. But I suppose this only goes to show that there are always going to be multiple approaches and viewpoints everywhere—just like in this forum. As you all have pointed out, seems like most of the time, for people dealing with “neglected” illnesses like ours, we have to proceed by trial and error and figure out what works best for us as individuals. Although I've been battling candida for ages (10 years +) and a host of other symptoms (textbook mercury poisoning stuff), I feel like I'm really just beginning that journey, now that I know about mercury poisoning.