I am 36 years old. I had about 26 amalgam fillings put in my mouth between the ages of 8 and 12. It was called preventative dentistry back then. I don't think I actually had any cavities !!

In my early twenties I was living in Japan for about 4 years and was exposed to a lot of toxic chemicals at golf courses. During this period I also had a number of vaccine shots containing thimerosal. This was a very scary period of my life. The change in me was like night and day. I became extremely anxious, irritable, angry, did not menstruate for 4 years, very bad breast tenderness, fatigue, poor immune system, battled with glandular fever, became sensitive to light and suffered with all the regular candida symptoms.

When I returned to Australia, I went from doctor to doctor, even saw a psychiatrist as I thought I was going insane. None of them helped me whatsoever. They all just tried to give me scripts for antibiotics. I then saw a naturopath when I was about 26. I made a lot of changes to my diet and started using some herbs. I felt a lot better and my periods returned, which eased the PMS symtoms somewhat.

In my late twenties, I studied Naturopathy for three years and through my own research I worked out that I had a prolactin secreting pituitary tumour. An MRI confirmed my fears. All my focus went to the tumour and I found some herbs like Chaste Tree and Peonia which gave me back some quality of life.

I was still experiencing a lot of symptoms and I guess that I had just learned to live with it. However, early last year I started to develop tingling and numbness in my feet, hands and face. This really scared me, so my search for better health started all over again. It was June last year when I made the connection with all my symptoms and mercury toxicity. The fact that I had 26 fillings, had had numerous vaccine shots and had two great grandmothers with Parkinson's disease made me realise that my Pituitary tumour was not the root cause of my illness but merely another symptom of mercury poisoning.

I had all my amalgams removed last November and December by a holistic dentist. I lost a tooth during the process which I was not very happy about. I was in agony for about 6 weeks and was living on pain killers. I don't think I have ever experienced such pain before.

After that tooth was finally extracted and I got over that I actually had a few months in which I felt quite good. The most substantial relief was from my brain fog.

However, about 6 months after removal I went down hill again and all my symptoms came back with a vengeance. The brain fog is worse than ever.

I am now on my third round of DMSA and seem to be tolerating it quite well. I think I may introduce ALA at about round 6. Even though I don't feel fantastic I do have faith that I will get better. I still have a lot of work to do on my liver which would probably help the chelation process immensely. I have a glass of red wine nearly every evening so I really think that has to go by the wayside. The fact that I had a couple of really good months earlier, has inspired me to keep trying.

Oh one thing I forgot to mention was that during my amalgam removal and just after, the pins and needles and numbness was greatly exacerbated. However, I haven't experienced this symptom now for about 6 weeks now. This is a good sign. Naturopathic philosophy generally believes that the last symptoms to appear will be the first to disappear when one starts to recover.

Anyway best of luck to you all. All we can do is just keep trying, sharing information and moral support and trying our best to get on with life with a smile.

Cheers from Rachie