Tracy, I'm so sorry you've been through so much difficulty these past few years. It's been a really rough ride for you and your family from the sound of it. And I was amazed to see the issues that developed between you and Dr. Hesham. Did you eventually get that resolved?

I am not an expert and obviously I can't diagnose you or tell you what to go and take as a magic bullet. Circumstances have just dictated that I've spent the last 14 months doing intensive learning about health and nutrition. I've learned a lot from the holistic health practitioner on my drug withdrawal list, watched her advise many others as well as myself. I've read a number of very good books. All this has only led to a fraction of what I'd like to know, but it's a start at least.

The number one thing it sounds like you need is general healing and repair to your body. You may be mercury poisoned, but you will not be able to chelate the way you need to if you do not strengthen up. Same goes for taking nutritional supplements. I think you desperately need these, but have been having some problems with them. Diet is going to be the way that you can start putting things right.

I've seen many others here suggest this too -- Dawn, Bex, etc. At one point you mentioned what you'd been eating -- a sandwich, porridge, cider. If you want to commit to healing then you are going to need to get very strict about this. You say you could eat whatever you liked up until about 3 years ago, and I expect that used to be the case for many of us. But then years of poor diet start catching up, and other things happen, e.g. mercury poisoning, and it becomes impossible to ignore the needs of our bodies the way we once did.

I'll try to explain briefly. Your mother told you that mental illness runs in your family. Someone here told you that what runs in your family could be sensitivity to toxins. It could also be nutritional deficiencies, and the ways they manifest themselves. When you are born, your health reflects that of your mother's. If she was deficient in nutrients, you will be too. If you ate the standard British diet as you grew up, and took no supplements, then it is almost certain you are deficient in multiple vitamins and minerals. In some people this can manifest as mental illness, or cancer, or heart disease. Sometimes it takes decades to happen, but eventually the consequences catch up.

Some people here have said that we should be wary of taking vitamin supplements, and that it should be possible to get all the nutrition we need from our food. This is a fallacy. There is evidence that the fruit and veg we eat now are significantly depleted in nutrients from those that were available just a few decades ago, due to intensive farming. Furthermore, until the beginning of agriculture, people got most of their vitamins and minerals from fruit and veg. Grains are inferior sources of these things. Yet today, the typical Western diet consists of lots of processed grains and few fruit and veg. My own husband will go a whole day without eating one serving of fruit or veg if I let him. I seem to care more about his health than he does, and he is not very healthy.

When we go back to putting the things in our bodies that we need for our health, in the right amounts, and eliminate things that the body doesn't cope with so well, then we are on our way to improved health. This goes for every illness and disease I can imagine. It takes discipline, but it can be hugely rewarding, and it can be the cure that many people are seeking but will never find because they are not willing to make the necessary changes.

Some people here are already doing this because they know it is helping them to get well, and when they make a slip they feel it. I've read a lot of comments here about that.

I would recommend that you try the Paleolithic diet. You have plenty of veg, fruit, protein, and healthy fats. Cut out grains, potatoes, legumes, dairy, sugar, and processed foods. And alcohol and caffeine. It isn't as restrictive as it sounds. I'm not doing it with the aim of losing weight, but that's what happens to me, even though I comfortably fill myself up with good food, some of it quite rich. I could never go back to eating the way I was.

I believe the candida diet is quite similar. I wouldn't take any antifungals though, while there is still mercury in your system; I believe you have been through a bad experience there.

I'll stress again, diet is the number one thing you can do to improve your health. You should start feeling better quite quickly on Paleo.

The next thing would be to find some supplements that work for you. Do you still see the natural healer you mentioned, and are you taking what they recommended? What did they recommend?

Vitamin C is crucial for immune system support. If a few kinds haven't worked for you, I'd say keep trying. Also, start with very small doses and build up.

It also sounds like you would really benefit from magnesium. Maybe your son would too, as heart problems can often be linked to a magnesium deficiency. (In some ERs, it is the protocol to administer intravenous magnesium to all heart patients.) It also can help you to sleep at night. You say you didn't get on with citrate. Oxide is useless. There are other kinds you can try though, like taurate. Or like lizbet suggested at one point, you could try epsom salt baths. I think it's really important for you to get this into your system. It's good to take calcium with it too. I'd suggest taking them in a 2:1 mag:cal ratio, as they work synergystically.

I'm sure you'd benefit from other things too, like a good spectrum of B-vitamins, the vitamin E and selenium recommended here for mercury-toxic people, and fish oil. Have you tried fish oil? Bex said at one point that she takes a combination of supplements and feels better for it. This is important, because they work together in the body. People often seem to make the mistake of thinking that taking one or two things alone will solve their problems.

Also, for quite some time you seem to have been aware of a thyroid problem. You would probably feel a lot better if you could get this sorted. You asked recently how you could get Armour. It does seem to be available here in the UK. Do you have a doctor who can prescribe it for you? I think Dawn has been through this process herself. I'm amazed that you've been diagnosed hypothyroid all this time and nothing seems to have been done about it.

It also occurs to me that you could possibly have problems with a leaky gut. This can cause the autoimmune troubles and recent food allergies you've described. I believe that's been discussed here. The solution is, again, strict diet and supplements. Are you still taking probiotics?

Some of your problems could also be due to blood sugar fluctuations. When the body becomes hypoglycemic you can start to feel depressed, tired, and anxious. Again, diet and supplements will help here.

I would leave off with chelation until your body is stronger, or you are likely to make yourself worse. This has happened with the DMSA and ALA you took. Eventually you might be able to use these but obviously not yet.

Can I ask if you are doing anything along the diet and supplemens route right now? Are you on any meds? Still taking lorazepam? Are you off the steroids?

Also, you said you'd been on 5 different antidepressants. Can I ask what kinds they were, and when you took them? This could have some bearing on how you are feeling now. At the very least, these meds will have made any existing nutritional deficiencies worse.

I hope you can find some ideas here to help you Tracy. I'm sure that dietary changes will be beneficial. If you'd like more info on the Paleolithic diet, I can give you some links.

Take care and let me know if I can be of any more help.

Linda.