Just wanted to share what's been happening with me. I now have a copy of Andy Cutler's book and it's given me some useful ideas. It sounds to me like he sees ALA as the most crucial chelation agent, and the dosages he recommends are higher than the dosages for DMSA at the top end.

I know I need DMSA to help pull the mercury out, and I was going to keep it and the ALA at 50mg. Since reading Cutler's book I thought I may as well have a go at starting to up the ALA dosage; it's a lot cheaper than DMSA and it's well within my capability to do so.

I just finished a round at 50mg DMSA and 75mg ALA. Very quickly I realised I had to go from 4-hourly to 3-hourly doses because I was starting to feel crappy in the 4th hour. Means I have to wake up twice at night now LOL, not too conducive to a good night's sleep.

ALA is weird stuff. I mix these drinks -- water, with powdered DMSA and ALA, because I have to open the capsules to get the correct dosages. I don't like drinking the powdery ALA, it doesn't dissolve well. It also is making me gassy and my wee smells of sulphur LOL. Have to see how I go there. I don't want to actually start smelling like a walking, talking rotten egg.

On the plus side, I think this was still a good idea. I have been feeling a bit better. My mood has been lighter. The SAD symptoms have not been as troublesome. I've been starting to get tantalising little glimpses, over the past few weeks, of what it used to feel like to really be well. It reminds me briefly of what a zombie I've become; you forget what it's like to really be alive. I hope that as I continue to chelate, these glimpses will become more frequent, and they will cease to be glimpses and become noticeable spells of feeling good. It's a gradual process for me, nothing dramatic, but I think the evidence is certainly that I'm climbing my way back up.

Yesterday and today I've been feeling slightly drunk, which is rather inconvenient. Sometimes this happens; symptoms come and go. It means I have to make an effort to be sensible so that I don't spend too much money on something; yesterday I should have been stricter with the classes I was teaching but I was in this "whatever the hell, doesn't bother me" kind of fog, which really is just not helpful. Having said that, it's better than feeling depressed and hopeless.

I'm going to keep it at 75mg ALA for the next round, then try increasing to 100mg. Wish me luck <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

LindaLou

great to hear how you are doing.

I think Andy Cutler says that ALA gives a euphoric feeling - might be the 'drunkenness' that you are talking about.

I would still go easy with the increases though. Sometimes the symptoms can build until after the round. I was doing fine at 17mg DMSA on round, but suffering badly afterwards, and I've now decided to go back to 12.5mg for now. Also, expect to feel worse around 6 months post-amalgam removal - a lot of people have to lower their doses then.

Best of luck and keep us posted.

Nicola

hi linda, your doing good, im taking only 15mg ala every 3 hrs without dmsa, at the moment im getting alot of anxiety, fatigue, and suicidal thoughts but im not sure if its the ala or just me, i havnt had the suicidal thoughts in a long time, it was quite a shock,im feeling detatched again aswell.
im waiting for dmsa to arrive, so i can add it into the end of this round to ease side effects hopefully.
good luck!

Thanks for the heads-up Nicola. I hope I am already in the organ-dumping stage; I am 5 months post-removal. As I have been chelating since then, hopefully I won't end up getting a big bad smack in the face.

Could well be that the euphoria was from the ALA. It seems to have died away this evening. I've been quite irritable and my mood is lower than it was, which is all probably to be expected from re-distribution after a round. It's manageable though. I've had times in the past, too, when I've tried to increase the DMSA or the ALA and felt so much worse that I gave it up. It's a matter of listening to your body isn't it.

I hope this does help because if it turns out that mercury really isn't my main problem, I'd be stuck for what to do next.

Dawn, have you run out of DMSA? SeekNatural can take a while to send it sometimes.

I briefly tried chelation with ALA on its own myself. I felt dreadful, very much how you've described. I decided that I need to use the DMSA as well as ALA because it seems to grab the mercury and pull it out of me in a way that ALA does not.

Hang in there Dawn, hope you get that DMSA soon <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Welcome back Lindalou <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/applause.gif" alt="" />

Yeah, don’t go overboard in the ALA. If its working don’t over-do-it and bugger everything up. If you feel good on the dose…stick with it. Andy would say stick with it for a long time.

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

thanks linda, im waiting for some from the US. im seeing if its cheaper from there than seeknatural. Dawn.

I'm flying to Denver tomorrow to spend the week with family. Haven't been able to chelate for about a week for various reasons, and I'm waiting to start Saturday -- can't do it while travelling.

At the end of the last round, I had some of the best sleep I remember having had for a long time. Got tired at a normal time, slept like a log all night, woke at 6 am feeling well rested and wide awake. By now, I am getting sleepy at 8 pm and am snapping awake at 4am. The body clock dysregulation seems to have been my number one symptom the whole time I've been ill and it continues to be a good gauge of what's happening with my body.

I am no longer in any doubt that mercury is a big part of my problem. I can always see the symptoms creeping back when I've been off chelation longer than usual. It isn't as bad as it was a few months back thank goodness, but still noticeable and troublesome. I have 12 bottles of DMSA waiting for me in the US, where it's half the price, and I'm nervous about getting through customs with all the herbs and vitamins -- I think it's going to be worthwhile though.

Merry Christmas to everyone and health and healing to you all <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Linda.

Some people(fast metabolisers) get worse on ALA every 4 hours. I would stick to 3 hour dosing to avoid redistribution. It's much safer and if you add DMSA it's even better.

AI was written in 1999. Since that time many more people have been using the protocol. It has been discovered that even lower doses are best to start with. Dmsa 12.5mg and LA 12.5mg to start with. Then gradually moving up until symptoms become too much, the dosage is then reduced to a more symptom free level. The idea is that rounds should be as symptom free as possible. Chelation is a long term affair and life needs to be bearable during that time. The amount of metal removed is not that much less at lower more manageable dosages of either dmsa and/or ala.

Happy to hear you making progress.

Happy Christmas to you too <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Hi Linda, it is good that you have nailed your problem though and that it does seem to be mercury. Yeah unfortunately ceasing chelation can cause the symptoms to increase again, because the mercury is sitll leaking out and tends to fill you back up.

Chelation can make you feel worse for a while and then as it catches up with what's coming out, it can "keep you well" to a point. This is what I have picked up by reading Andy's book.

There comes a time when the improvements start to become permanent, and you should be able to stop chelating at some point and not have any worsening. But it takes a long time to reach that stage.

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/merryxmas.gif" alt="" /> Linda, and wishing you health/healing too. And have an enjoyable Christmas break! WIll see you again when you return!

take care. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/byebye.gif" alt="" />

hi linda lou : very glad to hear that you are reaping the rewards of your efforts , I know how it is to deal with depression , it is one of the worst symtoms of mercury poisoning in my opinion , I am just glad you are doing better

Thanks guys <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Got back yesterday. I had been hoping to come on the forum while I was away but my husband had a monopoly on the laptop computer and I didn't much feel like doing computer stuff myself anyway. I really struggled.

Managed a 4-day round of chelation there but it didn't seem to help much. Sleep problems were bad and so was the depression. I'm starting another round today. I've been to the US with my family twice previously and neither visit was as bad as this. Guess I just have to put it behind me and look forward to starting my new job this week. Maybe that will help lift me out of the murk.

I was concerned about getting through customs because the UK puts rather a strict limit on the value of things you can bring from overseas. I managed to fit 12 bottles of DMSA into a large empty vitamin C container LOL, but it turns out I could have brought a fur coat and diamonds for all the concern there was at the airport -- I didn't have to fill out any forms, there wasn't anyone staffing customs, and there never is.

Looking forward to chatting with you all. Thanks for the continuing support, and here's to a new year that sees us all feeling happier and healthier <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Welcome back drug smuggler <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/armed.gif" alt="" />

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

Welcome back Linda <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hi.gif" alt="" /> . I am sorry to hear about how bad you felt on this trip. It is quite devastating when you start noticing some improvements and then the same old stuff hits you again, which I guess tells us that we are still very toxic and more is required.

Hoping that continued chelation will eventually bring you out of this tendency to relapse into this and improvements will be permanent, not transitory. I do remember the transitory improvements whilst chelating and then being pushed back into a pit. Unfortunately the only way for healing to take place often times is repeats of old symptoms and often even more intense than they were! Retracing. Horrible horrible thing, it's like a nightmare returning over and over, but eventually it improves.

Anyway, just keep on doing what you're doing and don't give up. For me? I very stupidly cheated on my diet after doing so well for weeks on end. I had it in my mind it wasn't going to happen and I did it anyway. Though it was Xmas and probably in a way understandable, I could have quite easily gotten through it without doing that. It's more about feeling better and enjoying other people (family etc). I know food is a big deal too, but not when it destroys progress.

So my pain right now is self inflicted lol, but the main thing is getting back up and trying again.

Cheers and glad you got the DMSA smuggled over here safely <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

welcome back lindalou: I see you didn't have to swallow ballons filled with dmsa , to get through customs (ha ha ) just my sad attempt at humor , glad you made it back safe and hope you feel better soon.

Thanks Sunshine, Bex and Mikey for the welcome back. It's lovely to come here and read friendly, warm and supportive messages. If I'd known I was going to sail through customs like that, I would have offered to get DMSA for others here in the UK. Unfortunately there's just no way to tell. In the USA, each returning resident is allowed to bring a total value of $800 (£400) into the country with them, before customs charges. In the UK, if you're returning from outside the EU, it's £145. I don't know why they sock you like that; maybe they're after the people going to New York to spray their money around or something.

Jet lag initially worked in reverse for me here. I had a couple of days when I was alert at night and planned schoolwork with ease; my mind was clear, and I felt calm and confident. My emotions even started to come back. I dared to hope that this signalled the end of the depression, in anticipation of my new job, but unfortunately I'm back to the same-old same-old now: muddybrained, emotionally numb, generally half-dead (though at least the liquorice extract seems to be giving me the physical energy to do what I have to do). It's making the teaching a bit difficult. My "spark" isn't there, and when I got into my classroom first thing this morning I had a spell where I cried for no reason. Managed to pull myself together and get psyched with some positive self-talk.

Looks like the bottom line is that I just need to keep chelating. I've changed as much in my life as I could and if any of that was causing the depression, it should be going or gone by now. Chelation is really all I have left. I'll be starting another round tomorrow.

Thanks for listening guys. This is one frustrating process.

Welcome back linda.
yeh its all ups and downs for me too. when im feeling normal, i cant believe i could have felt so crap, and when im feeling crap i cant believe i can feel normal. lol.
ive been chelating now for well over a year and still suffering with anxiety and depression and feeling weird but not all the time, thank god. it can take a few years sometimes to get better, i know thats the case for me because not only was i poisoned by amalgams, loads of vaccines and tuna but i went heavy on the anti fungals before amalgam removal, taking them every 2 hrs every day, then i was exposed during removal. i have years of chelation ahead of me, its a pain remembering all the supplements everyday, hormones and chelators.

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> very well said. i'm like that too......but at least we are getting some good now

It's exactly like that for me too! When I am down I cannot imagine feeling well, and when I am well, the bad seems so far away (even though it was just last night for me) <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />