Shawn

this is my experience. Obviously everyone is different. I had 13 amalgams for a good thirty years before becoming sick age 37 after a dentist removed a filling without taking any precautions and did a root canal on the remaining tooth. I instantly felt wrong, and after my stomach fell apart a few weeks later, blood tests showed that I had Gilberts syndrome - slow phase 2 liver function - and that I was badly hypothyroid. It took me another good 18 months to get seriously ill (bedridden with fatigue and crashed adrenals, very hypoglycemic, underweight, suicidally depressed, unable to function at all with 3 children), get a hair test and get my amalgams removed. These have been out for 18 months now. Miracles have not happened ...

Immediately on getting my amalgams out, all my symptoms got much worse - blood sugar control was a disaster, I was up 2/3 times a night for the bathroom, fluey head, very fatigued. Any chelation (Cutler protocol, 6mg DMSA every 4 hours) left me seriously weak and feeling horrid generally, so I didn't do much - maybe half a dozen rounds in 9 months.

In May of this year I started chelating in earnest - 12 mg every 3 hours (much better) four days on, four days off. I have gradually improved. I now feel better on round, and worse off. I can last about 3-4 days inbetween rounds before my recurring symptoms tell me to start again. I would like a break, but my body has other ideas! It's like my body has got used to a certain pace of detoxing, and wants to continue. I taste metal all the time and have done for 6 months - this gets better on round, worse off.

I am thinking about adding in ALA in the New Year, to shift the intracellular mercury. Although I feel my strength gaining, I know I won't get seriously better until I get it out of my brain. It has taken me 7 months to do 31 rounds - they say you need to do at least 100 rounds of DMSA / ALA to get better. So I have a ways to go. Another two years chelating at least, I think.

It's possible you won't get better until all the metal is gone. I don't think I will - I think my body is now so sensitive to it, it will react to the slightest amount. But people are different - some get better just with amalgam removal - some, like Russ, get better almost overnight. For others, it is a long, painstaking, hardwon crawl back to health, if 100% health is still possible. I don't believe it is in my case, but even a 50% improvement would be good.

Eighteen months after amalgam removal and 31 rounds of DMSA, I still feel sick. I am still very fatigued, and have to pace myself carefully. But I can do more than I could, and my mood is better. I put my heart and soul into getting well. I eat very carefully (even over Christmas), take all the recommended supplements, support thyroid and adrenals, and chelate regularly.

I think mercury toxicity is such an individual thing - it's difficult to tell how long you will be sick. You may be one of the lucky ones that gets better really quickly. I am hindered by the slow phase 2 liver function, and seriously weak adrenals. I hope you have better luck. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Best
Nicola