I don't know if my mother had amalgam, when she was pregnant with me. She may not remember, either. I remember when I was rather small, having a filling or two. I don't recall if they were in baby teeth or not, I don't recall. I am sure maybe some small issues started for me then. Other than tummy aches from time to time, I was pretty healthy, until I got in my teens. I don't know if I had any dental work then, but I probably did. When I was 17 yrs old, I got in a terrible car accident. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ambulance.gif" alt="" /> I was the passenger. My face went through the dash of the car, and the top of my head made a circle in the windshield, I was then thrown out of the car. They said being thrown out (the car door came unlatched) saved my life. If I had been seat-belted in, I would've been stuck in the car when it was hit by an oncoming van. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/stretcher.gif" alt="" /> Needless to say, I had some plastic surgery on my face and I had a tooth in front on the bottom that the whole top half of it got broke off. It was repaired with a crown, porcelain in the front and solid metal in the back (I am SURE this is full of mercury). I think that's when my real problems began. I was never quite the same again. My two front bottom teeth are still shattered with hairline cracks all the way through them.

At 18 yrs old, I got pregnant with my oldest daughter. I had a traumatic pregnancy, because they doctor kept saying I had gestational diabetes, but my blood sugar was never consistantly high (and I'm sure this has something to do with mercury). Directly after she was born, I started having TERRIBLE chest pains. I thought I was dying. I had them once every few days, then once a day and then many times a day. It was the worst pain I had ever felt. I saw a Dr, and they were afraid I had a blood clot that went to my lungs. My test came back normal. They tested me for a whole host of things, but all tests came back ok. I gave up on dr's all together, and self-medicated with Nyquil to knock myself out so I wouldn't have to endure the pain. I vomited several times a day and it destroyed the enamel on my teeth.

After 9 months of "dying" (literally crawling on the floor and saying the Lord's prayer, in hopes the pain would lessen), I was in the emergency room 2 nights in a row, where they had to give me a shot for the pain. They FINALLY found that I had gallstones. My gallbladder was so diseased and destroyed that they said I had to get it out ASAP, or it would kill me within a month. Within a week or so I went in for surgery, and got it removed. They said I would be like "brand new", and I never was. The following year, before I had my 21st birthday, I was still on government dental coverage (medicaid), and many of my teeth had gotten cavities from the stomach acid. I put my trust in the dentist, and he repaired (destroyed) my whole mouth in a period of two weeks. I had approximately 17 amalgams placed in the time period. Many of my back teeth have so many placements, they are nearly ENTIRELY metal. Now that I look back, I don't remember my back teeth being THAT bad. They needed repair, no doubt, but not the whole thing. I put faith in the fact, though, that I was doing something to improve my health and appearance, and after the health problems and a divorce at a young age, I could start anew.

The last of my dental work was done on the day before my birthday, and as of my birthday I was out of coverage and had no money when it hit me. I took a terrible turn for the worse. I got DEATHLY sick. I couldn't eat, I couldn't drink, I couldn't breathe. My WHOLE mouth was swollen. I could barely speak. My tongue was swollen, and I was in unbelievable pain. It was all I could do, to take something and go back to bed. I took 8 tylenol, just to have the pain subside long enough to eat a small meal to keep me alive, and then the pain would come back. I finally called the dentist (crook) who knew my coverage had run out, and had nothing to say to me. He told me if I was in pain to take a Tylenol, and I told him I'd taken 100 within a week. He was not helpful at all, and even seemed hateful, so I suffered a couple more days with no relief, and called another dentist. He wanted cash up front, which I had none of. I was divorced, poor and a single mom. I lied and told them I would pay them. I was seen by the dentist, who was apalled at my mouth. He said I had a terrible INFECTION, and it seemed I was ALLERGIC <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/reallymad.gif" alt="" /> to my metal fillings. He told me he would give me a really strong antibiotic and some pain pills, and if the antibiotic didn't clear it up, ALL my fillings would have to be taken back out and "medicated" fillings put in...whatever the hell that meant. I have never heard of those before, and never heard anything about them since. The antibiotic finally cleared me up, but I got strep throat and a yeast infection just shortly thereafter. Sigh.
I also was VERY prone to always getting strep throat throughout my teen years and early adulthood, and never understood why. Now that I look back, it all makes sense.

I am 100% sure now, more than ever, that he KNEW what he was doing. He filled teeth that didn't need filled, and OVER filled teeth that did. He milked the STATE GOVERNMENT for every penny he could, and he knew he could get away with it. He had no intention of helping me, when I was at my worst. His money was already made. It doesn't help that his children (2 sons and a daughter) were the most prominant and well known LAWYERS in the CITY!! He probably knew all the loopholes. I would LOVE to go back and SUE him now. I would love to exhume all of my dental records and see what my x-rays REALLY looked like, before he did all this. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/skullbones.gif" alt="" /> He is an old man now, and from my searches on the internet, he is still alive, but no longer practicing. I don't think anyone took over his practice, but I'm not sure. I haven't been up that way in awhile to check, but I don't think it's in business. It's been 16 years, and I don't know how or where to find my records. I would THINK they would have to be kept somewhere, seeing that they use them for identifying bodies and such.
I would love to sue him for malpractice. If I can get guided in the right direction, and get to feeling a little bit better, I think I will. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/horray.gif" alt="" />