I just wanted to say a big thank-you to everyone who's written here and offered advice. It got a little overwhelming LOL. The level of support here is fantastic.

I'm certainly taking the warnings about mercury on board. What I'm trying to do -- what I always try to do -- is look at the evidence and try to follow where it seems to lead. Mercury has always been a possibility, and I'm in no doubt that the chelation helped me after I got my amalgams removed; after all, I got a nasty dose of it during that procedure and it needed to be removed. However, the question remains: Was it the original problem? Is it a problem now? I don't know. It seems equally possible that the main problem has always been adrenal fatigue. The DMSA and ALA could have been making my adrenals perform just like going to work does. I think what I'm going to do is leave off for now, especially since while I'm trying to heal my adrenals they don't need the additional stress. If I end up getting mercury symptoms again down the road, I think I'll be able to recognise them for what they are, and I've still got plenty of DMSA left if I need it.

Thanks sregan for your input here. I'd come across the Stop the Thyroid Madness site before, it's a good one. I hadn't realised, though, that they had so much info about adrenal fatigue. I've been there and printed it out; they even suggest a Cortef dosing schedule. They're one of the few sites that advocate its use; so many others just list nutritional supplements, most of which I've already been taking for quite some time. I can see now why the Cortef would be necessary -- it probably is, for me -- and I am no longer afraid of using it at the dosage that Dr. Peatfield would suggest. In fact, I'm looking forward to taking it and starting to feel better. These long holidays from school are ironically difficult for me because without the stimulation to my adrenals, I just crash. This morning I felt like hell raked over and ended up taking 3 ACE tablets. The time-change probably hasn't helped.

I get what you're saying about these rest periods being good for healing, but I don't think it's going to happen to the extent I need until I can get some Cortef. After all, before I went back to work just a few months ago, I was at home with my little girl. Even without the stress of the teaching job (which unfortunately isn't easy on the adrenals either), I never got any better. It's easy enough to say that the rest periods heal, but it's pretty difficult to function at the time! I've got various chores waiting to be done, my house is a mess, and I'm hoping that in a week or two my motivation and energy will start coming back and these things won't be so hard to attend to.

I've got an appointment with my GP this Friday and I'm hoping to hear from Dr. Peatfield before then so I know what exactly to tell him and request from him. I tried phoning last week but he had his answering machine on, saying that he was doing clinics in the north, and that he'd be back in his office for a short period this Wednesday afternoon. I'll try phoning again today though and see if I can at least get his secretary. I'm still not sure why he didn't include treatment instructions with my test results.

A question for anyone here who has see Dr. Peatfield and taken Cortef: Did you have any trouble getting your GP to prescribe it? Mine is usually pretty co-operative and sympathetic, and I will show him my test results, but I'm also aware that his allopathic system doesn't recognise this condition unless you're about ready to die from Addison's Disease. I'm a bit worried that he may refuse to give me my prescription, and then I'll be rather stuck.