Miriam,

Hang in there! If you want to have the hair analysis and blood work done and you have the money to do so, then go for it.

In my case, I was convinced enough just from reading Huggins' book, It's All In Your Head, and from knowing that I didn't want to have a toxic substance in my mouth any longer, no matter what any dentist said.

I called Huggins' office and got the names of a few dentists that were as local to me as possible, and then I proceeded to contact each office to verify the methods they used to remove the amalgam fillings (just to make sure they used ALL the safety protocols). I chose the dentist that I was most impressed with and went in for an initial consultation. He suggested I get DiamondLite because the majority of his patients had good results with it. He also used kinesiology (muscle-testing) to see if DiamondLite would be compatible with me. I suppose I could have had bloodwork done to make sure DiamondLite was best for me, but since I wasn't terribly sick, I felt comfortable with the dentist's recommendation. I think at the time (2000), the bloodwork was going to cost around $300?

Anyway, my dentist gave me Dr. Klinghardt's protocol to follow 2 weeks before my removal, which I did. I used NSP products for everything except the chlorella...I used Sun Chlorella because at the time, it was the best quality I could find after doing some research.

Today, there are some differing opinions on what works best for mercury detox. Klinghardt recommends chlorella, Cutler doesn't. I haven't found any definitive answer to this question. From personal experience, chlorella seemed to work just fine for me...I don't recall having any bad reactions to it. Again, at the time, chlorella was what was recommended, and I took it along with plenty of Algin.

Basically, once all your amalgams are removed and if they're removed correctly, your body should automatically begin detoxing on its own (according to Huggins' studies, about 80% of people will begin to auto-detox). Anything you can do in addition is just extra. Obviously, you don't want to detox too quickly (which people have a tendency to do and then they get sick).

In my experience (and my business partner, Russ), getting the amalgams removed safely was the most important thing. Replacing the amalgams with as safe a material as possible was the second most important thing. Thirdly was doing gentle, slow detoxing using lots of Algin, high-quality vitamin C (Citrus Bioflavonoids), high-quality vitamin E (Vitamin E Complete with Selenium), and then lots of pure water, fresh vegetables, etc.

I'm sure there are a lot of new detox products and therapies available now. Some of them may work well, others may not. If you're interested in trying something new, just be sure to learn as much as you can beforehand.

But for myself, my life has changed completely around and I'm feeling healthier and stronger than ever. I try to eat as healthy as possible, eating organic whenever I can. I use Nature's Sunshine Products almost exclusively because of their quality and purity (they voluntarily comply to California's Proposition 65 - the strictest manufacturing guidelines in the U.S.). I've done massages, saunas, etc. (Just make sure to take extra Algin and vitamin C.) Nothing extreme or terribly expensive, and I'm doing great.

By the way, our dentist only charged between $150-$250 per tooth (back in 2000). I've heard of people getting quotes for $10,000, but unless you need special work done for things like crowns, root canals, etc., that kind of price seems excessive to me and I'd look for another dentist (but that's me).

I hope this helps. There probably isn't 1 "perfect" program to follow that will fit everyone's needs. Just try to relax and take things one step at a time. As you come across new information, feel free to post it here on the forum and ask for feedback. We all have been or are going through this and many of us have done some different things.

These are just my experiences, for what they're worth. Hopefully, this will help some.