Hi Molly! Glad you found us here.
My first question to you is what is Ian Solley's protocol? I looked online and I couldn't really find anything.
About 10 days ago I stared taking alpha lipoic acid for its antioxidant properties. I knew nothing about it also being a chelator but when I broke out in hives 24 hours after starting it, I did some more research, found this website and began educating myself. I have ordered A Cutlers book, some DMSA and was hoping start the entire protocol as soon as it arrives.
However, a health-care professional whom I trust and who has some experience in this field has advised that even this gentler approach of DMSA + ALA may be too harsh for me. When supplements dont agree with me, I tend to have severe fatigue/headache type reactions and clearly I want to avoid that as far as possible. I'm also wary of potentially inflicting any damage on my body. By that I mean, stirring up any chemical or heavy metals but not getting them out of my body.
He says that I should first build up my strength using diet + supplements and then begin a detox. I can see his point; he makes a lot of sense. But I also thought that the ALA & DMSA was a gentle approach if started on very low doses.
Yes diet is extremely important, so I agree with your doctor. Diet actually helped me quite a bit before I even realized I had amalgam illness. It's amazing what happens to your body when you begin to eat vegetables rather than fast food and prepared foods. You may need to do a colon/parasite cleanse. I did one a few years ago and had amazing results. That is when my health started to get better (before it got worse again after dental work).
I would be cautious to suggest that DMSA and ALA is the gentler approach. You will have detoxing side effects from them. Some people have it worse than others. Personally, I've been doing really well, but I know there are some on here who had to stop detoxing to get other things in order first.
I had assumed that the headaches/fatigue/hives were an indication that the ALA was doing its thing and despite the symptoms I was happy that I was making progress. They werent terribly bad as these things can go, so I figured I could tough it out. The reaction started at a daily dose of about 150mg ALA spread through the day.
Am I wrong? Are these symptoms a sign that I needed to start with a much lower dose?
The hives kind of throw me off, but headaches and fatigue are normal. Maybe someone else here experienced hive?
I know AC says that DMSA is not necessary whereas ALA is, but do some of you find DMSA easier to tolerate in terms of fewer symptoms?
Or do some of you find that the ALA + DMSA combination works better.
Dr. Cutler says he does not recommend a very mercury toxic person to start right away on ALA. The reason for this is because ALA is crossing the blood-brain barrier. If you haven't gotten the mercury out of the organs, blood and tissues first, you may in fact pull mercury back INTO the brain with ALA. Your body won't be able to excrete the mercury fast enough and it will get soaked back in. He says you can have a urine test done to see if starting ALA is good for you. (page 204) However since you have had your amalgams out for 3 years, you could start on ALA. ALA is not recommended for people who recently removed their amalgams.
DMSA + ALA works much better together. DMSA helps to alleviate the symptoms of ALA. Remember these symptoms isn't the ALA itself, it is the mercury coming out of the brain. I still don't know if I'd start that right away though. I'd give DMSA a chance on its own just to see how mercury toxic you are, but that is up to you. Since you did so poorly on another protocol you probably need to take it very slow. ALA may has some wicked detoxing effects you can read about on page 203.
Everyone does react differently, but Dr. Cutler explains that you need to lower your overall mercury load from the body before starting on the brain.
My amalgams were removed just a few weeks ago. I am taking 15mg of DMSA every 3 1/2 hours (this is what my body wanted) for 4 days. Then I take 4 days off to allow my body to rest. I am usually quite thankful for those days. Waking up in the middle of the night gets rough. At the 3 month mark I will add ALA with the DMSA every 3 hours.
Question 2. 2 years ago I had a blood test done which showed I had no mercury in my blood but did have nickel.
Personally, I find it hard to believe that after 20 years with amalgams, cancer at 17, suffering from CFS and multiple chemical sensitivity in my 30's that mercury isnt in some way responsible. I had the amalgams removed 3 years ago.
How reliable are blood tests if the mercury is safely stored away in bone, brain or other tissue?
Blood tests are unreliable unless you are actively detoxing. They can be used as a spot check. You can't reliably test the body for mercury. Even these challenge tests can't show what's in the brain. Conventional medicine loves to use blood tests in amalgam/chronic mercury poisoning to try and prove that nothing is wrong.
All of your questions are answered in the book, but it is pretty jumbled. I really wish Dr. Cutler would release a new edition that was more organized and straight to the point. I read the book front to back and still see things in the book I didn't catch the first time.
