JK98,

I have a teaspoon of Himalayan sea salt dissolved in water every morning, to support my adrenals. My sodium levels in my last blood test were optimal -- a rare thing but nice not to have to worry about.

I took high doses of zinc and selenium for quite some time with no noticeable effects. I also took a colloidal mineral supplement, ditto. I can't afford a cornucopia of supplements so I chose what seems to help or what I know is absolutely essential. If I had to give it all up, the last thing I'd give up would be vitamin C.

I take an iron supplement called Spatone, which is highly bioavailable water from a Welsh spa that has high levels of iron dissolved in it. I've been to the source. They let you have a little taste directly from the pool but they have bars in front so you can't take a bucket away with you LOL.

I tried supplementing copper and it made me sick.

I've started taking a little Lugol's iodine today, sipping from a water bottle with half a drop dissolved in it. I have not had anything like the reaction I had to the kelp -- or the digestive enzymes, not sure which one it was.

I'm pretty happy with my supplement regime, though I could do with something to ease the stomach aches that the ALA is causing. The headaches haven't come back, thank goodness.

I did indeed start another chelation round today. I've been taking 12.5mg ALA and 6.25mg DMSA. Seems to be working well. No horrible discomfort, I went to work today OK. I instantly feel better on chelation, despite any physical symptoms, it seems. I found myself staring at a patch of grass in someone's garden today and being amazed . . . hmmm, green grass . . . hmmm, earthy earth . . . This is good. I also don't feel like I'm ready to drop dead, and my body isn't aching, after a day at work. This really is very helpful.

Of course it's nice, and very encouraging, but I'm full of questions now. Why do I feel better so quickly when I chelate? Why did I seem not to make progress for months when I was using 100mg ALA and 50mg DMSA without stop? Why did I feel so much worse for so long when I stopped, if I'd pulled mercury out? I guess my biggest fear is that somehow I would have to keep taking this stuff the rest of my life because I'd only just go back to feeling awful without it, and I'd never truly get well. I guess it's not very helpful to be thinking that way right now.