I am a 17 year old teenager who has been out of school for weeks now due to the following symptoms:
Memory loss
Brain fog
Fatigue
Vision Problems
Disorientation

I had 9 amalgams placed in my mouth at age 10 and then had 8 of these 9 improperly removed with NO precautions at age 15. At age 15 I began to start feeling the above symptoms at a mild level. They got progressively better until about a month ago, everything turned horrible. I've been to many doctors and spent thousands of dollars with NO answers. My mercury blood test came back negative but I don't think that means much. The only thing I can think of is that I took a cilantro/chlorella detox about two months ago and that may have set this off. My mental ability is so drastically lower than it used to be I can't begin to explain to you what is happening. I plan on having my last filling removed by a IAOMT dentist in the next few weeks. Please help me as I am running out of options. Thank you and god bless.

smart young dude, hair test is a good place to start, the guys here will help you out

Hello, first of all Im sorry to hear you're this ill. Im not myself very experienced with mercury detoxification yet, since my last amalgam will be removed two months from now. People with more experience will have to give you advice on detox after amalgam removal. I can however tell you a short version of my own story, and how I managed to lower the symptoms somewhat.

While I've had symptoms since age 12 (Got crohn's + minor physical/mental ailments), the neurological aspects of mercury poisoning dident *really* set in untill I was 18. At that point I was second year in the european version of "college" and I was experiencing many of your mentioned symptoms. The vision problem things was very disturbing, blurry, and slightly overlapping whenever I moved my sight. Also had anxiety and a bad depression. Id chosen the science line, since I was good at it in high school, however after second year, I failed at the tests everytime we had them. Thinking Id suffered some form of brain trauma, I took a mensa test which, to my suprise, concluded I had an Iq of 141... bit odd not being able to pass any of the science tests then, eh? You see, from what I read mercury dosent decline your raw intellect, it just makes it really, really difficult for you to use it properly. Covering your poor brain in toxic fogs, ect... I also went to a neuroologist at some point, who just knocked me on the knees abit and told me I was fine. I was really beginning to think I was going psychotic.

After a year in this hell, my mom (bless her) found some doctors, who could appearently measure though a urine sample if one produced neurotoxins(she called it neuropeptides, but Im not sure what the english expression for it would be) from consuming flour-gluten and/or dairy products. (This is a method that is used in the Norwegian healthcare system, and I think swedish aswell, so it aint "voodoo" ) I appearently produced neurotoxins from both of theese things *sigh* , so I havent really been eating them since, and I must say, tree months after having not been eating any of this, my brain state did improve significantly, though I was in no way cured. I read somewhere around two weeks ago, (forgot to save the link ) , that mercury somehow "enchants" the production of theese certain neurotoxins, and hence while you might have been able to eat gluten/dairy with a mercury free brain, a mercury filled brain will make you produce them. Now, everyone has different genetics, and not all mercury poisoned persons seems to have issues with gluten/dairy, but if possible, it might be a good idea to take 3 months of theese foods, just to see if it helps. (The first two weeks you might have a worsening of symptoms though, I sure did) I can post you some bread, other recipies, if you want me to.

Other than that, its important to take vitamin suppliment everyday both before and while detoxing, what I take per day is this:

1500 mg of vitamin C
100mcg of selenium (a 50/50 mixture of organic/unorganic selenium should be best)
20mcg zink
800mg calcium (since I dont get dairy)
a powerfull B multi-vitamin

Heard good stuff about milkthistle aswell, helps the lever to detox, appearently.

Also, when your getting your last filling removed take some activated carbon right before the drilling, 2 hours after, and 4 hours after. It will gather up most of the mercury that'll end in your gut. Dont use activated carbon as suppliment though, since it "steals" nutricients from the body. Also 2-3g vitamin C AFTER the drilling will help somewhat to, if you take it before it will make the anaestetic not work. Which is painfull.

I wish you the very best with recovering from this nightmare.

My opinion is that you should start with a parasite cleanse. Many here have had parasites. It is the result of a weakened immune system and candida overgrowth. A parasite cleanse formula should consist of at least these three herbs- Wormwood, black walnut green hull extract, and cloves. It should be taken for a month. You can get this at a vitamin store, or online from from humaworm.com

To help with the brain fog, plenty of vitamin c, b vitamins, magnesium and other minerals will help. To help with detoxification, you can take molybdenum 500 mcg, or 1,000 mcg a day. Molybdenum is needed to make the enzyme which breaks down aldehydes. Aldehydes are a waste product of candida yeast, which tend to overgrow in those who are mercury toxic. Eliminating sugar and going on a low carbohydrate diet. will help greatly.
The emphasis should be more on magnesium supplements rather than calcium, but some calcium should be taken if your diet is low in calcium.

To boost energy, you can take CoQ10 and carnitine supplements.
You could also take msm, and eat raw garlic(one clove(section) after each meal-chew it well)) which will help with detoxification.

Taking vitamin A supplements(10,000 IU a day) and zinc(30 mg a day) may help resolve your vision problems.

A very informative page.

http://www.flcv.com/cfsfm.html

bm303, sorry to hear about your situation. The unprotected amalgam removal, plus products that may have mobilised the mercury already in you, no doubt has caused this severe state of toxicity you are experiencing. It is frightening what symptoms can occur.

The above advice for diet and cleanse is something you may find really helpful. The diet is one of the first things I ever did for myself and it made quite a dramatic change and improvement and reduce the severe symptoms alot. So i can't emphasize enough how important this is. I believe the diet is the foundation of everything else you may do and add to it.

The main culprits that harmed me in diet (and for many others) is sugar, wheat/gluten products, yeast. You may also have to reduce all high carb foods, at least temporarily until you become stronger and can loosen up more.

After the next amalgam removal that will be done safely, I would suggest to you to (if you can), get hold of a chelating agent called DMSA. This will help you reduce the high blood levels of mercury if taken properly. It may help reduce the terrible situation you are experiencing now, which may have been exacerbated from a lot of redistributed mercury. Please get familiar with the Andrew Hall Cutler protocol (Andy Cutler). Because this is the one that I was finally able to tolerate after I'd taken many other products and protocols and often made myself incredibly sick in the process. His began to level out my symptoms and start me on the track of more substantial improvements.

You take a small amount of DMSA, every 4 hours around the clock (this means using an alarm and waking up during the night). No, it's not very convenient, but this way of taking it is actually the most important part! You do this for about 3 days on (or longer if a person can tolerate a longer round) and then take a break of the same amount of time you were on it (or longer if needed) and repeat. You continue this for approx 3 months, until blood levels are reduced, then you can start using a chelating agent that will chelate the brain and organ mercury. But you must reduce blood levels first, because the brain chelator may take more mercury with it from your blood and into your brain. Though it will take some back out, you can see the high risk and would be rather self defeating. Better to get the blood levels down first, which will start to occur only after all amalgam is out. You can help this process with the DMSA.

I would recommend the book "Amalgam Illness, Diagnosis and Treatment" by Andrew Hall Cutler, if you can get it. It is available on this very website. http://herballure.com/Products/AmalgamIllness_DiagnosisAndTreatment/index.html

But here is a link that will still give you an outline of his protocol and what you can take and how you take it:

Informative Posts by Andy Cutler

According to Andy, do not start chelating until 4 days or more after the final amalgam removal. And once you start, then you continue for about 3 months as mentioned. You can start with a very small dose, like 12.5 mg of DMSA and later if you feel stronger and can tolerate it better, you can increase it. But do not increase the dose during the round. You want to keep things as even and stable as possible during the time you're taking DMSA so you don't cause changes in the blood level of the chelator.

The point to taking DMSA every 4 hours is that this is the time period that DMSA will still be in the blood stream. After 4 hours, the levels drop. So that is why you keep taking the doses so that the levels of DMSA remain stable/constant and the movement of mercury will be more stable also, which will allow for less redistribution and hopefully easier symptoms and a more efficient/effective process of reducing blood toxicity.

I hope this is helpful to you!

Other things you can take are iodine, and olive leaf extract. Get a strong olive leaf extract(500 mg 15% or more oleuropein).
I think the olive leaf extract, iodine, and raw garlic are helping me.

I have read a number of websites about iodine. They claim iodine dislodges mercury from the thyroid, and helps the body get rid of bromine, florine, aluminum, mercury and lead. They claim that iodine is necessary for white blood cells to work properly.
I take 32.5 mg a day of potassium iodide(around 24 mg of elemental iodine). That is around half of what they say is optimal at http://iodine4health.com/. They recommend Iodoral, which is iodine and iodide, however those tablets are around 4x the price of the Source Naturals potassium iodide I take.

I really appreciate your help. I have mentioned this concern to my doctors and parents and they all seem to doubt this as the cause of my problems. I have an appointment with a neurologist Monday and a follow up with a rheumatologist next week and after that my parents plan on taking me to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. I honestly have no idea if the mercury poisoning is related to my problems but either way it certainly is not helping, and I should have them removed in the next few weeks with my new IAOMT dentist. If nothing else shows up with these doctors I will certainly request a hair test. I had a mercury blood test a few weeks ago which came back negative, but I'm pretty sure that's expected.

"I really appreciate your help. I have mentioned this concern to my doctors and parents and they all seem to doubt this as the cause of my problems. "


Mercury leads to candida overgrowth, a weakened immune system, and parasite infections, and these in turn weaken you. You can combat the candida and parasites, and take herbs and supplements to boost your immune system, but if you don't address the mercury you are vulnerable to these.

If you do all you can do on your own with a parasite cleanse, vitamin and mineral supplements, and anticandida herbs, then you may be greatly improved. I don't see the need to go to all these specialists, however it is a good idea for an internist to run some basic blood tests and rule out more serious conditions. The average person in the US has a very poor diet and is deficient in many vitamins and minerals, particularly magnesium.

The reason we are going to so many doctors is because we don't know that mercury is causing my problems at all. For the comfort of me and my family we are trying to rule out major problems such as brain tumors, etc. I have been out of school for weeks but once everything major is ruled out, mercury poisoning is #1 on the concern list. I have noticed that I get a white tongue which seems to be associated with candida overgrowth. Thanks a bunch JK98.

Have you checked to see if you are hypothyroid? One test you can do is to take your temperature as soon as you wake up and see if it is very low. Many people are deficient in iodine. Perhaps you should take an iodine, supplement, magnesium,sublingual b12(dissolves under the tongue), a B complex supplement, vitamin c, vitamin a, and molybdenum and see if you feel better. Do you have many chemical sensitivities? Do you have asthma? Vision problems are often due to parasites. So are fatigue and disorientation.

A good internist could probably rule out the most obvious serios conditions. If you read this page, you may see your symptoms lining up.

http://www.flcv.com/cfsfm.html

You will also get some ideas of supplements to take. In all probability, you either have a parasite infection(many here have had one) and or mercury or other heavy metal toxicity(lead is also a big problem), and/or nutritional deficiencies. When I first become ill years ago I went to over 20 doctors, and none of them were of much help. Some insulted me and told me I wasn't really sick, while others believed I was sick, but didn't have a good treatment plan. Lately I have been devising my own treatment plan. Over time I am becoming more knowledgeable.

An interesting page about iodine deficiency.

http://fibromyalgiarecovery.com/Cascade%20of%20Symptoms.pdf

No hypothyroid, I've had a zillion blood tests on my thyroid and everything else. I am ordering a hair test tonight I think I will get the Genova Elemental Hair Test which a local friend recommended. If you think this test is not adequate or I should get another one, please let me know ASAP. Thanks again.

You're welcome.

Like myself, your symptoms are insidious and not showing up on testing. So it leaves you wondering what is wrong and how to fix it. The only thing you can do is address the things that may make a difference, whether it's little or significant. The more you rule out, the better.

Mercury is potent neurotoxin and does not belong in the mouth. So either way, it won't be helping (as you said). So at least you are trying that avenue. Whilst you do this, addressing a possible gluten intolerance and yeast problem will be a really wise move, since so many people with mercury and other toxic/immune conditions can find this a big help. I definitely did. Actually without doing this, I hate to imagine what may have happened. I was so toxic and so ill, I was close to suicide. Had been put on many antidepressants to no avail.

Testing for mercury is very difficult because it is so tightly bound up. Unless a person is acutely poisoned, and/or actively excreting mercury, it may not give a telling level on testing. Usually it require provocation of some kind and that alone can be risky. I had very low levels on hair testing and blood testing and was decided "You don't have mercury toxicity". However, I was indeed highly toxic with mercury, but my body was not excreting it as it should. Low levels can actually be a bad sign in some cases. A doctor here in my country saw my hair test results and was worried because he said "this shows you are not eliminating mercury properly and you are retaining it". They call situations like this "retention toxicity". Those with high levels may either be very poisoned and/or are actively excreting it. So though it shows a mercury toxic condition, it may also show the ability to readily eliminate it.

The more accurate way (apparently) of detecting a hidden mercury problem is by checking the other elements/minerals and there is usually a pattern when mercury is causing problems because it disrupts minerals in the hair.

For me? Mainly the deciding factor was my reactions to amalgam removal, and my response afterwards, plus my symptom exacerbation when trying to detox the stuff. Pretty similar to candida - difficult to test for, but a good way is to experiment with an anti-candida diet. usually if candida is at work, you may experience a "die off" effect, where candida starts to die because it isn't getting the food it requires to thrive on.

It's unfortunate that there are so many ways of getting "false negatives" on testing. Perhaps there are some very clued up health professionals who can understand this more and go further, or at least try things out to see if there is a reaction/response. Basically an exacerbation or improvement. Either is usually a sign you're onto something!

Sometimes the thyroid tests are normal, but someone still has below normal temperatures, especially when they first wake up. While a person's tempersture varies during the day,and is near its lowest when they wake up, if they have an oral teperature of 97 degrees or less when they first wake up, imo that is indicative of a problem. Sometimes my oral temperature many hours after I wake up is still around 97 degrees. At times it was below 97 degrees.

I increased my iodine dosage to 48 mg a day. I think it may be helping me get rid of mercury,lead, bromine, flourine, aluminum, etc. I did many rounds of chelation last year, but due to my strong muscle ache and already very disturbed sleep patterns, I haven't been able to chelate with ALA and DMSA this year. Let's see how the iodine works. I am taking a high dosage of very potent plive leaf extract, as I am having severe candida problems. Iodine is also supposed to be very antifungal itself, and I have read that iodine is also important for white blood cell functioning and immunity.


Neurological problems can be the result of vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Vitamin B12 can be particularly difficult to absorb if one has candida overgrowth or some other form of dysbiosis.

http://www.food-allergy.org/root3.html

Thanks for all of the help everyone. I will be getting my fillings removed within the next week and starting Andy Cutler's program 5 days after removal. I plan on starting with 12.5mg DMSA and use that for at least three months before starting ALA. I also plan on supplementing with all of Andy's suggested supplements, such as:
vitamin c
vitamin e
vitamin b
selenium
zinc
milk thistle
vitamin a
magnesium
algin
multivtamin

Any recommendations/critiques of my planned regimen would be great appreciated. Thanks.

You left out molybdenum and antifungal herbs. These are crucial.
A strong olive leaf extract would be a good antifungal. A high potency B complex supplement(b50?) 2-4 times a day would be a good idea. So would a gram of vitamin C 2-4 times a day. Other supplements to help boost energy, such as CoQ10 and carnitine would also be a good idea.

Molybdenum 4x daily? 250mcg each dose sound right for a 150lb person?

This sounds really good!

I would make sure you add enough healthy fats to this regime, as they help the body heal, increase bile flow, and help the uptake of nutrients. I found them most helpful. Surprisingly so.

Steer clear of vegetable oil, apart from "extra virgin olive oil". They are apparently not good for the body, contrary to what we're often being told. lard, butter, organic virgin coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, mercury free fish oil (molecularly distilled), are all good and helpful and have nourished people for centuries.

There maybe little point in taking antifungals of any kind unless you are following a proper diet in conjunction with them. The diet IMO is essential to any health programme, will not only restrict parasites/yeast food supply, but helps the gut/liver and immunity as well. No point in feeding these things, whilst at the same time trying to kill them off, or one is defeating the purpose of the entire programme.

I found antifungals to be personally problematic, but others may find them of great help alongside a good sugar/yeast/gluten/high carb free diet. Some may get away with consuming higher carb foods than others, depending on how severe the yeast problem is and how a person's body responds to certain foods. You may also find the supplements give much more benefit when you're on a proper diet. I did not get much out of the supplements until my body (gut) was in a position to absorb and utilise them.

I take one 1,000 mcg capsule a day of molybdenum. It isn't like the B vitamins or vitamin C that need to be taken a few times a day. If you take a high enough dosage(500 mcg or 1,000 mcg), then once a day is enough.

Olive leaf extract is good since it isn't just antifungal, but also antiviral, antiparasitic, and antibacterial.

Iodine is also important. You need to decide how much you will take. I am taking 48 mg a day now, which is huge. Such a huge dosage is only taken for a few months. I haven't decided what dosage to take after that.

Molybdenum causes extra copper excretion, and competes with copper for absorbtion, so I take a copper supplement(2 or 3 mg) at a separate meal from the molybdenum.

JK how much stuff do you take? Seems really confusing with all you take from herbs to spices to vitamins and minterals, must be very expensive.

I try to avoid the very expensive stuff, and shop carefully. Even so, I probably spend somewhere between $500 and $1,000 a year on supplements. I try to stock up on specials, and look for the brand that gives the best value when I shop for each item. Shopping carefully can save plenty. For example, many molybdenum supplements are only 150 mcg, so to get 1 mg a day I would need to take 7 of them at around 5x the price of the 1,000 mcg Thorne capsules. I take potassium iodide tablets rather than Iodoral, as Iodoral is around 5x the price(some claim Iodoral is better, but is it really worth 5x the price????)

What confuses me is trying to space the minerals apart, and when to take each of the supplements that I take once a day.
There are certain things that are controversial though, such as how much iodine to take, or whether to take calcium and magnesium together(my current opinion is to take just a bit of calcium with my magnesium, less calcium than magnesium).
Also cofusing is deciding whether to get capsules, tablets, or the bulk powder. I guess it depends how much I take, and the price of each. Certain things like magnesium ascorbate are 4x as expensive per gram for capsules than bulk powder, so I take the powder. MSM is close in price for powder or tablets, so I take the tablets. For small doses(like 1,000 mg or less) tablets ior capsules are more convenient than bulk powder, but for larger doses, the bulk powder is more convenient.

BM,are you eating a healthy diet? You did mention eating too much fruit and fruit juice, which is a concern. Is your sense of smell and taste okay? Your symptoms might be pointing to a zinc deficiency, especially if your sense of taste and or smell is messed up.

JK, my diet is very healthy. I avoid anything processed for the most part and eat lots of carbs/protein each meal. I have an apptment with a doctor that specializes in chelation tomorrow so I'll let you all know how that goes and if he will agree to follow AC protocol.

Too many carbs, especially simple carbs are very bad if you have a candida problem. A diet with more protein, and healthy vegetable fats(such as nuts) is much better. Low carb vegetables are much better than fruit. I have eliminated fruit completely from my diet. I also try to avoid high carbohydrate vegetables like peas, potatoes, and sweet potatoes.

So I am having my filling removed this week and then I will go from there. Unfortunately, my doctor wanted me to use a dangerous chelator known as Chelex, along with a provoked urine challenge test. I will not agree to either and am going to follow Andy Cutler's protocol. I don't want to hurt myself even more with the challenge test which I've heard is very dangerous.

I am now amalgam free. I had the last one removed earlier today and plan on starting the Cutler protocol in about a week. I will keep you all posted on how I am doing on that protocol and if anything major happens. Thanks for all the help guys.