Mainly my concern is with the use of intermittent chelating.

It seems Dr. Cutler recommends chelating constantly for 3 days and then take a break for 4 days (the rinse and repeat).

I've read posts over at the yahoo groups (that talk alot about Cutler's protocal).

It's stressed there to not miss a dose ie every 3 hours 7 doses a day.

Anyone know why he considers this so important ie to not miss a dose?

Seems like most people here (myself included) are chelating more of a shotgun approach meaning not 7 doses a day but more like 3-4.

After reading many of the 'love letters' over at the yahoo groups which have to do with chelating children off mercury whom are being affected my autism and the like symptoms you get an idea how chelating can help even us adults.

Granted children are going to be affected much more by things so their chelation is going to work much faster. But if you think about it; a child had been affected by mercury either in vitro or by shot or by their teeth. And then they may be affected their whole life; to bring them out of that state is amazing.

anyways back to the topic ... do you think dosing by using the typical 3 doses a day as what I assume most people are doing here is that bad? or what are your thoughts on the matter ...

The shorter interval has to do with the half-life of the chelater. I have no first-hand experience, but I've also read on Yahoo and this is one of Andy's responses explaining the shorter interval protocol: "First, chelating agents serve two functions. They mobilize toxic
> metals. They also bind toxic metals. They do NOT "hold on tight"
and
> do NOT bind irreversibly. They pick up and drop the metals often.
> Thus, you need to maintain a rough balance between mobilization and
> binding so that the chelators grab most of the free toxic metals
> rather than letting them grab back on to the body. In order to do
> this, you need to keep the blood level of chelating agents
reasonably
> constant. This is done by giving them roughly a half life apart,
so
> that blood levels don't fluctuate by more than a factor of 2. The
> half life of DMSA (directly measured in human children) is 2.5 to
3.5
> hours. The kinetics of ALA are much more complicated but are
> adequately described as a half life of 1.5 to 2.5 hours. The peaks
> get smeared out over a 2 hour period due to it taking about 2 hours
> for the stuff to slowly be absorbed when it is given by mouth.
> EXACTLY how long you can wait between doses varies from individual
to
> individual and I have determined my numbers based on the experience
of
> a lot of people who have done it this way. They are theoretically
> sound and empirically verified. While I can't really tell you
exactly
> why ALA is best every 3 hours or whether DMSA could be stretched to
5
> and still be OK, I can tell you with great certainty that 8 hours
is
> way beyond the bounds of reason.
>
> Now please note that everyone is different. Everyone is a unique
> individual. This is just as true biochemically as socially. Thus
> while there is perfect certainty that the above applies to any
large
> group of people, and is best for most people in that group, any
given
> individual may need to do it differently and in any large group
there
> will be a few who do better on something other than the "one size
fits
> all" average protocol. This leads to the following conditions
which I
> believe any responsible person would adhere to:
>
> 1. Try the "best" approach on everyone, no matter what. Just try
it.
>
> 2. If some particular person repeatedly does poorly on the "best"
> approach and well on something else, respect their individual needs
> and do what works for them.

thanks for the info Terri;

In a way I can understand why Dr. Cutler and the others over at the yahoo forums get all worried about missing a dose or taking too much. ie they are thinking it will get mobolized then dropped off somewhere.

So I do wonder how important it is to do dosing like that with ALA or the other chelators ...

I can see why Andy doesnt recommend cilantro and chlorella then since he doesnt know the 1/2 life of them and their dosage isnt as easy to map out.

anyone else have thoughts on this?

oh one other question while I am thinking of it ... does candida grow more when you are taking ALA?

Having grown up in a medical family, I have concluded that Doctors, as well-intentioned as many of them are, can sometimes be pretty tough on the body and aggressive with their therapies. The man often have a "man's man" attitude of, "Oh, you'll be alright."

I do believe Cutler knows what He's doing, but as with most things in life, we'll all agree on 85% and differ on 15%. That's where we get the make the decisions we like best.

ALA will mobilize mercury because it contains 2 sulphurs (dithiol) and will thus supress immune function if these bonds break, which some inevitabely will, and will cause candida issues.

I would suggest trying an immune stimulant like:

Immune Stimulator

Finally registered my name ... this way I dont forget 1/2 the time and I get anonymouse up there <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I was asking about the candida thing becuase I have been eating garlic the past few days and noticed a slight increase in my breathing ability (at the time). ie Breathing issues are my main concern in regards to my health.

I've done the whole candida diet etc in the past and didnt notice any change; perhaps I needed the mercury out first before things will start to change (ie 2 fillings removed 5 months ago) ...

Garlic will definitely help with breathing, and many other things as well.

I especially like it when it's mixed with all those herbs at Carrabbaa's. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />