...chronic ones at that. At the age of 21 (over 13 years ago) I started getting more headaches than usual. They'd last a few days then I'd have a break for a few days. Slowly but surely over the next months the headache periods became longer and the breaks got shorter.

Then they never stopped. I wake up with headache and go to bed with headache every night. I'm never without.

Over the years I've been to the doctors many times. I've had allsorts of prescription medicines. I had a brain scan, neck scan, sinus operation, acupuncture, chiropractor and physiotherapy.

Now I very occasionally use co-codomols.

The years around my headaches (I can't remember specifically when), I had some amalgam fillings. Three of them. A few years ago I had one replaced after reading all the controversy over amalgam/mercury. I had a white filling.
I felt no difference whatsover and so I never bothered having the other two replaced. Now I'm researching again and am still undecided - I mean - would just two fillings make such a difference?

The strange thing is that some of the symptons/reactions seem to apply to me:

At this point in my life I am leading a much healthier life than I ever have done, I eat a well-balance diet and exercise 4/5 times weekly. Yet, when I go to work on my two days a week my head always feels worse. I work all day on a pc. When I eat a large meal my head becomes so heavy and hurts more. At times I have gone to bed and my head hasn't felt too bad yet I wake up feeling so much worse (I grind my teeth at night).

I am, however, still unsure whether its worth the trauma (I hate dentists!) and cost to replace these fillings. Having tried so many things before (including botox on my forehead) I don't want to build myself and end up feeling more fed-up than ever about them.

So, if anyone can convince me or give me some advice I'd be really grateful.

Sorry this has been so long-winded, but thank you for reading anyway.

Melanie

Melanie,

Headaches are one of the most common complaints people have with mercury-based fillings. You may want to ask yourself if you have any other symptoms that may be manifesting more subtly, like lower energy levels, or brainfog from time to time, even joint pain or digestive issues as simple as more gas than usual. These are all commonly associated with mercury. The reason I mention these things is because it would provide you with more evidence that mercury is the cause, if indeed it is.

There is a lot to this issue, like if you mix mercury with aluminum, the toxicity increases up to 100-times (not percent). Also, when you have mercury fillings removed, only have it done by a doctor who is specially trained to do it correctly, otherwise you can get exposed to large amounts of mercury vapor. I know many who have acquired serious illnesses after having amalgam fillings improperly removed. Fortunately, it sound as if you were lucky this last time.

Anyway, there is no easy way to determine if mercury is the cause because in people who are in the earlier stages (1, 2) of poisoning (which usually happens in the first 20 to 30 years of amalgam exposure), blood and hair mercury levels show up very low in tests. Even urine and fecal extretions are low. This is because the body harbors the mercury, especially the brain (Mercury binds to sulphur and most proteins have the amino acid cysteine which contains sulphur binding sites.) This is why standard hospial tests are useless. You have to have a hair analysis and look for "signatures" that are caused by mercury, such as are explained in this book:

Hair Test Interpretation: Finding Hidden Toxicities

Most doctors know nothing about diagnosing mercury so numerous people suffer for years needlessly.

It will be hard to determine if mercury is the cause of your headaches unless someone who understands the signatures in the above book interpret them, or until more symptoms manifest that are known to be associated with mercury, which may take years.

And to answer your other question, yes, only two or three fillings could cause these kind of symptoms. Again, headaches are one of the most common complaints of mercury toxicity as mercury deposits itself in brain tissue.

Hope this helps.

Hello,

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply.

I would like to ask one more question please.

First I'll just briefly give you a few of other symptons that I have:
Sinus/face pain - particulary in left side of nose.
Locking Jaw (right side)
Neck ache.
Mood swings/irritability.
Restless legs at night (although this as eased since I took exercising seriously).
Brain fog - not sure of the exact interpretation of this. When at work (working with vdu) I often find it hard to concentrate, forget things within a few minutes of being told and my head generally feels much heavier than normal.
Poor memory - not immediate short term but from a week ago backwards I find it hard to remember things.

Stomach Problems - this is from where my main question stems. It has been three years that I have suffered on and off with terrible stomach cramps/gripes, excessive gas and occasional constipation. It affects me to the degree that it often disturbes my sleep. It started as my headaches did but now I seem to have these problems more often that I dont.
I have had a gastroscopy which revealed nothing serious. It did reveal helicobactor Pylori to which I took antibiotics. This was a few months ago and my symptons are no better. The consultant also said it could be nothing to do with the HP but may be IBS.
What I wanted to ask is: Can this also be contributed to mercury poisoning? I ask because I feel I cannot associate the two problems (head and stomach) as I have suffered headaches for 13 years yet only suffered stomach problems for 3 years. I have had no fillings inserted/removed in the last 10 years.

Thanks again for your time.

Melanie.

In my opinion, absolutely.

I had a duodenal ulcer for years before my fillings were removed. I was so painful sometimes that I would spend 5 to 15 minutes on my knees, unable to walk, usually after eating certain kinds of foods.

I believe that mercury, after supressing the immune system and causing mutations and gross changes to digestive fora, facilitates the habitation of helicobactor pylori.


Mercury accumulates in the body over time and therefore the toxic effects of mercury become more and more potent over time. As the toxic load increases, the body breaks down, part by part, based on the relative order of your genetic weaknesses. This is why some people have certain symptoms associated with mercury while others will have a completely different set of illnesses associated with mercury.

The best way to deal with helicobactor pylori is supplementation. I highly recommend Gasto Health (to purchase) to battle this problem until your fillings are replaced. I would bet that after the fillings are replaced, you will no longer need the supplement.

I would generally avoid antibiotics when possible because they can incur a myriad of other issues.

As for the other digestive issues...

For gas, the best thing I've found is NSP's Chinese Anti-Gas Forumla (to purchase).

For constipation, your best bet is Magnesium (to purchase). I used this myself extensively. Mercury displaces magnesium so it's important to supplement while you are still toxic.

I hope this helps.

Again I want to thank you for such a quick and lengthy response.

I have orderered Andrew Cutlers book on Amalgam illness so I can get up to speed on all the facts/opinions.

I do believe that I will have my fillings removed. I won't expect too much as, probably like many others, I have been down these paths before.

I am rather alarmed at the diseases linked to mercury poisoning, eg MS and so, even if my current problems persist, I think its worthwhile for myfuture health to have them removed. I will also ensure that my daughter NEVER has them put in her teeth either!

Thanks again, and I'll keep you posted with the results of removal.

Melanie

Great to hear you're moving forward with this.

Just make sure you don't make any of the mistakes so many make, like having their fillings replaced by a dentist who is not trained in amalgam safety. This is very dangerous to do and a typical dentist will end up exposing you to levels of mercury that can permanently damage you.

Also remember to use a safe material to replace the mercury-based ones with. Do not use ceramic or porcelain as they typically contain aluminum which, when mixed with mercury, becomes many-times more toxic.

Information is key to success and safety so here is a list of articles that will help:

Mercury Info-Base

Cutler's book is invaluable and the best source of solid information I've found so I would recommend reading it completely so as to fully understand this process and the issues involved.

Also, please consider writing a short story with your experiences in this regard as it would be helpful to others walking down this road. I have a growing collection of stories on this page:

Mercury Stories

All the best in your quest and please let us know how it goes.

Hi Russ,

Well today I finally went ahead and had my remaining two 'silver' fillings removed.

I've read so much about benefits etc that people have experienced. Well, so far today, I feel no ill-effects from the procedure and neither do I feel any immediate benefits.

What sort of time-scale am I realistically looking at to see if any improvment occurs?

Thank you

Melanie

The time scale is different for eveyone.

Because it is doubtful that the headaches were caused directly by the fact that you had amalgam fillings installed but may be caused from the accumulated mercury that was offgassing from the fillings, it's possible that the accumulation of mercury itself is the cause of the headaches. Therefore, the next step is to remove the mercury.

I would recommend that you visit the Mercury/Amalgam forum and ask about methods of chelation to the group there which should help you find out how to remove the mercury from your body.

Also, the body will normally (in most people) begin to be expelled by itself over time. Taking supplements can speed this process, but isn't always necessary for relief of symptoms.

Hi, Melanie! I just joined this group and saw your post. I also had headaches and had my fillings replaced in the spring. I had almost immediate relief in the number of headaches, and over a few months, the pain level has greatly decreased. How are you doing?

Gramma Elaine

Hi GE,

We'd love to hear more about your success story.