The Core 4 and Two Important Supplements

This post contains affiliate links, which means that I'll make a small commission should you purchase something from one of these links. 
I am not a doctor or medical professional and this is not medical advice, it's for educational purposes only. 



I've been talking with a few people online lately about ACC (Andy Cutler Chelation) and the whole topic of mercury toxicity and the ACC protocol can be so overwhelming and disheartening. As with anything, when you get all the information at once, it can overwhelm you to the point that you just forget it and walk away. 
So, I thought I'd do a post about the Core 4 and what to avoid.
Those are the two things you can do right now if you have amalgam fillings.

Here they are again: Take the Core 4 and avoid certain things.

The Core 4...

Vitamin C- 1,000 mg to 1,500 mg 4 x a day ..... (I take 1,000 mg 4 x a day as that's all I can do.)

Magnesium - 200 mg magnesium glycinate 4 x a day

Zinc- 50 mg once a day

Vitamin E- 1,000 iu as Mixed tocopherols once a day

That's it....super easy! I'll link the brands I take below.

What to avoid...
cilantro
chlorella
alpha lipoic acid(must be taken according to it's half life and without amalgams in)(no IV)
glutathione (IV or oral)

Those are the big 4...here's more to avoid:
dandelion (hard on the liver)
EDTA
Challenge tests with DMPS
Infrequent, high dose DMPS
MSM
Other protocols that have the above in them!
You can see more HERE

That's it guys. Those are the most important first things to learn.

I take adrenal cortex (several upon waking and more throughout the day until 5 pm
I take 300 mg milk thistle 2 - times a day (helps the liver) ACC says 250 mg, up to 3 x a day

I take many other supplements, but you probably do to. Fish oil, CoQ10, some adaptogenic herbs, probiotics, b complex, vitamin d3, k2, lithium orotate, molybdenum, etc. etc. etc. Take what you feel you need for your symptoms and for your age.

I may do a post later on linking everything I take. 

So that's it for todays lesson ;) Here are the links supplements I take for  the core 4:

  

I take the NutriElite Magnesium when it's in stock because it's 200 mg with no fillers. They've been out awhile, so I buy the magnesium in BulkSupplements and  just fill my own capsules . It's a lot cheaper and filling your own caps isn't that big of a deal. Not sure what size they are, maybe size 0, but they are the same size that the NutriElite are. The bulk magnesium is going to last me for months.

Cost for the Core 4
The approximate cost for the core 4, using the brands I purchase above from Amazon is $22.48. I buy magnesium in bulk and fill my own 0 size capsules (that's about 200 mg). I did not include the cost of the 0 size empty capsules in the $22.48. You can purchase 1000 0 size capsules currently for $7.43 on Amazon. 

Here are the links for the adrenal cortex and milk thistle I buy. For the adrenal cortex, I use subscribe and save and order 5 for the month.

That's all for today...it's enough!

Pam

I am not a doctor or health professional. This is not medical advice. As always, consult your medical professional before taking any new supplements. 

My First 30 Rounds

First off, I want to say that what I'm about to write is not so you'll feel sorry for me. I'm writing this to help other people who may be going through chelation, and need some hope.

I also want to say....

No, I am not going crazy. 
Logically, since I'm removing mercury, 
I'm becoming uncrazy. 

Some things I describe here are symptoms of  mercury toxicity. You've heard the term "Mad as a Hatter", haven't you? Look that up sometime. (I'm not referring to the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland)  Then, think about everyone who has amalgam fillings or who received a large amount of thimerosal filled vaccines up until 2004 and some of the craziness going on in the world and the tremendous amount of people on antidepressants today for anxiety or depression.
Ok, rant (and rabbit hole) over....

My last post was 7 months ago in March. I find it very depressing to write how about how I'm feeling when I'm miserable...

I mean, who wants to read that?

Plus, people read it and comment so nicely and I don't want people feeling sorry for me - or thinking that I'm some crazy person, who's a hypochondriac who always has some new, unexplained symptom. If you are mercury toxic, you know what I'm talking about. 

Here's where I am now...

I've completed 31 rounds of ACC. (Andy Cutler Chelation Protocol). More on how I'm doing later...let's talk about the last 12 months. 

Here's some history...

I had amalgams for nearly 5 decades. Nearly 50 years. That's a long time for fillings that are 50% mercury to do a lot of damage.  I also just found out I have the MTHFR (yep, that's how it's spelled) genetic mutation where your body detoxes 50% less than others. I also used a chelator (alpha lipoic acid) in a lyme protocol with amalgam fillings still in my mouth. Ala used improperly can move mercury to your brain, which is what I believe happened to me.
I knew from the Andy Cutler support group on Facebook that my journey wasn't going to be a short one.

I knew at the end of September 2017, that I would go thru a period called the "dump" where you have INCREASED symptoms. 

It was expected to start 2 to 4 months post amalgam removal.

It was expected to last a year or more.

I had a "hoping to goal" of making a little progress by September 2018.

I had a "hoping to goal" of the dump ending at the end of November 2018.

Decisions, then the dreaded dump...

Because we had an important wedding to go to in October(last year),  I  set my final amalgam removal to be at the end of September, so that I wouldn't enter the dump until after the wedding. I'm glad I waited an additional month to do my final amalgam removal. It was perfect timing because I continually felt better after removal.

My brother passed away the end of October and we flew out to California for his funeral the first week of November. I was still feeling pretty good (all  things considered) post amalgam removal. 

flowers from the bridal shower

At the end of November the dump hit.

Muscle tightness and dizziness became more pronounced over the next month, but I was still able to have some "better" days where I could get things done.

ACC says to wait 3 months to start chelating with  Alpha Lipoic Acid, but I was afraid to start in December. I had my supply of ALA, but wasn't until the third week of January, when I basically stuck in bed and wasn't having any good days, that I did my first round.

My hair test back in the Fall of 2017 didn't show any mercury and didn't meet any of the ACC counting rules. Mercury toxicity causes mineral derangement that shows up on hair tests. Mine showed nothing. The only way for me to know if I had mercury toxicity was to do a trial round of ALA and to see if I had any reaction on round or the 3 days off round. 

I started at 12.5 mg ALA and took it every 3 hours for 63 hours. I reacted. My ear ringing was louder and I didn't feel well on round. The symptoms weren't that much worse than before the trial round, so I continued at the same dose.

I made some gains the first 8 rounds or so.


You can find the link to the Andy Cutler Chelation group on Facebook HERE.

Lessons learned:

On one round I forgot a dose and had to abort the round. Off round, I had increased symptoms. On another round, I didn't realize I had forgotten a dose until I took the next dose. Instead of aborting the round, I continued to finish the round and I will never do that again. The redistribution symptoms were awful.

The biggest mistake I made was doing a round while up at our mountain house for a week. I extended my round so I wouldn't have the redistribution symptoms on the drive home. I also didn't have access to a sauna during the round. (big mistake). The whole next week was miserable. I will never do a round when I don't have access to a sauna. I also tried raising my dose once I felt good on and off round , but I felt pretty awful when I did, so I went back down to 12.5 mg

In March, I had a 2nd muscle spasm episode. This time I was ready. My neighbor had let me borrow a wheeled walker and I had a prescription for 800 mg of Ibuprofen. I only take painkillers when I ABSOLUTELY have to. My doctor also signed for a temporary handicap placard. Our daughter was graduating in May and we borrowed a wheelchair, but we ended up not needing the placard that day because we found a parking spot right in front of the building.

I was glad I had the handicap placard over the coming months because my muscle tightness and dizziness got worse.

Those in ACC say that the peak of the dump many times is between 6 and 9 months. June went by, then July, then August; still increasing symptoms and no progress at all.. It seemed like it was going to go on forever. Oh, and I had another muscle spasm episode in July.

During that time(but not all of it- can't remember how long), I was crying all the time; for NO reason. My serious, logical self could not control it.  Those of you who have never been poisoned by mercury won't understand that. It's pretty common in the ACC group to have adrenal problems...and crying, for absolutely no reason. I am not normally a cryer. Yes, in the past, I've cried, but not all the time and only for a good reason.

This crying was without a sad or happy thought; just all of a sudden.

Still at 12.5 mg, I reached out to the ACC group and listed where I was at and what supplements I had tried to alleviate my symptoms. Here's my post:

Can anyone help me or give me some insight? I had 5 amalgams removed last year safely (XXX the dentist in the group, just rechecked my x-rays), and had amalgams, probably for 48- 50 years. I'm in month 9 of my dump(12 months post amalgam removal) and finished round 23 at 12.5 mg ALA onlly on Aug 8th (took last week off) and am feeling pretty bad.(brain fog, tight muscles , numbness poor sleep, balance issues and fatigue) . My muscles are super tight all the time and seem to be getting worse. Most of my tight muscles start at the hip and as they have been tightening, the numbness has been moving up from my toes, to my calves, to my hips and now the middle torso progressively. I had a muscle spasm a month ago that required drugs to take the edge off pain. I'm still partially using a walker. It's difficult to walk with my leg muscles being so tight and feeling stiff. Yesterday, out of the blue, I developed a lot of black floaters in my left eye that are very noticeable . I've had a lot of white floaters for many years, but never black ones. Of course, I take the core 4, with extra mag,  8 -10 adrenal cortex a day, hc cream, adaptogens and a bunch of other supplements.  I don't eat many thiols, but don't go out of my way to make sure my food aren't high thiol, and I haven't done a thiol exclusion test. I start round 24 tomorrow, but I'm at a loss for what else to do to feel better, other than chelate and wait for my dump to be over. Thanks in advance.

Now, the group can't give medical advice, but it was suggested that I lower my dose. 24 rounds in and I have to LOWER my dose for a few rounds to see if that would help. That was depressing because in ACC, the goal is to get your dose to 3 mg per kilogram of body weight. Everything I had read in the group was true for me, 

so, I lowered my dose to 5 mg. of ALA. 

In September, I had a few days where my muscles didn't seem to be so tight. My chiropractor agreed. I had/have only been getting a K-laser treatment on my hip and neck twice a month, since my muscles have been too tight to adjust me.

Right around the time Hurricane Florence came through, I had 2 weeks of feeling really bad. At least with the lower dose I wasn't crying all the time for no reason, but what was the point of getting out of bed? Unless you've experienced this, ya'll don't realize how much energy it takes to keep yourself upright when you're dizzy and off balance all the time. 

I started feeling better the first week of October. When I say better, I don't mean I feel well- I just felt a little better than bad. I went to the grocery store the other day because felt pretty good that morning. I felt pretty good in my head; sitting down. Unfortunately, my body didn't get the message. Fortunately, I parked in a close parking spot and brought my cane.  By the time I had walked the whole store getting my groceries, I was feeling ill and had to sit on a bench near the pharmacy. It was all I could do to pay for my groceries and get to my car. Sitting down in my car and driving is usually no problem because I'm only dizzy standing up, but I rested before I left just to make sure. My (large) neighborhood is right next to the store and my house is about a mile away. I think I'll continue to have my husband do the grocery shopping for awhile.  

I am still having what I call "meltdowns", after riding in a car, going to a noisy restaurant and eating dinner or going to an appointment or doing any number of things that my body perceives as stress. I try to warn my husband that I'm about to cry beforehand, so he doesn't think he did something wrong. 

I will be glad when that symptom is gone for good. 

Where I am now...

I am finishing round 32 today. I usually start a round on Monday and finish on Wednesday, then take 4 days off, but I want to get one more round in before going to our daughter's baby shower in SoCal in November. I want as much mercury out of my head by then, so I'm only doing the minimum 72 hours between rounds.

Well, that's where I am. I can feed myself, do a couple of loads of laundry a day, vacuum one room at a time before needing a rest or walk out to get the mail and  pull a couple of weeds. I can drive myself to the chiropractor 20 minutes away twice a month. I take a cane when I go out to help stabilize me and to help others to see me. I still use my walker at home to help give me some support when I'm tired. That's pretty much it.

For now.

Looking forward to digging in the dirt again and going to dinner and enjoying it, instead of wondering if I'm going to survive getting through it without a meltdown.

Thanks for listening

Pam

UPDATE:My head suddenly cleared the Tuesday night (Oct 30th) after I finished my 33rd round. Traveling was difficult, but I was able to enjoy our daughter's baby shower on November 4th. 

Current Symptoms:

dizziness when standing/walking

muscle tightness/spasticity

super hot or freezing feet

numb feet and ankles

spider-like sensations in legs

brain fog (when I do too much or after a round)

waking up at night several times

urgency

ringing in the ears

meltdowns
gait problems
blurry eyes at times
eyes not processing what I'm seeing (when in public)
nail problems
random fibro pain
stabbing pains that last for hours or a day
legs so tight, it hurts to straighten them
  

Practical Ways To Help Someone Who's Chronically Ill

The National Health Council  says "Generally incurable and ongoing, chronic diseases affect approximately 133 million Americans, representing more than 40% of the total population of this country. projected to grow to an estimated 157 million, with 81 million having multiple conditions" That is a lot of people! Some say that the number is now more than 50% of the population. 

Either way, chances are you know someone either in your family, a friend or a neighbor.

Maybe you'd like to help a neighbor, friend or family member, but don't know how. Maybe you've offered to help, but they've never asked.
In my own experience, friends and neighbors have said "call me if you need anything". You might have offered the same. That's really too general of an offer. They might take you up on your offer is something more specific. 



If you know someone who has a chronic illness or who's been sick for a long time, here's  few things you can do for them.

Call or text when you're going to the grocery store and offer to pick up a few things they need.
 I'm always running out of bananas, fresh fruit, milk and bread. 

Always ask what their preferences are and if they have a specific brand they buy. Ask directly: What kind of milk do you buy? Whole milk, 2%? What brand do you prefer?
 In our house, we buy organic fruit (but not organic bananas), organic or pastured milk(and a certain brand) and organic bread or bread without additives.
Ask about other necessities such as Toilet Paper, paper napkins or paper plates. (yes, paper plates are necessities when you don't have the energy to wash a dish or even put it in the dishwasher)

When you're going out to run errands, ask them if you can mail a letter for them or pick up something for them . 
A chronically ill person may only have the energy to feed themselves and maybe do a load of laundry in an entire day and may not have the energy to go to the pharmacy and pick up a prescription.

Offer to do some chores for them when you visit. 
Let them know you're going to want to help them when you get there. Here are some specific things you can offer to do:
       offer to do a load of laundry while you're there, 
       offer to change their sheets and wash that load of laundry and put it back on the bed when it's finished. (this is for a longer visit or make sure they have another set to put on right away)
       offer to clear off the kitchen counters
offer to sweep the floor ( I can tell you that my tiny bit of energy is NOT going to be spent on sweeping the floor. Some days have been so bad that if something fell on the floor, it stayed there for several days until I had the energy to  pick it up.
       offer to vaccuum the floors.
       offer to unload the dishwasher (or start a load when you get there and empty it before you leave.
       offer to water plants

Don't try to do too much of this unless the person is ok with it as you don't want to make them feel bad about not doing it.

You can get your church, neighbors or book club involved to help you to. Just be mindful about bringing anyone else into the person's home. If you notice the chronically ill person's lawn needs mowing, you can either mow it for them or find someone who'd be willing to do the job.

Offer to make their favorite recipe
       I have a great recipe I love for gluten free applesauce     muffins. I love to have them for breakfast or a quick snack when I'm hungry and don't have enough energy to make a "real" meal.  My husband makes them for me, but I hate to ask him because he has to pick up the slack for all the other things I don't have the energy to do.

Offer to make them a snack. If you know they have a good blender. (notice on one of your visits), offer to bring the ingredients for and make a blueberry- banana smoothie. That is, of course, if they like them and don't have a food allergy. Make sure the blueberries are either wild blueberries or organic because pesticides residue is found on regular blueberries.  My simple recipe is : about 10 ounces of wild blueberries, 1 banana , a cup of water and a 1/2 a lemon (if you have it). Blend for 30-45 seconds. It's good for you and it's a tasty treat.

Offer to drive them to a doctor's appointment.
Ask them when they're next doctor's appointment is and let them know that you'd like to drive them. 

Offer to take them to their favorite store.
There are many times I'd love to go to my favorite store and shop, but I don't have the energy to drive there and shop and drive back home. 



Offer to take them out to lunch. 
For those that can't drive, there are many days where they don't get out of the house for weeks. 

These are just suggestions. Not all of them apply to everybody. Pick one or two and ask. Don't think you have to do everything because you'll end up doing nothing because it's just too much.

I want to put in a word for those who are ill whose illness isn't recognized by the medical establishment. I'm talking about those with chronic lyme disease or ME (myalgic encephalomyalitis) or other unknown illness. (mercury illness from amalgams, comes to mind)
I belong to several lyme groups on Facebook and it breaks my heart to hear that family members or spouses either don't believe they are sick and/or have abandoned them.

I know I am so blessed to have a husband who has not only stayed with me, but has supported me in any way he could. Others are not so lucky.
Many don't have the support or finances to treat an illness that isn't recognized by the medical community and therefore isn't covered by insurance. I've seen public requests to help people with cancer or a birth or death in a family and I think those with un recognized illness are forgotten.

Hope I've given you some practical ways to help a friend or family member who's chronically ill.

Do what you can for them! It will be much appreciated!
If you have any other practical ways to help someone who's chronically ill, leave me a comment below.

Pam

this is the blender I use to make my smoothies. Since this is an affiliate link, I'll make a small commission should you purchase through this link.

Chelating Mercury

*this post contains an affiliate link

Hello friends!
I haven't posted in awhile because I'd been in a holding pattern. The plan last year was to have my amalgams removed safely by a biological dentist. That took some time as I had to find a biological  dentist, get quotes from 2 different dentists,  and decide who to go with. Because I had amalgams in all 4 quadrants in my mouth, it took 2 different appointments to remove them, with a couple of months in between to recover. (sensitivity)

Gorelik Dentistry

 The last of my amalgams (silver fillings which are 50% mercury) were removed safely at the end of September 2017.  I was feeling be better and was even thinking of planning a trip for this Spring. It was not to be. According to the Andy Cutler Safe Chelation group on Facebook, the "dump" phase started 5 days shy of two months post removal. 

For those that don't know, the "dump" phase starts 2 - 4 months post removal of all mercury. Even a speck left in your mouth is enough to keep this from occuring. If you're getting your amalgams removed, do so with a biological dentist who has a whole safe protocol and have the dentist take bitewing x rays after the fillings are removed,  and before your teeth are refilled. 

The last week in November ( 2 months post amalgam removal), all my muscles were cramped up. They cramp when I stand up and when I'm sleeping. My whole body. Going to the chiropractor doesn't help. The brain fog was coming back, as well. 

I had planned to start chelating via ACC (Andy Cutler Chelation) after the holidays, but I felt bad and didn't want to chance feeling worse. Sometimes, when people start chelating, they feel worse, but not always. Sometimes they feel worse "on round", when Alpha Lipoic Acid is carrying the mercury out of your body, or feel worse "off round" when there's no Alpha Lipoic Acid in your system and mercury is dropped, or redistributed in the body.

DO NOT EVER TAKE ALPHA LIPOIC ACID WHEN YOU HAVE "SILVER" FILLINGS IN YOUR MOUTH, AS IT CAN MOVE MERCURY TO THE BRAIN

Sorry for the all caps, but I can't stress this enough. I believe, this is what caused my problems after our big move. I had been taking ALA randomly in one of the Restore products (Mitochondrial Support)  for about a year and a half while I recovered from Lyme.

My thinking is that I've recovered from Lyme, but now have to chelate the mercury out. Mercury and lyme have some of the same neurological symptoms and mercury lowers immunity.

Getting on to Chelation:
I did an HTMA hair test, but it was inconclusive, as it didn't meet any of the ACC counting rules, but I was low in lithium, even though I take lithium orotate regularly. The ACC group suggested that I do a trial round to see if I reacted, so I ordered 12.5 mg capsules from Living Supplements.

January came and went. Then, in the 2nd week of February, I had really bad brain fog and dizziness for the whole week and I couldn't drive anywhere or do hardly anything. I figured chelation couldn't be any worse because I was already stuck in bed, as I couldn't get up and do anything, other than feed myself,  use the restroom and maybe do some laundry. I couldn't stand up without getting dizzy. I was also having periods of crying uncontrollably for no reason. 

So, I created a spreadsheet for taking ALA every 3 hours around the clock and started on a Thursday. The first day on round, I felt awful. My head felt like it was filled with cotton and was smoldering. I took some Alka Seltzer Gold for symptoms (suggested by the ACC group) and it helped. I didn't feel well, yet I wasn't depressed. I was actually in a good mood. I felt ok for the remainder of the round and didn't bad when I finished the 72 hour round.

Today, I'm on the last day of my 2nd round at 12.5 mg ALA. This round hasn't kept me in bed and I haven't had any additional symptoms other than a little more ringing in my ears and my head feeling a little like it's stuffed  with cotton. Dizziness is a little better, but I'm not about to try driving yet. I'll wait until I complete a few more rounds.

Dr. Cutler's Book Amalgam Illness explains a lot. Click on the photo to take you to the Amazon link where you can purchase it.

I am hopeful that I will get better and am hoping I will see significant progress by summer, but it takes a long time to chelate all the mercury out. It can take 18 months to 2+ years to finish. 

You can't chelate until 3 months after you remove your amalgams. The ACC group suggests you take the "core 4", which are zinc, Vitamin C, magnesium and Vitamin E (mixed tocopherals). Join the group on Facebook to see the recommended doses.

Some things you should not take or eat when you have amalgams are:

No Cilantro,

No Glutathione

No Chlorella

No Alpha Lipoic Acid

There's more, but those are the biggies. Cilantro is a single thiol, which can pick up mercury, but it can't hold on to it, so the mercury can get redistributed to the brain. I'm not going to go over the chemistry of glutathione, chlorella and ala here. Join the Andy Cutler Chelation:  Safe Mercury and Heavy Metal Detox group on Facebook for more. I can't stress this enough.

Well, that's all for now. I'm anticipating that I'll be bringing you good news in a couple of months. 

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Pam


If you'd like to see which supplements, treatments and other things that have helped me along my journey, you can read about them HERE.

* an affiliate link means that if you purchase something from the affiliate link, I'll make a small commission.