Back at it - Round 111 ALA

*This post contains affiliate links

 Well, after  taking a very long break from chelation (18 months), I'm back doing rounds. 

All of 2021 was one UTI after another. They actually started right after Thanksgiving of 2020, then another one in December. I think I had 6 or 7 more in 2021. 

We flew to California for a week in May 2021, which was a disaster. I've just realized a few weeks ago that a ride on a transportation cart set off a meltdown and sent me into fight or flight mode all that week and I couldn't sleep. I was having multiple meltdowns daily and wanted to come home after a few days. Had there been a non stop flight from Orange County, I would have flown home. We did take our Christmas photo for that year and we were able to visit Calvary Chapel Chino Hills. 

In July I caught the worst respiratory virus I've ever had. Our youngest daughter caught it, as well and said the same thing. It was not covid! Tested negative twice on both the rapid test and 3 antibody tests. 

At the end of August, I went to my PCP for yet another UTI and she ran labs because I was there. Big mistake, but it got the ball rolling for me to start looking into what was going on.

Hmm, how can I shorten the last 12 months? PCP tested my thyroid, only TSH and T4. Another big mistake. My TSH has been non existent for years (I had my thyroid ablated with radioactive iodine around 2006). My TSH was near zero at .010 (range .45 - 4.5). She told me to lower my Armour thyroid. I did so and my hair was falling out, depressed and crying every day and couldn't (tmi) poop. I had gone to the Emergency Room and she saw my TSH, which they ran there and said I needed to reduce my thyroid meds further. I said, I'm not doing that and gave her the reasons above and told her the TSH doesn't measure thyroid hormone in the body, it measures the message the PITUITARY is sending to the thyroid for how thyroid hormone to make. 

Thankfully, I found Stop The Thyroid Madness website and Functional MD near me that was willing to order the testing STTM recommended. You can find those recommended labs HERE. If your doctor won't order them, they have a discounted link for labs that you can have drawn at a lab near you. 

I'm going to go into some details here (not all), because many run into the same problem and their PCP or endocrinologist doesn't really understand how to treat thyroid problems properly. There, I said it. It's true. Just join a STTM Facebook group and see how many women have said the same thing!
The basic labs for thyroid are Free T3, Free T4 and Reverse T3. (not T3 and T4 - those are different from Free T3 and Free T4) Turns out my Reverse T3 was high and my Free T3 (usable) was low and I was hypothyroid. Your body is supposed to make or take(meds) T4(storage hormone) and converts it to T3, the thyroid hormone your body uses. If you have inflammation in your body (took another year to figure it out what was causing it), your body will convert T4 to T3 and instead make anti-thyroid and will show up as high Reverse T3. 

I hope I got that right!

So, I convinced my functional MD, who after hearing my whole health story- lyme, heavy metals, thyroid), to agree to prescribe T3 (liothyronine) only. Since I'm not taking any T4, I wouldn't have any storage thyroid hormone in my body, so I had to take it 3 times a day because it has a short half life. 

I started at 5 mcg 3 x a day and increased 1.25 to 2.5 mcg once a week. Most people increase 2.5 to 5 mcg every 5 - 7 days, but my adrenals were shot and the only way I could increase was 1.25 mcg a week. I used a micro scale to weigh my dose. 

I started Nov 1st and remember waking up mid November happy (and not crying) for the first time in a long time. It usually takes 12 weeks to clear Reverse T3, but mine was down to <5 (11 or below is good) in 6 weeks. 
My doctor wanted me to go back on some Armour (has T4 and T3) in January. It was awful . I was once again waking up with heart pounding and not being able to get back to sleep. Oh, did I forget to tell you that was happening back in the Fall?

I went back to T3 only. Once again, I searched and found an integrative practice who was recommended by STTM. I found RIH in Winston-Salem, which was a 2 hour drive from home. Their doctors weren't taking any new patients, but after applying I got accepted with a PA in mid April. My case is pretty complicated and all the labs I've done and 2 trips to the ER in February didn't reveal what was causing all this.

Some good news mid April, my Free T3 was optimal - so I can check my thyroid off the list.

I purchased this massage gun to relieve sore muscles:

Guys, this really is the short version and I've left a lot out!

I went to a Nephrologist in May, more labs, then another appointment via telehealth. Nothing. Come back in a year. 

Then at a 2nd appointment to RIH, my PA asked me if I've ever heard or tried LDN (low dose naltrexone). I said I've heard and read some about it. She prescribed it and I received my compounded .5 mg LDN in the mail at the end of May. 
I started taking it May 30th and it's helped me to sleep a bit better (up 3 times a night, instead of 5-10) and it's helped resolve my IC symptoms. You can look up Interstitial Cystitis symptoms  yourself. What a blessing.
I worked up to 2mg, but began having unpleasant symptoms after about a week, where I was afraid to not be near a bathroom. I'll leave it at that. I did notice at 2mg, is that I was only getting up once or twice a night and the IC symptoms were completely gone and the neuropathy in my legs was a little better. Unfortunately, I had to go back down to 1.5 mg again. Sometimes, the side affect I was having is because of the microcrystalline cellulose filler, so I ordered a new prescription with magnesium glycinate as a filler. 

Thankfully, I think I've figured out that the problem is too much magnesium. I stopped all magnesium (I was taking magnesium malate and magnesium glycinate) and the problem stopped. I'm now at 2.0, and am anxious to move up to the full dose of 4.5 mg.  

In mid June, I had an appt with a neurologist and he ordered lots of labs (11 vials of blood!) and 3 MRIs. The 11 vials of blood revealed I was deficient in vitamin E and .... Scleroderma antibodies. Scleroderma is a rare autoimmune condition. That explains the super tight muscles and neuropathy in my legs, and my 30 plus pound weight loss since last August, muscle atrophy, fat pads atrophy on the bottom of my feet and the loss of my curves. There are some medical papers that say scleroderma can be the result of heavy metals. Let's hope chelation will help my body heal. 

If you're a long time follower of this blog, I lost weight without meaning to (the first time) back in 2015. I also listed the problem with the bottom of my feet. 

As for the MRIs which were ordered to check for MS, I went to my appointment several weeks ago and didn't make it 2 minutes before I asked to be brought out. I knew I wouldn't last long when a cage was put over my face and my neck tucked in. I wore earplugs, but I should have known that the loud noise would send me over the edge. 

I had a meltdown after they took me out. Being in a very small space, being confined by the cage over my head and the loud noise of the machine, sent me into fight or flight mode for the next several days. I couldn't sleep and I kept having flashbacks to being in the MRI machine. 

I won't be going back even in an open MRI machine with valium. I will have to be put under if the neurologist really wants to do them.

Phew! That catches you up to my trials and tribulations for 2022!!! 

The good news for 2022 not related to health? I have a new grandson! Photo taken when he met his big sister.

Where do I go from here?

I'm hoping to work up to 4.5mg of LDN 

I'm taking Perfect Aminos recommended by someone in a scleroderma group for building muscle and gaining/maintaining weight. 

I purchased a LifePro Hovert vibration place to increase circulation in my legs and help me with balance. Been using it 3 times a day for about a week and I think it helps my balance! 

I purchased a BioMax 900 infrared light panel from Platinum Therapy and I believe that's helping too. I'll do another post in a month or so on how it's helping.

...and lastly, I'm on my 3rd round (round 111) after starting back up, of Andy Cutler Chelation at 10 mg Alpha Lipoic Acid every 3 hours around the clock for 63 hours.  Round 112 was 12 mgs. Minor symptoms on round and will stay at 12 mg for 3 rounds minimum, until no symptoms are felt on or off round. 

The next dose increase will be 18mg. 

That's enough for now! Stop by my DIY blog to see what we've been doing at our mountain cottage. Click on the photo of the bookcase on the right sidebar.

Pam

symptoms:

weight 118

Dizziness/off balance

lumps/atrophy bottom of feet

thick skin/tight muscles, muscle atrophy, neuropathy on feet,  legs and part of lower trunk. 

gait hasn't improved

brain fog/dizziness late afternoon- happens rarely

sleep - is 2 points better- getting up most nights 2-3 times.

           sleeping on good nights 2- 3 hour stretches.

energy - Have a bit more energy. 

              On the few nights I only get 4-5 hours of sleep,  I don't feel awful, like a                    zombie. 

depression/crying for no reason - not lately

ringing in ears - high pitch is much less 

nails are better (this was mostly a thyroid problem)

blurry eyes for a whole day occur rarely

IC (interstitial cystitis) symptoms are much improved (thanks to LDN. 

*This post contains affiliate links, which means I'll make a small commission should you purchase something after clicking on one of the links.

Down In The Trenches

This post is mainly written for those who are chelating.

It's Saturday and I feel crappy.

I usually wait until I feel somewhat well to write, but today I'm writing when I don't feel well.

If you're wondering...I just finished month 16 of the dump. It could end any day now or it could linger until month 24... or longer.

I just finished round 49 (still on 5 mg ala) on Wednesday night. Technically, it was 2:30 am Thursday morning, but I still think of my round ending on Wednesday night.

Rounds have been mostly good since the last post.
I've gone to a 2 hour dosing schedule during the day and every 2:40 at night.
I don't find it any more difficult than dosing every 3 hours and I'm usually up at night multiple times anyway, so I'm glad I gave it a try.

When I was doing 3 hour dosing, I just felt like I was getting some redistribution closer to hour 3 when I took another dose; I don't get that with 2 hour dosing.

I usually feel pretty good when I'm on round and the first day off, but the first two rounds this month I didn't.

Glad that's over with.

This past round I was back to feeling good. I get in the sauna every afternoon on round and the first day off round to minimize redistribution. I start feeling redistribution usually by Friday.

Redistribution, for those that don't know is when you get increased symptoms again. During a round, most people feel better and definitely upbeat.

So, here's what I'm experiencing:
Yesterday afternoon my eyes started getting blurry and later that evening watery and burning. It's Spring and pollen is starting to fall fro the trees, but I don't have seasonal allergies and I haven't been outside much. I'm sure my eyes will be back to normal by tomorrow night. This isn't the first time it's happened.

I have numbness in my feet and legs, but lately it's been moving higher up on my legs and the left leg is more numb than the right. Lately, both legs feel like I'm wearing knee high socks. On round, both legs are less numb and the right leg was barely numb at all. The numbness never leaves my feet and the left foot is not very flexible at all.
Fatigue and general overall lack of motivation is keeping me mostly in bed today.
Today, the dizziness seems to be absent, so I'm thankful for that.
I will be sooooooooo glad when that symptom is gone!

Last symptoms are the top of my head seems to be smoldering, my tinnitus is a little louder and I'm itchy.
I tend not to worry about these symptoms coming and going. The Andy Cutler Chelation group on Facebook is filled with posts asking if these symptoms are normal.
Yes, they are normal mercury toxicity symptoms.

As everyone says in the Andy Cutler Facebook group: "Onward and upward.

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
  

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.

Replacing The First 3 Amalgams

Hey Everyone! 

I haven't posted for a couple of months, so it might be good to bring you up to date as to how things are going  with me.

I'll recap for those who may have forgotten:
I had a bit of a breakthrough with the really bad brain fog that kept me from driving at all with the K-Laser treatments from my chiropractor. The K-Laser reduced the inflammation in my neck and after a couple of treatments, I was able to drive myself to the chiropractor 20 minutes away on my appointment day. I pretty much wasn't able to do anything else that day and had to rest so that I wouldn't get any level of brain fog and I could make it to my appointment. Driving home is never a problem because I feel great about 10 minutes after the treatment and for about 2 hours afterwards.
I highly recommend K-Laser or another cold laser treatment. If you have pain or inflammation, seek out a chiropractor or other clinic that offers it.

Despite not having the really bad drugged out feeling brain fog, dizziness still continued to be a daily occurence. I might have an hour or two of nearly  a clear head, but later in the day or if I stood up for too long, the dizziness would come on. It made it very difficult to make even the simplest of chores or even to make dinner.

About a month ago, I had 3 of 5 amalgams safely removed by a biological/holistic dentist here in Charlotte. It was a traumatic experience and it was mostly my fault!!! 
Let me tell you why, so you don't make the same mistake...

I currently belong to a group called Andy Cutler Chelation on Facebook. It's a great group with a lot of support and a lot of good information. I highly recommend it if you're concerned about mercury toxicity.

The day before my dental appointment, I figured I should read the ACC group file on what to do at the dentist office. I mentally checked off each thing to do...
until I go to the part where it said to stop taking vitamin C two days before so that the numbing meds the dentist gives you doesn't wear off too quickly. I take 1 gram of vitamin C four times a day and had just taken my morning dose, but didn't take any more that day. I figured I'd be ok.

The  next morning at my long awaited appointment, the dentist gave me nitrous oxide and it took a long time for me to feel the effects.  The dentist covered me from head to toe, gave me a mask with oxygen, had a special vacuum to whisk away any vapors and the dentist and assistant were covered and had a respirator on. 
The mercury was removed from 3 teeth, 1 was a crown. I was given multiple injections of numbing meds and was nearing the max amount she could give me in 1 day. She was working quickly  trying to finish prepping my final tooth for a crown, but wasn't able to finish after giving me a final injection. The assistant gave me a temporary filling and I had to make an appointment to come back the following week. All of this took 4 hours.

Let me tell you...my jaw was so sore and I couldn't open my mouth more than an inch until the 3rd day.  I felt miserable after the numbing meds started to wear off, but I started feeling better about 10 pm the evening after amalgam removal. The  strange thing was that even though I felt sore and not so good from all the dental work, my brain was clear and my eyesight was great and I could see the TV in my room without glasses. I thought it might be from the 4 hours of oxygen I had during the dental work. Makes me think I should look into that!

One thing of note; the day after getting the amalgams removed I felt lighter or that the mercury burden was lighter. Kind of like when you get a hair cut. Someone else brought this up in the ACC group. Many agreed.

I went back the following week to get the final prep done for my 2nd crown. I made sure that I stopped all vitamin C three days ahead of time, just to be sure. When I went back in, the dentist gave me 2 shots of numbing medication and went to do a third, but I waved her off and said I didn't need it and that I was already really numb. She wanted to make sure the same thing wouldn't happen again. I told her it was because I hadn't stopped my vitamin C in time. Things went well and now I'm just waiting for my permanent crowns to come back so I can have those put on.

After this dental appointment, I wasn't that sore and could eat regularly the next day. It was a lot better than the first appointment.


I'll be making the 2nd appointment to get the remaining two teeth for the end of September. I'd do it sooner, but the ACC group says that your body starts to dump mercury 2-4 months after your last amalgams are removed and many people don't feel well. We have a wedding to go to at the end of October and I don't want to miss it.  I will start chelating after Christmas, which will be 3 months after the last amalgam removal.

Ever since the 3 amalgams were removed, I've started to make a little progress again. The most progress I've made has been the past 5 days because of something new I've been taking. I'm pretty excited about it and hope my new found energy continues.

I read about a lot of things and then try them, if they're not too expensive and of course, not dangerous to your health. 

Sorry to leave you hanging here, but I'll tell you about it next time!

Pam

Here is the status of my symptoms:

Numbness, tingling in feet - fluctuates, but seems to be getting better

dizziness/off balance- getting better 

brain fog- Haven't had any in the past week

blurry eyes - seems to have stablilized

urgency  (3) - still a problem

noise sensitivity (2)

startles easily- very little unless it's a really loud noise.

muscle pain -2 some days more, especially after working too hard.

muscle weakness- I think I'm getting stonger

high pitch ringing in the ears/low pitch ringing. High pitch comes and goes,

This list is getting shorter!

Here are some products I like and are currently taking:

These are affiliate links, which mean I'll make a small commission should you order from the link. Thanks!