Re: Questions on first DMSA rounds

[Guest guest]

>

> I've done two rounds with DMSA & notice I actually feel better taking it by

the second

day. Since my first round went well at 25 mg, I went up to 50mg for the second

one.

Hi Joanne, I recommend you increase your dose more slowly as side effects can

creep up

on you and can be quite unpleasant. How much do you weigh?

> Is it normal for urine to be concentrated and have a very strong & unusual

odor while

taking DMSA?

Yes, DMSA is sulfur-y and you will smell it.

What are you taking for adrenal support?

> My hope is to take 100 mg DMSA with 25 mg ALA within a few rounds if my body

accepts that reasonably well.

>

> My testing has shown arsenic, lead & some cadmium in addition to mercury,

along with

all the usual amalgam metals, and my 'total toxic elements' range in hair

testing had the

highest score.

>

Have you posted your DDI hair test results here?

If you have had no recent exposure to mercury, you can start ALA (See Files

section).

Again, take it slow. You do not have to be uncomfortable during chelation, and

increasing

the dose does not result in proportionately larger pulls and speed of detox.

This is a

marathon, not a sprint.

in Illinois

[Guest guest]

>

> I've done two rounds with DMSA & notice I actually feel better

taking it by the second day. Since my first round went well at 25 mg,

I went up to 50mg for the second one.

Stay at a dose for a few rounds before increasing. Side effects

vary round to round and you need a few rounds worth of experience

at one dose before you can be sure that increasing is safe for you.

> #1)My urinary tract has felt slightly irritated. Is that is to be

expected? It's important to know this before starting another round

because I did have a strep-type bladder infection in November. Is it

normal for urine to be concentrated and have a very strong & unusual

odor while taking DMSA? Is it normal to be drinking more water and

urinating more often? (I think I'm drinking more water due to taking

pills so often & have to get up in the night.) I've been keeping my

pH on the alkaline side - is that the correct thing to do?

The irritation could be due to not drinking enough water. Even if

you have increased your water intake, you may need to boost it even

more. Yes, urine can sometimes have a very strong sulfur smell

when taking DMSA.

> #2)Typically my heart rate is quite low (50's - low 60's) with no

known heart/artery issues and low cholesterols other than the 'good'

one, which is elevated a little. While I've been on DMSA, however, my

heart rate has really sped up. In fact, it was keeping me awake a bit

in the night when there shouldn't be much T3 in my system. I suspect

my pulse was holding steady at around 90 bpm.

>

> Poor thyroid has been my most serious complication, and I split 1

1/2 tablets of Cytomel (T3) over the day for this, and on 5-6 days a

week take 10 mg Adderall twice per day, which makes thyroid medication

considerably more effective. With Adderall, I can stay awake and

alert fairly consistently while sitting for about 4-5 hours at a time;

without it, I'm in and out unless standing up and physically active.

In fact, while sitting, I go from dozing to very low levels of

alertness every 20 minutes or so, and have been this way for over 10

years. My heart rate slows & then speeds up a few minutes in this

cycle. No tests ever show problems with insulin levels (also tests

low & considered 'good') or hypoglycemia and my diet is very low in

sugars & wheat free. All of my hormones test low without supplemental

meds/supplements, except one-time blood cortisol (saliva cortisol runs

low).

>

> In the early months after my amalgams were removed, I had to stop

taking T3 because it was building up to extremely high levels in my

blood stream, although I was feeling good & not hyperthyroid during

that time. A few months later it plummeted very low again.

>

> Is it possible that detoxing with DMSA could be bringing on a

heightened reaction to T3? Or cause it to be building up in my blood

stream again? If this type of detox means I could begin weaning off a

little Cytomel, it would be wonderful.

>

> Is there another reason why my heart rate would increase so much

while on DMSA, independent of thyroid?

Chelating can increase symptoms. What you describe above strongly

suggests that you need to decrease back to 25 mg and stay there for

awhile (or even lower if you still have these symptoms). You do not

want symptoms to get out of hand during chelation. I do not know how

to evaluate what is going on with your heart rate - you may be

stirring up too much mercury. You really want to stay at a dose

where symptoms are none to minimal.

> #3) Since I do feel quite good on DMSA, is it okay to increase the

dose more quickly than the schedule recommends? It's two years since

my amalgams were removed, and I've only tried ALA (and the things

groups like the IAOMT recommend) as a chelator since then, on and off,

with poor reactions. We suspect I have a lot of mercury in deeper

tissues & brain/endocrine glands with lower levels in the bloodstream.

I'd like to get going with ALA as soon as possible, but also want to

do this safely. My hope is to take 100 mg DMSA with 25 mg ALA within

a few rounds if my body accepts that reasonably well.

Wait to start ALA until you have done several rounds of DMSA at a

consistent dose. When you do add ALA, start at a lower dose - no

more than 12.5 mg.

> My testing has shown arsenic, lead & some cadmium in addition to

mercury, along with all the usual amalgam metals, and my 'total toxic

elements' range in hair testing had the highest score.

>

> If a scheduled conference with Andy would be best, please let me

know. I strongly suspect I'll have to really learn to 'read' signs of

excess thyroid myself and be prepared to adjust my own dosages.

Sounds like it would be helpful to pay close attention to your

symptoms. Are you taking selenium? I think that is supposed to

help suppress thyroid antibodies. Maybe there are other options

as well.

The most important thing is to keep the dose at a level that does

not stir up too much mercury.

--

[Guest guest]

, I'm 5'6 " , 135#. I was trying to look at both recommendations for

dosage in the files and in the books, and am taking into account the length of

time it's been since my amalgams came out.

I take Fatigued to Fantastic adrenal support formula, B's, basically all the

natural things for adrenals and have done so for four years now. Per my

doctor's recommendation for adrenals, I started doing Qi Gong (which seems to

really move lymph & bring on a healthy sweat without being an overwhelming

workout), rest a lot (as if there is a choice!) and avoid stress to the extent

possible, but a lack of stress doesn't seem to be so healthy, either. I ordered

a bottle of Isocort but am reluctant to take it unless I really feel I have to

try something. In the past, freeze-dried adrenal type preparations haven't

offered noticable benefit.

I guess I'm impatient with this because I need to get this behind me. If it's

going to make me feel really awful again, I'm ready to take that time now and

get it over with. My mind is ready to be back working, etc., but my body just

can't hold up, and I've had it with years of spending thousands on supplements &

hormone Rx's just to keep going.

Joanne

mmc2315 m.chelap@...> wrote:

>

> I've done two rounds with DMSA & notice I actually feel better taking it by

the second

day. Since my first round went well at 25 mg, I went up to 50mg for the second

one.

Hi Joanne, I recommend you increase your dose more slowly as side effects can

creep up

on you and can be quite unpleasant. How much do you weigh?

> Is it normal for urine to be concentrated and have a very strong & unusual

odor while

taking DMSA?

Yes, DMSA is sulfur-y and you will smell it.

What are you taking for adrenal support?

> My hope is to take 100 mg DMSA with 25 mg ALA within a few rounds if my body

accepts that reasonably well.

>

> My testing has shown arsenic, lead & some cadmium in addition to mercury,

along with

all the usual amalgam metals, and my 'total toxic elements' range in hair

testing had the

highest score.

>

Have you posted your DDI hair test results here?

If you have had no recent exposure to mercury, you can start ALA (See Files

section).

Again, take it slow. You do not have to be uncomfortable during chelation, and

increasing

the dose does not result in proportionately larger pulls and speed of detox.

This is a

marathon, not a sprint.

in Illinois

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[Guest guest]

>

> , I'm 5'6 " , 135#. I was trying to look at both recommendations for

dosage in the

files and in the books, and am taking into account the length of time it's been

since my

amalgams came out.

>

I can understand feeling impatient, but in the long haul it will serve you well

to take your

time with dose increases, making sure to hold steady at a particular dose for

several

rounds before increasing. Over the last year, I've read enough accounts of

people getting

nasty bouts of anxiety or depression from doses which are too high for them, too

early.

Take your time. You WILL see improvements, even at doses which may seem " low " .

The

more severely poisoned you are = the more side effects.

in Illinois

[Guest guest]

>Per my doctor's recommendation for adrenals, I started doing Qi Gong

(which seems to really move lymph & bring on a healthy sweat without

being an overwhelming workout), rest a lot (as if there is a choice!)

and avoid stress to the extent possible, but a lack of stress doesn't

seem to be so healthy, either.

If you have to arrange your life for maximum rest and avoidance of

stress, I *really recommend your taking stronger adrenal support.

Isocort IME is a better product than other adrenal preparations -- it

seems to give the benefit of cortisol without adrenaline mixed in. As

long as you stay at 8 or fewer tabs a day, it is safe.

I'm kind of a giant nag on this subject because I wasted a lot of time

chelating without adequate adrenal support and my life was dwindling

down to nothing. Cortef gave me my life back. (Isocort works just as

well for me.)

>I guess I'm impatient with this because I need to get this behind me.

If it's going to make me feel really awful again, I'm ready to take

that time now and get it over with.

If you take the time to work through the supp recommendations in

" Amalgam Illness " , take the saliva tests to make sure your adrenals

and thyroid are adequately supported, you are going to feel *much

better. I think I'm about a 7 out of 10 on the poisoning scale, and I

can pretty much go on with my life as long as I take everything I need

to, pay attention to chelator dosage, and don't get too carried away

with exercise.

Nell

[Guest guest]

>Per my doctor's recommendation for adrenals, I started doing Qi Gong

(which seems to really move lymph & bring on a healthy sweat without

being an overwhelming workout), rest a lot (as if there is a choice!)

and avoid stress to the extent possible, but a lack of stress doesn't

seem to be so healthy, either.

If you have to arrange your life for maximum rest and avoidance of

stress, I *really recommend your taking stronger adrenal support.

Isocort IME is a better product than other adrenal preparations -- it

seems to give the benefit of cortisol without adrenaline mixed in. As

long as you stay at 8 or fewer tabs a day, it is safe.

I'm kind of a giant nag on this subject because I wasted a lot of time

chelating without adequate adrenal support and my life was dwindling

down to nothing. Cortef gave me my life back. (Isocort works just as

well for me.)

>I guess I'm impatient with this because I need to get this behind me.

If it's going to make me feel really awful again, I'm ready to take

that time now and get it over with.

If you take the time to work through the supp recommendations in

" Amalgam Illness " , take the saliva tests to make sure your adrenals

and thyroid are adequately supported, you are going to feel *much

better. I think I'm about a 7 out of 10 on the poisoning scale, and I

can pretty much go on with my life as long as I take everything I need

to, pay attention to chelator dosage, and don't get too carried away

with exercise.

Nell