Jackie T's update----went to see ---very long

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone!

Sorry I haven't been active lately, I was really sick in January for 2-3 weeks

with a nasty virus that really lingered, and then I went to Seattle to see

in mid-February, so have been busy before and after the trip. I think

I was also mentally exhausted from the trip, so just getting back to you guys

now!

I went to see her because I haven't had any luck finding a doctor locally who

had a clue about this stuff, especially adrenals and hormones, and of course

proper chelation. I had a chance to go with my sister, so I jumped at the

opportunity to not have to go alone. And luckily, she believes in all of this

stuff and is very alternative-thinking, and is one of my biggest supporters, so

she was great to have along.

I spent 2-1/2 hours with , and I really like her! Finally somebody who got

it everything! I could talk to her all day, and my sister liked her too. What

a relief to find a doctor who understands adrenals and knows how to read a hair

test! She looked at my hair test from 2 years ago, and just said " Oh. " At a

glance she could tell it was bad and that I have problems. She said, " You are

socking away mercury in your brain and other tissues just like those autistic

kids. " Not sure if I liked hearing that or not! But at least somebody

understands that I am seriously toxic with very low hair mercury. Arsenic is

also very high on my hair tests, so that is also an issue for me.

On my first hair test, potassium was red low, and she said that is a sign of

severe adrenal stress. I have never heard or read that before, but it makes

sense. I certainly had the symptoms, but didn't know anything about it back

then and wasn't taking anything for it either. My second hair test still shows

the adrenal pattern, but my potassium is up in the white (middle) now, and she

said that shows improvement because I have been taking Isocort for the past 7-8

months. So my Ca/Mag is still very low, and my Na/K is in the middle now. My

hair test still meets the counting rules and presents mostly all low. It showed

no mercury and arsenic off the charts, so I am guessing that I'm dumping arsenic

right now and that maybe I lowered my body burden of mercury with 18 months of

chelation with DMSA? I haven't used ALA yet, so I know I still have it in my

brain and deep tissues. I think I still have a long way to go.

She prescribed DMPS for me at 20mg. I tried it for two doses, but it felt like

too much, so I lowered it to 10mg and feel fine at that amount. I've been

taking it every 8 hours, I haven't tried 6 yet. I might be able to tolerate

more like 15mg, so this will take some experimenting. I've only been on it for

3 days.

She prescribed HC for me and wants me to do a taper. I'm a little nervous about

taking 60mg, so I have just been experimenting with how HC feels to me so far.

I had a follow-up phone consult with yesterday, and she gave me some ideas

on how to ease into it. She said it's important to do the taper and give the

adrenals a good rest. I'm suppose to do a week at 60mg, a week at 40mg, and

then a week at 20mg. She said how I feel when I drop to 20mg will help tell how

much I need on an ongoing basis. I took 30mg this morning, and I'm not bouncing

off the walls, so maybe I'll take another dose at noon and see how I feel and

get this taper started! She warned me not to over-do-it when I start feeling

better on the HC. She also gave me Cytozyme AD to start taking as an adrenal

support supplement.

I also have a number of other issues, and a laundry list of things to

do/take/try. I am supposed to increase my Betaine HCl (stomach acid) to 2 with

smaller meals and 3-4 with larger meals, to get better absorption and digestion

of my foods and supps. She said with not enough stomach acid, you don't digest

your protein and fats, and only digest your carbs, which gives you blood sugar

spikes, just like if you ate alot of carbs.

She understands candida/yeast issues, and knows this is a problem for me after

the antibiotics I had last fall with my appendix rupture and upper GI procedure.

She prescribed sacc. boulardii to help kick out the bad guys, and told me to

increase my probiotic to 50 billion units/day (TherBiotic Complete), and

increase biotin to 3-4X/day.

She's concerned about my gut issues, especially the cyst I have near my stomach

and the appendix rupture, so prescibed PolyPC, Delta Immune, and Epicor to help

boost my immune system and help with the gut in general. These made my head

feel funny, so probably causing some detox reaction, so I quit them for now,

since I'm doing so many things. She said to ease into taking them, and take

Alka Seltzer Gold and/or activated charcoal, if I get reactions. It was

probably a good sign. Just too many things to do all at once!

She also feel that my lymphatic drainage system is all clogged up, and that 70%

of it is located in the gut. This might have something to do with my cyst. So

I am supposed to start doing castor oil packs on my stomach 3-4X a week, which

is supposed to lubricate the lymph system, and also jump on a mini-tramp or

rebounder a couple times a day, because the lymph system has no pumps, and this

helps gets things moving. I have purchased the stuff, but haven't tried it yet,

so I'll let you know when I do.

My plasma sulfate is low, so she told me to take an epsom salt bath every night

with 2# in it! I tried one at that amount, and it made my muscles feel very

weak afterwards for a day or more, so I haven't done it again, because I have so

many other things to try also. She said I might have to ease into it, or it may

not have such a big effect after a few of them in a row. She also suggested

epsom salt cream, or gelatin, or bone soup, to also raise sulfate. And she

mentioned the Feingold diet and avoiding phenols/salicylates, which require

sulfation in liver phase 2.

From looking at past labwork I have had done, she feels I have some sort of

oxygenation problem, and wants me to have a sleep apnea test done. Luckily,

that is the one thing the last doctor wanted me to have done, so that is

scheduled for April 2nd. She also prescribed IronSorb for my low ferritin,

which she was also quite concerned about. It was 12 in Dec 2006, up from 4 in

2005! She said it should be closer to 70. I know Andy says 30-70, and NTH

group says 70-90, but regardless, it needs to come up some.

She had me do a saliva hormone test from ZRT Labs, and said my progesterone was

severely depleted and my estrogen was in the ok range, but the difference made

me estrogen dominant. She said this explains my past female problems with the

enlarged uterus and built-up lining, etc. What makes me mad is my sister just

got me to try progesterone cream a couple years ago, and the first alt. doctor I

went to about mercury told me to stop using it!!! So I haven't used it since!

I should have listened to my sister instead of that doctor! Ugghhhh!!! She

also said my DHEA and testosterone were very low in the normal range, so she

prescribed DHEA with pregnenolone for me, which she said should help both. So

basically, my hormones are a mess also.

We didn't talk about thyroid a whole lot, maybe just ran out of time. I showed

her labs from a couple years ago which showed antibodies or Hashi's, and here

are my labs from 2-8-07.

TSH <.10 low

FT4 1.39 ref .58 - 1.64

FT3 4.01 ref 2.50 - 3.90 high

I was surprised my fT3 was high, but I have read that you can flip between hyper

and hypo with Hashi's and that your thyroid " sputters " sometimes, and

agreed that this is probably what is happening. She wants me to track my temps,

she feels that's the best way to tell if you have thyroid problems. My regular

doctor was concerned about these numbers, and I know he will be willing to

retest them, but I said I wanted to talk to first. So for right now she

said to try Iodoral or kelp and Tyrosine to help support the thyroid, and that

the other hormones I'm taking might help also. So no thyroid hormone yet.

She also wants me to try the high dose Vit A protocol for viral issues sometime

too. But we agreed that can wait, as I have soooooo many other things to do and

try!

I am also supposed to pay attention to the Glycemic Index for foods, as she

feels I'm having some blood sugar regulation problems. She wants my regular

doctor to do some tests, including a fasting insulin. The increased stomach

acid may help with this, so I digest my protein and fats better, not just the

carbs. Also, I was reading in HTI about Arsenic poisoning, and it can also

affect your blood sugar regulation, so I found that interesting.

There is arsenic in my well water, below the EPA " safe " limit, but since it's

been high on both of my hair tests, I really need to do something about it, so

I've been looking at water filters/distillers again. This is one of the dumb

things I didn't do or take care of a long time ago. I'm just going to have to

bite the bullet and do it this time. My understanding is that a distiller is

the best way to get arsenic out.

So, can you see why I'm feeling a little overwhelmed? I'm glad I went to see

and it was confirmation that I was sick, but I may be worse off than I was

allowing myself to believe? And I still have people telling me that maybe all I

need is antidepressants! (Just happened again last weekend!) Uggghhhh!!!!!!

So how have the rest of you dealt with these kind of people?

Anyway, sorry this is so long, and I'll try to be more active on the groups

again and keep you posted. Maybe you guys can help keep me on track!

Jackie T>