Re: Help needed -- any DMSA experts? (long)

[Guest guest]

Hi Jay,

I wish I'd asked someone to properly interpret my hair test for me

before. It came with its own analysis, which indicated hypoadrenia

and hypothyroidism, but I took the low toxic metals result as an

indication that mercury wasn't a problem. My mineral levels are

mostly low despite a lot of supplementation, which would appear to

suggest that mercury actually IS a problem.

I have sent my hair test results as you suggested. Will the

interpretation be posted on this list then? How long does this

usually take (so I can be vigilant here)?

I think the adrenal problems started with antidepressant withdrawal 2

years ago. Amalgam removal and chelation made it worse. Not sure

where thyroid fits in. It's possible that these 2 things have been

low-level problematic for much of my life. I had a lot of amalgams as

a child (none as an adult until recently) and was prone to

depression, lethargy, and low self-esteem. I wonder how much of this

might have been due to a mouth full of metal.

Thanks again for your help, Jay. I'm really glad you suggested I look

at the hair test again. It looks like it might end up really helping

me.

.

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Thanks for your posts. I'll be happy to eliminate the Algin; you and

Andy have both suggested this. Less stress on my pocketbook.

25mg DMSA and ALA sounds like a good target to aim for. Again, less

stress on my pocketbook. I had no idea that using larger amounts

could do me harm. The other mercury forum I belong to (Herb Allure)

is good for support and chats, but the real technical knowledge is

here on this list, and I'd never made much use of it before.

Yesterday, before I came back to this list, I remembered something

someone had said to me once about how if I could take a large amount

of ALA at once without any effects, then mercury probably wasn't a

problem. So I popped a 200mg cap of it. Didn't notice anything apart

from strain on my adrenals, but the rest of the day and today I felt

unusually anxious and fearful. It took me a while to put 2 and 2

together but I think it's possible I might have stirred up some

mercury. I'm starting back on DMSA today -- I brought loads of it

back with me from the US last Christmas so I may as well use it --

12.5mg every 4 hours. I've only taken one dose so far but it seems to

be calming the anxiety. I'll do what's been recommended here and

perhaps do a DMSA-only round, then add some ALA in.

For some reason, it's always been hard to get myself to actually

believe that this could be happening. You have to follow clues

because there are no definitive answers. The mainstream medical

establishment is useless and you have to learn to trust yourself and

read your own symptoms. Depression can have hundreds of causes and

I've looked into a lot of them over the years.

Thanks again for your help and I hope to report on some good progress

in the coming weeks

.

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I know you must be very busy but I wanted to thank you for your post. I

hadn't actually realised that the dosage information in your book had

been revised and I'll be quite happy to stick to lower doses. I never

felt bad, as such, on the higher doses -- it's just when I tried to

take a break from chelation, or missed a single dose, that I felt

really bad. And it was damaging my adrenals.

I will leave the Algin alone, and working up to 25mg each of DMSA and

ALA sounds good to me. This isn't too expensive and I can do it long-

term. I wish I'd known that I might have been sabotaging my own

progress all those months by chelating too hard, but what's done is

done and now it's time to move forward. Any improvement from how I feel

right now would be welcome relief.

Thanks again,

.

[Guest guest]

Hi --

Sorry, I missed your comment about adrenals. I spent a couple of

months working out how to support those with the right medication;

tried hydrocortisone and large amounts of it weren't helping me. I am

now taking methylprednisolone (medrol), and it's equal to 45mg of HC

a day. (I think you said you saw me talking about pred? I thought

you'd said pregnenolone -- silly brain fog.) I still use HC for

stress dosing though, and I've taken some today because the DMSA I've

re-started has necessitated it. I feel quite all right though, and

more than all right -- it's looking like the chelation might be

starting to lift the cloud that's hung over me for so long.

So were all those previous months of chelation a waste of time -- was

I doing nothing but re-distributing mercury? How do I make sure that

I'm really chelating it properly this time and that my doses aren't

too big? I never got increased symptoms with big doses, just symptoms

when I stopped between rounds.

I think we're doing the right thing by supporting our adrenals BTW.

It's just a shame we had to crash out before we discovered that we

needed it.

I will follow your advice about doing a few rounds with DMSA alone

first. I think I can probably cope with 12.5mg, that's what I

originally started with. See how I go.

Thanks again for your help

.

[Guest guest]

good luck, I would personally wait more than one round or even two

(maybe a month) before adding ALA..Again I have found you can tell

pretty quick with ALA if its causing you head/organ problems..

Your lucky the 200 mgs didn't fry your brain. Anxiety and fearfulness

is how mercury seems to have effected many including you and me both

Its funny though even though I cannot now handle ALA (at this point

intime), I haev ben feeling much more optimistc and have more mental

energy, so its all working..It just that sometimes it seems like you

are walking in quicksand, but your body is healing..you just have to

try to not overload/overwork it

I was at 25 mgs and even up to a few rounds of 50 mgs ALA over the

past 3 months then BOOM, I just cannot handle ALA. I tried again last

night at 6 mgs and head problems/heart pain came back within minutes

My understanding is our bodies decide when and how much mercury to

release. I think I am still in the dumping period (6-8 months), so I

have a lot of mercury moving around. The last month I have had to get

up 2-3 times at night to urinate and I believe AI says most mercury

gets expelled by kidneys, so this must be a sign that i am getting

rid of mercury

SO for me anyway it looks like i need some time OFF ALA

another way you can effectively increase the dosage of dmsa/dmps/ala

is shortening the duration between doses (ie 4 to 3 hours) and then

do 4 hours at night ie 10 pm-2 am-6 am

Also please read the files/links section on DMSA as dmsa can lower

your neutrophils over time, exposing you to other problems; Its a

tight rope we all walk

Keep the faith

>

> 25mg DMSA and ALA sounds like a good target to aim for. Again, less

> stress on my pocketbook. I had no idea that using larger amounts

> could do me harm. The other mercury forum I belong to (Herb Allure)

> is good for support and chats, but the real technical knowledge is

> here on this list, and I'd never made much use of it before.

>

> Yesterday, before I came back to this list, I remembered something

> someone had said to me once about how if I could take a large

> amount of ALA at once without any effects, then mercury probably

> wasn't a problem. So I popped a 200mg cap of it. Didn't notice

> anything apart from strain on my adrenals, but the rest of the day

> and today I felt unusually anxious and fearful. It took me a while

> to put 2 and 2 together but I think it's possible I might have

> stirred up some mercury. I'm starting back on DMSA today -- I

> brought loads of it back with me from the US last Christmas so I

> may as well use it -- 12.5mg every 4 hours. I've only taken one

> dose so far but it seems to be calming the anxiety. I'll do what's

> been recommended here and perhaps do a DMSA-only round, then add

> some ALA in.

>

>

[Guest guest]

you may want to repost asking for adrenal support suggestions

I am not too knowledgebale on this and you may be overdoing on some

of these supps

I know its a fine line betwen supporting your adreals and giving them

too much. You want them to have the stress removed but not to stop

working

AI and i believe this forum and others recommend max HC dosage of 20

mgs per day. I know you are taking something else for adrenals

(medrol). I think the equivalant of 45 mgs is quite high and the if

you suppleemnt with HC thats even more. I belive in earlier post you

said that you thought you were dosing too high on armour

Do not look at the wrong roads as being a waste, as its negative

thoughts. we all do them, and given that there are literally

thousands of different supplemental combinations and permutations, it

is logical that we would do a lot of trial and error experiments

You get closer to the right answers when you do something wrong

your body and brain will tell you if its wrong and then slow down

the important ting is getting back on a protocol that works..

>

> Hi --

>

> Sorry, I missed your comment about adrenals. I spent a couple of

> months working out how to support those with the right medication;

> tried hydrocortisone and large amounts of it weren't helping me. I

> am now taking methylprednisolone (medrol), and it's equal to 45mg

> of HC a day. (I think you said you saw me talking about pred? I

> thought you'd said pregnenolone -- silly brain fog.) I still use

> HC for stress dosing though, and I've taken some today because the

> DMSA I've re-started has necessitated it. I feel quite all right

> though, and more than all right -- it's looking like the chelation

> might be starting to lift the cloud that's hung over me for so

> long.

>

> So were all those previous months of chelation a waste of time --

> was I doing nothing but re-distributing mercury? How do I make

> sure that I'm really chelating it properly this time and that my

> doses aren't too big? I never got increased symptoms with big

> doses, just symptoms when I stopped between rounds.

>

> I think we're doing the right thing by supporting our adrenals BTW.

> It's just a shame we had to crash out before we discovered that we

> needed it.

>

> I will follow your advice about doing a few rounds with DMSA alone

> first. I think I can probably cope with 12.5mg, that's what I

> originally started with. See how I go.

>

> Thanks again for your help

> .

>

[Guest guest]

>

> Hi ,

>

Not Andy here, I'm one of the other s

> I know you must be very busy but I wanted to thank you for your post. I

> hadn't actually realised that the dosage information in your book had

> been revised and I'll be quite happy to stick to lower doses.

>I never

> felt bad, as such, on the higher doses -- it's just when I tried to

> take a break from chelation, or missed a single dose, that I felt

> really bad.

It's quite common for people to feel better while taking the

chelators, and feel worse when they stop the round or miss a dose.

Btw, when chelating in future be sure to stop the round when you miss

a dose (one of the rules that many people are not aware of).

The fact that you did feel worse when you stopped, missed a dose, and

when you tried the high doses ALA recently, confirm that you are metal

toxic.

And it was damaging my adrenals.

>

> I will leave the Algin alone, and working up to 25mg each of DMSA and

> ALA sounds good to me. This isn't too expensive and I can do it long-

> term. I wish I'd known that I might have been sabotaging my own

> progress all those months by chelating too hard, but

>what's done is

> done and now it's time to move forward.

I admire your attitude!

J

Any improvement from how I feel

> right now would be welcome relief.

>

> Thanks again,

> .

>