Following is a rambling message about my current thoughts on my possible lead/mercury "burden/toxicity/poisoning."
I've been working in New England all summer and haven't had a chance to start a cycle or anything. I've got a copy of amalgam illness on the way but I may not receive it for awhile. I'm now wondering whether I should believe in the results of the urine test I did a few months ago or not. The ND I talked to did not give me straightforward answers about how to interpret the results in the phone conversation I had with him. I began this relationship with the ND having good confidence in his general judgment, but I'm having second thoughts due to his nebulous description of my heavy metals results.
It's almost as if I want to believe I have the mercury/lead burden, because it would explain a lot and fit with my thyroid/adrenal problems, and it's again something solid to point to and say "this is why I'm having these problems," which is always preferable to the diagnosis I was branded with prior to discovering hypothyroidism: depression. I'm wondering if it would be intelligent to try a cycle or two of Cutler's protocol with some DMSA or ALA and see if there are any detox symptoms, and then draw my own diagnosis from there. Admittedly this sounds less than scientific, but what's the harm? Talk me out of this if it's a bad idea.
The problem is that I'm not functional to an acceptable degree (and yes, I understand that "acceptable" is highly subjective, but I just "know" that I'm not functioning anywhere near what I should be.) I need about 10g/day DMAE to pass for normal mentally. Otherwise I have to hold my tongue and take much longer to consider my responses to people because there are so many gaps in my thoughts. It's like trying to read a book with death metal shaking your ear drums--you might be able to get though a couple of sentences, but mostly you struggle to get through a paragraph.
if you have mercury fillings get them out before trying the Cutler protocal...everyone on the chelation boards says this. If you don't have any mercury fillings, so any metal in your mouth constitutes 50% mercury, then it might not hurt, as you won't chelate the mercury from the fillings.
But here's the part many people question. Does it make sense that ALA would mobilize mercury from the fillings itself? It seems dubious to me. I question Andy's belief that ALA crosses the bbb, in such a way that it safely removes mercury without killing the brain more.
So maybe just we all have lots of metals in our brains, but our brains compensate, through adapting in some way, neruogenesis, but maybe there is some kind of other adaption to all the toxins that most of us are loaded with. Think of all the heavy smokers, who are still quite bright. Christopher Hitchens chaned smoked his life away and was a drunk of the worst kind...yes it damaged him of course, but he's still far smarter than most.
So obviously our brains are strongly adaptive, and the BBB is pretty resiliant to toxins, I would guess, just guessing. However, some people may be far more suspeptible, in my case an apoxic brain injury may have made it that much worse in how i react to chemicals. The whole chemical senstiive people idea. I know it's true because some people get very sick from toxins, with obvious correlation. People have become deathly ill from swallowing just a few particles of mercury.
I don't pretend to understand how this works. But I am quite sure that if you start taking care of yourself, you can beat this...I just am hesitant to believe theories of chelation when it comes to the brain, or maybe you can but it could do more harm than good. I'm talking for my own problems as well.
They say only ALA can mobilize mercury from the brain...again people make all sorts of claims that have been disproven, there might be other ways to chelate from the brain heavy metals, in our diet, that we don't know about....for myself I'm trying to up my immune system with high dose vit C and organic diet, it also causes a placebo effect when you know you are eating well.
So when I'm strong enough I'll get the fuckers out, the mercuries, I"m told some become very sick if not done right, and even then some are. In my case I ground down half of my 8 fillings. So I am not acutely sensitive, just I have a lot of f ing mercury.
Edited by dfowler, 05 December 2011 - 12:25 PM.
