Left-sided symptoms

I am on round 14 with my chelation and it has been challenging to increase past 8.8mg of DMSA and 7.5mg of ALA.  To give you an idea of how low this is, my children are on 5mg which is even low for them, lol.  I have tried twice to go up to 12.5mg of DMSA and nausea would set in really fast.  I can handle a lot of things, but nausea isn't one of them, so I have been stuck at 8.3mg for the last 13 rounds.  I increased again for this round and FINALLY I am tolerating it!!  The only difference I have noticed so far is increased neuropathy in both feet (it used to only be one, pre-dental revision) when I first wake up in the morning.  Oh, and today I noticed a new symptom, breast pain, weird!!

I've noticed a trend in my physical symptoms, something most likely related to the largest filling in my mouth.  This filling was on my left side and I always had trouble with pain and ringing in my left ear, periodically as well as neuropathy in my left foot daily, upon waking.  Once the filling was removed, that all went away....that is, until I got closer to my "dump phase" which is when the mercury dumping spikes naturally.  Everything started picking up quite a bit around 5 months post-revision and peaked at 6 months, now it finally feels like the majority of my symptoms have subsided unless I am on or post round.  I tend to be really good while on the round, I have energy, and feel happy even though I wake up all night for my doses.  Two to three days post-round are my absolute worst days and that has yet to be revealed since my DMSA increase.

So back to the left-sided symptoms.  I began noticing that starting with my ear pain and ringing, all of my other symptoms were left-sided too:

• Neuropathy - my left foot was the only one effected by the numbing and tingling feeling when I woke in the morning, up until about three rounds ago when my right foot joined in.  In between rounds though, I don't have it at all which is a HUGE improvement from the every day tingling and pain I was getting upon rising in the morning.  It didn't last long, but it was a sign that something was clearly not right.
• Varicose veins - I have one large varicose vein on the inside of my left knee and it has been there since I was pregnant with Gavin.  Since starting chelation, I see many changes in the veins of my left leg.  The vein I've had for years fades between rounds and is prominent during a round.  Most recently I noticed that I would get a new one somewhere else, and it would stick around for weeks, then disappear.  They are showing up around the knee and then fading away with my rounds.  Goes to show you that our vascular system is very effected by chelation.   There are doctors who do chelation for arteriosclerosis patients.
• Wrinkles - not your every day kind of wrinkles, but oddly placed and very distinct wrinkles.  One is on my face, under my left eye.  It's more obvious in the morning, but it's always there slightly.  It's more like a deep crease about an inch below my eye.  It looks like I slept funny on my face causing a big crease from the sheets, but it generally doesn't go away, although lately I am noticing it change in severity.  I have always also had a sleepy eye that isn't always obvious, but it shows up in pictures (2D).  The other wrinkles are a large section on my left forearm.  I remember the first time I noticed them.  I had been carrying Gavin around a lot (he was a mama's boy early on) and my arm looked like he had been held too long, an entire roadmap of itty bitty wrinkles on my arm just above my wrist, almost like how you would expect dehydrated skin to look.  At first it didn't phase me, because like I said, I thought it was from holding Gavin, but then I noticed it wasn't going away, whether I was holding him or not.  It was obviously not normal and it didn't match anything else on my body, my other arm didn't have them.  With my first round of chelation, I noticed that it disappeared completely while I was on round!  Now, like many of the other symptoms, it comes and goes with rounds.
• Ear pain - my left ear has been a problem for as long as I can remember, in fact when I met my husband, I was having back to back ear infections, always in that ear.  Since having the dental revision done, the only time I have pain is when I am exposed to mold and luckily, it's short-lived.
• Wrist pain - when I started taking olive leaf extract regularly for microbe and viral control during chelation, my left wrist experienced significant pain, initially.  I haven't had that pain again since, but it was pretty bad for a good week.  
• Stiff neck - when I don't stay on top of taking my supplements regularly, I get a stiff neck on my left side.  A lot of vitamin C clears it up pretty fast and staying on my laundry list of 40+ pills a day keeps it at bay.
• Hair - the most superficial of all of my symptoms, but possibly one of the most annoying, lol, is the left side of my hair!!  Since having Gavin my hair has gotten pretty wavy, well, all except the left side!  It's so weird.  It is even more frizzy and flat.  The right side curls right up, the left side, not so much, it just sticks out awkwardly flat.

It's clear to me that my body has been effected more on one side than the other and coincidentally it's the same side that had the majority of the metal.  The cavitation on the bottom left side was also the worst of all four.  It was right next to the filling.

Back to the grind

We all took a break from chelation for a month, while we were on the Alinia and passing through the new moon.  Grayson had gotten very sick so we stopped our rounds and decided to wait until the parasite meds were done.  Getting back on track is never easy.  Any time we have taken a break from chelation, the first round is R-O-U-G-H!! 

Today is no exception.  We spent all night waking so we are all tired.  We woke at 1am and 5am for our doses and Grayson woke at 2:30am because he wet his bed and then again at 4:30am with a horrible dream, then he got up really early, because he wet his bed AGAIN!  This is par for the course, so we will just go with the flow.  Today will be a lazy, rainy day in front of the tv and napping. 

The kids have been fighting horribly since starting this round.  They have this push/pull relationship while on round.  They do things specifically to prove to one another that they are in charge, things that aren't necessarily nice and it instigates a lot of fighting, but it goes both ways with them.  If it's not one, it's the other, pushing or pulling to get a response. 

We finally have found an adrenal cortex that Grayson tolerates, Enzymathic Therapy's ADRENergize.  We are SO excited, because we have not been able to support his adrenals for the past three years which worried us.  We know a lot of his moodiness is rooted in adrenal fatigue and worried about his adrenals crashing.  The past two weeks, he has been tolerating reasonable amounts of this adrenal cortex and his moods were finally very consistent!  So today, I am increasing it to assist with the round, since chelation stresses the adrenals.  We also recently started L Theanine, an amino acid which assists in cases where histamine is high (causes mood problems and anger too).  Theanine has a calming effect. 

So far I am still feeling good (with the exception of being tired), I also increase my ACE (adrenal cortex extract) while on round. 

Here's to hoping our additional support will ease the transition back into chelation.

Chelation update, added ALA!

Round 7 for me this weekend and today began with my first ALA + DMSA dose ever!  Since I had my fillings out in early March, I had to wait three months post-exposure to add the ALA.  I used only the DMSA for those three months to reduce the body burden first.  Now I am playing with the big guns!

ALA is the only chelator that crosses the blood brain barrier.  I don't know what I expected after taking the first dose, but considering how neurologically effected I can be by mercury and chelation, I expected something more.  So far, I feel nothing different.  I started with a very low dose (only 7.5mg) so I don't make this too hard on myself and considering how it effects our kids when we increase ALA (which we did last weekend), I was sure I would feel something, anything.  Maybe it will take time and tomorrow I will be either a basket-case or a space-cadet!  I like to keep my doses manageable, because I have to consider the fact that I am still a mom of two who need me to think clearly, plus life goes on, all around me.

Speaking of life going on around me....I have been very distracted lately, by this mold issue.  It's gotten uglier and more complicated.  We found more mold while going through our basement and cleaning everything out, so now we need more remediation.  The good news is that these two spots are superficial and very minor, but we plan to treat it like we did the leaks, with containment and safety measures all in place.  And the timing of everything is SO confusing, with a different contractor for just about every step.  Test (environmentalist), put up containment areas (mold contractor), remove building materials to reach mold (general contractor), controlled mold demolition (mold contractor), rebuild (general contractor), leave containments up, clean (us and mold contractor), test (environmentalist), take down containments (mold contractor).  Plus we need our HVAC duct work scoped and cleaned and the question of whether we clean before testing has yet to be answered.  I would think we would want to clean the duct work first though, so we can have the airflow tested again as part of our clearance sampling...which means we better figure out who is doing this part ASAP, because keeping the large HEPA filters in our home is costing $200 a WEEK!

Clearing out the basement is painful, but I am keeping our goal in mind the whole way.  It is driving me through tossing furniture, boxes for my collectibles, hair dressing chairs, jewelry I have made, shoes that were supposed to be Gavin's after Grayson grew out of them (I have a shoe thing), baby things like strollers, high chairs, bassinets, bouncy seats, cloth diapers, toys, memories, all of our Christmas ornaments, and basically anything porous or would cost less to replace than to pay a man $50 an hour to clean!  It makes sense and we don't want "stuff" to get in the way of our health, so we are just tearing through it, but MAN, what a HUGE job!!  We ordered a dumpster and have already FILLED it, but we aren't done (scratching head).....and it is hot out now so the suits, goggles, face masks and gloves are ridiculously hot!  We still have some huge furniture to lug out to the dumpster, should be interesting.

Life is never dull around here!  The boys are on Diflucan for two weeks to see, if their constant coughing is a fungal infection.  So far, all it has proven to do is bloat them enormously.  They are still coughing.  So perhaps it really is just a stubborn cold, who knows.  The saga continues...

Book review for a fabulous mercury recovery memoir

When I was contacted by author Aine Ni Cheallaigh, to review her new memoir, “Getting the Mercury Out”, I admit to having selfish reasons for wanting to read it.  As a fellow-mercury poisoned reader, I knew I would identify with her, but little did I know that I would connect with her experiences on so many different levels...even areas of my life that I didn’t know to relate to my own mercury exposures.  I never could place a finger on my anxiety and uncontrollable distress during my college years.  Considering I had 8 of my 9 fillings put in when I was 14 years old, my deteriorating moods suddenly made sense!

By page 9, I was already hooked.  I felt as though I could feel her words coming from my very own mouth, right down to the self-diagnosing!  The paragraph below particularly hits home:

“In later years, when I learned about mercury toxicity, I read about how the first symptoms manifest as subtle emotional changes.  Depression creeps in.  There is an unwarranted sensitivity and irritability.  Emotional reactions become less reasonable, even as the mercury toxic person insists that their reaction is a totally logical response to their circumstances.”

I also had a good laugh when she described how the sheer number of pills she had to take daily didn’t fit into her pill organizer.  I struggle with my own pill organizers every time I try to cram all those damn pills into the little cubbyholes they were intended to fit into.  It’s clear that these organizers were not made for mercury toxic people!  I love that she brings humor to everyday annoyances that can sometimes seem so disturbing to the mercury-toxic brain.  A sign of a good author is one who can strategically force a smile on your face even while sharing a serious account of ill health. 

By the time I reached her recollection of the nightmare commonly known as the “dump phase”, I was confident that I was looking into the crystal ball known as my future.  Although I already know to expect this phase, I didn’t know how devastating it really could be.  It’s clear to me now how the sum of such symptoms combined with a child’s neurological development and smaller organs would equate to an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis.  Aine herself experienced something that put her squarely on the spectrum, temporarily! 

I feel better equipped to weather the storm ahead now.

Aine delicately balances the intrigue of her personal story with the dark facts surrounding mercury poisoning, combine that with how to successfully heal from this devastating illness and you have a powerful story with purpose.  Once a non-believer in alternative healing herself, she eloquently shares the intricate details that turn her around, making her such a believer in alternative health that she wants to shout it from rooftops....or store shelves, lol. 

“Getting the Mercury Out” is an easy and interesting read, the story kept my interest from cover to cover.  I found myself reaching for the book whenever I had a few precious moments to myself and before I knew it, I was passing the book to my husband encouraging him to read it so that he would better understand what I am facing, since this ultimately effects him as much as it does me.

If you suspect heavy metal toxicity in yourself or a loved one, this book is a great place to start.  It is also a nice memoir for those who would like to identify with a story similar to theirs.  I have read multiple mercury poisoning books, but they tend to be technical and hard to follow for a beginner.  “Getting the Mercury Out” will encourage you, inspire you and educate you in one fell swoop.

Click here for a Kindle version of this book

Fitting in

As much as us biomed moms work extremely hard to help our children fit in, it's equally as ironic that WE don't fit in anywhere.  Biomed moms stick together like white on rice, because our lives are so incredibly different from others' and no one else gets us like another from the same world.  We are the side show freak at every event.

I ponder this thought as I sit here splitting our chelation capsules and wonder what other moms out there are doing this very moment.  I doubt they are splitting capsules for their families to take around the clock.  But I would bet that just about every other biomedical mom is doing exactly what I am doing and maybe even at this very moment, since chelation rounds typically happen on the weekends.  It's this craziness that ties us together with a bond that doesn't even require physically facing each other to "get" each other.  I think we would go to the ends of the earth for one another, literally.  We share a passion that runs deeper in our veins than our own blood.  It's this very passion that motivates us.

I know at least for myself, when I try to fit into groups of other moms, I find it so hard to relate to them.  As much as I would love to chat about karate lessons or school mishaps, our experiences differ so much that I can't even chime in.  Generally when I open my mouth to share my own version of our experiences, I hear the crickets.  There are two exceptions to this though and you can pick them out in a heartbeat.  There are the morbidly curious, the same people that rubber-neck at gruesome crash sites and then there are those who clearly see a connection in what we do, probably because they themselves are searching for answers, whether it be for a child, a loved one or themselves.  They are sincerely interested in the information rather than being intrigued by how very different we are.

One thing I hear frequently is, "I don't know how you do it!"  Again, I tend to wonder about the intention of this commonly heard phrase.  Is it that they truly give us credit for all that we do, witnessing the significant change we produce in our kids' lives or is it more like, wow, you are nuts and I wouldn't do what you do for your kids!

I'm sure there are some people who just lack the understanding, it's hard to grasp unless you have personally witnessed the change in our children.  If you are a parent who was lucky enough to have children born with health on their side, you probably just don't understand the concept of the behaviors we see in our children.  You can't understand what it is like to witness your child loose eye contact and pull away from you or when they take part in strange repetitive behaviors that scare you out of your skin.  Or perhaps your children aren't the healthiest either, but you just don't comprehend how some of the things we do can encourage such huge changes.  Either way, it's this lack of knowledge that puts you on the other side of the fence.  I love the parents who have an envy for the work we do, they give credit and watch in awe, but I'm sure they would never want to be in our shoes.  And as much as I would love to wash my hands of all this intense work, I would never want to change our past, because it has carved the path for our future and I have learned more through this experience than I could even put into words.  Our lives have truly been enhanced by the needs of our little ones.

There is nothing like watching our boys fit in, even if we don't, it's all because of what we do for them every single day of our lives.  It's our dedication, the work of going against the grain in every aspect of our lives that has offered them the chance at a normal life.  I would say that makes us pretty darn amazing.  If you are a fellow bio-med mom, take the time to pat yourself on the back for all of the selfless hours you research, cook and dedicate to your family, for the hours of intense pain you've experienced beside your child as s/he suffered the worst days of pathogenic overgrowth, die-off or food infractions and for the many sleepless hours of chelation you have under your belt.

It's you who is changing the world for your children.  Congrats!

Want to see the vitamin cabinet?

So here it is, our FULL vitamin cabinet.  Grayson said it looks like store shelves, ha ha ha.  He must enjoy organization as much as I do, because he thinks this "looks nice".  Only another organizing nut could appreciate the beauty of this cabinet, hahaha.

I'm slightly anal, I think the proper technical term for it is OCD, hehehe.  I like to have multiples of everything so that as we run out, I just grab another from the cabinet.  Considering there are three of us on this regimine now, we go through some of these bottles pretty fast.  For instance, the zinc picolinate which is 60 22mg capsules per bottle.  The kids use 5 a day between them and I use 6 a day!  I am opening a new bottle every couple of days!  The biotin too, we go through those really fast, but at least I can get 120 count bottles of that.

Within this organization, there is even more organization, the lazy susan is the kid's daily supplements, the step organizer to the left is full of my daily supplements, plus I use the kid's stuff, our Bach Flower Essences are in the middle, with some things that we all use behind them.  The second shelf has our illness supplements to the left and all of our unopened back-up bottles on the rest of the shelf.  The third shelf is all things that are used much less frequently, but always manage to come back to for some reason.

If you could see the inside of the doors, you would see pages and pages of notes, lol.  I type up lists of what supplements we use and where we buy them, lists of what to use for what and when.

I stocked up on three back-up bottles of Lugol's iodine recently, because of the risk of not being able to get it, due to the radiation exposure in the US from Fukushima.  People are scrambling to get their hands on it to help prevent radiation damage.  The problem is that prevention is the key, you can't erase radiation damage and considering radioactive iodine - 131 has already been found in the drinking water in PA among many other states and in foods in CA, it's probably a bit too late to be trying to prevent.  Perhaps it will help with all of the domino effects though, like how the rain water will feed the plants, how the grasses will feed the animals, and the half life of radioactive iodine in humans is 100 days, whereas it's half-life outside of a person is 8 days.

Sorry to get off track, I have a habit of doing that!

I get it now!

Andy Cutler has been quoted as saying that chelation makes you feel like you've been roto-rootered from the inside out.  I get it, I now know how my kids feel, why they don't want to eat sometimes, why they say their tummies hurt.

I've never had obvious problems with food (other than dairy which has been out of my diet for years now) before starting chelation.  And even on round I don't seem to have any issues, but now two days post-chelation I have been nauseous, light-headed when standing up fast and after eating, I am experiencing reflux and burping like a friggin truck driver!  This is something I have NEVER had other than during the later months in my pregnancies.  I don't know, if these new symptoms are in direct relation to chelation and redistribution or if I have suddenly developed new food sensitivities in the process. 

On a good note, we had visitors who had colds, which were passed on to the boys (of course, that isn't the good part) and I didn't catch it!  I started to feel a sore throat and swollen glands in my jaw for one day, so I upped the Vit D significantly and began taking oil of oregano every hour.  It never progressed!  In the past year, I've been catching everything they get, so this is a huge accomplishment, for me anyway!  Perhaps the Protandim I started before the dental revision is reducing oxidation enough to prevent me from getting sick!  The studies showed it to be 100% effective in reducing oxidation significantly.  I have read that people taking it weren't getting sick like they used to.  I wish I could give it to the kids, but it's ingredients are high oxalate.

Now with the boys getting sick barely one full week after having had the stomach bug, which was just one more of the illness, after illness trend we've been experiencing since November!  Yes, November!  They have been sick just about every other week since then, no joke!  I know school passes a lot of bugs around, but they shouldn't be catching every single illness they encounter, so we brought them to the DAN! doctor since insurance will cover a sick visit and we could use the opportunity to discuss why they are sick so often.  Of course, I know it is related to their immune system, but more importantly, is it something we can address?  Or is there some testing we should consider?  We already have two pages of blood work to have done on Grayson, for the viral titers and immune function testing, but our insurance company told us they needed "notes" from the doctor as to why we need it done otherwise they can't approve payment.  We spent a good portion of our visit addressing that little detail.  The doctor is going to call our insurance company to see what they need.  In the meantime, he suggested we start the boys on Thymucin which is a Thymus extract.  The Thymus sits below the thyroid and both are heavily effected by mercury, it tends to accumulate in the glands, causing problems with function.  The thymus is basically responsible for our immune function!  It educates the T-cells and taking thymus glandular has been extensively tested as regulating T-cell and suppressor cell balance. 

We will be doing two additional tests with each of the kids.  NutrEval from Genova Diagnostics is a nutritional evaluation which will look at so many things including dysbiosis, heavy metals, how the body is using nutrients, and many more things.  It provides a framework of core nutrients in 5 key areas: Antioxidants, B Vitamins, Digestive Support, Essential Fatty Acids, and Minerals.  We will also do another IgG food sensitivity test.  We've never done this with Gavin and I want to see, if it's involved with some of his mood swings lately, plus I'd like to get an update on Grayson.  We've changed a lot of the foods they eat, but I worry that they could be developing new sensitivities. 

As I am writing this, a light bulb went off about my own situation!!  Bloating, gas, indigestion, reflux and nausea are all signs of pathogenic overgrowth!!  I need to up my killers, PRONTO!  A friend also reminded me that H. Pylori symptoms are always GI related.  One round of chelation unleashed the H. Pylori in her, as well.  Oh goodness, this is going to be FUN!  I really do know how our kids feel now.  Please be patient with them when they don't want to eat or they are not themselves, they can't possibly understand why they feel so awful!

How many hats do YOU wear?

Mothers across the globe have worn multiple hats for centuries, each culture holding it's own special and unique roles.  If you asked me ten years ago where I pictured myself in ten years, biomedical mother would have been the furthest words from my lips.

I always knew I wanted to be a stay at home mother, but this isn't exactly what I had in mind.  I expected to wear the hats of caregiver, lover, homemaker, peace keeper and role model, for sure, but my current list of "hats" far exceeds my wildest dreams.

My personal role as biomedical mother includes many hats of distinction that are often acquired by education, but I have earned mine the hard way, good old experience and old fashioned learning by reading.  To add to the list a mother typically carries, a biomedical mother is also an educator, spokes person, scientist, doctor, chef, nutritionist, pharmacist, homeopath, researcher, politician, frontline-man, chemist, master herbalist, psychologist, psychiatrist, writer (wink) and the list goes on!  We've been forced to break into the medical realm by necessity and it opens more doors than we even knew existed before our children were born.  We often learn more about ourselves in this process than we ever dreamed imaginable. 

I wear my hats with pride.  I'm a better person, because of them, not just in terms of being wise, but also because my own health was brought under scrutiny in the process of identifying our children's deficiencies.  I'd like to think I share the wealth too.  I look forward to guiding other parents who are new in their journeys.  Some just want a little direction and they hit the road running of their own accord, others prefer more hand holding and still others just bounce back to me occasionally looking for reassurance.

Thinking back to my first days of this journey, while I wish I had a person to hold my hand and walk me along the path I am on, I think I am also the kind of person who needs to feel the road under her, regardless of how bumpy it might be.  I believe that experience develops character and it solidifies my choices. 

I am who I am, because of where I have been.  My shoes may be a little big some days, but I walk in them proudly.

Chelation status with the boys

I've been blogging about myself a lot lately, mainly because it's all new for me, a lot of firsts!  Now that I have had my own first round of chelation after the full dental revision, we can take the focus off of me until it's warranted along side the boys' progress.

We had a long 5 week chelation break with Gavin, because he was sick, then started a parasite cleanse for the D. Fragilis and we didn't want to overwhelm his system.  So for the last round, we did chelation just with Grayson and skipped it with Gavin until this past weekend.  Grayson went through round 47 alone and then we added Gavin back in for his 22nd round, during Grayson's 48th round.  I thought he would do worse, considering the break, but he actually did fairly well.  Usually when we skip weekends, the following round is a bit rougher.  We even increased his DMSA from 3.75mg to 5mg, and surprisingly, he did ok!  He still had periods of screaming instead of talking and he was a little emotional, but nothing out of the ordinary. 

They were both sick just before starting this round, but it's been so long that we couldn't risk skipping another round.  Grayson had some emotional moments at the beginning of the round and a bit of itching/swatting throughout the round, but his post-round behavior has been better.  I decided to use one dose of his constitutional homeopathic remedy as he was coming off chelation, like I used to.  I had taken a break from it, but I think it helps him ease off the round.  He's become compliant, more patient, happy and lively again.  While he was sick (for a full week), we lost a lot of that.

Even though we have to go through 100-300 rounds for full recovery, I am so excited to tackle round 50 soon with Grayson!!  There have been reports of the yeast and bacteria becoming much easier to maintain between rounds 50 and 60, so I am looking forward to reaching these milestones!  His yeast and bacteria already seem to be well under control, but I think it still requires all of his high-dose antimicrobials to do so.  I hope to see otherwise in the near future!  100-300 is a wide variance, so there is no saying, if we are reaching the halfway point, or if we aren't even close to a quarter of the way through chelation, but I am glad none-the-less.  We still have to hit and pass through a stall period which can last 3-6 months and 9 months for some.  This is the hardest part of chelation for most, because it means continuing to chelate without progress.  It's a necessary part of the process though.  Once a person pulls through the stall period, they reach the mercury from the deepest darkest places and progress picks up yet again.  Chelation should continue until well beyond confirmation that the mercury is gone. 

Mercury be gone!

I started my own chelation, round 1 of the Andy Cutler protocol on Friday afternoon.  It has been two full days so far and I have noticed a few random things, but so far, nothing traumatizing.  Although, I know that it can take some time to pull mercury from deep in the tissues.  It's possible I won't start seeing serious symptoms of chelation for a few rounds. Then when I add ALA (alpha lipoic acid) in three months, which is the only chelator that will cross the blood brain barrier, I'm sure things will heat up.  But for now, I am enjoying the ease of chelation.  Mood wise, I feel just slightly aloof, but no bad moods so far, thankfully!  That was the one thing I feared most, since I have to parent our two boys who are also going through chelation.  My poor husband is out numbered!  Thank goodness he's very calm and takes things in stride, without him, we wouldn't be able to keep it together with all the mood swings that often fly through our house any given day!

My mouth on the other hand, isn't handling the surgery trauma quite as well.  After a few days, the scab in the corner of my mouth was so tight I could barely open my mouth, the canker sore on the other side continued to grow in size and then to make matters worse, BOTH sides of my mouth developed huge cold sores that extend beyond my mouth!  On the right side I have the canker sore on the bottom lip with the cold sore directly above it on the top lip!  So they touch each other, which is lovely at night, it's like they literally try to heal together and I wake up with my lips feeling sewn shut.  This is definitely the worst part of the procedure, by far.  I think my stitches will heal up long before this mess is cleared up!  And talk about painful!!  So far the two bottom stitches have fallen out (dissolved) and chewing is increasingly becoming easier.  The part I expected to be painful hasn't been painful in the least!  I will still need to avoid crunchy foods for 7 more weeks.  I find myself learning the hard way which foods are considered crunchy.  I mean, it's obvious a carrot is crunchy, but a pancake, when it's toasted a tad too long, becomes a painful little "crunchy" item to chew. That is the only time I feel sensitivity in my teeth. 

As for symptoms during chelation, they are minimal and fleeting, but interesting to say the least...

• Bone pain on the outside of my left wrist/forearm area, very distinct feeling like my bone was bruised, sensitive to the touch, but I didn't bang it.  About 20-30 minutes into this feeling, it started traveling up to my elbow and then it disappeared as fast as it came on.
• Shortly after the forearm pain went away, I began to feel a throbbing deep sensation in the lower left side of my back, near my hip, but on my back not my side.  I immediately took some artichoke extract and the pain went away.  This happened again briefly today.
• Immediately after my third dose on the first day, I got a few waves of dizziness, enough to make me feel like I could lose my balance, if it stuck around, but it didn't.
• That first night, I had a LOT of sweating, enough to make me cold and wet!
• Swollen glands under my jaw popped up after chelation started.
• The numb/tingling sensation I was feeling in my left foot has returned full force today and, in fact, the right foot had a touch of tingling in it too!  I've never felt it in my right foot before.  The left foot was definitely much worse though, a lot like it was pre-surgery.  That pain had gone away since the day after I had the fillings removed and the cavitation cleaned.  It only returned when I started chelation, which I actually expected, since I am mobilizing metals.
• Today I noticed that a large purple varicose vein that I have had inside my left knee since I was pregnant with Gavin is fading enough to be just a faded spot.  The vein itself isn't showing anymore, at all.
• I also noticed that my left forearm, which had a very strange texture to the skin (almost like it was wrinkled along the entire forearm, as if I had been holding Gavin for hours and there was an imprint on the skin) is gone.  This is something I always thought was weird and again, has been there since I had Gavin.  When I first noticed it, I actually thought it WAS from holding Gavin too much, but it never went away, until now!  I tried lotions and hydration, nothing effected it.  I know it was there just two weeks ago.  I'm still surprised it's gone and keep looking at my arm to see if it returned.

Do you notice a trend with my symptoms above?  Dose anything in particular stand out?  Let me give you a hint, it involves my: forearm, foot/toes, wrist, vein, and hip/back.  Yup, that is just about every symptom.  They are all on the left side of my body!!  For years I also had issues with my left ear having pain and occasional tinnitus, which is now gone, so far anyway.  What I find interesting about this trend is that my largest filling (large enough to have been a root canal, but the dentist saved the nerve) was on the bottom left side of my jaw.  I also think the worst cavitation was the bottom left, the same side as that filling, not sure if that is just coincidental or if one had to do with the other.  That area where my wisdom tooth was removed had often become inflamed and irritated and it seemed to happen regularly.  I used to say it felt like I actually still had a tooth trying to come through the gums, that pressure you feel with a new tooth that makes you want to poke at and bite on the gum.  It was very strange, but I have since learned that this is a sign of infection.  This same location had problems immediately after my wisdom teeth were removed also.  A large shard of bone that was left in the jaw worked it's way to the surface and came through my gums.  It wasn't a fun experience at the time, it was shaped like a fish hook!!  Having dead bone in a wisdom tooth site is a sure way to end up with necrosis and infection!  My mouth in general had become a problem over the past year.  I was having a lot of swollen gum problems, although the dentist always told me that my gums were great and my teeth were the cleanest they have ever seen, so I couldn't make sense of this phenomenon.  Now, I get it!  And hopefully I will never experience this again, since the source is gone!  Cavitations and mercury!!

This is a very hopeful time in my life.  I've always felt good knowing I am helping my children become healthier, but my own health was always on the back burner.  I never had the time or energy for me.  Now, I am putting me on the front burner with the help of my supportive husband and I couldn't be happier about that!!

Here goes nothing!

Down the hatch....my first 12.5mg dose of DMSA!  Only time will tell what symptoms this will bring flooding in with it.  Ok, now that that is done, I am off to make my next 23 doses for the weekend.  Wish me luck!  I will be back to report, if there is anything to report. 

Post dental revision update on me!

I did it!  It's done!  My mouth is officially mercury and cavitation FREE!!

My sister joked that I still have mercury in my eyes and thyroid though....hahaha, this is true!  I will start chelation with DMSA only this weekend, four days from the dental revision, as recommended by Andy Cutler.  I cannot go near ALA for three months, because it would force the free flowing mercury in my body from the dental revision INTO my brain, which means that Dave will need to prepare and dose all of the kids' chelation for the next three months, until I can add it into my rounds.  So I will be starting with my first round during Grayson's 48th and Gavins 22nd rounds.  Interestingly, we are each separated by about 22+ rounds.

Did it hurt?
The procedure itself was a piece of cake, and I am really still very surprised about that considering the amount of damage that was done to the back half of my mouth!  The body is truly amazing at healing itself.  Eight fillings (I know I said 7 previously, but it turns out that my one resin filling also had metal in it) were drilled out, a few were really deep and needed a calcium carbonate buffer before the filling was put in.  Grandio was the composite of choice.  It seems to have really good reviews as far as composites go and it was one of the composites in my "least reactive" biocompability results.  I was made to feel very comfy before they started work, they covered me with a warm blanket and gave me a heating pad for the hand that would have the two IVs (conscious sedation and vitamin C drip).  She did a GREAT job putting the IVs in, nothing like the delivery nurses at the hospital, lol!  Then I was draped from head to toe, literally, as we waited for the sedation to kick in.  She said they were going to see if I was a cheap date, they injected 5mg of the sedation initially, to see how sensitive I was.  I watched them as they covered every exposed part of my body, my hair with a shower cap, goggles over my eyes, draping over my body and the dam in my mouth to work around each tooth individually.  Some time after putting the oxygen in my nose and starting work, I remember hearing her say that I wasn't such a cheap date, lol, I was too aware still.  It turns out I needed 28mg of the sedation to keep me out of it.  I remember bits and pieces of the experience, the memories jump around a bit like I was in and out of it.  Before I even realized it, 9am quickly became noon and I was pulled out of my sedation to visit the ladies room while they grabbed a quick lunch.  I wearily hobbled my way to the bathroom and back.  I felt goofy like I had just learned to walk, lol.  I stole a peek in the bathroom mirror - WHITE TEETH, all white!!  My large filling was still half empty though, because it was going to be an onlay, where they fit a piece of the resin directly into the top of the tooth, based on a molding of my teeth done pre-surgery.  Twenty minutes later, I was back in lala-land and undergoing the surgical part of my procedure.  The cavitations!  In case you don't know what a cavitation is, here is a description.

A cavitation is a hole in the bone, often where a tooth has previously been extracted. Cavitations can occur in any bone in the body, but are most frequently found in the jawbones. The most common site is the wisdom tooth area.

Filled with Toxins
Recognized as far back as the 1800's, jawbone cavitations go by a number of names, such as ischemic osteonecrosis, neuralgia inducing cavitational osteonecrosis (NICO) , osteomeyelitis of the jawbone, jaw ostitis, and others. These lesions characteristically are not painful, tender or inflamed. They are silent, and thus often go undetected. These jawbone lesions are like cesspools; they become filled with toxins and even have been shown to store mercury. If your body can quarantine the toxins, you will be OK, but if they go out into your system, they can cause a myriad of symptoms.

Research
Jawbone cavitations and their bodily effects are discussed in the book, Death in Dentistry, by Dr. Martin Fisher. He presents the research of world renowned doctors, including Frank Billings and E.C. Rosenow. Dr. Billings was head of medicine at Chicago's prestigious Rush Medical College. These medical doctors did years of research on health problems as they relate to the mouth. Recent research by Dr. Boyd Haley, Head of Chemistry at the University of Kentucky, shows the toxins from cavitations to be more more potent than botulinum!

In order to address a cavitation, the doctor (this is where Dr. Grube truly stands apart from most doctors) cuts open the gums over the cavitation (in my case, all four wisdom teeth), pulls the skin back, drills a large hole into the jaw bone, cleans out the site really well and lastly cleans it out with ozonated water.  The bone will develop a blood clot where it is cleaned and scraped out, allowing oxygenation in the bone, for proper healing and ventilation.  She stitches it back up and sprays the stitches with the ozone water to make sure they are sterile.  I was pulled back out of my dreamland by 3:30 and sent upstairs for a one hour massage and accupressure!  I kept the oxygen, because that helps push the medicine out of my body.  I didn't even feel numb by this point anymore!  In fact, when I was back in the dental chair at 4:30 for the placement of my onlay, I could feel her shaving down the tooth a little, ouch!  By 5pm I was on my way to the hotel with my three favorite guys!  My whole day felt like it was only two hours long when I was actually there from 8:30 to 5pm!

The worst part of the experience was the corners of my mouth from having my skin stretched for about 5 hours.  They are raw and scabbing now.  I can barely open my mouth!  My teeth are slightly sensitive to biting still and I can feel the stitches hanging in the back of my mouth.  She leaves long-ish tails on the stitches, so I am sort of gagging on them, ick!  They should be dissolved within about 5 days.  One already fell out this morning.  I think they will heal faster, because I drink wheat grass which is VERY healing, so I let each sip sit in the back of my mouth for a few seconds before swallowing it.  I also do salt loading with my iodine doses, which involves using 1/2 teaspoon of Real Salt in some water and I drink it (YUCKY), again, I am letting that sit in the back of my mouth before swallowing too.  I probably won't be eating truly solid foods for a few days and I am not allowed to have anything crunchy, hard or hot for EIGHT weeks!  At first, I also thought my bite might have been changed, but as I allow my jaw to relax, I find my teeth settling in line again.  I have been too focused on my bite, the stitches and my teeth which tenses up all the muscles.  I can tell now that they are fine.  More than anything, the post surgery stuff is annoying.  Since taking three doses of Hypericum (homeopathy they gave me) the night of the procedure, I haven't had even a ting of pain, not one!  Dr. Grube ROCKS!!

Post-surgery, improvements?
So today is two days post-surgery and even with the disrupted sleep we've been having (kids are both sick and up a few times a night each), I feel pretty darn good!  I've already had two major improvements worth sharing.

For about the past 6-12 months, I have been experiencing pain in my left foot upon waking.  I would step out of bed in the morning and couldn't put my weight on my left foot, because of severe pain from my three small toes being numb.  It was way worse than pins and needles.  I would hobble over to my sock drawer to put on a pair of socks, then to the bathroom where the pain would finally start to go away.  The first morning after the surgery, I noticed I didn't have this pain, but I was also in a hotel and didn't know, if the firmer bed had anything to do with it...thinking maybe it was a circulation problem from a pressure point in my softer bed or something, I didn't want to get too excited.  But this morning, I couldn't wait to see what it would be like when I hopped out of bed...sure enough, I could step flat foot, no pain! WOW!  It's been a very long time since I could do that.  It now appears that I was either experiencing some form of neuropathy from the mercury or perhaps my circulation was effected by disruption to my meridian, who knows, all I know is that I am VERY happy it's gone!  I expect I may experience it again as I go through chelation though, since I will be forcing the mobilization of mercury through my body.  I did a brief search online for neuropathy causes and found this listed on Quest Diagnositics' website.

"Peripheral neuropathy may also be caused by several heavy metals. Lead toxicity is associated with motor neuropathy, whereas arsenic and mercury cause sensory neuropathy. The 24-hour urine heavy metal test is the most useful test for diagnosis of heavy metal toxicity."

This is from the Neurology Channel

"Some neuropathies develop suddenly; others progress slowly, even over a number of years. Severity varies among individuals and may vary in the same individual throughout the day. Symptoms of neuropathy generally are more severe at night."

The other interesting improvement, which I actually expected, has to do with an infection I was experiencing in the back of my throat daily.  I always had this constant need to clear my throat, even when I wasn't sick.  Taking GSE two to three times a day usually kept it under control, but if I missed a dose, it would start right back up again. I assumed this was yeast overgrowth, mainly because I know that many sinus infections are caused by yeast overgrowth and GSE addresses yeast.  When I was at my first exam with Dr. Grube, her husband who is a chiropractor, did some muscle testing on me and told me that I had a staph infection in my cavitations.  That would explain the throat clearing and why GSE helped it.  I haven't taken GSE since the surgery and I have had no need to clear my throat with the exception of waking first thing in the morning!  This was so chronic previously, that I KNOW now it was an infection in my jawbone.  Wild!! 

I don't really look forward to the joys of chelating, but I am hopeful that I will be headed down the road of aging gracefully and healthy with my mercury free mouth.  I already feel different, so I can't even imagine what completing chelation will do for me!  Stay tuned for my personal experience with chelation, I will finally know how my children feel!

PS - I found this great link which addresses cavitations in more detail.  If you have ever had a tooth pulled any tooth, even wisdom teeth, have amalgams or still use fluoride (have fluoridated water) and if all three apply, PLEASE read this!

Are your dental amalgams making you (and your children) sick?

I can't even tell you the sheer number of people, even that I know alone, experiencing multiple unrelated symptoms that doctors pretty much shrug their shoulders at, or even worse, blindly prescribe antibiotics for!  Antibiotics are way overly misused and in certain people can cause a ticking time bomb to explode.  This increased phenomenon begs the question...do these people have amalgam fillings?

The good news about this horrendous situation is that mercury toxicity IS reversible, if handled properly.  The bad news, if you don't correct this problem, you WILL pass your toxicity onto your innocent children.....and their children!  Can your fillings really cause all this damage, you bet your life they can.

Are Your Dental Fillings Making You Sick?
by Terri L. Saunders

Amazing as it may seem, approximately 80% of the population have inside their mouths the most toxic non-radioactive substance on the planet. This known poison is mercury, and it comprises 50% of all "silver" amalgam fillings that are placed in people’s mouths during routine dental procedures. Even though the American Dental Association claims that mercury has been safely used in dentistry for the last 150 years, and is not harmful when alloyed to silver, copper and zinc in amalgam fillings, research and experience have proven otherwise.

Remember the phrase "mad as a hatter"? In the 1800’s, hatters used mercury-based black paints on the brims of hats. While they worked they would breathe in the mercury fumes and lick the paintbrush to get a finer point. As a result, many hatters got mercury poisoning as the mercury went right to their brains, affecting their psyche. Is it any wonder that dentists have the highest suicide rate of any profession?

Research conducted as early as a decade ago reported that old fillings viewed under an electron microscope showed holes where the mercury had evaporated, releasing 40% of the mercury into the body over a ten year period. The U.S. environmental protection safety limits for mercury exposure are 10 micrograms per day, yet mercury released from fillings can contribute up to three times this amount, just from the simple acts of chewing, brushing the teeth, or drinking hot liquids. Studies show that the average person makes and swallows 1.5 liters of saliva a day. Yet, if they have as few as four amalgams present in their mouth, their saliva is so high in mercury they cannot legally spit into the toilet in the USA. In fact, amalgam that has been drilled out of teeth must be collected by a special toxic waste disposal company in three airtight metal containers locked one inside the other and labeled with a skull and crossbones. Yet this material is considered safe when placed in our mouths?

According to scientists Sharma and Obersteiner at Utah State University, mercury is even more toxic than aluminum, lead, cadmium or arsenic. They state that mercury is "a strong protoplasmic poison that penetrates all living cells of the human body. Mercury is a powerful biological poison with no necessary biological function." The harmful effects of mercury on the body are almost too numerous to count. In many cases it can take up to twenty-five years for disease symptoms from mercury poisoning to manifest.

Surface particles of elemental mercury from amalgams are acted upon by oral and intestinal bacteria to produce methyl mercury, an even more toxic form of mercury that targets the pituitary gland, thyroid gland, and the brain. Mercury rapidly absorbs across the blood-brain barrier and interferes with the transmission of nerve impulses to the rest of the body, causing tremors, shaking, tingling and numbness. Related effects on the nervous system are poor memory, inability to focus, anxiety, depression, irritability, nervousness, insomnia, dizziness, and muscle spasms.

Multiple Sclerosis patients have been found to have eight times higher levels of mercury in their cerebrospinal fluid compared to neurologically healthy individuals. Researchers at the University of Kentucky have now concluded that mercury from amalgams is associated with Alzheimer’s Disease. They are also investigating the theory that Parkinson’s Disease and Lou Gehrig’s Disease are related to heavy metal toxicity. 

Mercury has an adverse effect on the immune system, inhibiting the body’s ability to fight infection. In the Coors Foundation study of 1995, conducted by pioneering mercury-free dentist Dr. Hal Huggins, the blood of 28 patients was tested before and after amalgam removals. Dr. Huggins found that high levels of white blood cells (the marker for a challenged immune system) came down after amalgam removal, while depressed levels came up. In his article in Alternative Medicine, Dr. Huggins recalls the case of an eight year old boy who was diagnosed with Leukemia due to an extremely high white blood cell count three days after receiving two mercury amalgam fillings. When chemotherapy was given and his white count declined to dangerously low levels, the boy’s grandmother took him to Dr. Huggins who removed the fillings, and his white blood cell count immediately returned to normal levels.
Mercury in the body inhibits the repair of DNA and alters the ability of cells to selectively allow materials through their membranes. It changes healthy molecules into nonfunctioning chemicals and alters the activities of enzymes necessary for all biological functions. Mercury can displace and deactivate vital minerals such as calcium, magnesium, zinc and chromium. It interferes with the hormonal secretions of the endocrine system. Of particular concern is mercury’s lethal affect on the friendly bacteria in the digestive tract, preventing absorption of nutrients. Mercury signals antagonistic bacteria to mutate for self-preservation, creating new strains of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics.

Other symptoms related to mercury poisoning are allergies, bloating, high or low blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, fatigue, muscle weakness, back pain, colitis, headaches, ringing in the ears, metallic taste in the mouth or smell on the skin, skin disorders, canker sores, and problems with the heart, thyroid, reproductive system, urinary tract and vision. Autoimmune disorders such as Lupus and Fibromyalgia as well as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome have all been linked to mercury poisoning from dental fillings.

Since amalgams are a combination of different metals, they act like a battery inside the electrolyte and acid solution of the oral cavity, causing corrosion of the metals and creating electrical charges that negatively affect the brain and nervous system. Some people with amalgam fillings have even reported hearing local radio stations inside their mouths! This principle also holds true for gold fillings and crowns which are actually composites of several metals because gold alone would be too soft. Even porcelain dental material contains aluminum oxide and other metals. Metal-free dental materials are best.

In Dentistry Without Mercury authors Sam Ziff and Michael Ziff, DDS, note that the vast majority of people who have had their mercury amalgams replaced by non-metallic composite fillings have experienced improvements in their health. They cite studies that show 63% to 97% cure or improvement in all of the conditions mentioned above after amalgam removal.
Due to the overwhelming evidence regarding mercury poisoning from dental fillings, Sweden and some European countries have now officially banned amalgam fillings and are no longer teaching amalgam placement in dental schools. Other countries are quietly eliminating the practice without admitting liability. In Canada the issue has escalated into a class action lawsuit representing millions of Canadians who claim that they were not warned of the potential health risks of their mercury fillings.
In the United States, the American Dental Association (ADA) still stands by its story that mercury amalgams are safe. In fact, if a dentist in this country recommends that a patient remove his/her amalgam fillings in order to remove toxic substances from the body, that dentist is guilty of a breach of ethics and can lose his/her license to practice dentistry. This is actually what happened to Dr. Hal Huggins who wrote one of the most informative books on the subject, Uninformed Consent. Yet the ADA publicly absolves themselves of any liability in cases of dental mercury poisoning, letting the dentists fend for themselves. Recently on an Internet amalgam forum, it was reported that the ADA owns two patents on amalgams. According to this source, the amalgam manufacturing companies pay the ADA to put their seal of approval on their products.

If you choose to have your mercury amalgam fillings replaced by less toxic white composite fillings, it is important to go to a dentist that is familiar with safe removal procedures. For example, my dentist and his assistant wore gas masks during the procedure, while I was breathing pure oxygen. A negative ion generator and air purifier were in the room with a ventilation tube suspended above me pulling mercury vapors away as they worked. Though the impulse may be to have all of your fillings replaced at one time, if you have several fillings it is much easier on the body to replace one quadrant at a time over a period of a few months.

Once the fillings are removed, the next step is to detox the mercury that has been inside your body perhaps for many years. (Note by Jessica - you can see my many blog entries about safe chelation/detox here.)

Terri L. Saunders is an Herbalist and Certified Natural Health Professional in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she does private consultations, telephone consultations, and classes on natural healing. She can be reached at Sunrise Herb Shoppe, a unique holistic resource center for cutting edge natural health products and books. For information call 1-434-984-2665, or visit our web site at www.sunherb.com , or e-mail at sunherb@sunherb.com .

Watch this 15 year old's experience with mercury fillings and how his health was rapidly damaged after the placement of just TWO amalgams.

KJ's Story


Mercury Sources
So besides mercury fillings and fish, what other sources of mercury are there? The Rodale Institute has identified the top five mercury sources for us.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Warnings about mercury in fish and seafood have gotten plenty of attention in recent years. But where does all that mercury come from in the first place? Apparently, the largest sources of mercury emissions into our air and water are going all but unnoticed. A new study published in the Journal of Environmental Monitoring has found that mercury in the atmosphere is an oft-ignored form of air pollution, especially in urban areas where concentrations can reach dangerously high levels. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been lax in its enforcement of mercury-pollution standards over the past decade, exempting major polluters. Mercury is a neurotoxin that can harm the developing brains of children and infants; in adults, exposure can lead to memory loss and affect fertility and blood pressure.

Here are the biggest emitters of mercury into the environment:

1. Coal-fired power plants. Mercury exists naturally in coal, making coal-fired power plants the largest source of mercury pollution in this country. Coal accounts for nearly 50 percent of the electricity generated in this country—and almost 50 tons of mercury emissions annually.
What you can do: Contact your electricity provider to see if buying green power is an alternative in your area. If it is, opt to get your energy from a less polluting source, such as wind, solar, or hydroelectric power.

2. Cement kilns. According to the nonprofit law firm Earthjustice, all the cement kilns in the U.S. combined pump out roughly 23,000 pounds of mercury every year. The mercury comes from coal, which is used to fuel the cement-manufacturing process, as well as limestone, another natural source of the heavy metal. The group released a report last July finding that, individually, some cement kilns emit nearly one and a half times more mercury than the most polluting coal-fired power plants. But because there are fewer kilns, they account for lower levels of atmospheric mercury overall than coal plants.
What you can do: Cleaning up this industrial process will take more political power than individual action, but you can lobby your local officials to put pressure on nearby cement kilns to clean up their acts. See if you live near a cement production facility by searching Earthjustice’s interactive map. If you do, support local environmental groups working for stricter mercury controls. You can also buy a water filter that’s certified to remove mercury from your drinking water, which will cut down on some of your exposure.

3. Chlor-alkali plants. Chlorine bleach, laundry detergent, cheap vinyl purses, shoes, and toys made with polyvinyl chloride (or PVC)—making all these products required the use of chlorine gas at some point. The chlor-alkali plants that produce it use mercury to convert salt to chlorine gas, and to convert salt to caustic soda, or lye, which is then used in products like detergent, plastics, and bleach. The nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) says that while most modern chlor-alkali plants have switched to mercury-free technology, there are still seven plants in the U.S. that use it, and each one has roughly 200 tons of mercury on site at any given time. An unknown amount of that mercury gets lost during manufacturing, whether to the air or surrounding waterways; a 2006 report from NRDC found that operators at four of these plants could account for only 29 of the 159 tons of the mercury they used from 2000 to 2004. (As Rodale.com reported earlier this year, some of those plants also make the ubiquitous food ingredient high-fructose corn syrup, and may be tainting food products with mercury.)
What you can do: Avoid chlorine-containing products like chlorine bleach, as well as anything made from polyvinyl chloride, including cheap handbags and shower curtains. Also look for chlorine-free paper products; paper production is the sixth largest mercury emitter in this country. Buy unbleached paper towels, coffee filters, and office paper. For the latter, look for the “Totally Chlorine Free” or “Processed Chlorine Free” labels on the package.

4. Trash incinerators. Hazardous waste, medical waste, and regular garbage incinerators release 13.1 tons (or about 26,000 pounds) of mercury every year, according to statistics from the EPA. The mercury comes from common household items, such as compact fluorescent light bulbs and thermostats, and from automobile scrap. Despite common perceptions that mercury is used in thermometers and blood pressure machines, the medical industry has switched to mercury-free versions of those tools, and medical waste now accounts for the smallest percentage of mercury emissions from incinerators.
What you can do: Visit Environment, Health and Safety Online to see if an incinerator is located near you. Support local efforts to implement stricter mercury controls, and filter your water.

5. Gold mining. According to those same EPA statistics, 11.5 tons of mercury each year are released from gold mining, often called the most polluting industry in the world. Historically, mercury was used to separate gold from mined ore, but in Nevada, which accounts for 80 percent of the gold mined in the U.S., the ore itself contains mercury. The mercury is released when gold is heated to separate the two. The nonprofit group Earthworks estimates that gold mines account for nearly 25 percent of the mercury emissions west of Texas, and it’s not just the existing mines that pose problems. Mercury can seep out of long-abandoned gold mines, most of which are in California, which continue to release mercury from underground pools of mine tailings, despite the fact that they’ve been closed since the end of the 19th century. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that mine waters and sediments in these areas today release hundreds to thousands of pounds of mercury every year.
What you can do: Some major retailers, such as Tiffany & Co., have pledged to use only responsibly mined gold, free of mercury and other pollutants like cyanide. But the greenest, and cheapest, thing to do is opt for antique or estate jewelry when you’re shopping for bling.

Ending rounds 46 and 21

Holy moly!  We just put the kids to bed and I feel like I just ran a marathon!  They were so incredibly yeasty tonight, it was overwhelming to all the senses.  It started with Grayson, because Gavin was still on round (I continue chelation with him through Monday, while Grayson is at school), Grayson was considered post-round since we stopped his last dose at 7:30am this morning as he left for the bus.

At dinner he just started winding up so much he couldn't seem to control it.  He was like a happy drunk.  He was talking so much and out of control, like he literally could not stop the motor.  It excelerated to a giddy hyper that slowly turned into his typical yeasty impatience.  He can't stand anything his brother does, he's too loud, too annoying, just plain too much so he yells and demands and Gavin retaliates.  So we put him in an epsom salt bath, gave him a few melatonin and read him a book.  By this time, Gavin was beginning his own yeasty wind up or perhaps it was redistribution at it's finest.  All I know is that while we were trying to wind Grayson down, Gavin was "flying" all over the second floor.  Grayson was irritated by everything his brother did and flying was no exception.  By the time we were giving them their probiotics, they were getting physical with each other.  A stomp here, a swat there, next thing we know, Gavin is hauling off and whacking Grayson, then we had tears.  Forcing a "sorry" out of Gavin when he is like this is nearly impossible, he was too inappropriately giddy and angry at the same time, such an exhausting combination.  While I was tucking Grayson in, it was like he suddenly deflated.  I think the melatonin hit him, because he said, "I'm getting tired".  Since laying Gavin down, we haven't heard a peep from him.....(Sigh)

We are finally sitting in the peace and quiet.

Wonderful account of mercury toxcity

Via one of the many forums I frequent, I was directed to this link which is probably THE best account of living with mercury toxicity that I have ever read.  It's thorough and stunningly detailed.  I have shared it with members of my family and close friends.  Not only does it force the idea of looking at one's own health, but it explains what my children are going through in their little innocent lives.  If you or someone you know has been vaccinated, has amalgam fillings, GI issues, allergies, mood swings, or learning disabilities, this is a MUST read memoir!

There are many others sharing their similar stories.  Just Google Jeremy Pivens who developed mercury poisoning from eating sushi too frequently.  And Hillary Swank, suffered something similar while she was trying to bulk up for her role in Million Dollar Baby.  Her ailments lasted years, until she discovered the source.  Andy Cutler himself was heavily mercury poisoned and as a chemist, he discovered the road to healing using himself as his own first guinea pig.  The list is endless.  Do you want this to be your babies??

Protect them from their beds!

At 7:30 this morning when I opened my eyes, to the sound of Gavin rustling around in his bed, it hit me.  He didn't sneeze?  Not once?!  For as long as I can remember, Gavin has been sneezing the minute he opens his eyes.  His consecutive sneezy salute was always my cue that he was awake for the day, so when I heard him talking and rolling around, I was surprised that he was actually awake for the day without his usual routine.  Then something else hit me, last night was his first night on a new allergen-free pillow!  IT WAS THE PILLOW!!

I knew we needed new pillows, and I had waited too long after buying all the necessary things to protect them from their chemical-laden mattresses, but I couldn't find anything suitable.  A child's pillow needs to be washable and finding a natural, allergen-free alternative that could be washed wasn't easy.  Then one day recently, I received a daily deal newsletter from Mamapedia and it highlighted a company called CleanRest that was created by the father of a child with severe allergies, I was relieved to not only finally find pillows for our kids, but to get them at half price!!  And heck, I didn't even have to step foot outside for this purchase, it was ushered right to my computer and eventually to my front door!  For $22 (their full price) these pillows are washable, water resistant, breathable, allergen and chemical free and they carry a lifetime warranty!  How can you beat that?

So last night was our first night using them and clearly Gavin was effected by his old pillow, which I am embarrassed to say, I hadn't even thought of! 

Antimony in our mattresses
When both kids had elevated antimony on their hair tests (Gavin also had very high phosphorus) I immediately knew it was their mattresses, because I already knew not to put pajamas on them that had been treated with fire retardant (AKA - antimony)....well, for all of Gavin's life anyway.  We learned from Grayson's experiences.  When Grayson's first hair test came back with elevated antimony, I stopped using those pajamas immediately, but didn't know much about the toxins in his bed.  And of all places to not address toxins, we spend nearly one third of our lives there, and infants over 50% of their lives!! 

How exactly DO we protect ourselves from our beds?
If you don't have enough money to go out and buy yourself a nice cushy all natural latex mattress, and I would assume that most of us can't afford to go out and replace all the beds in our homes, then there are much less expensive ways to protect yourself from the multitude of chemicals in your mattresses.  Antimony isn't the only danger lurking in your peaceful place.  Included in the list of chemicals you are encountering nightly are: adhesives, petroleum based foams, plastics, vinyls, fungicides and pesticides.

Here is a link sharing multiple stories of people who came down with sudden ailments after buying new mattresses. Just click on "health problems from mattresses" on the left to see the stories.

In other countries like New Zealand, they have even gone as far as to prove that SIDS is the result of a baby inhaling all of these chemicals.  You can read about it and buy crib mattress wraps here.  We use this mattress cover on Gavin's crib mattress.

This is taken directly from their website

Crib death (often referred to as SIDS) is caused by gaseous poisoning, the gases being phosphine, arsine, and stibine (and/or derivative gases).  These toxic gases can be generated from the mattress where a baby sleeps.  They are formed by the action of common household fungi (e.g. Scopulariopsis brevicaulis) on  compounds of the elements phosphorus, arsenic, and antimony (respectively) within the mattress which are activated by a baby's body heat.  The crib death risk increases as a mattress is re-used from one baby to the next since mold grows exponentially.  New mattresses have been shown to begin off-gasing (releasing the toxic gases into the air) after 1 month of a baby sleeping on it.  See our Analysis page for more info about mold in bedding.

Household fungi become established in nearly every mattress which is slept on, and in underbedding (sheets/blankets slept on) which is washed infrequently. The risk of crib death can be virtually eliminated by ensuring that babies sleep on mattresses (and other bedding) known to be free from the above elements.  The BabeSafe range of bassinet and crib mattresses complies with this specification.  All other types of crib mattress should be enclosed in a BabeSafe slip-on mattress cover.  BabeSafe is made from a thick polythene material that is 125 microns thick, it is a type of plastic but does not cause sweating.  Not just any plastic will do, only polythene (125 microns +) will prevent gases from escaping into a baby's bed.  Any other plastic is permeable to these gases and is therefore useless in preventing crib death.

Interestingly, three of the elevated heavy metals in our kids' hair tests were antimony, phosphorus and arsenic!  Not all of them were over the safe range, but they were on the high side of safe and for both, antimony was over safe!  I am not one to wait for things to get really bad to react.  I prefer to choose prevention.  This was a warning sign that my children were being poisoned by their beds.

For $28 you can encapsulate a twin mattress with food grade polyethylene just like the crib mattress covers above.  They also carry larger sizes.

Once we covered their mattresses, we needed something to put over the plastic so they wouldn't feel the crunching below them and of course, those water resistant mattress covers you buy in the stores are also treated with chemicals as well as containing many harmful materials such as PVC, pthalates and and more.  I found an organic 100% cotton mattress cover for each other their beds and topped that with 100% organic cotton sheets.  Remember that each child needs at least two of the mattress pads and sheets, in case of the inevitable midnight accident.  When one is in the wash, the other is on the bed.

In closing, just imagine this, the average child is surrounded in a chemical-laden haven every night with their mattresses, mattress pads, sheets, pillows and pajamas....for much of their life.  I see no better way to spend my money than to eliminate these toxins from my child's life!

And just for the record, since replacing Grayson's bedding and chelating with DMSA (which removes antimony in addition to mercury and lead), his Antimony levels have not only come down to the normal range, but they have come down even below that! 

Glyconutrients, how's it going?

Tomorrow will be ten days since we started the glyconutrients.  We have been on our therapeutic doses for six of those days. 

Glyconutrients + chelation = rapid detox?
We have also done a chelation round during the first week.  Chelation always sets things off for a few days and this was no exception.  Just about all of the gains we saw, especially in Gavin, were lost during the round.  I would expect that mobilizing metals would have this effect and in fact, if it's true that glyconutrients also enhance detox, I would expect the side effects of chelation to be even worse.  We managed through the round as usual though, just a bit rough here and there.  Grayson was emotional for a short period and then came off of the round like a champ!  Almost NO post round irritation AT ALL!  And the most amazing thing, his tummy was flat starting the last day of chelation and has continued for an entire 4 days straight!  Last night he was slightly bloated just as he went to bed, not exactly sure why, but he was flat again this morning.  Before last night though, the bloating literally did not come back even once during those three days and chelation ALWAYS makes him bloat more!  This was a pleasant surprise and the only thing we did different with this round was use the glyconutrients.  We didn't even use his homeopathic constitutional remedy like we normally do.  He's been waking happy and staying happy, he is flexible, cooperative, playing nicely with his brother, we are just utterly impressed with him!  The morning of his last day on this round of chelation, I came downstairs to find Grayson reading so sweetly to Gavin.  He was asking Gavin to point to things, "Gavin where is the hammer?.....where is something you would use to climb up higher?" referring to a ladder.  Gavin was excitedly reciprocating.  It was so cute!  They waited for breakfast in the front room while reading books, no fighting, no irritation, no questions about where their breakfast is....wow!  Is this what normalcy looks like?  If so, yes please!!

TMI
Something else new that both boys experienced was one odd day of very green, sticky, stringy nasal mucus.  It was something I have never experienced with either of them.  I swear, it was like GLUE!  Eeeeeeeeew!  Sorry for the details, but I found it interesting, especially since both got it on the same day and in both, it was gone the next day. 

Continued speech gains
We continue to see amazing gains in speech with Gavin daily.  He is adding new words to his vocabulary faster than I can even document.  He has always said "cake" for any form of bread and Saturday morning we were making pancakes, the first thing he said to us was, "I want pancakes!"  the entire word, PANCAKES!!  Then on Monday I made them bread and toasted some for breakfast, he promptly indicated that he wanted some "toast".  It's apparent to me that in addition to the added vocabulary, there is an increase in the cognition that comes with the use of these words.  Some might say this is just coincidental and that he was due for a developmental spurt in speech....I would vehemently disagree.  His speech has been slow since it started, this sudden rapid burst of speech occurred exactly when we added the glyconutrients, not a day sooner!  He is even adding slang into his sentences, for example, the other night he said to my husband, "Yeah, I want to see it..."  Yeah? Never heard him say that before either.  And he is suddenly saying, "See, Mommy?" as he turns something towards me to look at.  He is aware enough that he has to turn whatever it is he is referring to so that I can see it at the angle he was viewing it from originally!  Today my husband was working from home downstairs and I was making lunch for us.  I asked Gavin if he wanted to call him to come up for lunch.  I handed him the phone after dialing for him.  He waited for him to pick up at which point he said, "Hi Daddy, I eating, you come up eat." His father said that he was clear as day, he understood every word.  Then he said, "Bye Daddy" and hung up himself!  Oh, that is the other new thing...."ing".  He now uses "ing" to explain when he is doing something like, "I done eating".  Again, this is brand new to him, this week!

Detox or intolerance
One thing I am not sure how to address is a rash on Gavin.  It looks just like eczema he used to get, except that it isn't on his cheeks (yet anyway), it's on his bottom, towards the hip and around the back.  I have read that it's possible to get rashes on the glyconutrients and I know about detox rashes from doing chelation and treating Grayson for latent viruses, but there is something about giving a new supplement and seeing a rash that has me second guessing myself.  My first instinct was to stop giving whatever is causing it!  I read that with the glyconutrients, it's not uncommon to see a resurgence of symptoms in reverse from the order they were acquired.  So seeing the eczema would actually be in line with his personal healing.  The rash appeared during chelation too, which is interesting, because it's possible that the detox was kicked into high gear from the glyconutrients.  Of course, it's still possible that the rash is a reaction to an ingredient, so I am cautious, watching it's progression.  Today it actually looks like it's starting to dry up and it doesn't look any larger than it was the past two days.  I have my fingers crossed that this is a good sign.  I know when clearing a person of viruses, this is a very good sign....so here's to hoping!  Check back for more as we progress.

DAN! doctor versus Andy Cutler chelation

For those of you who understand chelation, you probably also know that there is a distinct difference between the way DAN! doctors handle chelation compared to Andy Cutler's protocol.  In some cases, the discussions can get heated about the two, each parent validating why theirs is more effective or safer.  I have heard on more than one occasion where a parent says that chelation is not a one-size-fits all solution and yes, while I do agree with this for many of the biomedical treatments and even some smaller details in chelation, I do not, I repeat, I do NOT agree that the different forms of chelation are equal.  The science behind Andy Cutler's chelation proves it to be MUCH safer than the alternative IV method of chelation.  There are many factors that set Andy Cutler's protocol apart from the rest and they are scientifically proven.  I sometimes feel as though a parent becomes highly defensive of their chosen method, because after having already started, they feel a sense of fear and/or inferiority, like the Andy Cutler followers are judging them personally and suggesting they are bad parents.  We aren't, we are just very adamant about safely chelating, period!  They often end the conversation by saying that they believe in their doctors....

Wasn't it blind trust in our doctors that put us in this position in the first place?  Would we be here trying to recover our children, if doctors truly understood the science and technical mechanics behind how the body responds to certain stimuli, drugs, antibiotics, vaccine ingredients, metals....?  I think it's safe to say that no matter what label they are given, there is still a clear lack of understanding the very nature of the chemicals they insist we use in our children.  I am sorry, I don't mean to suggest that I hate doctors, I know that they hold a very important part of our medical needs, but some do claim to know more than they really do.  How many people have you heard about being misdiagnosed or that doctors just don't know what the patient is suffering from?  Too many.  When it comes to chelation, I think I would rather put my faith and trust in a chemist who knows the very science behind how these chemicals work in our bodies.  Andy Cutler is a chemist, he knows their half-life in our blood, he knows their function down to the minute details, what they do and even more importantly, what they don't do!  For example, EDTA is a chelator very similar to DMSA, but it has an affinity for lead over mercury, yet more doctors are prescribing or injecting it for mercury toxic people!  Do you know what the implications are for a mercury toxic person to take EDTA?  Well, let me educate you briefly and keep in mind, I am no chemist, but this just makes sense even to me!  The little EDTA ions flitter about in the blood collecting whatever metals they encounter first, let's just say that is mercury.  They mobilize the mercury attempting to usher it out of the body, but in it's trek towards the exit, it comes in contact with the lead bystander.  It is going to immediately drop the mercury ion and pick up the lead, because it's bind with lead is stronger.  Now, simply put, this is mercury redistribution at it's finest!  Those mobilized and now free (where they used to already be attached to body tissue before the EDTA came along) mercury ions are going to find new tissue to adhere to, potentially causing more and new symptoms of mercury poisoning and the damage they do is dependent upon which tissue they find...liver, brain, etc. 

Ok, so what about the doctors who aren't using EDTA, but their dosing schedule and amount of chelator being used is different, is this a concern?  Sure is!  There is a half-life that these chelators have in our bodies.  When a chelator reaches it's half life, mobilized metals drop and again, you have redistribution, as described above.  Andy Cutler's protocol is designed to reduce redistribution, hence reducing the symptoms AND DAMAGE associated with it.  He uses the half-life of the chelators as a guide for dosing.  He uses smaller doses for longer periods of time, sustaining the chelator in the blood for a period of days.  Each round will result in minor redistribution, but not large amounts of metals and only once in that round.  The result is a slow steady flow of metals leaving the body over a longer period of time, SAFELY! He has proven that higher doses of chelators doesn't pull many more metals, but DOES increase symptoms and redistribution.  And who are you going to trust on this, the chemist or the doctor?  Chelation is a long process and if you are causing significant amounts of redistribution every time you take or are injected with a chelator, you are setting yourself up for long-term damage, which may not even be obvious for some time.  I could spend days explaining the mechanics of it all, but since chemist Andy Cutler has already done that, let me share a few links with you here.

In this link, you will learn the significant and dangerous differences between DAN! doctor chelation and the Andy Cutler protocol.  You will hear people balk at calling DAN! chelation a "protocol"...ok, so you can get caught up in the details, but people, it is what it is, let's focus on the things that are important, read this very clear explanation from Andy himself (he is responding to a forum poster's question about how the two methods differ).


Difference between DAN! and Cutler chelation methods

In the next link, you will find MANY questions answered about Andy Cutler's protocol, anything you could want to know: testing, safety, length of rounds, redistribution, supplementation to ease symptoms, dosing and timing of chelators, chelation of infants, chelating other metals, and more.

Cutler protocol

This link below will take you to the Autism-Mercury Yahoo group and the reason I am recommending this group is, because you can search the database to see the sheer number of people who have been harmed by improper chelation methods recommended by DAN! doctors.  These people know when and how their children were harmed and are seeking advice on reversing it.  Andy Cutler's protocol is discussed adamantly here, but many don't come here until they have already listened to DAN! doctors or tried unsafe chelating methods first.  Unfortunately, we are learning from their mistakes, but learning is learning.  What you can also learn here are the number of people who have experienced complete recovery using the Cutler protocol.  Did you notice that I said, COMPLETE?  Children are fully recovering with his protocol in a fraction of the time that other methods are harming innocent family members.  That means no need for supplements, diets or treatments, autism diagnoses are being reversed, from classic full-blown autism to normal.

Autism-Mercury Yahoo Group

And if you are interested in using Andy Cutler's chelation Yahoo group for direction on proper chealtion, use this link.  You will find thousands of members on this group, thousands!

Frequent-Dose-Chelation Yahoo Group

The only children I have learned of having complete recovery, meaning that they don't rely on anything for normal behavior, are those who finish Andy Cutler's protocol.  In order to see full recovery, most people require between 100-300 rounds of chelation.  Yup, it's a long haul.  It took years to get this poisoned, it is going to take years to get better, but don't let that deter you.  Just take one day at a time and you will get there!  We are on rounds 45 and 20 with our boys, and I believe this was the single most important part of our healing process.  It is the only treatment that is going to remove the problem at it's root, everything else we do is just to maintain normalcy in the meantime.  Chopping down a weed at ground level is just temporary maintenance, it looks good temporarily, but to truly remove that weed and prevent it from returning, you need to pull it out at the roots!  Need I say more?

And just for the record, Andy Cutler has recovered himself fully from debilitating illness using his own protocol.  So he doesn't just study and dictate what others should do, he himself experienced this monster at it's worst!  I have the utmost respect for this man who has personal experience in what he preaches.

As a mother of children who are experiencing heavy metal toxicity, nothing but the most conservative and safe will work for me.  Do kids recover from IV chelation?  Perhaps, but how many are sheer luck, and how many more are harmed in the process?  I'm not willing to play Russian Roulette with my kids' health any longer, I already did that and it landed me right where we are sitting.  The turtle wins the race, slow and steady.