I mentioned how we had a hair elements test done on Grayson to determine, if we are dealing with a heavy metal toxicity. The results are very confusing to decipher, because it's not clear cut. Mercury "hides" out in tissues, organs and the brain so tests are often inconclusive of ACTUAL mercury unless the test is done shortly after your encounter with this nasty stuff! So what that means is the hair elements test tells us what is going on with the mineral transport in his body. If he is normal and shows high metals then it IS pretty cut and dry, the metal being noted is high. When the minerals are derranged, skewed....it is indicitive of past mercury poisoning which never left the body. Mercury pushes the elements all around and into the hair in varrying degrees. So the jist of his report shows high metals - copper, nickel, antimony, cobalt and zirconium, chances are these ARE actually high and need to be reduced. His low elements are - calcium, sodium, andadium, molybdenum, boron, strontium, and rubidium. The result? Probably that he cannot metabolize mercury and is holding it all in his little bitty body! Mercury is the most toxic substance on this planet and it is coursing through his veins, the very veins that feed his brain! No wonder things aren't checking out completely with his health!!
I have to say that I am somewhat relieved that we found mercury to be the problem and I must say that I expected it. Why would I be relieved that our son has mercury poisoning?? Well, because it also means there is a way to cure him. It means that the food allergies, the never ending yeast problems, the SPD, the behaviors....they all have a reason and a cure!! If it was just genetic, then there wouldn't be much we could do for him other than possibly medicate for symptoms like ADHD and OCD down the road. Instead, we are going to remove the metals, be it no easy feat, and we are going to put our son back on the track to healthy and normal, if there is such a thing, ha ha.
Chelation (key-lay-shun) is the method of removal. It can be a very long (like years) process and it involves plenty of supplements (yes MORE than he is already on, like SEVEN more) dosed 4 times a day and a metal removing agent dosed every 3 hours day and NIGHT! GULP!! The good news, if there is any during this process, is that we chelate for about 3 days on and at least that many or more off, so we do get a break....but, we repeat that process until he shows no additional benefit to the protocol. Like I mentioned earlier, that can be years. Only time will tell, there is no way to even guess so I will avoid having any expectations other than to work hard at getting him healthy.
Since he has high copper (copper is synergistic with mercury) and one of the chelating agents (ALA) drives copper higher during chelation, we need to focus on bringing that down a bit first. To do that, we will need to give him: taurine, milk thistle, molybdenum, zinc and possibly glycine four times a day. He needs to avoid high copper foods like shellfish, nuts and avocado...more foods to avoid, the list is getting longer. Then we will begin the process of chelation with DMSA and possibly ALA, if there are no reactions to either, and we will add in additional supplements: vitamin B complex, vitamin C, vitamin E, and mixed carotenoids all spread out about 4 doses daily since chelation can diminish antioxidants.
Soooo, wish us luck! Once we begin, I will keep you all posted. And who knew that when I began this blog that I would truly have something to post progress on besides just the diet. I am thrilled to have gotten to the bottom of it all, but weary of the process we plan to embark on. Mobilizing mercury into the blood stream is risky, but it's necessary.
Showing posts with label heavy metals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label heavy metals. Show all posts
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
The hair says it all
The holidays are over, we had a sick-fest in our house through the holidays!! Everyone is getting better and we are now moving on to a happy and healthy 2009! The boys are both doing great and we are coming along in our adventures with Grayson's health!
We've decided to test his hair for toxic metals, it will tell us what the elements in his hair are and that will indicate, if there were any heavy metals responsible for malabsorption of certain elements. We are reading a great book called Children with Starving Brains, what an eye-opener! I am learning that the cause for many of these issues (food allergies, SPD, lack of enzyme production, ADHD, ASD, yeast overgrowth) is often undetected heavy metals in the system. If a person cannot metabolize them, they just build up with each offender (a mother's silver fillings - of which I have SEVEN, EMF from power lines - we used to live UNDER them, vaccinations - which he reacted to at 12 months old, the list is unfortunately endless). Mercury is one of the worst metals to introduce to a child who cannot metabolize metals, it is one of the most toxic metals in the universe! It passes through the blood-brain barrier and causes neurotoxic responses. Mercury in the brain just stays there!! It remains in other tissues as well, such as the organs. So when you think you are repairing the problem by removing allergen foods, offering supplements, detoxing the liver, treating yeast...well, if mercury is the cause, you are just pedaling in reverse. You are swimming against the current! You will never get to the cause of the problems without removing the heavy metals. So while we don't KNOW that this is our problem, it's certainly worth investigating, so today we are sending in a good sized portion of the hair from the nape of his head to a lab for testing. If he does in fact show signs of heavy metals, we will need to begin the process of detoxing (AKA - chelation) his body of the metals. This is a process that can take years, but will ultimately reverse the effects of excess metals in the system.
In the meantime, nursing a baby when a mother has excessive silver fillings exposes the infant to mercury as well, so I have recently learned that taking an additional 100mcg of selenium daily will provide the mercury with a place to bind. They are opposing ions so mercury is attracted to selenium. By giving the mercury a place to bind, it loses the ability to attach to the tissues in the body. Here's to hoping...
We've decided to test his hair for toxic metals, it will tell us what the elements in his hair are and that will indicate, if there were any heavy metals responsible for malabsorption of certain elements. We are reading a great book called Children with Starving Brains, what an eye-opener! I am learning that the cause for many of these issues (food allergies, SPD, lack of enzyme production, ADHD, ASD, yeast overgrowth) is often undetected heavy metals in the system. If a person cannot metabolize them, they just build up with each offender (a mother's silver fillings - of which I have SEVEN, EMF from power lines - we used to live UNDER them, vaccinations - which he reacted to at 12 months old, the list is unfortunately endless). Mercury is one of the worst metals to introduce to a child who cannot metabolize metals, it is one of the most toxic metals in the universe! It passes through the blood-brain barrier and causes neurotoxic responses. Mercury in the brain just stays there!! It remains in other tissues as well, such as the organs. So when you think you are repairing the problem by removing allergen foods, offering supplements, detoxing the liver, treating yeast...well, if mercury is the cause, you are just pedaling in reverse. You are swimming against the current! You will never get to the cause of the problems without removing the heavy metals. So while we don't KNOW that this is our problem, it's certainly worth investigating, so today we are sending in a good sized portion of the hair from the nape of his head to a lab for testing. If he does in fact show signs of heavy metals, we will need to begin the process of detoxing (AKA - chelation) his body of the metals. This is a process that can take years, but will ultimately reverse the effects of excess metals in the system.
In the meantime, nursing a baby when a mother has excessive silver fillings exposes the infant to mercury as well, so I have recently learned that taking an additional 100mcg of selenium daily will provide the mercury with a place to bind. They are opposing ions so mercury is attracted to selenium. By giving the mercury a place to bind, it loses the ability to attach to the tissues in the body. Here's to hoping...
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