There Has To Be Something Wrong!

 

A careful look at heavy metal intoxication

by Jann M. Gentry-Glander

jmg@derglanderhaus.com

 

In conjunction with Odyssey Clinical Studies

and

David H. Saxon, MD

 

 

Published 1999 by der Glanderhaus, LLC

 

276 Capital Avenue, NE

Battle Creek, MI 49017

 

 

Table of Contents

 

 

Chapter 1

There Has To Be Something Wrong

 

Chapter 2

The Heavy Metals: Symptoms of Toxicity

 

Chapter 3

Jimmie's Story

 

Chapter 4

Sources of Mercury Poisoning

 

Chapter 5

Detoxification Treatments

 

Appendix A

Frequently Asked Questions

 

Appendix B

Nutrient and Supplement Information

 

 

 

Chapter 1

 

Every once in a while we all get sick from a cold or the flu.  As we age, we seem to get more muscle aches and joint pain.  We become more aware of our limitations when we experience shortness of breath.  Sometimes, the change in our mood or attitudes can be disturbing – we wonder if we are going insane.

 

No doubt about it, people get sick and suffer from all manner of disease and degenerative conditions.  It's just part of living on a diseased planet.  However, once in a while, someone will experience a change in their health and not know why.  If they are afraid of some disastrous diagnosis, or simply don't want to feel as if they are pestering the doctor with trivial complaints, they will find an excuse for not seeking medical attention.

 

"I get headaches all the time.  I guess I'm just that way." "My husband got the flu last January and 'just can't seem to get over it.  He still feels tired.  And boy is he grumpy!" "I'm tired all the time lately.  Do you think I might be sleep deprived?  Or, maybe I just need more exercise?" "I feel so depressed..."

 

Does this sound familiar?  Am I describing you, or someone you know?  First, I hope you understand that people really do succumb to common illness and even contract exotic ones.  Not only that, but there are warning symptoms of disastrous diseases which should not be ignored.  Everyone should do all that he or she can to stay in good health and be physically fit.

 

But what if none of these things explain your symptoms?  What happens when you have been suffering from unexplained maladies for years? or you see someone you care about becoming a victim to strange changes in mental functions?  Don't you want to know what is going on and how you can do something about it?

 

 

JJ's Story

 

(JJ's story and those of other patients from Odyssey Clinical Studies are true.  They spoke openly and with tears about the awful, confusing, and frustrating ordeals they had been through while trying to find the answer for their mysterious symptoms.)

 

JJ coughed and sputtered.  The dust under the building was incredible.  He and Joey were working diligently to remove pipes under the high school, which were going to be replaced.  They had been working on it for a couple of days already.

 

"What's that white powder?" JJ said to Joey.

 

"Well, Boss said it was lime dust."

 

"Whatever," said JJ, although he didn't really believe that.  It smelled bad under the building and he wanted to get out.  Joey kept working, hammering and chipping away at the block in a constricting space eight feet wide and only two and a half feet tall.  Suddenly there was a crash as more blocks fell, and a fresh cloud of dust welled up around them.  "Joey?" JJ called, "are you okay?" JJ couldn't see anything, not even his tools lying in front of him.  But he could hear Joey coughing.

 

"Hey," Joey said, "I need some air.  Let's take a break."

 

JJ and Joey backed slowly out of the crawlspace.  In the afternoon sun they were white and frosted looking from the dust and limestone powder.  JJ was tired; it had been a long day and he wanted to get home to his new wife.  He looked at Joey and laughed.

 

"Hey, man, you look really funny," he said to Joey.  Joey was still coughing and trying to clear his head from all the dust.

 

"You look pretty good, yourself," he said.  JJ and Joey were working together for the first time under the building.  JJ was new at pipe fitting, but he could endure tight spaces and funny smells.  However, whatever they were breathing made his head hurt.  After another 10 minutes, when they thought the dust would be settled, JJ and his partner bunched up and squeezed back under the building.

 

For dinner that evening, Angela made bar-b-qued burgers, one of JJ's favorites.  He was still coughing and even though he had showered, he still thought he could smell the dust he'd been working in for the last several days.  "These burgers are great, Angela." He looked at the pretty young woman whom he had married only a few months before.  Her eyes sparkled, and she smiled.  Roland and Marie, Angela's two young children were laughing and talking with their mouths full of food.  This is the perfect life, JJ thought happily.  He and Angela were both looking forward to having more children.

 

Within a week, his voice was gone but the coughing was not.  Oh, great.  Bronchitis, JJ muttered to himself.  He always hated getting sick like this, it meant his singing would go on hold for weeks.

 

And what JJ really loved to do was sing.  Even in the navy, when he was aboard that narrow little submarine, his soothing songs would hum along the metal walls.  Joey's voice didn't sound any better when they met the next morning for work.

 

Joey smiled wanly at JJ and tried to say hi; he coughed instead.  He said he felt awful.  "I don't know what's wrong with me," he said at lunch.  "I feel so tired and achy."

 

"Go home, Joey," JJ replied.  "You must have picked up the flu all the kids have at school." Joey nodded.  He looked hot and feverish.  But then, so did JJ.

 

After Joey left, JJ started working with Mike.  They were each lifting long lengths of 4-inch pipe up to the ceiling for the other guys to work on.  This one was 22 feet long.  JJ lifted it with ease and swung it over his shoulder up to the fitters overhead.  Suddenly, he felt dizzy, like he was falling.  "Mike!" he called hoarsely.  "Come give me a hand, will you?" Mike steadied the other end of the pipe.  "Thanks man." JJ said.  He slowly crawled off the ladder and stood against the wall, gasping, trying to get his balance back.  He felt like he couldn't breathe.  Mike didn't seem to notice.  It's just as well, thought JJ.  He didn't want anyone to think he couldn't do his job.

 

But the rest of the day was hell.  He stumbled over a rock and bruised his knee.  He couldn't go back up the ladder without feeling like he was going to fall.  He couldn't stop coughing and his chest was tight, like he just couldn't get enough air.  When he finally left at two minutes before five, he was whipped.  He thought constantly of peacefully failing asleep.

 

As the days progressed, JJ became weaker and weaker.  Soon, he couldn't lift up the pipes past his waist anymore.  He couldn't climb the ladders.  He took frequent rests.  He felt the other guys looking at him with disgust and irritation.  He knew what they were saying: "Slacker," "Lazy SOB," "Slob."

 

"All I really wanted to do," JJ confided, "was my job. But I just couldn't. Pretty soon the boss sent me home, too, and all I could do was lay around, vomit, and realize I was loosing my mind."

 

JJ's mind was indeed becoming iffy. His short-term memory was sketchy at best, and some days didn't work at all. He often struggled vainly for the word he needed to complete a sentence, a word as simple as "lamp," or "kitchen." His doctor didn't know what else to do for him than treat the symptoms. He was miserable.

 

The one bright spot in all of this was Angela's swelling belly, evidence that a new life was blooming within her. JJ tried to concentrate on that happy thought and avoid the depression that now was his shadow. But rage welled up instead - unexplained and unreasonable. "I really am loosing my mind," he thought as he struggled to reign in his fear and anger towards anyone and everyone. It was no comfort to know that his buddy, Joey, was dealing with the same symptoms.

 

JJ worried about Christmas. The holiday was fast approaching and he and Angela were on a shoestring budget. JJ had been off of work for a month now, and the company was denying any workman's comp. Angela had taken on extra hours to try and help out, but JJ felt powerless and angry.

 

In spite of all this, they scraped together a few modest gifts, and JJ fervently hoped his parents would come through for the kids.  The tension around the house was becoming unbearable.  Then, on Christmas day Angela began hemorrhaging.

 

At the hospital Angela laid motionless as the sonogram technician rolled the monitor around on her abdomen.  "I noticed the technician became very quiet," said JJ.  "She stopped and wrote something down.  It was 'No FHM' no fetal heart movement." Tears welled up in JJ's eyes.  "Our baby was dead."

 

But there wasn't any time to dwell on that.  The focus was on Angela who was hurried to the operating room to deal with the hemorrhaging.  The procedure there became critical and Angela's blood pressure fell precipitously.  JJ was in agony as he leaned against the wall in the waiting room nauseated and exhausted.  His baby was dead, Angela's life was in danger, and his own health was broken.  He didn't know if he could take any more.  He stumbled to the bathroom and threw-up.

 

"The doctor told me it was 'touch and go' there for a while," JJ said.  "But I knew I just couldn't loose Angela, too.  Not after all that was happening to me.  She was my lifeblood, the one person who kept me going." Angela, however, would recover.  She convalesced quietly at home fighting the sadness that overwhelmed her when she thought of the tiny life that was now gone.  JJ, knowing that something had to happen soon, looked again for help.

 

The next doctor was an allergy specialist who ran a series of tests on JJ.  They all came back with negative responses: JJ didn't have any allergies.  What he had was much more insidious.  "It may be," his doctor told him, "that you have a chemical toxicity."

 

 

This doctor referred him to a detoxification clinic, Odyssey Clinical Studies in Maryville, Tennessee.  The tests done there had much more chilling results showing that JJ had very high levels of extremely toxic substances in his system.

 

Within a week, JJ began the detoxification therapy.  After six weeks, his memory loss was much less noticeable and his constant joint pain had lessened.  He began to sleep better, "And," he said, "I haven't thrown up in about two weeks." Angela was back to work although JJ was not.  He had to file for workman's compensation, and now had legal expenses to worry about since his employer denied any responsibility for his condition.

 

The white dust under the building was not lime dust.  It was a pesticide to kill rats and other rodents under the school.  That, and the other chemicals from sewage and the dust had set up a lethal combination in JJ.  He went under the building without any protective gear and was told, falsely, that the dust was innocuous.  He did not have a respirator, a protective suit, or any gloves.

 

He and Joey had received an acute and disastrous exposure to chemical pesticides and most likely cadmium.  This along with mercury amalgams set them up for acute toxicity.  Sadly, Joey and his wife also lost their unborn child.

 

Cadmium is very strongly retained by the body and can cause irritation to the stomach, nausea, diarrhea, kidney disease, kidney stones, and lung damage.  Persons exposed to high levels of this toxin are at an increased risk for lung cancer and high blood pressure. (ref. 1)

 

It was after the acute exposure that he and Angela conceived their baby and JJ believes that the chemical poisoning he received doomed his unborn child.

 

He knows that he still has a far journey ahead of him.  Pain persists in his left arm and at times he has no strength in his hips and knees.  He still suffers from acute lethargy, but it is less and less.  He is able to work a couple of hours every other day or so on his house but his patience is still taxed and he fights for control over his rage and anger.

 

"I want to go back to work," JJ said.  "All I really want to do is my part, you know, like I'm supposed to.  Do you know what it's like to depend on welfare and handouts from your parents?  It takes away your dignity, man.  I can't let that happen."

 

JJ knows it will take time to overcome the results of this poisoning, but that doesn't make it any easier.  And having his employer try to cover up what really happened angers him.  "Something like this," he said, "can cost you everything you've got." His hand brushed over his face, but it was too late.  As I left him, right arm looped up with an IV, his tears fell steadily.

 

 

 

Chapter 2

 

 

Frequent headaches

Mental confusion

Short-term memory loss

Overwhelming tiredness

Dizziness

"Brain fog"

Hair loss

Tremors

Irritability

Unexplained rage

Pain in muscles and joints

 

These symptoms will cause people to wander from doctor to doctor looking for the root to their problems.  Often, however, the doctors are not really able to help them.  They end up prescribing painkillers, antibiotics, anti-depressants, and other drugs to treat the symptoms, but are not able to address the cause.

 

Labels are attached in order to help the patient, or the doctor, better cope with the confusing and inconsistent symptoms that present themselves: Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Multiple Sclerosis.  And although there are valid diagnoses for these conditions, clinical studies and extensive research are now showing that an increasing number of people formerly labeled with non-specific diagnoses like some of those listed above, actually have something else in common.  Something, it seems, that CAN be treated.

 

When patients visit a doctor and describe their symptoms as nausea, headache, muscle aches, irritability, shortness of breath," very often they will be treated for the flu, even though that really won't explain the shortness of breath or moodiness.  And for a while, they'll feel better, especially after they've rested for a couple of days.  But, it never really goes away.  The constant tiredness and fatigue will be explained away to a hectic lifestyle and not enough sleep.  Or, maybe the victim does get enough sleep – once in a while – and so assumes they must be suffering from sleep deprivation.

 

The dizziness they don't share with anyone, and the constant anger or depression is handed off to stress.  The unaccountable muscle pain gets explained away as, "maybe I slept wrong." The diarrhea comes from "That New Restaurant."

 

When some patients believe that there really is something wrong they consult their doctors only to have their concerns dismissed.  The doctors themselves may become so frustrated by the mysterious maladies that they will refuse to see the patient any more.  And so the patient goes to another and another seeking relief – until they, too, begin to doubt their own sanity.

 

One symptom or another can be treated, but not many think to pull the symptoms together and find an underlying basis for all of them.  Recently, more and more doctors are beginning to realize that there might be an explanation for many of the symptoms – one they may not have considered before.  A maxim once told in medical school was: "if you hear hoof beats, think horses, not zebras." In other words, think of the more common causes to explain the symptoms, not the exotic ones.  And although it may not be the first thing a doctor thinks of, there is a possible explanation for all of the symptoms listed above.

 

Surprisingly, it is more common than exotic.

 

"It" is heavy metal intoxication.

 

Almost any metal can be toxic at some level, however most people who suffer from metal toxicity have abnormally high levels of cadmium, arsenic, lead, copper, mercury, tin, or a combination of these.

 

The big daddy of them all, though, is mercury.

 

Normally, the body takes care of its own detoxification process by using chemicals like glutathione and selenium.  But when mercury enters the system, it will bind with selenium and inactivate glutathione.  At this point, the bad guy is holding the guards captive.

 

There's more.  The term free radicals refers to harmful substances that circulate in your system.  They are atom groups that carry uncombined electrons.  Mercury, when introduced to the body increases free radicals.  Glutathione is an amino acid responsible for changing free radicals in your body into useful substances (for example, Vitamin E).  When mercury enters your system, it will cling to sulfbydryl groups that are part of the amino acids (like glutathione) and prevent them from doing their jobs. (ref. 2)

 

Selenium is a major component of glutathione and other enzymes – like an engine for a car, or flour for a cake.  Without it, you can't have glutathione.  Mercury will bind selenium into an insoluble compound and thus prevent the production of glutathione peroxidase which scavenges Hydrogen peroxide, the same Hydrogen peroxide that the mercury is increasing in the mitochondria of the cell!

 

Wherever mercury goes it disrupts the body's system.  The reason mercury is so dangerous to our bodies is because it affects all the body's functions at a very basic level – that of the cellular structure.  At the very least, it interferes with basic metabolism, neurological processes, hormones, and glandular processes by binding with essential enzymes and other important chemicals in your system.

 

The cells of your body are in a state of disequalibrium.  This causes them to constantly search for and attract the nutrients that make them grow and live (metabolism).  Mercury will disrupt the basic metabolism function and cause cells to die.  This doesn't occur en masse, or it would be immediately fatal.  Rather, enough cells are disrupted from their functions to cause symptoms to occur.  Where the dying cells are is what determines the symptoms.

 

Mercury will affect the immune system of the body.  As a result, patients will commonly have a low total white cell count.  White blood cells are responsible for fighting off diseases that try attacking your body.  If you are mercury toxic, you may suffer from colds and flu, from bacterial infections, wounds taking longer to heal, etc.  Complete Blood Count tests will also show lowered red cell counts and hemoglobin due to mercury's interference with your body's ability to manufacture hemoglobin.  Because of this, your body may have deficiencies in "B" vitamins. Also, your blood level may be lowered, causing you to feel lightheaded and dizzy.

 

Candida (or systemic yeast infections) are a common result of immune dysfunction from mercury.

 

Interestingly, patients with mercurialism will exhibit cholesterol levels, which range from moderately elevated to severely elevated, or else unusually low.  The liver may be responding to the mercury's binding with the essential enzymes and trying to compensate by releasing more cholesterol.  Sometimes Triglycerides are elevated as well. (ref. 3)

 

Despite all the negative press cholesterol receives, your body actually needs some of it to manufacture hormones.  Together with an enzyme called Cytochrome P-450, estrogen, estradiol, testosterone, and progesterone are created, along with others.  Cytochrome P-450 and other enzymes are created in the liver.  The liver is one of the body's main detoxification centers.  However, when mercury enters it, the liver becomes toxic and unable to create necessary enzymes.  This helps explain why women with mercury toxicity can experience premature menopause with hot flashes, erratic periods, emotional instability, water retention, change in body shape, increased cholesterol, lowered sex drive, and depression.

 

Hormones and enzymes throughout the body use unbound sulfur-hydrogen compounds for their reactions.  Mercury atoms will bind sulfur compounds in hormones, enzymes and proteins throughout the system and disrupt everything.  Mercury works so well at disrupting all these processes due to its high affinity to sulfur.

 

Women who experience symptoms that are consistent with hormone deficiency, especially progesterone, often times will have blood tests show they have normal levels of progesterone.  There is some indication that mercury and progesterone compete for the same binding space on the cell and therefore create an abnormal need for progesterone and other fat hormones.

 

In other cases, mercury will interfere with hormone production and gland capabilities and cause the body to produce excess hormones, which it can hardly use.  Nonetheless, blood tests will show hormone levels within normal ranges, but the patient will show signs of lacking those same hormones. (ref. 4)

 

For example, mercury, by binding Cytochrome P-450, will affect major gland function, like those of the thyroid and adrenal.

 

In the thyroid gland, the lack of useable Cytochrome P-450 leads to hypothyroidism.  Symptoms can include:

 

·                    increased weight

·                    decreased mental and physical activity

·                    abnormally thick skin – skin that is dry, cold, and rough

·                    edema

·                    puffiness in the face

·                    hair becoming coarse, brittle, and falling out

·                    increased sensitivity to cold

·                    decreased perspiration

·                    slow wound healing

·                    painful and swollen joints

 

If the adrenal gland is affected, the symptoms might show up as Addison's disease, an autoimmune disease, the inability to handle stress, Lupus, and weight gain or loss.  Adrenal imbalance might exhibit these symptoms:

 

·                    allergies

·                    low sodium, calcium

·                    low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)

·                    potassium imbalance leading to muscle cramps or

·                    cardiac dysrhythmias

·                    diabetes

·                    fatigue

·                    lethargy

·                    mood swings and depression

·                    low sex drive

·                    low blood pressure due to low blood volume

·                    muscles painful and weak

·                    ulcers, or acid reflux disease.

 

 

There are no metabolic functions in your system that requires mercury.  According to the World Health Organization, a level at which mercury exposure is harmless cannot be established. (ref. 5)  Several studies show that mercury poisoning at any level will cause harm to the human system. (ref. 6)

 

Keep in mind that one person may be able to tolerate levels of mercury that another one cannot.  Toxicity is only the state or degree of being toxic.  In other words, everyone reacts differently to mercury poisoning.  This is one reason why doctors have difficulty recognizing this intoxication, and why these symptoms are sometimes misdiagnosed as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Multiple Sclerosis, Fibromyalgia, and possibly even Alzheimer's. (Please bear in mind that there are valid diagnoses for these diseases.)

 

In one study of mercury-intoxicated patients, 66% of them were previously diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  All of the patients in the study complained of fatigue, from mild to severe.  The results of the research suggested that the cause of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in these test subjects was low oxygen in the blood, caused by mercury displacing oxygen in red blood cells. (ref. 7)

 

In another study the brains of patients who died from Alzheimer's disease were compared to the brains of other similar-aged patients who died of other causes.

 

The AD victims were shown to have a much higher percentage of mercury stored in their brains-about twice as much overall. (ref. 8)

 

In mercury toxicity, the "Big Three" hallmark symptoms are: Fatigue, Mood disorders, and Muscle and/or Joint Pain.  Below are listed 40 complaints that victims of mercury poisoning commonly exhibit. (ref. 9) Not everyone will have all the complaints, but often patients will exhibit several.

 

 

Symptoms of Toxicity

 

1.  Allergies (can be changeable)

2.  Brain fog

3.  Multiple Sclerosis

4.  Alzheimer's Disease (premature)

5.  Parkinson's Disease (early onset)

6.  Yeast infections

7.  Lupus

8.  Periodontal disease

9.  Bleeding gums

10. Stomatitis

11. CRS (can't remember stuff)-names and numbers

12. Tinnitus

13. Headaches

14. Migraines

15. Poor Dusk vision

16. Increased anger and frustration with small tasks

17. Hypothyroidism-cold, dry skin; thin hair, Wilson's Syndrome

18. Autoimmune disease

19. Shortness of breath in exertion and at rest

20. Chronic fatigue

21. Cardiac irregularity

22. Tremors

23. Insomknia

24. Loss of appetite

25. Symptoms of kidney disease

26. Dark pugmentation of gums and loose teeth

27. Swollen glands and tongue

28. Sensory disturbances

29. Facial pain

30. Vertigo

31. Gait disturbances, incoordination

32. Twitching

33. Hair loss

34. Night sweats

35. Nocturia (excessive need to void at night)

36. Loss of sex drive

37. Muscle pain

38. Joint pain and inflammation

39. Seizures

40. Indigestion comes and goes

41. GI complaints

 

 

 

Chapter 3

 

In 1991, the World Health Organization released information on the sources of mercury in the general population.  They found that up to 17 micrograms of mercury were being absorbed per day through five important sources in this order:

 

·                    Dental Amalgams (for persons with an average number of fillings)

·                    Fish and Seafood

·                    Contaminated Food Sources

·                    Water

·                    Air

 

 

This, however, does not take into account the amount of mercury industrial workers absorb from their work environments, or from other industrial sources.

 

 

Case Study

 

Jimmie is a 40 something female that suffers from extreme fatigue.  At one time, she was an energetic, successful realtor and fundraiser.  She was a single mother raising her children in a positive atmosphere.

 

In 1982 she began to notice some short-term memory loss and a lower level of energy than she had been accustomed to.  She noticed after several months that her output at work was less than the rigorous standards she had set for herself.  This continued and worsened over several years, during which time she suffered repeatedly from colds and flu.

 

After several years, she began to experience dramatic physical symptoms.  While standing or walking her legs would "turn to mush" and completely give out and she started experiencing debilitating fatigue.

 

"Soon I shortened my work hours," she said.  "And oftentimes I would lie down on the floor of my office between appointments.  Here I was, someone who was used to making complicated 5-year projections for my clients, and I couldn't add up my checkbook anymore."

 

She had no idea what was wrong but her doctor at least ruled out multiple sclerosis.

 

In 1994 she sold her home and took an emergency medical leave from her work.  She began a long process of testing for whatever ailments her doctor could think of to test for.  But all of these tests were normal.

 

By this time, she had forgotten how to cook and would often lose her way going to the store and back home.  Soon, she found it increasingly difficult to find a doctor that would take her seriously.  She began to hear labels of "lazy" and "unmotivated".  She wasn't sleeping well anymore.

 

Through a series of events she met with Dr. David H. Saxon of Odyssey Clinical Studies in August of 1998.  "He told me he wanted to help," she remembers "and I started crying.  Here, at last was someone who would listen to what I had to say, and who took me seriously."

 

Through more tests, Dr. Saxon discovered that Jimmie was seriously malnourished due to extremely high levels of mercury and cadmium in her system. 

 

She was remarkably sensitive to the chemicals overloading her system and was unable to tolerate the chemical therapy given intravenously to combat her metal intoxication.  She is currently receiving nutrient IV's to help replenish her system and will eventually graduate to regular IV therapy.

 

Jimmie surmises that her exposure to mercury came from the well water she used in her first home.  It was discovered years later that it was only a few dozen feet away from an abandoned and covered over toxic waste site.

 

Only time will tell how much of her previous activity Jimmie will regain.  Sometimes, if the toxicity continues for years, its effects can be irreversible.

 

 

 

Chapter 4

 

 

Sources of Mercury Poisoning

 

The greatest number of mercury poisonings comes from three important sources: fish and seafood, dental amalgams, and industrial exposure.  Exposure can be either acute or chronic.  "Acute exposure" refers to a specific event that causes the victim to be exposed to mercury (or other intoxicant).  "Chronic exposure" describes a continual, low or slow, exposure to an intoxicant.  Unless there is an industrial accident, most victims in the United States experience chronic exposure and intoxication.  There are three forms of mercury: elemental, inorganic, and organic.

 

 

Fish and Seafood

 

In 1996, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a report: "Mercury Study Report to Congress, Vol. 1-8".  In this report the EPA stated that of the three forms of mercury (elemental, inorganic, and methyl mercury) all have serious health effects on humans.  The EPA report concerned itself mainly with methylmercurical (or organic mercury) poisoning from fish sources.

 

It is estimated that 30 percent of the population in the United States consumes fish at least once a week.

 

JP, a 34 year old female suffered from symptoms starting in 1993 including severe chronic fatigue, irritability, lassitude, and intolerance of people.  Symptoms were progressive until 1995 when the patient sought medical intervention.  She was found to have extremely high levels of mercury in her system.

 

Patient's mercury exposure included eating canned tuna fish five times per week.  She claimed no other exposure. (ref. 10)

 

BC was a 9 year old female suffering from fatigue, low tolerance for stress, emotionally volatile, increased need for sleep (14 hours/day) and needed afternoon naps.  She could not attend school and as a result was home schooled.

 

Patient's exposure to mercury was determined to be from eating canned tuna 2-3 times per week, and fungicides used for lawn care.  Mother had amalgams during pregnancy.  (ref. 11)

 

KM a 15 year old male with symptoms of severe fatigue, obesity unresolved by diet, recurrent rashes for 4 years.  As a result of extreme fatigue, the patient was home schooled.

 

Patient's mercury exposure was solely from fish.

Patient consumed fish meals 10-12 times per week.

The fish was fresh – caught from a local river. (ref. 12)

 

NM, a 57 year old female, had symptoms of chronic fatigue, insomnia, eczema, periodontal disease and weight gain.

 

Patient's mercury exposure was determined to be from fish meals, 10-12 times per week.  The fish source was fresh-caught fish from the Columbia River. (ref. 13)

 

As indicated above, an important source of mercury poisoning was eating fish, either fresh-caught or canned.  Again, toxicity depended upon each person's sensitivity to the mercury he or she was ingesting.  In some cases, only little was necessary to cause adverse reactions.  In other cases, the exposure came from more than one source.  Genetics is another important factor in determining an individual's sensitivity to heavy metals.

 

In fish sources, mercury will bioaccumulate.  In other words, it may be found in a small fish in a small amount, but once a larger fish eats that fish, the mercury level actually concentrates more.  When that fish is in turn eaten by an even larger fish, the effect happens again.  By the time the largest fish is consumed by humans, the mercury found in the first  smallest fish isn't "diluted", it's concentrated.  And if you think about it, Tuna are very large fish.

 

Fish, on the other hand, quite often get their mercury from human industry.  One of the most well known incidences of mercury poisoning from contaminated fish occurred in Japan.

 

From 1932 to 1968 the Chisso factory in Minamata used mercury as a catalyst for making acetic acid.  Between 1941 and 1971 it was used for vinyl chloride production.  During these periods the factory dumped an estimated 100 tons of mercurial wastes into the coastal bay of Minamata.  This resulted in the acute mercury poisoning of the people who ate fish that were caught there.  The families most affected were the poor, who consumed an average of three meals of fish per day. (ref. 14)

 

Industrial waste containing inorganic mercury had been discharged into Minamata Bay and was converted by the bay's ecosystem into organic mercury, which poisoned the local fish, a major food source of the surrounding population.  In this incident 700 people died, approximately 9,000 suffered severe health effects, including paralysis, and thousands of others had minor symptoms.

 

 

Contaminated Food Sources

 

Similar epidemics in Iraq in 1956, 1960, and 1971-72 were the result of the consumption of contaminated food. (ref.15)  About 8,000 cases of such poisoning have been reported in Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Ghana, and Guatemala. (ref. 16)

 

In Iraq the contamination came from flour ground from grain treated with organic mercury fungicides and intended for planting.  In the 1971-72 incident, more than 6,000 people were affected and 459 people died as a direct result of methyl mercury poisoning. (ref. 17)

 

Candace, a 40-year-old mercury detoxification patient, remembers growing up on a farm in the early 60's.  There she played in great mounds of grain intended for planting – and that was treated with a mercurial fungicide.  She and her family all have what she calls "weak teeth" and consequently Candace has a large number of amalgams.  These two sources together presumably contributed to her illness.

 

She asked her doctor why her siblings have not also suffered the symptoms of mercury poisoning.  The doctor replied that some people are more sensitive to the ill effects than are others.  Candace's elderly father has recently exhibited signs of early stage Alzheimer's disease.  She wonders if in fact, he has mercury poisoning as well.

 

Many aspects of the patient's individual biochemistry, such as nutrient status, hormone status, and enzyme levels will affect the level of damage that mercury can produce in an individual. (ref. 18)

 

 

Dental Amalgam

 

The major source of mercury poisoning in the United States is dental amalgam.  Dental amalgams are usually alloys composed of mercury, silver, and tin with small amounts of copper and zinc.  These alloys solidify at room temperature and are used to fill in cavities, or build up tooth surfaces for restoration.  Dental amalgams contain about 50% mercury, and mercury has been shown to be more toxic than lead, cadmium, and arsenic.  Mercury vaporizes at room temperature. (ref.19) The temperature in your mouth is much higher.

 

 

Fifteen Facts about Mercury and Dental Amalgams

 

1.    Mercury vapor is the common manner in which mercury comes out of amalgam.

2.    Mercury from amalgam binds to sulphydryl groups.  These exist in almost every enzymatic process in the body.  Mercury from amalgam will thus have the potential of disturbing all metabolic processes.

3.    Mercury vapor is absorbed directly into the brain.

4.    Mercury from amalgam will result in a slow build up of mercury in body tissue.

5.    Mercury crosses the blood-brain barrier.

6.    Mercury is implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease.

7.    Mercury crosses the placenta.

8.    Mercury will cause an increase in number and severity of allergies.

9.  Mercury from amalgam will migrate through the tooth.

10. This rate of migration is increased if a gold crown is placed over a tooth filled with amalgam.

11. In the brain, mercury from amalgam is stored preferentially in the pituitary gland and hypothalamus.

12. Micro-mercurialism is principally characterized by neurological symptoms.

13. Mercury from amalgam may be stored in every cell in the body.  Each area affected will produce its own set of symptoms.

14. Brain levels of mercury are in direct linear proportion to the number of amalgam surfaces in the mouth.

15. Dental personnel are severely effected by exposure to mercury. (ref.20)

 

 

 

Ellie is pretty in her simpleness.  Her short blonde hair bobbed to her jaw line and blue eyes soft and accepting.  Her face is round and smooth with an easy smile.  Not long ago, though, her cheeks were gaunt and her eyes haunted.  She was slowly dying and at times she thought she would do anything to hasten that event.

 

At first, it was weakness in her arms that arrested her attention.  She suddenly realized that she couldn't lift them over her head anymore.  She felt tired more and more often.  That, however, she was prepared to live with if she didn't have to put up with the paralyzing anxiety and fear.  The smallest inconsistency or unknown would cause her to shut down with panic.

 

Once a robust and jolly size 22, she shrank to a size 5 in less than six months, mostly because she could no longer eat.  She looked gaunt.

 

"I survived on those little cans of nutrients," she confided.  "I couldn't cook any more." She began to feel that this was a nightmare.  "This can't be my life," she thought over and over.  "If this is hell, then let me die."

 

Ellie's five young sons became more and more worried, even though they didn't understand what was happening to their mom.  They began to act out in school and seemed to live in a shadow of fear and anger.  Her husband was supportive at first.  But as the illness wore on, he began to look the other way when she came into the room.  He started sleeping on the couch so his movements in bed wouldn't cause her pain and more sleeplessness.  Eventually, he stopped speaking to her.  "I think it was his way of protecting himself from the pain of seeing me in that state," she said.

 

"I began hallucinating," Ellie recalled, "because I hadn't slept in so long.  Lying down was painful, moving was painful, sleep always eluded me." She began to feet that she was suffocating from a heavy weight on her chest.  Again she contemplated suicide.

 

Her hell on earth hit another crisis point when the doctor she had been going to refused to see her anymore.  "He told me all I needed was a psychiatrist.  I felt shamed by him.  He finally yelled that I was simply lazy and difficult, and then walked out."

 

A friend suggested she go to a health food store for some chelating herbs.  While there, Ellie began talking to the storeowner who took an interest in her story.  Another customer of his had had similar problems over an extended length of time, but had gone to a clinic in town.  Yes, he still had the business card of the clinic, and maybe Ellie would like to have it?

 

"That," said Ellie "was the beginning of hope for me." At Odyssey Clinical Studies, Ellie was tested for mercury poisoning and found to have a significant amount of it in her system.  Within a couple of weeks she was on the chemical detoxifying therapy and the slow process of recovering from her deadly poisoning began.  Because heavy metal detoxifying effects other, essential trace elements in the system, Ellie began a regimen of nutrient IV's to replenish what she was losing.

 

"I'm so glad I began to put weight on again," Ellie said.  "My children didn't recognize me anymore after I had lost so much weight."

 

"These people are wonderful," she said, referring to the clinic and its staff.  "Without them, I'd be dead right now.  In fact if it wasn't for my fear of causing pain to my children, I probably would have already tried to kill myself I'm so glad now that I didn't.  Look at what I've gained: my whole life."

 

Ellie's exposure to mercury was through dental amalgams.  One particularly large amalgam broke off in her mouth about the same time she began to experience all of her symptoms.  She has since had all the "silver" fillings in her mouth replaced.

 

The use of mercury in dental amalgams first came to the United States in 1833 by two dentists, the Crawcour brothers. (ref.21)  The use of it here made many dentists suspicious and wary: they didn't believe it to be safe.  In fact, the controversy over the use of mercury amalgam caused a split in the original professional association for dentists: the Society of Dental Surgeons.  Those dentists who used mercury amalgam and advocated its use formed their own group in 1899: The American Dental Association.  With the demise of the Society of Dental Surgeons, American dentists have been using mercury amalgam ever since.  Today a society exists for dentists who don't use mercury amalgams, the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT), www.iaomt.org.

 

Many dentists today use mercury amalgams because that is what they have been taught to do.  They honestly don't know that what they are putting in your mouth could be harmful to you.  Their professors, colleagues, and professional associations all officially claim that mercury amalgams will not harm the patient, and your dentist might not have the time to find out differently.  However, today the trend towards amalgam-free fillings is gaining ground and many dentists are seriously re-evaluating the use of mercury amalgams mostly because evidence as to mercury's adverse effects on the body is mounting.

 

Mercury poisoning from dental amalgam tends to follow a specific path, causing destruction along the way.  Mercury vapor is the main culprit, and the areas affected could be expected to follow the same path as air flowing into your system.  First it affects your mouth, teeth, and gum tissue.  Then it migrates to your sinuses (ever had a constantly stuffy nose for no good reason?).

 

As a neurotoxin it then makes war on your brain and nervous system; it disrupts your eyes and eyesight, your hearing, throat, bronchial tubes and lungs, heart, GI tract, kidneys, reproduction system, blood, and skin, to name only a few. (ref.22)  For further reading, consider "The Mercury in Your Mouth" by Quicksilver Associates.

 

 

Industrial Exposure

 

"Industrial exposure" would describe the mercury poisonings of Minamata Bay, the contaminated grain in Iran and other such "accidents." In fact, industrial, or occupational exposure explained most of mercurical poisoning for centuries.  As early as the 16th century chronic mercurialism in mercury miners was described in Austria, (ref. 23) and in the 1700's was again noted.  It has been described in mine workers in Italy and very early on in the hatter's trade in France.  Other examples have been noted in the production of detonators, thermometers, and barometers; the manufacture and use of solder for dry batteries, the production of tracer ammunition, chlorine, and sodium hydroxide.  (ref.24)

 

Early in the 1900's mercurialism was documented in hatters in the United States.  In some shops, at least 30 percent and as high as 50 percent of all workers showed at least two of the three classic symptoms: erethism (or irritability), tremor, and gingivitis.

 

By the late 1930's there appeared to be a clear link between occupational exposure and mercury poisoning, especially among hatters.  In 1941 the Connecticut Commissioner of Health conference on mercury poisoning banned the use of mercury in hat manufacturing in the United States. (ref. 25)

 

The fulminate of mercury, used in the manufacture of detonators showed its harmful effects in England and the United States during World War I.  The symptoms of workers included: dermatitis, eczematous ulceration of the face, neck, arms, hands, and genitals, and, in some cases, conjunctivitis, rhinitis, and laryngitis. (ref. 26)

 

Other occupations in which mercury was used (either inorganic or organic forms) also showed a propensity for mercurialism: pharmaceutical and pesticide industries, seed treating, fanning, photoengraving and photographic industries, paint manufacturing, dental practices (dentists, dental hygienists, office workers), chlorine production and others.  More recently, there have been cases of mercury intoxication found in workers at nuclear power plants, as well.

 

 

Case Study

 

"I am a 45 year old Caucasian female and have one daughter who is age 14.  We both live in small town in the South.

 

"In 1978, 1 went to work at a Nuclear Division Site which processed uranium for nuclear fuel.  I worked primarily as an administrative assistant in the K-1001 and K-1007 buildings until my daughter was born in 1984.

 

"When I began working at the K-25 site I was a happy, energetic, lover of life and flowers – a garden-type person.  I have always had an outgoing personality and enjoyed always laughing and cheering people up.  I have been told in the past that I can out talk anyone in a crowded room.  I was in excellent health – swam, loved to fish, gardened extensively, loved to be outside riding my bike or picking some fresh blackberries by the side of the road.

 

"My husband and I built a beautiful two-story log home with a full front and back porch, perfect for swinging on those warm summer nights.  I also planted a beautiful herb, bulb and rose garden, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  Together, we put in a small lake down below the house and stocked it with catfish, which we fed each night in hopes to someday be able to catch them for dinner.  I also had three ducks Daffy, Dolly and Dilly, which I dearly loved along with my dogs Rusty and Bub.  Oh and I must mention our goose "Gus" who never liked my dogs or me, and would chase us all around the yard with his big neck stuck straight out.

 

"I loved our home, my gardens, my animals, and my job.  The people I worked with were like my family and I grew very close to them over the years.  I played co-ed softball on the company league and went to all the company sponsored functions and picnics.  The only problem I had was that soon after I began working at K-25 I became sick.

 

"Over the next few years I developed arrhythmia, severe migraines, panic attacks, severe memory loss and brain fog, acute muscle, bone, and joint pain and swelling, night sweats, constant fever and flu symptoms, flushing of ears, neck and chest area, intestinal disorders, stomach disorders, a large hemangioma in my liver, fibroid adenoma in my left breast, cysts in my ovaries, diseased salivary and submaxillary glands in my neck, constant pneumonia and pleurisy in my lungs, extreme nervousness and bouts of depression and lack of self confidence.

 

"My most troublesome health problem was the acute fluid buildup around my toes, ankles, knees, hips, shoulders, and apparently in my spinal column, which was severely painful and disabling.  I was constantly prescribed Prednisone and anti-inflammatory arthritic medications, which did little for my pain and caused me severe stomach and abdominal pain.

 

"A doctor at the university medical center finally diagnosed me with a disease known as Ankalosing Spondylitis which, he was sure, was causing all of my medical problems.

 

"Over twenty years my visits to various physicians became too numerous to remember.  I went to cardiologists, ophthalmologists, gynecologists, gastrointerologists, arthritis doctors, orthopedists, and general physicians.  I have gone from physician to physician, from test to test, taken prescription after prescription, had diagnosis after diagnosis, but no one could ever explain to me why my good health had been taken away from me so quickly.

 

"Or, why couldn't I walk without pain in my feet, knees, hips and shoulders.  No one could tell me why all this was happening to me.  My husband was looking at me like I was a hypochondriac and I felt the doctors were trying to make me go away, too.

 

"I simply had too many ailments for anyone to imagine.  I was never truly diagnosed with "What Was Causing All of This To Happen" and the mental and physical suffering I endured over the past twenty years nearly lead me to give up all hope of ever having any kind of a normal life.

 

"The strain finally took its toll on my marriage and my husband left me and my daughter.  A second marriage ended, too, from the stress of one ailment after another and the unremitting pain, irritability, and confusion.  One day I found myself lying on the floor hoping that I would never rise again.

 

"In December 1998, I received a phone call from my toxicologist who told me some very disturbing news about my urinalysis tests.  According to my doctor, my body had toxic levels of Arsenic and Mercury, as well as low levels of Cadmium, Thallium, Aluminum, Antimony, Bismuth, Lead, Nickel, Silver, Tin, Uranium and Tungsten.  Talk about a shock.  I was shocked!

 

"According to the doctor these abnormal amounts of toxins in my body was the cause of many of my health problems over the years and posed a definite threat to my heath and well being.  I learned then about a detoxification process that could help rid my body of the toxins that were making me so sick.

 

"These toxins in my body have severely compromised my immune system.  After 20 years of enduring poor health I must now spend the next year (or more) undergoing IV treatments in hopes that someday I may again enjoy good health."

 

Many industries are today making every effort to provide safe work environments for their workers, but this was not always so.  If you work in a high-risk industry for mercury exposure, you should have your toxicity level tested.

 

 

Mercury Exposure Questionnaire

 

Place an X in front of each item that pertains to you.

 

Foods that you eat, or have eaten in the past 10 years:

 

·                    Tuna, fresh or canned

·                    Freshwater fish, farm raised

·                    Freshwater fish, lakes / rivers

·                    Shellfish

·                    Saltwater fish (cod, salmon)

·                    Carrots

·                    Lettuce

·                    Treated grains, esp. wheat

·                    Kelp

 

Items that you use regularly or did use regularly in the past 10 years:

 

·                    Hair Dye

·                    Mascara, esp. waterproof

·                    Skin lightening creams

·                    Hemorrhoid preparations

·                    Toilet paper from recycled paper

·                    Calomel, powder, talc, lotion

·                    Merbromin preparations

·                    Laxatives with calomel

·                    Psoriasis ointment

·                    Contact lens solution w/ Thimerosal*

·                    Vaccines with Thimerosal as a preservative*

·                    Vaginal gels, esp. contraceptives

·                    Latex / solvent thinned paints

·                    Fabric softeners

·                    Floor wax / polishes

·                    A/C filters

·                    Wood preservatives

·                    Cinnabar (in jewelry)

·                    Felts

·                    Adhesives

·                    Tattoos

·                    Batteries w/ mercury cells

·                    Fungicides for lawns, etc.

·                    Dental appliances / dentures

·                    Amalgams (silver fillings)

 

[* Thimerosal contains mercury.  Thimerosal is used to help prevent a vaccine from spoiling, for inactivating bacteria used to formulate several vaccines, and in preventing bacterial contamination of the final product. Several of the vaccines recommended routinely for children in the United States contain Thimerosal.]

 

 

Jobs you have held in the past 10 years, or your mother (m)or father (f) held.

 

·                    Bactericide maker

·                    Barometer maker

·                    Battery maker

·                    Bronzer

·                    Calibration instruments maker

·                    Cap loader, percussion

·                    Carbon brush maker

·                    Caustic soda maker

·                    Chlorine maker

·                    Dentist

·                    Dental assistant

·                    Dental lab technician

·                    Dental hygienist

·                    Direct current meter worker

·                    Disinfectant maker

·                    Drug maker

·                    Electric apparatus maker

·                    Electroplater

·                    Embalmer

·                    Explosives, maker or detonator

·                    Farmer (non-organic)

·                    Fingerprint detector

·                    Fireworks maker

·                    Fish cannery worker

·                    Fungicide maker

·                    Fur preserver

·                    Fur processor

·                    Gold extractor

·                    Histology technician

·                    Ink maker

·                    Insecticide maker

·                    Investment casing worker

·                    Jeweler

·                    Lab worker, chemical

·                    Manometer maker

·                    Mercury worker

·                    Miner, mercury

·                    Miner, gold

·                    Miner, copper

·                    Mirror maker

·                    Neon light maker

·                    Nuclear plant worker

·                    Paint maker

·                    Paper factory worker

·                    Pesticide worker

·                    Refiner, mercury

·                    Seed handler

·                    Silver extractor

·                    Tannery worker

·                    Tattoo artist

·                    Taxidermist

·                    Textile printer

·                    Thermometer maker

 

The more check marks you made, the higher your risk for exposure to mercury intoxication.

 

 

 

Chapter 5

 

Mercury Poisoning Treatment

 

If what you've read so far makes you think you might be at risk for mercury poisoning, your best bet is to have testing done.  Many doctors will order lab tests done to detect heavy metals in your system.  However, there are several important points you and your doctor should keep in mind.

 

Mercury shows up poorly in conventional testing !

 

Mercury can be tested for through a blood sample, a urine sample, a hair sample, or a combination of the three.  But, because mercury is so good at binding with your body's important chemical resources, it is not easily thrown off into the system, or detected in tests.  In some cases, mercury may show up in only minute quantities or not at all, camouflaging the fact that it is indeed at toxic levels in your body.

 

One way to know for sure is to take a "Challenge" test.  New research is being conducted in the United States with a procedure and chemical known as DMPS.  Over 180 doctors and dentists have been trained in the removal of amalgams and the use of DMPS under the direction of Cascade Consultants Research Foundation in Oregon and the Great Lakes College of Medicine in Chicago.  DMPS is what is being used to conduct the challenge tests and to treat mercury poisoning.

 

Without the challenge test, you might not have an accurate picture of the mercury in your system.

 

The full name of DMPS is 2,3-Dimercaptopropane-1-sulfonate.  In Russia it is called Unithiol and in Germany, Dimaval. (In fact, using this chemical to treat mercury poisoning has been accepted practice in Europe for nearly 30 years.)

 

DMPS is injected into your body where it seeks out mercury and other heavy metals, such as Zinc, Copper, Magnesium, Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium, Antimony, Cobalt, others.  It then binds with the metal and is excreted through your urine and feces. (About 20% is excreted in the urine and 80% in feces; however the research standard is for urine testing.) With this in mind, you are better able to understand the function of a challenge test.

 

As mentioned before, mercury in your system isn't always readily detectable.  A much more accurate picture of how much is there is created by using DMPS in a challenge test.

 

First, you are given an orange jug and instructions on how to catch and store a 24-hour urine specimen.  Your doctor will then send it to a lab that will test it for heavy metals, among other things.  A report is sent back to your doctor.  It might show a significant amount of mercury or copper or other metal in your system, or it might show just a little.  Don't be satisfied if it shows no mercury at all.  Make sure you complete the challenge test before coming to conclusions.

 

Then, you are given your first injection of DMPS.

About 50 mg of the chemical is injected into a vein in your hand over a period of 20 minutes.  Most patients report experiencing no pain, although some say it tingles, or itches for a little while afterward.

 

Again you go home with a little orange jug and repeat the 24-hour urine catch process.  Again it goes to the lab.  Now your doctor can compare the "pre-challenge" results with the "post-challenge" results and have a much better idea of just what is going on.

 

 

Case Study

 

When Valerie first came to the clinic, she complained that she felt bad all the time.  Her symptoms seemed vague and disconnected to many doctors.  Valerie described mood swings, a foggy brain, CRS (can't remember stuff), mood swings, achy joints and muscles, constipation, dry skin, loss of hair, and blood-red hands with nearly purple finger tips, among other complaints.

 

She hit all of the "Big Three" symptoms when she described muscle aches and joint pain, mood swings, and chronic tiredness.  She also had bleeding gums, lip swelling, face spasms, and tinnitus, all symptoms associated with mercury poisoning from dental amalgams.  About two years previous, Valerie had crown work on her teeth and a bridge put in.  It was then that her symptoms worsened.

 

Valerie's first urine test (pre-challenge) indicated detectable levels of the toxic elements Aluminum, Antimony, Arsenic, Cadmium, Lead, Nickel, Thallium, Tin, and Tungsten, but no mercury.  She met with her doctor, David H. Saxon, who administered the DMPS injection and gave her another orange jug for the post-challenge urine catch.  After the 24-hour period, she returned to the clinic so it could be shipped to the lab.

 

About two weeks later, Dr. Saxon called Valerie to his office.

Her post-challenge test now showed 6.8g of mercury per gram of creatinine excreted in 24 hours, plus an increase in the output of Bismuth, Thorium, and Tin.  Even though the pre-challenge test didn't show mercury in her system, the DMPS had found it and some of it had been excreted.  In fact her tests indicated that she was highly toxic from mercury, more than from any other element.

 

Other findings showed that Valerie had below normal amounts of other elements in her system such as iron (which would help explain her constant tiredness), selenium (known to help with detoxification), the trace elements boron and silicon, and manganese, an important element for renal sufficiency.  Low manganese can indicate low stomach acid, giving way to decreased ability to digest food.  Low manganese has also been indicated in pancreatic dysfunction.

 

She and Dr. Saxon agreed on a course of DMPS treatment to help rid her body of mercury, while at the same time, starting work with a dentist to remove the amalgams from her mouth and replace them with composite fillings.  In addition, she was put on a regime of nutrient IV's to replace the essential elements in her system removed either by the chemical therapy, or made unavailable by the mercury.  The nutrient IV consists of vitamins C, B 1, B 2, B 3, B 5, B 6, and B 12, Calcium, Folic Acid, Magnesium, Zinc, Manganese, Selenium, and Molybdenum.

 

From laboratory tests, it is assumed that DMPS works by upsetting the natural intra– and extra cellular balance that mercury creates, causing the mercury to be released into the blood system where DMPS binds with it.  It is then filtered through the liver and kidney and finally excreted through body waste.  This is especially effective on mercury intoxication over time since most of the poisons will be deposited in organs and tissues. (ref. 27)  (There are some natural vitamins and herbs that can assist in this process.  A short list is given in the appendix.)

 

It is more effective, however, to prevent mercury from being deposited in the organs in the first place by administering chemical therapy as soon as possible after mercury exposure.  Unfortunately, most people are unaware of their exposure until months or years later (except for some industrial or occupational exposure-either acute or chronic).  And because of this, many people suffer from debilitating symptoms, watch their health crash, see their family life crumble, or find themselves unable to work or enjoy a social life.  Even if you have had a chronic exposure to mercury, taking supportive nutrient supplements apart from DMPS is helpful in relieving or lessening some symptoms.

 

At this time, DMPS is being carefully scrutinized by Odyssey Clinic Studies, and although Dr. Saxon continues to use it, he is researching even deeper the effects – positive and negative – that DMPS has on his patients (all of whom know and understand that they are using a research drug).

 

Most recently, he lowered the dosages of DMPS from 250 mg to 50 mg in order to have his patients better tolerate it.  Patients with high copper are more carefully monitored because of the potential harmful effects DMPS and copper together can have on the liver and kidneys.

 

 

What do I do now?

 

If you believe that mercury intoxication can explain your symptoms and that you want to try detoxification, you need to find a doctor who practices heavy metal detoxification.

 

This book has been published in conjunction with Odyssey Clinical Studies and Dr. David Saxon.  He conducts heavy metal detoxification in eastern Tennessee and will be glad to assist you, either by accepting you as a patient at Odyssey or by helping you find an appropriate doctor located in your geographic region.

 

Call the clinic at 423-982-2050, or write to Odyssey Clinical Studies, 356 Sanderson Street, Suite B3, Alcoa, Tennessee 37701. **

 

You don't have to continue with vague symptoms and the uneasy feeling that you're losing your mind.  There can be relief from the headaches, muscle and joint pain, skin rashes, irritability and rage, stomach upsets, weakness and extreme fatigue.  It may be that you are toxic and need relief.  The sooner you find out, the sooner you can begin treatment and find you way back to health.

 

Note that you do not have to start DMPS therapy to gain some relief from your symptoms.  Many over the counter supplements and natural detoxifying agents are available to help support your system.

 

If you think your dental amalgams are the basis for your toxicity, begin by having them removed according to a rigid protocol developed by the IAOMT.  This protocol is devised to limit your exposure to even more mercury during the removal of the amalgams.  The Academy lists eight steps to reducing your exposure to mercury vapor, and that of your dentist and dental assistants.

 

 

Appendix A

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Regarding Mercury Detoxification

 

How soon will I feel better?

 

You will probably begin to feel worse, first!  The DMPS causes mercury to mobilize in your system, disrupts its stability and exacerbates your symptoms.  But as there is less and less mercury in your system, you begin to notice that your symptoms will gradually lessen and finally disappear.

 

How long does it take for the symptoms to go away?

 

Much of that will depend on how long you have been sick, how much mercury you are storing in your body, and how you react to the treatment.  Most patients will conclude their therapy anywhere from 6 months to 2 years.

 

Will I be completely normal again?

 

In most cases, yes.  However, many people suffer the destruction of mercury toxicity for years and years.  Some of that damage, for instance to your liver or brain, may not be 100 percent recovered.  Only time will answer that question.

 

What are the side effects of the therapy?

 

Sometimes your symptoms will appear to worsen for a few days as the mercury mobilizes.  Other side effects include flu-like symptoms.  You should be carefully monitored for worsening symptoms or new symptoms.

 

Must I take the nutrient IV's?

 

Yes, absolutely.  DMPS does rid your system of mercury, however, it will also take out essential trace elements and nutrients such as copper and zinc that need to be replaced.  In addition, your body may be suffering malnutrition due to the mercury intoxication and must be supported nutritionally while you are undergoing therapy.  Alternatively, ask your doctor about oral supplements if you do not want to take nutrient IV's.  The nutrient IV's must be given 24 to 48 hours after a DMPS injection.  They must not be given at the same time as the DMPS.

 

How often will I have DMPS injections?

 

About every two weeks on average, depending on how well your systems handles the procedure.  In some cases, it will be once every 3 to 6 weeks, or every 7 to 10 days.

 

How are injections given?

 

Usually intravenously.  They can be given intramuscularly, as well, but those tend to be painful.

 

How will I know when I'm done?

 

One way your doctor will know if you are nearing the end of treatment will be from subsequent urine tests.  When DMPS injections no longer cause mercury to be eliminated from your system, and your symptoms have dissipated, you will discontinue therapy.

 

Are there other therapies available?

 

There doesn't appear to be other therapies that are as effective as DMPS.  Some of the ones available are BAL, DMSA, and NAPA.

 

How good is EDTA?

 

EDTA is used quite commonly in the United States, however it is best used for lead toxicity and has very little effect on mercury toxicity." (ref. 28)

 

What about DMSA and NAPA?

 

Tests with NAPA show that although it has some effectiveness in removing mercury, DMPS is shown to remove nearly twice as much mercury from the body. (ref. 29)

 

DMSA is, in some ways, very comparable to DMPS.  One major drawback to using it is its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier three times more readily than DMPS.  This is a liability in the early stages of therapy since the chemical will first travel through the body collecting metals and will then take them with it into the brain and possibly deposit them there causing an increase in neurological symptoms.

 

Does DMPS cross the blood-brain barrier?

 

No, not very readily.  So, in order to bind the mercury that is in the brain, DMSA needs to be used, but only after DMPS has done all its work of removing toxins from the rest of the body.

 

Is DMPS approved by the FDA?

No. At this time it is considered a research drug.  The doctors and clinics using DMPS are doing so under the protocol of the general research center, Cascade Research Foundation in Portland, Oregon, and the Great Lakes College of Clinical Medicine in Chicago, Illinois.

 

What can I do to help in the detoxification process?

 

One major component of getting you back to your optimum self is nutrition.  Be sure and follow these four principles:

 

1. Make sure you eat every day, and eat a balanced diet.  Even liquid nutrition like "Ensure" is encouraged if the patient simply cannot tolerate eating.

 

2. Because your body is in a stressful state, consider eating 4 to 5 small meals a day rather than 2 or 3 large ones.  This way you can avoid poor digestion, bloating, cramping and excessive gas.  Even 3 small meals is better.  Don't stuff yourself.

 

3. Be consistent.  Sit down to eat.  Make eating an occasion, not an afterthought.

 

4. Follow these guidelines for calories: 50% Carbohydrates, 30% Protein, and 20% Fat.

 

 

Appendix B

 

 

The Importance of Nutrition

 

When you are intoxicated, your system is under a great deal of stress and needs optimum nutrition.  Most often, patients benefit greatly from vitamin, mineral and herbal supplements when added to a carefully balanced diet.  Once in a while toxic patients will develop food sensitivities.  If you do, stop including those foods in your diet until you are better able to tolerate them.

 

 

Nutrient Guidelines

 

Protein

 

This is essential for optimum musculoskeletal and organ function.  It is preferable that you get your proteins from vegetable and grain sources and try a vegetarian diet since it will cause much less stress on your system.  Vegetable soy protein along with dry beans or peas, and fresh lima beans are good sources of protein.  Beans, such as red beans, pintos, or lentils offer complete proteins when combined with grains such as rice, wheat, or corn.

 

However if you choose to eat meat, keep it lean.  Consider beef, lamb, turkey, and chicken.  Bake or broil your meats, do not fry them.  If you have a hard time consuming enough protein you can purchase a protein powder at GNC or other health food stores which may give you 17 to 34 grams of protein in an 8-ounce drink.  We recommend 15 to 20 grams of protein per meal, with a minimum of 60 grams per day.

 

Carbohydrates

 

It is preferred that you eat complex carbohydrates:  fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, fresh 100% juices, nuts, and whole grains (i.e. whole wheat, brown rice, millet, oatmeal, etc.).  Avoid raw sugar, refined foods, candy and desserts. Vegetables and fruit need to be washed thoroughly and vegetables steamed, microwaved, or raw for the best nutrient content. Remember to consume 50% of your calories from complex carbohydrates.

                                                                                                  

Fat

 

Use fat moderately so that it is no more than 30% of total daily calories. Good sources of essential fatty acids are olive oil and flaxseed oil. Avocados are also a good source of fat. Transfatty acids are more difficult to digest so it is recommended to avoid margarine, and eat liquid/spreadable, low fat margarine, or use butter.

 

Spices

 

Eat fresh spices, fresh garlic, and fresh onion with no limitations.

                                                                                                  

Cilantro

 

Fresh Cilantro is a weak detoxification agent that draws the metals from the cells. It can be found in the fresh produce section of most grocery stores. It resembles parsley in appearance, yet has a tangy smell and flavor. It is often used in salsa and other Mexican foods.

                                                                                                  

Avoid

 

Items to avoid that are harder to digest or have little nutritional value are refined foods, processed foods, fast foods, fried or visibly greasy foods.

 

Fish

 

Avoid fish and seafood at all costs! The majority of fish and seafood are known to have heavy metals, including mercury. Do not eat any!

 

Allergies

 

If you have allergies to foods, it is best to avoid them during the first three months of treatments.  This is especially true if you react to grains since many of them are treated with a mercury fungicide. You might be reacting to the fungicide and not to the grain.

 

Water

 

This nutrient is essential for chemical reactions, cleansing, and optimal body function in the brain, kidneys, liver and GI tract. Use filtered or distilled water. Avoid straight tap water since it can have lead, aluminum, PVC, mercury, copper, and other chemicals and metals. These only add more stress to your already stressed state. Drink at least one 8-ounce glass of water every hour throughout the day.

 

To be more accurate, you can calculate what your body needs by taking your weight in pounds and dividing it in half. This figure equals the amount in ounces you need to drink every day.

 

For example, if you weight 178 pounds, divide that in half and you have 89 ounces of water which you should drink every day. 89 divided by 8 is 11.12. So, you should be drinking 11 or so 8-ounce glasses of water daily. Do not substitute coffee, sodas, or tea for water.  Avoid caffeine, which is a diuretic and a stimulant and will only add additional stress.

 

Smoking

 

Stop.  Tobacco contains many toxins that you don't need in your stressed state.  If you feel you cannot quit, cut back as much as possible.  Your detoxification therapy will be greatly enhanced by your quitting smoking and all forms of tobacco use.

 

Sunshine

 

This is a regulator of your circadian rhythms (the cycle of hormones that regulates metabolism and organ function).  It also stimulates your skin to produce vitamin D. It is recommended that you have 15 to 20 minutes of exposure per day.  Besides that, it feels good!

 

Activity

 

Exercise, even if you feel you cannot.  Just walk.  Walk around the block if that is all you can do.  Ride a stationary bicycle or treadmill (it's a great way to catch up on movies you might have missed).  You must exercise.  Advance slowly.  If you are able, lift weights.  When you exercise, you tone your muscles and organs.  The tissues in the muscles break down and release the cellular toxins and you body is better able to cleanse itself and rebuild healthy tissue.

 

You should have 20 minutes of exercise per day, 3 days a week.  Increase to exercising every day for 20 minutes and then begin to increase the duration and the intensity of the exercise.  Variety will keep you interested.  An exercise partner will help you be faithful.

 

Sleep

 

Choose a regular pattern of sleep.  Your body and brain repair themselves during sleep.  Your body sleeps better (deeper and more restful) the hours before midnight.  It is best to be in bed by 10:00 p.m. If you awaken early, do not get up if it is before 5:00 a.m. Try to fall asleep again.  Even if you are awake, stay in bed until after 5:00.  This will help you develop a natural rhythm and pattern that your body will begin to follow.  Be consistent.  You should get between 8 and 9 hours of sleep every night.  Also, maintain your sleep schedule even on weekends and vacations.

 

Bowels

 

Mercury and other toxins are eliminated in the stool more than in the urine.  Constipation is your worst enemy.  If the toxins stay in your bowels for too long, then they will be reabsorbed.

 

It is recommended that you have one or two stools a day.  However, this is not always possible if you are not eating much.  Just make sure they are consistent (once every 2 or 3 days) and soft.  Do not take laxatives since they can cause an imbalance in the absorption process in the GI tract.  Stool softeners and bulking agents are preferred. (Drinking all the water your body requires helps a great deal, too.  And, vitamin C will also help remove mercury – several grams per day.)

 

Supplements

 

If you have found supplements, through trial and error, that make you feel better or function better in daily life – Don't stop taking them.  Continue them as before and add these other supplements, as you are able.

 

Take a good multiple vitamin and mineral supplement with trace minerals.  Take one or even two per day.  It is better to avoid copper and iron since DMPS treatments will take these metals in preference to mercury.  These metals may be supplemented separately according your needs as shown in your lab results.

 

The following supplements are recommended, but not absolute.  Time, money and the ability to tolerate the supplements will determine what you want and will take.

 

Vitamin C

 

Vitamin C is a weak detoxification agent and helps to strengthen the immune system.  Take 2 to 5 grams a day (or 2,000 to 5,000 milligrams) throughout the day.  Too much Vitamin C sometimes causes diarrhea and bowel intolerance.  Decrease your dose if these symptoms develop.

 

Bioflavoniods and Pycnogenols

 

These are very helpful supplements in boosting the immune system and are thought to have a weak detoxification effect.  Take as directed on the bottle.

 

Ginkgo

 

This herb's abilities are effective in treating asthma and other respiratory complaints.  It may also be effective against allergies, high blood pressure, kidney problems and Alzheimer's disease.  Studies have shown it to be useful in increasing the function of the short-term memory.  It is known to stimulate circulation.  Beginning dosage should be as on the bottle.  You may increase or decrease as necessary.  Too much may cause irritability, restlessness, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting.

 

Magnesium

 

This is essential, especially if you are suffering from fatigue and muscle cramps.  Mercury competes with magnesium at the cell sites where magnesium is needed.  Take about 500 mg per day.  Too much might cause diarrhea.

 

Selenium

 

This is vitally important in the bodily production of glutathione, a major antioxidant in the body that helps bind mercury and other heavy metals.  Take about 50 to 150 micrograms per day.  Selenium becomes toxic at only slightly higher levels than what your body needs. (ref. 30) Too much can cause brittle hair, loss of hair, deformed nails, and in extreme cases, loss of feeling and control in arms and legs.

 

Vitamin E

 

An antioxidant that fights the free radical formation and teardown of tissues caused by heavy metals and toxins.  Take about 400 IU per day.

 

Chlorelia

 

Has the unique ability to pull mercury from within the cells into the tissue so that DMPS can remove it.  Try 500 mg a day to start.  You may increase the dose each day until you take enough to make you slightly nauseated, then back off one or two pills.

 

Garlic

 

Garlic is also a detoxifier because of the sulfhydryl groups in it that bind to mercury.  Do not get the deodorized garlic, in that most of the sulfhydryl groups are removed (the odor is from the sulfa).  Try 500 mg per day, and increase or decrease as you can tolerate it.

 

Zinc

 

As stated earlier, DMPS removes zinc from your system.  If you are in chemical therapy, it would be wise for you to take 30 micrograms once or twice a day.  Zinc can also be toxic in your system at high levels.  Indications include stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting.  Toxic levels of Zinc may be linked to increased risk of heart disease.

 

L-Cysteine and Glutathione

 

Both act as detoxification agents, improve liver function and metabolism, which helps the body to detoxify.

 

Try 1,000 mg of L-Cysteine and 50 mg of Glutathione.  This can be increased to 200 mg per day.

 

Silymarin

 

This is better known as milk thistle and has the reputation as a liver-purifying agent.  Since the liver and kidneys are the major detoxifiers and are under a lot of stress, helping the liver is important.  Try 250 mg per day.

 

Echinacea

 

Echinacea is known to enhance the immune system.  This is important when you are toxic with heavy metals since your immune system is severely stressed.  Try 1000 mg a day.  It is best to take it 10 days on and then 5 days off.  It remains more effective when taken in an on-again/off again manner.  New supplements and supplement multiples are being tested and produced all the time.  The World Wide Web has hundreds of references for such supplements.  One such source is CFS Nutrition at www.cfsn.com, or call 1-888-801-CFSN.

 

 

References

 

1. Agency for toxic substances and Disease Registry.  US Dept. of Health and Human Services.  Cadmium Tab 20, pp 1,2 1997

2. Main Syllabus Biochem 5, lab21. supplements 7

3. Ibid Laboratory 8

4. Ibid Laboratory 11

5. Summary of Scientific Literature Heyltex Corporation 5.1.3. Mercury Exposure from Amalgam

6. Ibid

7. Main Syllabus Laboratory 17

8. Hamilton and Hardy's Industrial Toxicology, 5th edition Raymond Harbison (1998 page 87 Mosby Publishing)

9. The effects of a total mercury detoxification program Cascade Consultants Research Foundation Inc., 1998 Pp Biochem5

10. Ibid Case Study #1

11. Ibid Case Study #2

12. Ibid Case Study #3

13. Ibid Case Study #6

14. Ibid Biochem 11

15. Hamilton and Hardy's Industrial Toxicology, 5th edition Raymond Harbison (1998 page 87 Mosby Publishing)

16. Ibid

17. Ibid

18. Cascade Consultants Biochem I

19. www.algonet.se/~lief/FUSCIFCT.html

20. Ibid.

21 The mercury in your mouth, Quicksilver Associates Quicksilver Press pp26

22. Ibid, pp 87-108

23. Hamilton and Hardy's Industrial Toxicology, 5th edition Raymond Harbison (1998 page 84 Mosby Publishing)

24.  Ibid

25.  Ibid, page 85

26.  Ibid

27. The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 1981 Felicitas Planas-Bohne

28. Cascade Consultants 1998 General Investigation Statement

29. Felicitas Planas-Bohne 1981

30. Agency for toxic substances and Disease Registry.  US Dept. of Health and Human Services.  Selenium.  Tab 65 pp 2,3 1

 

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-

** NOTE:  Dr. David H. Saxon has taken his web site off the Internet because he has more patients than he can handle.  Check out Robert Waters, MD below.

 

Extensive information on Mercury can be found at ...

http://www.hbci.com/~wenonah/hydro/hg.htm

 

Additional "Heavy Metal" Information at ...

http://www.hbci.com/~wenonah/toxic.htm

 

 

  –- Thimerosal Links –-

 

Causal Link Between Thimerosal and Autism …

http://www.vaccineinjury.com/

 

Thimerosal (Mercury Poisoning from Vaccines) …

http://www.injury-lawyer-network.com/autism.htm

 

 

Mercury, Lead and Aluminum all have been shown to induce learning difficulties in humans.  If we demand that our children perform well in school while intentionally subjecting them to these harmful elements, we are committing a very severe form of CHILD ABUSE !!!

 

 

 

Robert Waters, MD - Preventive Medical Center

Chelation Therapy

 

Children Need More Protection From Toxins

Than adults do

 

 

— *MAD AS A HATTER —

 

Few people who use the phrase today realize that there's a story of human suffering behind it; the term actually derives from an early industrial occupational disease. Felt hats were once very popular in North America and Europe; an example is the top hat. The best sorts were made from beaver fur, but cheaper ones used furs such as rabbit instead.

 

A complicated set of processes was needed to turn the fur into a finished hat. With the cheaper sorts of fur, an early step was to brush a solution of a mercury compound — usually mercurous nitrate — on to the fur to roughen the fibers and make them mat more easily, a process called carroting because it made the fur turn orange. Beaver fur had natural serrated edges that made this unnecessary, one reason why it was preferred, but the cost and scarcity of beaver meant that other furs had to be used.

 

Whatever the source of the fur, the fibers were then shaved off the skin and turned into felt; this was later immersed in a boiling acid solution to thicken and harden it. Finishing processes included steaming the hat to shape and ironing it. In all these steps, hatters working in poorly ventilated workshops would breathe in the mercury compounds and accumulate the metal in their bodies.

 

We now know that mercury is a cumulative poison that causes kidney and brain damage. Physical symptoms include trembling ( known at the time as hatter's shakes ), loosening of teeth, loss of co-ordination, and slurred speech; mental ones include irritability, loss of memory, depression, anxiety, and other personality changes. This was called mad hatter syndrome.         — Source —

 

The people who then wore these "Fur Products" were then also Poisoned by "mercury fumes" !!!

 

The first emperor of China would sniff heated mercury to "get high" – induce visions.  His subsequent refusal to trade with the “dirty” Mongols, who were starving because of a drought on the “Steps”, forced them into a lifestyle of violence and raiding that affected millions in Asia and Europe for centuries.

 

*Other Sources of Mercury Poisoning:

 

Mercurochrome – used as an antiseptic until recently.

Antiseptic for superficial wounds and infections, preoperative preparation, mucous membranes and irrigation;

For sterilizing surgical instruments;

Explosives;

Ammunition - mercury fulminate;

In Paint to prevent Barnacles from growing on ships and Mold on buildings;

Dental Amalgams;

Pesticides and perhaps chemical weapons;

As a preservative in modern vaccinations;

As a Cure for Syphilis before there were antibiotics;

Cathartic - a medication for stimulating evacuation of the bowels;

As a stimulant and antiseptic for chancres; chronic ulcers and fungus infections of the skin;

Antiseptic used chiefly for inflammation of the eyelids and conjunctiva;

Has been used as a laxative, diuretic, and antiseptic;

As ointment in chronic eczema, parasitic skin diseases;

White reserve in fabric printing; tanning leather;

Mordant for rabbit and beaver furs; staining wood and vegetable ivory pink;

Preserving (kyanizing) wool and anatomical specimens - Taxidermy; also embalming; disinfecting;

As a reagent for wine coloring, barbital, and cystine;

Pigments for paint and dyes for clothing;

Manufacture of ink for mercurography; treating seed potatoes and grain seed;

Used to bind Gold to ceramics;

Gold & Silver products where the mercury used to process the metals wasn't totally removed - before electricity was used;

Diluting pigments for painting on porcelain; felt; destroying phylloxera;

For coloring plastics, sealing wax, and with FeSO4 for marking linen;

Manufacture of fancy colored papers; as a pigment; calomel paper; mixed with gold in painting on porcelain;

Coloring porcelain and chinaware green;

Fire gilding, blackening brass {gilding - the process of applying gold leaf or a substance like gold to a surface.}

 

*Symptoms associated with Mercury Intoxication:

 

Chronic:   Inflammation of mouth and gums, swelling of salivary glands, excessive flow of saliva, loosening of teeth; kidney damage; muscle tremors, jerky gait, spasms of extremities; personality changes, discouragement, depression, irritability, nervousness, dementia, loss of motor coordination.

 

Mercury has been found to accumulate in vital organs and tissues, such as the liver, brain, and heart muscle. Major symptoms of mercury toxicity include Emotional Instability, tremors, gingivitis, and kidney failure. Some also believe mercury may be linked to multiple sclerosis and epileptic seizures. Further, its affect on the body's immune system is potentially devastating, possibly contributing to diseases such as leukemia and hematopoietic dycrasias.

 

*Psychiatric Disturbances:

 

Irritability, aggression, temper tantrums;

Deficits in understanding abstract ideas and symbolism; degeneration of higher mental powers;

Anxiety; schizoid tendencies; irrational fears;

Poor concentration, attention, response inhibition;

Speech comprehension deficits;

Poor short-term, verbal, and auditory memory;

Repetitive, preservative, stereotypic behaviors; obsessive-compulsive tendencies;

Depression / depressive traits, mood swings, flat affect; impaired face recognition;

Uneven performance on IQ subtests; verbal IQ higher than performance IQ;

Verbalizing and word retrieval problems;

Social deficits, shyness, social withdrawal;

Poor visual and perceptual motor skills; impairment in simple reaction time;

Lacks eye contact; impaired visual fixation;

Deficits in eye-hand coordination; limb apraxia; intention tremors;

Dysarthria; articulation problems;

Flapping, myoclonal jerks, choreiform movements;

Circling, rocking, trembling, toe walking, unusual postures.

 

*The above are extracts from my page on Mercury.  I have a lot more information posted.

 

 

 

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