Hi Alicia,
Don't worry about being self-centered...you weren't, and anyway you have to be selfish in order to get well :-)
> His theories about mercury chelation go against most protocols and now I am not even sure if my doctor interpreted hair test and DMSA challenge test correctly, among other things Cutler says that DMSA challenge test is not safe, and I took a one 500mg DMSA tablet for the test! I am taking cilantro and chlorella, but now am not sure I am doing the right thing.
His is one of the safest chelation protocols as its based on low, frequent dosing which takes into account the half-life of the chelator. Even if you don't understand the biochemistry of technicalities of chelation, this should make most sense to anyone. High, infrequent doses of any chelator causes the blood levels of mercury to rise and fall, rather than keeping it at a constant level. This can lead to redistribution of the mercury if the body is not able to eliminate what has been stirred up...can potentially cause a lot of problems/worsening of symptoms. It all depends a lot on the individual, how well functioning their organs are/elimination pathways are working. Best to stick to a safe protocol and not take any chances
Yes one off doses of a chelator like DMSA can cause the problems as I explained above.
Some people have had very bad reactions to chlorella and cilantro. Though some people are helped by them, chlorella is not a true chelator, and though cilantro is supposed to be a proper chelator, not enough seems to be known about how it works so if you take it, you're also taking a risk.
>I am very worried, because Cutler says that it may take up to 5 years to detoxify, and I am 31 and would love to have babies
I totally understand, though you are still young enough to recover and to have children. Just concentrate on getting your health back first. It wont necessarily take that long either, it could take you 1 or 2 yrs.
> Anne, are you chelating under Cutler's supervision or on your own?
Do you know if there are other doctors in Europe (England would be my cheapest option from Spain) who follow his guidelines?
I am afraid of ending up with a doctor who might not follow the right protocol, and from what I have read in Cutler's website and from my own experience so far this is pretty easy.
Yes I'm chelating on my own, though I'm taking a break at the moment as I was finding it hard, I'm particularly sensitive. I use the support groups I mentioned in my first post.
I'm in the UK but I dont know if any doctors are aware of his protocol, I doubt any at all know about it, hardly anyone does.
> My concern now is to find a doctor who can interpret a hair test to know if indeed mercury is my problem. I definitely have many of the mercury related symptoms.
Post your hair tests results on the groups.....
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/frequent-dose-chelation/
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/adult-metal-chelation/
You can email Andy and send him the post number so he can read it on either of the above groups and help to interpret the results but others will help with that too and be there to answer more questions you have and give support.
More info on how to post your test results here....
http://home.earthlink.net/~moriam/HOW_TO_hair_test.html
I know how overwhelming it all is but I hope this helps somewhat.
Anne