Re: Anyone used Andy Cutler's protocols for mercury detox/chelation?

Well, I can't speak about DMSA since I've never gone on it. I'd be curious to hear your views on it, actually. I basically opted for a combo of ALA and cilantro as my main chelators. Even though Cutler doesn't recommend cilantro, I've noticed good results with it.

When I started out, I did ALA with a slew of other antioxidants/vitamins (Vits B, C, E, etc). I started with 12.5mg ALA every 3.5 hrs. and 1500mg C/day for four days, then four days off the ALA, then repeat. I noticed marked improvement within a few cycles. I also took some Sudafed which cleared up my brain fog really well at first (not so much anymore). I also woke myself up in the middle of the night for an ALA dose back then, but I don't do that anymore. As Cutler says, the real reason for doing that is so you don't get the 'crash' effect some people get when they skip an ALA dose.

I had to find the right ALA dose by trial and error. Cutler says (if memory serves) to start out with 1/4 mg per lb of body weight or something like that. For me, at 150lbs, that would be 37.5mg which I found to be entirely too high, so I initially backed down to a more comfortable 12.5mg/dose and increased to 25mg and on up.

When you're ready to increase your ALA dose (because you feel like you've hit a plateau in chelation), I would advise not adding over 50% from your current dose. That seems to be a pretty good limit for me. If I don't notice the increase, I try higher doses until I do and then I back off. I also don't increase doses on the same day, but I will decrease doses on the same day. For example, if I feel I've hit a plateau in chelation, I'll increase my dose by 25%-50% and see how I feel that day. If I immediately feel really bad, I'll immediately decrease. Otherwise, if I don't notice anything at all, I might try a higher dose the next day. I just like to give my body time to adjust so I am more certain of how I'm feeling and why.

Now, though when I'm chelating, I'm taking Vit C(500-1000mg/day), ALA (50-75mg/3.5 hrs), Cilantro and lots of Flax oil for a week, and then I take the weekends off from ALA. Now that I'm thinking about it, I should probably up my ALA doses as I've probably been ready for some time now.

I don't chelate all the time and I'm much less organized about it. I'll do "sessions" where I'll take a month and chelate for 4 weeks (taking weekends off) and then I won't chelate for another month or two or three. My symptoms are nowhere near what they were back in '02, so I don't have as much of a sense of urgency surrounding chelation. I guess another reason I chose cilantro was because although I really hated the taste of cilantro before, I've grown quite fond of it now.

I've taken more things than I can remember over the years. Here's a rundown of what I can remember:

Essential fatty Acids (Borage/Flax oil) -- amazingly useful. I initially bought the oil in a large bottle (from Spectrum Essentials) and took multiple tablespoons at a time. I was practically drinking the stuff. In hindsight, what I've come to figure out is that EFAs help your body's mucus layer. When the body is poisoned, it tries to lock up toxins in mucus. With mercury, my body was going through mucus and fat cells like crazy and when I started supplementing with EFAs, I had another major improvement. Now, I take it in capsule form because I still can't stand the taste.

Potassium -- 500mg+/day with OJ as my source. I've noticed that if I don't have a good 'ole fashined glass of OJ every morning, I'm more prone to muscle cramps.

Magnesium -- 500mg/day. Same with potassium. My body blows through mag like crazy.

B Vitamins -- I seem to have some sensitivity to B vitamins in general. I'm not sure if it's related to a wheat/glutin sensitivity or not yet.

Aspirin/Tylenon -- I don't take either one, regardless of pain.

Lysine -- I noticed some decreased brain fog when taking lysine.

Cilantro -- I make the "Poor Man's Mercury Chelator" pesto and eat with corn tortilla chips. You can google it for the recipe.

I have also noticed major sensitivities to hydrogenated oils, sulfur foods, spices/seasonings.


Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.
AB