Is it really MS?

I was looking for side effects of DMSA and came upon this website. http://www.flcv.com/indexd.html. I found it had a lot of info on it that I've been through before, but it's good to read through it again.

I also bumped into a website last night that dropped me on another website with a symptoms list for MS. I have had, and still have, several of the symptoms on that list. I was saddened to see how many people were signed up for this particular website support group who have been diagnosed with MS. I have to imagine 95% of them have been misdiagnosed with MS. I am beginning to believe that MS is not exactly the correct name- it should be named HMT (Heavy Metal Toxicity). Like I mentioned before, my maternal grandfather died of 'MS'. I unfortunately have not been able to find out from family whether or not he possibly could have been mercury poisoned because they didn't know his dental health nor what kind of metals he was exposed to in his line of work (dairy man). My guess is that he was exposed in some form or another. And my guess is that it wasn't 'MS' that took his life, but the heavy metals in his body destroying his nervous system.

I have to imagine, if I didn't figure out what was wrong with me and take necessary action a couple of years ago, I would be diagnosed with MS today, with no real answers as to why and how. I feel absolutely terrible for these people who get that diagnosis without their doctors ever figuring out the cause and being able to give them some better form of life back. What saddens me even more is that the MS Society won't even look at heavy metals as a possible cause. I find anywhere I can post or reply to posts on health websites about the terrible things mercury does to the body now, and I hope to someday start a support group that will help pay for individuals to get the mercury poison out of their teeth. I know of several individuals already that could use the financial support, and I only wish I could help them.

Testing x3

Sparky and I decided just recently that he and the kids should be tested for heavy metals too, so this last weekend all three of them took the toxic element screening. We'll find out in a month if they are affected by toxic metals as well. It will be really interesting to know, because if they are all affected, then we have something to work with - something that all of us do or eat that's causing the high numbers. If it's just me, then it will be pretty perplexing since the kids and I are together and do a lot of the same things and eat a lot of the same things 90% of the time.

The DMSA chelation is going as expected. My first three days were pretty bad - extreme headaches, fatigue, etc. My fourth day was slightly better, but ended in another 'thyroid storm' * in the middle of the night. I have four and a half more weeks to go of chelation.

Even though I have had to address other toxic metals along with mercury, my hope is that those who stop by and read my story would be convicted to stand up to your dentist the next time he or she wants to place amalgam fillings in your teeth. It's a long lonely road when you don't feel well, and even though you think you may never go through what I have, I thought those same things, too. Yet it happened, and I have missed a lot over the last four years because of it. I especially missed special times with my children when I couldn't sit still long enough or it hurt me physically to cuddle with them, or my headaches were too intense to spend time with them, or my chest hurt too badly to read to them. I spent hours crying with my husband rather than spending time enjoying being with him. I haven't felt the confidence to drive in almost two years, causing me to be dependent on others, and stuck at home every day not being able to run errands or do fun field trips with the kids, putting a burden on Sparky because then he had/has to chauffeur me around in the evenings and weekends. I am not asking for sympathy. I know others suffer even more than me, but I want anyone who will read what I have to say to understand this poison can alter your life like you never expected. Please consider my story and be informed.

*discussed in an earlier post

Test Results II

I got my test results this week from the toxic element screening. It was encouraging because things are happening, yet a little discouraging, because I still have more chelation to do. Most of my numbers came down some but not enough, and I did guess that before finding out the results because of how I've been feeling. I will be starting another round of DMSA chelation for six weeks starting next week, and then I retest in three months. I am not looking forward to it because this time the chelation falls right over Christmas. The last round wasn't too kind to me and I did not feel well throughout. My hope is, this time will be different and as the numbers fall even further I may actually start feeling better. I'll post the numbers below, as well as the previous test numbers so they can be compared. In red is above the 'permissible' limit. DL meant not detectable. You may notice that gallium was off the chart in test #1, but undetectable in test #2. Gallium is used for medical purposes, and also used in composite fillings. What little I have learned about it is that it's not typically toxic, so I'm guessing having it that high had not much effect on me, plus it was probably the residual that had made it into my body after having my dental work done. You may also notice that platinum jumped into the above allowable range. It was explained to me that it was high due to the presence of DMSA (for chelation) in my body, and "elemental platinum has very low toxicity except for those who have dermal sensitivity" (Genova Diagnostics).

Element/ test #1/ test #2/ RR (what it should be under)
Lead/ 22.2/ 11.5 /1.4
Mercury / 1.74/ 1.19 / 2.19
Aluminum/ 4.0/ 5.9 / 22.3
Antimony / .136/ .079/ .149
Arsenic / 17/ 17 / 50
Barium / 4.5 / 3.4/ 6.7
Cadmium/ .33 /.15/ .64
Cesium/ 6.0/ 6.2 / 10.5
Gallium / .107/ dl/ .028
Nickel/ 2.31 / dl/ 3.88
Platinum/ dl/ .035/ .033
Rubidium / 1,456/ 1,580/ 2,263
Thallium / .486/ .289 / .298
Tin / .95 / .47/ 2.04
Tungsten / .049/ dl/ .211

I also started physical therapy this week to retrain my vision to correct the off-balance and dizzy feelings I have constantly. I have about 30 minutes of exercises to do twice a day. The physical therapist said it will take some time to retrain my vision. As promising as it might be, I'm still a little perplexed that the NP did not order any testing to find the cause of the off-balance/dizziness but went right to PT instead.

I guess overall things are going in the right direction, and I am somewhat encouraged. I am not getting excited about anything yet, however, because I don't like getting excited about something and then to be let down when it doesn't happen. I am hoping and praying that I will feel improvement after these next six weeks, but I am waiting to feel the results before I celebrate.

Info I've been waiting to see...

Sparky stumbled upon some websites today that I often have wondered about. Do cell phones cause mercury to be released from your amalgam fillings? Here are two different websites for your perusal.
http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2008/11/17/cellphones-are-dangerous-not-dangerous-leaky-fillings-edition/
http://www.ansijournals.com/pjbs/2008/1142-1146.pdf

I'm of course amalgam free now, so I'm not so concerned about me, although I find I like to text more than call, so that keeps my phone away from my ear as much anyway.

Waiting...

The toxic element test is done, and my appointment to get the results is set for early December. Now it's just the waiting. I just hope that the DMSA did its job and that the results will be promising.

Things have settled down a little bit for me since I've been off the chelation, but not a whole lot. I'm still experiencing severe headaches almost daily, and I've not been able to shake the off-balance or dizzy feelings and the extreme fatigue. I did have my eustachian tubes adjusted chiropractically and that seemed to help get rid of the off-balance and dizziness for about a day, and then it must have gone back to being twisted, causing those symptoms to return.

I also had what my doctor thinks to be a thyroid storm last week, but the info I found online says that it can be caused only in hyperthyroid patients, so I'm a little confused. I have hypothyroidism. My 'thyroid storm' did fit most of the symptoms found in the above link, but I did not go to the E.R., nor was it life threatening, as I am still here. It was still a bit unnerving, and I find myself concerned that I'll have another episode someday, and that it could be life threatening the next time around.

I hate still not feeling well. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it. I hate the off-balance and dizzy feelings. I hate the extreme fatigue. I hate the headaches. I hate not being able to drive and be a 'normal' mom to my kids and 'normal' wife to my husband. I have hope that I will get some sense of normalcy back in my life some day. I just hope and pray it's sooner than later.

Next toxic element test

Tomorrow I will be taking my next toxic element test. I'm a little apprehensive, but at the same time a little excited. If you've kept up with my blog, you'll know that the last six weeks on DMSA hasn't been that great. Tomorrow I need to take 4 times the amount than what I was taking on any particular day during chelation - all at one time. It does concern me a little that I could feel as bad (or worse), than I did over the last six weeks. But, I am a little excited because after the last test I had three awesome days of feeling almost 95% well. Needless to say, I'm a little torn. Regardless of the outcome, I need to do it. We need to know if this protocol is working to rid my body of the toxic metals that have made a home there.

Almost done...

I have one week left of DMSA chelation. I then will be taking another toxic element test, as I mentioned in my previous post. We're hoping to find that the chelation worked, but we won't know for about a month - it takes that long for the results to come back.

The detoxification is going okay. I've had symptoms reappear that once were gone, and other ones are exacerbated. I've had horrendous headaches, the irritability comes and goes, I'm fatigued beyond what anyone could imagine, and I've been so off-balanced I feel like I'm drunk. Those are the main ones, but there are others as well. In a way, I was prepared for the symptoms I had at the time I started chelation to get worse, but I never expected symptoms to return. It's been difficult at best to relive the last 3 1/2 years all over again.

My last visit to the ND found that my kidneys are having some trouble with all of the work they have to do to filter out the extra barrage of toxins moving through them. It wasn't surprising to hear. Even though I tried nutritionally getting my kidneys prepared, it still is a big process to filter through more than they have ever before. I plan on giving them an extra nutritional boost during the next month while we wait for the test results just in case we do another round of DMSA. I don't need my kidneys failing!

I am dealing with one of those nasty headaches today. Nothing is touching it, and it's very aggravating. It just makes me want to crawl into bed and not come back out until I'm healthy again! Unfortunately that is not an option.