Mercury And DMSO?

[dfspcc20]

Around 2.5 years ago, I developed muscle shakiness (affecting several muscle groups, primarily while loaded during exercise) and occasional numbness in my left heel and side of my thigh.

That was shortly after when I first started experimenting with IdealLabs products (with DMSO back then). Not really high doses of anything, maybe 10 drops/day StressNon and/or Lapodin at most, 2-3 drops/day Pansterone. Sometimes topically, sometimes orally. I've since stopped, except for an occasional drop of Kuinone a few times/month.

The shakiness/numbness hasn't improved (or gotten any worse) since then.

Bloodwork doesn't show anything abnormal as far as eletrolytes or thyroid goes. Vitamin D was a little low when I tested last winter (28 NG/ML); it's likely higher now with more sun and supplementing magnesium, but I'll need to test again.

Not trying to blame the DMSO; at best this is just a loose association for me. But I haven't been able to figure it out otherwise. Shakiness and numbness can be signs of mercury exposure, though I don't have any of the other symptoms.

I made the connection after seeing an article recently about mercury chelation and the Cutler protocol in Wise Traditions. It asserted that DSMO can be a potent mercury chelator, and, if not used carefully, can chelate mercury and deposit it elsewhere if the body didn't have time to excrete it. (which is why the Cutler protocol tries to keep a constant blood level of chelators, namely ALA)

I'm not sure where I'd classify my lifetime mercury exposure. I've had the usual vaccines that were mandated in the US back in the 80s & early 90s. I've only had one amalgam filling. It was removed ~11 years ago, by one of the most regarded "mercury-free" dentists in my area (if that means anything). I didn't do anything specific afterwards to chelate or protect against mercury. And I don't eat much seafood that typically is high in mercury.

Does this line of thinking sound logical?
Anyone here have experience with mercury and/or the Cutler protocol? Or using hair mineral (or other) tests to access mercury levels?

 

[Wagner83]

Did you wonder if it could be something physical, like two vertebraes too close to each other? I got bad spine/nerve pain at times when I used different dmso products, I posted about this, it did feel like some cushion just disappeared, particular spaces were shrunk and nerves were getting more crushed, it was obvious when trying to carry even light bags, very very unpleasant.

 

[Captain_Coconut]

I'm not very certain about chelation, I have heard a lot of conflicting information. I have also heard ALA can kick up mercury and just deposit it randomly in other parts of the body.... some say cilantro / chlorophyll will mobilize it out of the body.

 

[dfspcc20]

Did you wonder if it could be something physical, like two vertebraes too close to each other? I got bad spine/nerve pain at times when I used different dmso products, I posted about this, it did feel like some cushion just disappeared, particular spaces were shrunk and nerves were getting more crushed, it was obvious when trying to carry even light bags, very very unpleasant.

I do think I have some issues in my cervical spine (maybe C1, C2, C3) on the left side. This would probably go back to a car accident I was in 30+ years ago. When I do chin tucks, for example, I can get a strong sensation (not sure if it's numbness or nerve stretch) along my left trap, along my left shoulder and tricep. I don't think this got worse with DMSO, though, and this issue was there before the shakiness/numbness I described in this post. I've been wanting to get this checked out, but have been hesitant to look. Not sure how easy it would be to find a competent chiropractor or someone else who doesn't want to use xrays.

Did your discomfort go away after stopping DMSO? If so, how long did it take after stopping DMSO?

 

[Wagner83]

I do think I have some issues in my cervical spine (maybe C1, C2, C3) on the left side. This would probably go back to a car accident I was in 30+ years ago. When I do chin tucks, for example, I can get a strong sensation (not sure if it's numbness or nerve stretch) along my left trap, along my left shoulder and tricep. I don't think this got worse with DMSO, though, and this issue was there before the shakiness/numbness I described in this post. I've been wanting to get this checked out, but have been hesitant to look. Not sure how easy it would be to find a competent chiropractor or someone else who doesn't want to use xrays.

Did your discomfort go away after stopping DMSO? If so, how long did it take after stopping DMSO?

Yes, mine got away pretty quick, but I stopped quickly too (and did not experience numbness or shakiness). I had bad nerve/spine issues once, the only doctor that helped (besides time), was an osteopath that people recommended me. He managed to help a lot by just pressing the tip of two fingers next to the neck/skull and rolling them back and forth (I was laying down). No big cracking noise or scary stuff, but as he did this I felt flows of energy regain some areas of the legs, arms etc... It was no miracle as I was already doing better, but I wish I had gone and seen him before. Anyways, for these kind of specialists it is, I think, very important to know the person is competent and not a quack, having friends that went to one and have had a good placebo effect along with a pleasant conversation isn't enough. I'm not sure how much I would trust someone who makes your bones crack like crazy. Knowing what you have can help all types of doctors a lot. Page 2 ?

 

[Dave Clark]

I always recommend anyone that was in a car accident to go to an upper cervical chiropractor who specializes in atlas orthogonal. Most often whiplash, etc. will put the atlas out of alignment. Once that happens, the rest of the spine will be effected, plus the spinal cord which goes through the atlas can be compromised resulting in blockage to signals to other parts of the body. If you aren't familiar with it, search atlas orthogonal for more info and some miraculous testimonies. And, if you do pursue treatment, make sure to go to someone who specializes in AO.

 

[theLaw]

Shaking or twitching?

Heavy metal poisoning is a common go-to here for those who can't seem to resolve certain health issues.

Optimizing liver function/purging pufa/improving digestion would probably be a better approach.

For instance, Nate posted about successfully using cilantro to chelate excess iron, but when asked about it, Peat said that the amount you would need to eat to see any difference would be impractical.

On the other hand, giving blood wouldn't hurt.

What's your calcium intake?

 

[Remedy]

The Cutler Protocol is the only sound chelation protocol. I don't know how much you've looked into it, but here are some informative sites that will answer a lot of your questions:

Cutler protocol - OnibasuWiki
Index to posts by Andy Cutler

I'm 70 rounds in, at the moment.

 

[dfspcc20]

I always recommend anyone that was in a car accident to go to an upper cervical chiropractor who specializes in atlas orthogonal. Most often whiplash, etc. will put the atlas out of alignment. Once that happens, the rest of the spine will be effected, plus the spinal cord which goes through the atlas can be compromised resulting in blockage to signals to other parts of the body. If you aren't familiar with it, search atlas orthogonal for more info and some miraculous testimonies. And, if you do pursue treatment, make sure to go to someone who specializes in AO.

Thanks, I'll check that out.
I most definitely had a concussion (since I was knocked out), and would have likely had whiplash, considering the circumstances.

 

[dfspcc20]

Shaking or twitching?

Tremors might be a better word for it. Noticeable large muscle shaking when under certain (even relatively light) loads. No tremors while at rest or anything like that, or even in day-to-day activities. Pretty much only during weight lifting. I have a history with weight training, so I know this is new for me. Some people insisted I'm just out of shape (since I took a break from most weight training for a few years), but it isn't getting better now that I've been more regular with it for the past year or so.

What's your calcium intake?

1/2 gallon of milk per day (give or take), plus some cheese.

My digestion seems fine; quick elimination (usually ~12hour transit time), almost never constipated. Have an occasional tendency towards loose stools, so maybe serotonin is an issue (@haidut posted a study associating tremors with serotonin). Anti-serotonin stuff doesn't seem to make an impact on the tremors for me. I don't have other typical serotonin symptoms; fat gain has never been an issue, and my mood, patience and mental clarity have been excellent in general for the past few years.

 

[SOMO]

DMSO is not the same as an IV (Intravenous) injection. (It has to be said).

Have you tried EDTA Chelation therapy?
EDTA is the mainstream and naturopath approved form of chelation therapy. You might be a good candidate @dfspcc20
At the very least, if you go get EDTA and nothing improves, it's very likely your issue is not heavy metal related. It's good to rule stuff out, even though you seem fairly confident your issue is heavy metals.


Good video with informative animations, in case you don't know about EDTA.

Another beneficial thing might be to drink clay and charcoal.

 

[theLaw]

Tremors might be a better word for it. Noticeable large muscle shaking when under certain (even relatively light) loads. No tremors while at rest or anything like that, or even in day-to-day activities. Pretty much only during weight lifting. I have a history with weight training, so I know this is new for me. Some people insisted I'm just out of shape (since I took a break from most weight training for a few years), but it isn't getting better now that I've been more regular with it for the past year or so.



1/2 gallon of milk per day (give or take), plus some cheese.

My digestion seems fine; quick elimination (usually ~12hour transit time), almost never constipated. Have an occasional tendency towards loose stools, so maybe serotonin is an issue (@haidut posted a study associating tremors with serotonin). Anti-serotonin stuff doesn't seem to make an impact on the tremors for me. I don't have other typical serotonin symptoms; fat gain has never been an issue, and my mood, patience and mental clarity have been excellent in general for the past few years.

For weight-training you might consider that you're protein deficient.

Generally, 80-100G high quality protein/day for a sedentary female, so you can imagine what you might need as a male who lifts heavy weights.

Also, how well do you handle caffeine?

 

[dfspcc20]

For weight-training you might consider that you're protein deficient.

Generally, 80-100G high quality protein/day for a sedentary female, so you can imagine what you might need as a male who lifts heavy weights.

Also, how well do you handle caffeine?

I'm usually at around 100g protein/day. I will try to push that up, but I'm skeptical that's the issue.
I can make the tremors happen whether it's before, during or after a weight training session or if I've been resting for a few days.

On vacation, I can handle 5-6 cups of coffee/day and be fine. Back in the real world, I need to be careful because it seems it can amplify stress reactions for me. I'm fine if I just never feel stressed or rushed. :) So I usually just avoid it. I don't really "need" it anyway (as far as brain fog, energy levels, etc. go).

 

[theLaw]

I'm usually at around 100g protein/day. I will try to push that up, but I'm skeptical that's the issue.
I can make the tremors happen whether it's before, during or after a weight training session or if I've been resting for a few days.

On vacation, I can handle 5-6 cups of coffee/day and be fine. Back in the real world, I need to be careful because it seems it can amplify stress reactions for me. I'm fine if I just never feel stressed or rushed. :) So I usually just avoid it. I don't really "need" it anyway (as far as brain fog, energy levels, etc. go).

If you're interested, a good test for the protein issue would be adding cooked potato juice (5lbs of potatoes juiced = roughly 150G protein in the forum of amino acids). So if you drank the cooked juice of 2.5lbs of potatoes, then that would add an extra 75G of high-quality protein/day, and only coast a few bucks (keeps for a few days in the fridge). It's a sort of "foolproof" method to gauge protein as it has no real side effects, especially if spaced throughout the day.

Also, in regards to your caffeine response, sounds there's a possibility of compromised liver function here. Haidut has written about this on other threads, and I think he posted about 200mg of caffeine with around 50G sugar as a good test for liver function, but don't quote me on that.

One other thought is that it might be a blood sugar issue, so sipping aj/oj + taurine throughout the day would be an easy test.

Even if they don't work, then at least that's some valuable info moving forward toward a solution.

 

[dfspcc20]

I'm 70 rounds in, at the moment.

Did you do any tests to verify mercury levels? Or are you just going by symptoms (if so, which symptoms)?

 

[Remedy]

Did you do any tests to verify mercury levels? Or are you just going by symptoms (if so, which symptoms)?

I didn't do any tests in the conventional sense, not the ones Cutler recommends or any others, but in another sense, I did probably the most definitive test: confirmation by aggravation. Unaware of alpha lipoic acid's effect on mercury, I started a supplement regimen containing it, began suffering a drunken sleepiness after eating -- that is, after dosing -- and eventually connected it to something in the supplements, after it had worsened, relatively rapidly, to the point I would just flatly fall asleep after eating, in a stupor, unable to focus my eyes, and wake up feeling shitty and hungover. I ultimately made the connection to lipoic acid specifically when I got fed up, and decided to seriously, methodically go over everything that could cause what I was suffering from, which at the time I considered to be, not entirely incorrectly, yeast overgrowth. During this, I found a website, Yeast / Candida Infection - Symptoms and Diagnosis , and going through it, I found this:

...which lead to this:

Mercury Toxicity (Amalgam Illness) - Symptoms and Diagnosis

...which lead to finding the Cutler Protocol sites I linked earlier, though I don't recall by what exact path. Reading those sites, it was obvious that the effect I was suffering after supplementing was mercury redistribution -- I didn't ever time exactly how long it took after meals/supplementation for the effect to occur, but the three hour half life of lipoic acid fit well with my timefeel of how long after eating the effect occurred: three hour half life, three hours after eating to get funny and fall asleep.

So, to answer your question, no I didn't do any tests to verify mercury levels, and yes, I confirmed my toxicity symptomatically, by taking lipoic acid and getting an unmistakable, characteristic immediate bad reaction and a long term worsening of my health problems, which in my case I think are almost all related to yeast overgrowth.

You're looking for a test to definitively show whether you're mercury toxic before you spend money taking amalgams out and investing time into chelation, I understand, but there really isn't one. The closest is a Essential Elements hair test, done by Doctor's Data, and interpreted using Cutler's counting rules -- see Testing for mercury - OnibasuWiki. So, if you want my advice, do that first. If you can't get a doctor to order it, which they won't, they're dumb cunts lol, you can order it from DirectLabs -- I just looked it up to be sure they had it, and it's actually on sale during April for $90, and even when it's not, it's not prohibitively expensive...though I suppose that is relative.

Alternatively, you can do a damn certain test by going out, buying some 600mg or whatever huge dose capsules of lipoic acid, and taking them. If you're toxic, you'll know pretty fast! Confirmation By Aggravation! I'd advise against this method, though, lol.

 

[dfspcc20]

I didn't do any tests in the conventional sense, not the ones Cutler recommends or any others, but in another sense, I did probably the most definitive test: confirmation by aggravation. Unaware of alpha lipoic acid's effect on mercury, I started a supplement regimen containing it, began suffering a drunken sleepiness after eating -- that is, after dosing -- and eventually connected it to something in the supplements, after it had worsened, relatively rapidly, to the point I would just flatly fall asleep after eating, in a stupor, unable to focus my eyes, and wake up feeling shitty and hungover. I ultimately made the connection to lipoic acid specifically when I got fed up, and decided to seriously, methodically go over everything that could cause what I was suffering from, which at the time I considered to be, not entirely incorrectly, yeast overgrowth. During this, I found a website, Yeast / Candida Infection - Symptoms and Diagnosis , and going through it, I found this:

View attachment 9090

...which lead to this:

Mercury Toxicity (Amalgam Illness) - Symptoms and Diagnosis

View attachment 9091

...which lead to finding the Cutler Protocol sites I linked earlier, though I don't recall by what exact path. Reading those sites, it was obvious that the effect I was suffering after supplementing was mercury redistribution -- I didn't ever time exactly how long it took after meals/supplementation for the effect to occur, but the three hour half life of lipoic acid fit well with my timefeel of how long after eating the effect occurred: three hour half life, three hours after eating to get funny and fall asleep.

So, to answer your question, no I didn't do any tests to verify mercury levels, and yes, I confirmed my toxicity symptomatically, by taking lipoic acid and getting an unmistakable, characteristic immediate bad reaction and a long term worsening of my health problems, which in my case I think are almost all related to yeast overgrowth.

You're looking for a test to definitively show whether you're mercury toxic before you spend money taking amalgams out and investing time into chelation, I understand, but there really isn't one. The closest is a Essential Elements hair test, done by Doctor's Data, and interpreted using Cutler's counting rules -- see Testing for mercury - OnibasuWiki. So, if you want my advice, do that first. If you can't get a doctor to order it, which they won't, they're dumb cunts lol, you can order it from DirectLabs -- I just looked it up to be sure they had it, and it's actually on sale during April for $90, and even when it's not, it's not prohibitively expensive...though I suppose that is relative.

Alternatively, you can do a damn certain test by going out, buying some 600mg or whatever huge dose capsules of lipoic acid, and taking them. If you're toxic, you'll know pretty fast! Confirmation By Aggravation! I'd advise against this method, though, lol.

How much have your symptoms improved (after 70 rounds)?

 

[Remedy]

How much have your symptoms improved (after 70 rounds)?

Unfortunately, after figuring out I was mercury toxic, I chelated 18 rounds with an amalgam in because I was a dumbass who didn't check his mouth thoroughly, and got much, much sicker. I would have to go into great detail to explain why it seemed to be helping initially, but regardless, because I did that, I'm not much improved from the point I described earlier -- the overwhelming bulk of the rounds have been undoing the damage of the 18 rounds. That damage has been entirely undone, and the rounds are now cutting into the original damage -- that is to say, the damage done by my amalgams before the point of discovery. I would simplify that my symptoms took ten years to develop from being not intrusive to serious, starting when I was 18 and culminating in discovery at 28, and I estimate that I am now where I was two years before the point of discovery. Each round brings noticeable progress, and I know I would be functionally finished by now if I hadn't done the 18 rounds of improper chelation.

I should also say that my rounds have been longer ones, overall at least a day longer than the standard three day round, and so my 70 rounds would be considered more like 100 rounds in common Cutler Protocol understanding.

 

[mujuro]

Have you had any CT scans or MRIs of your lumbar spine in the last few years?