Mercury Toxicity

[Marlene]

I was just doing some reading on the internet and came across a very interesting site on mercury toxicity. I have a mouth full of fillings and have often wondered if and how this affects my health. The website mentions a number of symptoms which are also common among people with gluten intolerance. Actually, intolerances and sensitivities is one of the symptoms. I'm not really sure what to think of this. Gluten intolerance can be traced back to genes but maybe mercury toxicity is one of those things that can aggravate it? Maybe that is why some people are on the gluten free diet but not seeing as much improvement as they would like? Just a thought, but I would love to hear from others who might have researched this topic. I am going to make an appointment with a Naturopath doctor soon and will definitely be bringing this up with her. If anyone is interested, the symptoms for mercury toxicity can be found at www.evenbetternow.com/toxicity-symptoms.html. Let me know what you think. Marlene

[CarlaB]

There has been talk about this on here ... search the forum for mercury, and it will take you to various pages in the OMG Maybe I can eat dairy again thread.

I had all my fillings removed 15 years ago for health reasons. I was very happy I had it done, but still tested positive recently for mercury toxicity -- fish? Anyway, be sure you go to a dentist who specializes in removing mercury fillings if you have them removed as there's a whole protocol to help you detox.

[Guhlia]

Thank you so much for posting this. I'm going to mention it to my mother who has been severely under the weather this past year without any answers. She's demanding some tests now and I'm going to mention this to her as something she should look into. Thanks.

[Fiddle-Faddle]

Mercury in VACCINES produced before 2003 is far greater than mercury in fish. My husband did some research on this, and figured that our first two children received enough mercury in their first vaccines (given when they were 4 HOURS old) to equalthe mercury in 3 pounds of tuna.

[AndreaB]

The doctor that I see for allergies (he's a md with holistic leanings) told me that they do/or used to coat the wheat seed with mercury to keep it from spoiling, molding or something of that nature, before it started growing. He believes that the mercury binds to the protein and is responsible for a lot of the problems we see today. I also have amalgams and he told me they were responsible for my allergies. Didn't have allergies before I was a late teen, long enough for the mercury to seep into my body from my early teens.

Dogtorj (www.dogtorj.com (or net)) says that wheat used to have 5% gluten and was bred to the point of having 55% gluten which has caused a lot of problems.

[Rachel--24]

Marlene,

I was in perfect health up until a dentist appt. in Sept. 2002. Immediately after the appt. I began having symptoms of chemical sensitivities, pressure in my head, vision problems, concentration problems, sweats/chills, hairloss, etc. The dentist had drilled out 2 of my amalgam fillings. He then put gold crowns above my 2 remaining amalgams. My health worsened dramatically.

Basically I went from a completely normal healthy girl to someone who was so ill that I had to go on state disability for 2 years while doctors tried to figure out what was wrong with me. I couldnt function, stayed in bed mostly, couldnt drive, couldnt read, allergic to everything, felt about 80 years old and had severe depression. This all happened very rapidly following the placement of the gold crowns. Within 2 months I was unable to work.

I had what is called "galvanic reaction"....an electric current that goes back and forth between the 2 dissimilar metals. I had a strong force pulling my jaw and teeth together, drooling and shock type sensations going on in my mouth.

When I googled my symptoms I came up with mercury toxicity and this was the first I'd heard of galvanic reaction or mercury toxicity from amalgams. I read that the galvanic reaction leeches large amounts of mercury from the fillings and can be very dangerous. The symptoms descibed were identical to my own.

I went back to the dentist and had him remove the crowns. He acknowledged that I'd been experiencing galvanic reaction but stated that it would not cause me harm. Well...its not true...it DID cause me harm....in every way imaginable it has changed my life. Eventually I had the remaining amalgams removed by a specialist well versed in the dangers of mercury in fillings.

Every doctor I've seen has wanted to look at every other possibility first. In the last 4 years I've had every test you can think of and they've all come back normal. The doctors working with me have finally suggested I might have mercury toxicity since all else has been ruled out and its highly suspicious that my symptoms occurred right after the dental work. They sent me to a specialist 3 weeks ago. The specialist is knowledgeable about all this and we discussed every detail about what happened with the dental work. However, he wanted to rule out Lyme Disease first since I had never been tested. I had asked to be tested for Lyme 2 years ago but at the time I was with Kaiser and they refused to test me.

I just got the results back yesterday and I dont have Lyme Disease....thankfully. So now...after 4 years...I will finally get some real help as far as the mercury goes.

I've done alot of research on this and anyone who believes that mercury in amalgams is safe is wrong...I had to learn this the hard way.

Before all this happened I was pretty clueless about this kind of stuff. I lived a carefree life....thats all changed now and I've had to change my lifestyle 100% in order to be functional again.

Right now I cant eat anything processed, I'm extremely sensitive to all chemicals...especially perfumes or anything scented. I had lost 25 lbs. but gained most of it back on a strict diet. I can only eat organic fresh meat, fruit and veggies but even on the strictest diet I still react to nearly everything I eat. I can only drink water....nothing else.

I think I'm finally gonna get the help I've been waiting for these past 4 years....the Dr. I'm seeing now is good and if its mercury thats caused me to be this ill....I know he will help me get better.

I've been discussing all this on the "OMG...I might be on to something" thread. I'll be posting all the info regarding my Dr. visits, diagnosis, treatments, etc...on that thread.

[Kassiane]

I think mercury toxicity is overdiagnosed, honestly.

And I say that as someone who had genuine, the numbers in my blood (without a 'challenge', chelator challenge numbers are useless) up through the roof, heavy metal poisoning. This was post celiac by quite a bit.

Heavy metal poisoning does some things. It makes you mean and stupid. It makes your joints tingle. It makes you phototoxic. It makes the joints that arent tingling ache like mad. It aggrivates seizures. It may aggrivate allergies.

It does NOT cause celiac, or autism, or 3 headedness. Nor does the mercury involved in mercury poisoning come from shots (metabolized in under an hour) or from the occasional fish dinner. Nor is it from amalgams-Ive never had a cavity in my life & I got my braces off nearly 10 years ago.

I got mercury & lead from hot water leaking from old pipes, causing them to release metals and making the paint release as well. I got arsenic from old dishes. Some was also from the air (mercury) because where I lived was a kind of grody place.

The doctors I saw said that it was EXTRAORDINARILY RARE to have heavy metal poisoning without swallowing paint chips and weighing about a third of what I do. The protocol was dangerous and required lots of blood monitoring. Kidney and liver function, metal level, complete blood count...it was a pain. And I still have to take supplements but that's no biggie. What I WAS on could have killed me, but the doctors thought the metals were going to get me first (life threatening seizures).

There are a lot of charlatans trying to make a buck off people who think the environment is toxic. Be wary. www.quackwatch.com has a lot on metal testing, and emedicine.com has a lot on the symptomology. Research before letting someone treat something that may not even be there.

Peace.

Kassiane

[Rachel--24]

There is actually a whole lot of evidence out there....scientific proof that amalgam fillings DO leak mercury and that it is extremely toxic. The ADA had denied this in the past but are now acknowledging that the fillings leak.....they do not acknowledge that it can poison us. Many people have regained their health with amalgam removal and chelation so the evidence is there that this is a huge problem.

Other countries have completely banned amalgam in dentristy and if it werent toxic I dont know that they would take such measures to keep it out of peoples mouth.

People who have diseases of all kinds....whether it be autoimmune, cancer, heart problems, tumors etc...tend to have higher levels of mercury (and amalgams) than that of people with no disease.

I believe that I have this problem and the doctors are finally agreeing after 4 years of looking for answers. Nobody could possibly understand what was going on in my mouth and how it has affected my health unless they've experienced it themselves.

The doctors I saw said that it was EXTRAORDINARILY RARE to have heavy metal poisoning without swallowing paint chips and weighing about a third of what I do

Some doctors also say that Celiac doesnt exsist in overweight people. Some doctors say that a gluten-free diet isnt necessary even with positive bloodwork. Some doctors say that our illnesses are "all in our head". Unfortunately, doctors very often make erroneous statements.

Heavy metal poisoning does some things. It makes you mean and stupid. It makes your joints tingle. It makes you phototoxic. It makes the joints that arent tingling ache like mad. It aggrivates seizures. It may aggrivate allergies

I have all these symptoms (minus the seizures) plus a whole lot more and I got them immediately after dental work. Specifically, dental work in which different metals were placed in direct contact with amalgam fillings. I now know that this causes large amounts of mercury to be leeched from the amalgams....had I been aware I would not be here now.

It does NOT cause celiac, or autism, or 3 headedness

No, it does not cause Celiac directly but anything which places stress on the immune system can "trigger" Celiac in those who are gentically predisposed to it. Something as common as pregnancy can trigger Celiac and something as severe as mercury toxicity can trigger it as well. There is no limit to the things that can "trigger" the Celiac genes....its different for everyone.

[Kassiane]

I still maintain that heavy metal poisoning is overdiagnosed and over'treated'. If you go to a toxicologist the cure is as bad as the disease (some of that may have been that I had undx'd adrenal failure, but not all of it). The machine dentists use to say someone has toxic levels of amalgams is made for a room size, not a mouth size.

Am I saying that someone can't be allergic to amalgam? Sure am not. There's 23 carcinogens in porcelin fillings, or the metals in the metal ones. If you're allergic to one you are stuck with the other. Otherwise, one chooses their risk, at least now. I don't doubt that some people are more sensitive to metals either, and obviously the more exposure you have the more likely the body is going to go into revolt.

But mercury itself is everywhere. There are people with no symptoms being treated the same way one would treat someone who had the acheyness, seizures, stupidity, going a bit crazy, turning pink (my palms are still kind of pink and it's been over a year, really weird). That's quackery. That's fearmongering and charlatanism.

As for the fillings--they're kind of the lesser of 2 evils, particularly if someone is sensitive. And of course someone with autoimmune conditions is going to be more sensitive. But until someone finds something better that isn't carcinogenic it's what the US is stuck with (I have no fillings, everyone else in my family does & they DON'T have celiac, nor are they symptomatic for metal poisoning. such is life). Having experienced life-altering metal poisoning, should I get a cavity I would risk it rather than have my tooth rot out of my head, unless the dentist provided a safe and durable alternative.

And I am going to assume that everyone knows that doing a detox protocol with fillings in is at best worthless and at worst more likely to MAKE you sick because a true chelator will grab the atoms and drag them through your system. From what I've seen this is an intelligent board, but many practitioners either don't make that clear, or make people afraid to take so much as a vitamin C until the fillings are out.

[Rachel--24]

And I am going to assume that everyone knows that doing a detox protocol with fillings in is at best worthless and at worst more likely to MAKE you sick because a true chelator will grab the atoms and drag them through your system. From what I've seen this is an intelligent board, but many practitioners either don't make that clear, or make people afraid to take so much as a vitamin C until the fillings are out.

Yes...this is true...and fortunately I've had all metals removed 2 years back. In the case of an allergy to the metals I'm assuming the reaction would subside once the metal was removed. In the case of mercury toxicty from amalgams this wont happen unless the metals are chelated because it will be stored in the tissues. I dont think an allergy to metals that were removed 2 years ago would be causing multiple food and chemical sensitivities along with a host of other symptoms.

I had never been sensitive to *anything* my entire life except for cheap jewelery.....nor was I sick. Immediately after the dental work I started becoming highly sensitive to chemicals and within 6 months I was sensitive to nearly everything. Alot of the oral symptoms subsided once the metals were removed but I'm still left with the other symptoms. My symptoms are consistent with that of mercury toxicity and the circumstances surrounding the onset of symptoms seem to fit the mold. If I regain my health following chelation therapy I would say the proof is in the pudding.

Honestly, I would be highly skeptical of mercury toxicity from fillings had this not happened to me....directly. I'd never been ill my entire life and had no reason to mull over such things. I trusted whatever doctors or dentists told me and never in my worst nightmares could I have imagined something like this could happen. Its mainly the stuff you hear about but dont truelly believe. I also wouldnt have believed that some people cant eat bread or it will damage their intestines severely. Life just sometimes has a way of throwing us curves. I know alot more now than I EVER wanted to know or experience.

There is a huge difference from walking around with amalgam all your life and having them slowly leak and having a dentist drill out amalgam in an unsafe manner exposing the patient to large amounts of vapors at once. I had 4 fillings and dont think they would have noticeably affected my health had I not had a dentist who made all the wrong decisions.

I was not protected during removal in any way. I was then exposed to even greater amounts of mercury when the dentist placed gold crowns directly above amalgams. These are the ways to get a more acute type of poisoning from vapors being absorbed directly into the body. I'm sure if he would have left my fillings alone none of this would have occurred. Sometimes removal can be more dangerous than walking around with a mouthful of amalgam.

Once all this took place I had no choice but to remove everything so as to not to further expose myself.

I'm not someone to jump to conclusions....even though my symptoms appreared within days of amalgam removal and worsened with the placement of the crowns. Its been 4 years and I've had extensive testing....virtually everything has been ruled out including allergies to metals or other denatl materials. I had biocompatibility testing for this. I suspected some type of poisoning from the get-go....didnt know much about anything at the time though. Once I learned about what could be happening in my mouth with the dissimilar metals you can bet I wanted to be tested or treated for mercury toxicity. No Dr. would do this because no Dr. wanted to believe that I could possibly know whats going on in my own body.

They had their turn and they ran all the tests and now its come down to this and finally I've been sent to a Dr. who specializes in treating heavy metal toxicity.

It may be over diagnosed (lots of things are) but in some cases its real and if noone were willing to acknowledge this or treat it...these people would suffer endlessly. Fortunately there are some doctors who know better.

[georgie]

I wonder this too. I have 10 fillings. Many are old and complex with pins. To remove will nearly kill me. Someone is going to have to say they are 100% sure I will get better if they are removed. Chances are - will lose all my teeth as the fillings are too bad to repair. I see the Dr next week. I have had hair analysis done and get results. As I said. I don't think I can go down this road. Have had a constant headache since 1977. But is it mercury?

Sometimes removal can be more dangerous than walking around with a mouthful of amalgam.

[Kassiane]

I wonder this too. I have 10 fillings. Many are old and complex with pins. To remove will nearly kill me. Someone is going to have to say they are 100% sure I will get better if they are removed. Chances are - will lose all my teeth as the fillings are too bad to repair. I see the Dr next week. I have had hair analysis done and get results. As I said. I don't think I can go down this road. Have had a constant headache since 1977. But is it mercury?

If the fillings are really bad, like say bad enough to let crud underneath them, I'd bet cavity under cavity before mercury...though depending on age of the fillings who knows? And a blood or stool test is 'better' than a hair test, though hair tests are good preliminaries (since hair is contaminated by outside influences and shampooed and stuff).

And people with celiac are more likely to be ubersensitive, making it even MORE complex! Bleh.

Kassiane, vowing to never ever EVER get a cavity.