Chapter 28: Heavy Metals Testing is Extremely Controversial!

This video makes me laugh!  Laughing makes me feel better.

Switzerland's finance minister collapsed into a fit of giggles as he tried to read the unintelligible bureaucratic language in his report while answering a parliamentary question about imports of cured meats. 

Update on my treatment plan from the Amen Clinic:

It has taken seven months to make the needed medication changes in my treatment plan from the Amen Clinic.  I have been on 300 mg of Effexor XR for two weeks and still taking 300 mg of Neurontin 4 times per day.  I have been off the beast clonazepam since May 7, 2010, and still taking supplements.  

I have been talking to my psychiatrist at the Amen Clinic about every 4-6 weeks by phone.  He has recommended I stay on 300 mg of Effexor XR for 8-12 weeks before we decide to increase the dosage.  He has found increasing the dose causes more side effects, without being more effective on the depression symptoms.  

I am having short periods of time I feel a little better.  I am hoping the depression symptoms will improve as this dose of Effexor XR gets into my body.  The thought that it might not help is frightening!

Mercury Toxicity

I thought I wanted to be tested to see if I have mercury poisoning.  The whole issue of metal poisoning and testing is extremely controversial.  There is a blood test panel for heavy metals; it is approximately $105.00.  Medical insurance will pay for this test if it has the code for Alzheimer's or dementia, but usually will not cover this test if it is being done for depression.  This test would probably be recommended by a medical doctor.

Dr. Mark Hyman (The UltraMind Solution) is a Functional Medicine M.D., and his experience has shown that the blood test will be positive if the heavy metal exposure has been recent.  If the exposure has been over a long period of time the metal will accumulate in tissues and bones.  Taking a chelating agent will pull the toxins out of tissue and bone, then a 24-hour urine sample is taken, and the amount of toxins your body excretes will be measured.  This test is usually done by Functional Medicine doctors or doctors trained in detoxification.  Removal of dental mercury or silver fillings should be performed by a biological dentist.  Go to www.iaomt.org to find a biological dentist.

The chelating agents or drugs used to test for and and treat heavy metal toxicity are DMPS and DMSA.  There is a lot of information online about these drugs being toxic themselves.  I have decided I would not feel comfortable using a chelating agent unless I could go to Lenox, Massachusetts and be treated by Dr. Hyman himself or one his colleague's.  I am going to Dr. Hyman's website (www.ultrawellness.com) and see if there is more information about heavy metals testing, or if I can ask a question about it.

The GSTM1 gene is a key gene necessary for the detoxification of mercury and many other 21st Century poisons.  About half of the population in the United States is missing this gene.  Mercury poisoning is more common in people with the apo E4 gene.  About 20% of the population has this gene.  I wonder if it would be better to test for these genes first?  (How much would it cost to have genetic testing?)

I will include some information about heavy metals testing, and some websites if you would like to read more about this subject.  Some people believe the available tests are either inaccurate or will make you sicker than you already are!

Research Article

Diagnostic chelation challenge with DMSA: a biomarker of long-term mercury exposure?

H Frumkin, C C Manning, P L Williams, A Sanders, B B Taylor, M Pierce, L Elon, and V S Hertzberg

Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. medhf@sph.emory.edu

Abstract

Chelation challenge testing has been used to assess the body burden of various metals. The best-known example is EDTA challenge in lead-exposed individuals. This study assessed diagnostic chelation challenge with dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) as a measure of mercury body burden among mercury-exposed workers. Former employees at a chloralkali plant, for whom detailed exposure histories were available (n = 119), and unexposed controls (n = 101) completed 24-hr urine collections before and after the administration of two doses of DMSA, 10 mg/kg. The urinary response to DMSA was measured as both the absolute change and the relative change in mercury excretion. The average 24-hr mercury excretion was 4.3 microg/24 hr before chelation, and 7.8 microg/24 hr after chelation.

There was no association between past occupational mercury exposure and the urinary excretion of mercury either before or after DMSA administration. There was also no association between urinary mercury excretion and the number of dental amalgam surfaces, in contrast to recent published results. We believe the most likely reason that DMSA chelation challenge failed to reflect past mercury exposure was the elapsed time (several years) since the exposure had ended. These results provide normative values for urinary mercury excretion both before and after DMSA challenge, and suggest that DMSA chelation challenge is not useful as a biomarker of past mercury exposure.

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (77K).

ARTICLES: IAOMT Medicine  (A new test to determine mercury toxicity.)

Urinary Porphyrin Profile: A Quantitative and Qualitative Laboratory
Indicator of Mercury Toxicity   John Wilson, MD
http://www.iaomt.com/articles/category_view.asp?intReleaseID=277&month=6&year=2007&catid=35

Did "Doctor's Data" know of "false positives" from mercury tests? (Doctor's Data Incorporated is a lab that is the subject of litigation.)

http://www.examiner.com/special-education-in-mesa/did-doctor-s-data-know-of-false-positives-from-mercury-tests

 

Topic: Heavy Metal Toxicity and Detoxification  (Good information on heavy metal testing and treatment.)

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=175751934758&topic=12151

 

Heavy Metal Detoxification in the Treatment of ASD (ASD=Autism)

http://www.developmentalspectrums.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=142:heavy-metal-detoxification-in-the-treatment-of-asd&catid=71:detoxification&Itemid=238 

 

MERCURY DETOXIFICATION   The Truth About DMPS  (Reports from people who have become very ill after taking DMPS.)

http://www.dmpsbackfire.com/default.shtml

 

Added on Sunday, October 10, 2010

I looked on Dr. Mark Hyman's website for answers to some of my questions on mercury toxicity.  If you are interested go to, www.ultrawellness.com, click on blog, look on the left side at blog topics (after scrolling down for awhile), click on mercury toxicity.  There is so much information the blogs are divided into sections.

I am still considering mercury poisoning testing, but I would only feel comfortable doing it under the supervision of a well qualified Functional Medicine doctor.

Chapter 26: Is Mercury Toxicity Causing Depression?

"Mercury, I believe (because of the hundreds of patients I have seen with mercury toxicity), is one of the most serious threats to our brain, and is responsible for or contributes to much of the modern epidemic of autism, ADHD, depression, dementia, and other versions of broken brains.  Finding it and getting rid of it in my patients is one of the most effective ways I have to improve mood, attention, and memory."  Mark Hyman, M.D., The UltraMind Solution, page 72.

Mercury is the second-most toxic substance known to human biology, after plutonium.

"Throughout the centuries, several incidents of mercury toxicity have been reported. Mercury has been found in Egyptian tombs, indicating it was used as early as 1500 BC. In the late 18th century, anti-syphilitic agents contained mercury. It was during the 1800s that the phrase "mad as a hatter" was coined because of the chronic mercury exposure that the felters (hats were made of felt) faced because mercury was used in hat making.  (Think of the "mad hatter" character in, Alice In Wonderland.)

In the 1940s and 1950s, mercury became known as the product that caused acrodynia, also known as pink disease. Manifestations of acrodynia include pain and erythema (abnormal redness of the skin resulting from dilation of blood vessels as in sunburn or inflammation) of the palms and soles, irritability, insomnia, anorexia, diaphoresis (perspiration: the process of the sweat glands of the skin secreting a salty fluid), photophobia (a morbid fear of light), and rash.

Some of the more recent occurrences include exposures in Minamata Bay in Japan (1960) from toxic dumping into the ocean, mercury contaminated fish in Canada (1960), methylmercury treated grain in Iraq (1970) mercury was applied to prevent spoilage of grain used for planting, but the grain was eaten by accident, and in the United States (1996), a beauty cream product from Mexico called "Crèma de Belleza-Manning.

For centuries, mercury was an essential part of many different medicines, such as diuretics, antibacterial agents, antiseptics, and laxatives.  Mercury poisoning is usually misdiagnosed because of the insidious onset, nonspecific signs and symptoms, and lack of knowledge within the medical profession."    
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/819872-overview

"One thing is absolutely clear though: coming in contact with mercury can be a health risk.  Once having been accumulated in the body, mercury is not easily released and flushed out with regular detoxification as it hides deep within the organs and tissues.

Depression?

Not only does mercury poison affect the brain adversely as in Alzheimer’s disease, as well as affecting the heart, thyroid and immune system, it may also be the cause of emotional and behavioral problems:  Depression, mood swings, irritability, fear, extreme anger, insomnia, ADHD and loss of energy – there is a long list of symptoms of possible mercury poisoning.

Who should be more concerned about mercury poison?

Some groups of people are susceptible to mercury poisoning more than others:

     • Dentists and those who work in dental offices

     • People with silver dental fillings
       (for a directory of dentists providing safe removal of mercury fillings, click here)

     • People who live in the vicinity of coal-fired power plants

     • Workers in environments that use mercury for:  barometers, neon lights, explosives, insecticides, and paint    

     • Film developers

     • People who eat fish grown in fish farms

     • Mirror makers

     • Embalmers

     • Dye and ink makers

     • Jewelers      
     • Cosmetic makers"

http://www.cleansing-for-depression.com/mercury-poisoning-symptoms.html 

Mercury is toxic in low doses as in dental amalgam fillings, vaccines, and environmental exposures.  The largest environmental exposure is from consumption of large fish contaminated with mercury such as tuna, swordfish, shark, tilefish, and sea bass, as well as nearly all river fish.  Large fish eat smaller fish and toxins bio-concentrate up the food chain.  The bigger the fish, the higher dose of mercury you are likely to get.  So eat only fish that are small enough to fit in your frying pan.  (Information taken from, The UltraMind Solution, by Mark Hyman, M.D. pages 72 & 73)

Very interesting article about Abraham Lincoln:

By Melissa Lee Phillips
Neuroscience for Kids Consultant
July 10, 2002

In the years before he became president, Abraham Lincoln exhibited many behaviors inconsistent with his dignified image. According to writings of some of his friends and acquaintances, Lincoln was prone to highly unpredictable moodiness, to fits of extreme rage, and to unexplained bizarre actions. Most of these behaviors stopped soon after his inauguration. Researchers, led by medical historian and retired physician Norbert Hirschhorn, published a report in 2001 hypothesizing that Lincoln suffered from mercury poisoning for years prior to his presidency.

For many years, Lincoln took pills referred to as "blue mass." The main ingredient in blue mass was elemental mercury. In the 1800s, these blue pills were commonly prescribed for a wide variety of conditions, including worms, tuberculosis, toothaches, and cholera. They also were often prescribed for "hypochondriasis," a very general medical term that was used to describe many different physical and mental problems. Lincoln was said to have suffered from one condition often attributed to hypochondriasis: melancholia or depression. It is likely that a physician recommended that Lincoln take these blue pills for his depression.

Physicians in the 1800s did not know that mercury is a powerful neurotoxin. Once ingested, mercury binds to molecules in the central nervous system and can cause behavioral problems. Common symptoms of mercury poisoning are irritability, anxiety, hostility, depression, insomnia, memory loss, nerve damage, tremor, and problems with dexterity. Lincoln apparently suffered many of these symptoms during the time he is believed to have taken mercury pills.

Fortunately, many of the toxic effects of mercury are reversible. If mercury consumption stops, eventually some of the adverse symptoms stop too. A friend of Lincoln's wrote that Lincoln stopped taking blue pills about five months after the presidential inauguration. Lincoln felt that the pills made him "cross." After that, Lincoln's behavior changed: the rage attacks ceased, he remained calm in stressful situations, and the deep melancholy seemed to subside." 

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/linc.html

I am wondering if mercury poisoning could be a part of the depression symptoms tormenting me?