Monday, November 12, 2007

Issues with 100 mgs Iodoral

To some I have given the impression that my supplementing with iodine has been smooth sailing. This is not the case. I had issues with moving from 50 mgs to 100 mgs in October 2008. Here is my story.....

I did a 28 day detox with my ND in Dec '04. I had RAI (250 mCi's ) May 2005. I had to cleanse my body again from that. I spent the next year working on cleaning it up by eating only organic, off gluten and minimal sugars. Then in March '06 was when I started working with Dr. B. He started me off on 50 mgs from the start. I had no detox reactions either. So I was thinking "Hey this is great". Then in October of 2008 we decided to kick it up a notch and go to 100 mgs. Well I have to tell you that at times it was nothing short of hell. So those of you who think I don't understand how hard a bromide detox is, I do. But...... I pushed through because with a cancer diagnosis and measurable markers you just never know what is going on.

Here was my list of symptoms:

Body feels "shaky" like it is vibrating but you cannot see it - like when I hold out my hands.
Extreme anxiety to the point where I had to call someone to talk me down one morning.
Dropped temperature - one day it was 96.4 but most of the time it was around 97.1
Depression / "the blues"
Vertigo
Fatigue
Brain Fog
Aching joints
Acne
Breast Tenderness
Cloudy Urine
Heart pounding easily with little movement
Pain in thyroid bed ( I have no thyroid)
Painful lymph nodes in neck

So I took 2 days off and pumped in salt and Metagenics ultra clear plus pH. Then back on. I then did 6 days on of 100 mgs and 1 day off. It helped with the detox but my weeks were not great. I did not feel well but I knew that this was all part of the process. I will toughed it out at all costs. I had recently added 6,000 mg of MSM (at Dr. B's suggestion based on other Dr's experiences) to my protocol which helped the detox but this only made me feel sick to my stomach - but I still took it knowing that it was supposed to help me in the end. I also stress dose with Cortef to help with the shaky feeling and the anxiety. It helped. This went on for a month (since Oct 12).

So yes I understand and maybe that is why I "appear" to be less than sympathetic at times. I am a fighter. Even when things are rotten and I feel horrible I keep going because I know that in the end I will be glad. There are times when I am a bit freaked out over my symptoms but then I read the info on bromide toxicity and what it does and that lines up with what I am feeling so I continue.

So that is my story and now you know that it has not been smooth sailing for me with iodine either.

Keep plugging - the end of the road and better health is worth the journey!

Stephanie

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Day 3 on Alpha Lipoic Acid

I am so achy and tired. I am glad this is the last day . I have a burning mouth and a metalic taste in my mouth. I woke up this morning with mucous coming out of my eyes. I decided to take a dead sea salt bath with epsom salts to try to increase the detoxing. It also helps with the aching. In this case it didn't do too much so I wonder what is happening. I also wonder how much longer this is going to continue. The ups and downs are so hard.

Tomorrow is my appt with Dr. B. We have a lot to discuss. I hope he has some options for how to deal with all this. I am eager to get my labs too. A bit aprehensive about it on a level as well.

Mom is coming to be with my daughter. I am glad I don't have to worry about her.

Tomorrow is a new day. Hopefully better too!

Monday, November 05, 2007

Day 2 on ALA Chelation

December 5, 2006 - Today was day 2 of chelation with ALA. I started on Sunday night and have been taking 50 mgs every 3 hours. It has helped in some ways but in others I am feeling achy and tired. My eyes feel heavy and I have a headache. ALA is supposed to cross the blood / brain barrier so I am hoping it is moving the mercury out of my brain.

I was at my dentist's office today. My son had his checkup and cleaning. He also got his spacers put in for his expander which will be put in on Monday. Poor kid but he was a trooper and did well.

I am struggling with the feeling of a swelling tongue. I didn't take anything before I went to the dentist because it seems nothing works and I do not have any zeolite like the stuff the Dr. gave me last week when I was there. I'll have to decide if I want it the next time I go.

I have a metal taste in my mouth and it seems more saliva. There is also a burning sensation on the edges like what I had prior to removal of all my amalgams. How can the FDA think this is OK. I wonder this each and every day. This is costing me thousands of dollars to regain my health and it could have been prevented.

SAD!

Thursday, November 01, 2007

My Second Hair Test from Genova

On Decmeber 1, 2006, I had my regular 2 week appointment with my Chiropractor / ND.
I have done a lot of research on heavy metal toxicity and more specifically those involving mercury. I had all my amalgams removed and my MD had been helping me chelate using DMSA / Chlorella / Cilantro drops and Mercurius Viv. My ND did not agree with this protocol so it was a subject that we tended to ignore. My ND likes to use Metal Free - www.metalfree.com to chelate mercury. There are a few positive testimonials but nothing that strikes me for its cost. I had read Andrew Cutler's Amalgam Illness book and it seemed to offer more reasons why people symptoms of toxicity but when testing is done they do not "show" toxic.

I was sure this was me. My hair tests consistently show no mercury. My DMPS challenge test showed zero mercury yet I had 11 amalgams in my mouth - that makes it virtually impossible for me to not have some toxicity. How possible would it be that I would NO mercury when it is in the environment? I didn't buy it. I showed symptoms and felt better when chelating.

I told my ND that I was experiencing eye pain behind my left eye. I told him that when I started chelating I felt better and the pain went away. He said that he suspected my pain was related to mold as was my fatigue. I asked, "But why is it that when I started chelating the pain went away and I felt better?" He said that mold is carried away by DMSA too. I had NEVER read this. That was my next mission to see if this was true. I was so skeptical of doctors - even those who had helped me because there had been many I trusted that about killed me.

We reviewed my hair test. I had one done through Great Smokies Diagnostics lab in February. It didn't show anything other than all my mineral levels were on the low side. My Uranium however, was in the red range. This time my mineral levels were low again and my uranium still high even after chelating with homeopathy for I-131 which is how I was poisoned. He stated that he was happy with the results but I was not. My nutrients needed to be at least midway according to Andy Cutler. Anything on the low end signals mineral transport issues. This is consistent with my low mercury reading as well. My ND knew nothing about Andy's mineral transport information and tried to blame my low levels on autoimmune issues. I was dx'd with cancer - my antibodies are now gone from the thyroid so I think that this is not the case. I was frustrated to say the least.

I had also done a hair test from my MD's office through King James Labs. It was taken at the same time as the Genova so I was eager to see how they would compare. I prayed that it would show more than the Genova test or that my MD would see something. This was getting annoying! Thankfully my MD did take me seriously and he did believe that I had uranium issues. He called Genova lab and talked with a technician and he said that I did have an issue. My ND said that he had called them as well and they had said that I did not have an issue with Uranium! He stated that the technician told him that it was on the "outside" of my hair and not in my tissue. This didn’t make sense to me. How was it getting to my hair if it isn't in my tissue? I made my mind up to continue the fight by myself if I had to.

My Final Post ..... The Ending of a Journey

It is a very strange feeling to be writing this post.  It will be the last update that I post to this blog.  The blog itself will remain up ...