I'm on 30mg ALA on round on the Cutler protocol. I've met improvement and even had some amazing days. I was thinking of increasing it to 40mg, but over the past week, I've been feeling pretty bad emotionally. Tense, upset, etc. even over things that shouldn't be a big deal. I decided raising the dose might be a bad idea at the moment.
I've bought magnesium and have it in the house, but I don't take it. I've heard supposedly it can reduce the side effects of chelation? Does that include the emotional side effects as well? If so, how and when do I take it?
I agree that an increase in dose does not seem wise.
Mg is one of the essential supplements while chelating with Cutler. It definitely can help mood for some, including a close friend who is chelating. More on this in the Files of the frequent dose chelation yahoo group & Cutler's Amalgam Illness book.
When people are pushing doses too much they often get an increase in low adrenal symptoms. I think this is part of what you are experiencing. I've seen way too many reports of this. Are you getting adequate adrenal support?! If you are not careful you'll be like lots of others who crashed their adrenals or something and had to take time off to put the pieces back together again.
Cutler probably gets into this more than any other single topic in his Amalgam Illness book--noamalgam.com
When Hg is involved: Adrenal *cortex* extract seems to be the starting point. It is not a fix all and certainly is not adequate for those with more than minor adrenal fatigue. However it probably should be taken by everyone with Hg problems.
Pregnenolone makes good sense as the #2 thing to add. Again it is not enough for those with a major adrenal fatigue problem but it can be part of the solution. It might mean you need less cortisol-boosting medicine, etc. Cutler seems to like the effect on the brain too.
A friend and I like the effect of these two. We just use low doses of preg but some people use higher doses with good effect. I think people should be under a doctor's care and get followup testing. That is what I did. I also suggest that people be aware of the sfx of taking too much. I had these at one point as I was improving. I just needed to reduce the dose. Dr. Shahalein's site has sfx list but his doses are very conservative.
You could check out canarayclub.org for saliva followup testing and info.
Now, what is adrenal fatigue and how do I know if I have it? Maybe I do, maybe I don't. Could you describe it and possible symptoms? Obviously, I don't want to create any problems. I'm still on 30mg (I'm on my on round now - Saturday-Monday are my days). I accidentally took 60mg once by mistake, but I don't think that should throw things off much (I'll try to avoid repeating that mistake of course).
Anyway, I am now adding probiotics and L-glutamine daily to my routine. Magnesium, should I take that on my "off round" days as well?
Sorry to be the idiot in this thread but just wanted to throw you my personal experience with mag.
The pills = nothing for me.
Mag drink (natural calm is the brand I used) was awesome, felt it from the first dose. Talk about laid back and chilled out. I was definitely mag deficient. Drawback: expensive at $30 a bottle (good option for kids though)
Mag Oil is where it's at for me. I sprayed on my legs and for some reason it burned like hell and turned my skin red. I was not deterred (I rarely am, in fact I like seeing a reaction.) After 2 days this did not happen. A weird plus is that it's fading my spider veins and pale blue veins!? I don't know why this would be but I noticed this after a week and they're still fading out. Anyway, one less supplement to take. Best $10 I ever spent. :-)
"Mag drink (natural calm is the brand I used) was awesome..."
A friend uses it with fairly good results; however it does produce some unpleasant GI sfx in her.
I put together a combo of powdered Mg glycinate, malate and citrate. She uses 50% of it with the Natural Calm without sfx. I think it is the MgO that causes the sfx since it is a laxative. It is very poorly absorbed. I get my powdered Mg from Beyond a Century vitamins online.
"Mag Oil is where it's at for me...."
Thanks for the tip! I've never heard of this.
In the yahoo chelation groups they say Cutler has tips for making a magnesium cream from magnesium sulfate (probably from epsom salt). I wonder if that would also be helpful to you.
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Magnesium while on Cutler protocol - does it reduce emotional side effec... 
