I've been diagnosed with biotoxin illness from mold (per Dr Shoemaker's protocol). Every time I have tried to take the Cholestyramine (and later, Welchol, which is similar, easier to take, and paid for by my insurance), I've felt just awful. All the people in the case studies I've read about seem to take it for a few weeks and then they are on the road to recovery, but I just feel worse and worse. The main sxs are fatigue, depression, and brain fog (and I suspect it has contributed to increased candida issues as well?). In the 3 years or so I've been on and off this protocol, my labs have barely improved, and my memory and basic sense of intelligence have really gone downhill.

Recently I had a reaction to another supplement my doctor recommended, which has led me to reconsider whether a problem with mercury may be underlying all this. Having looked at Andy Cutler's protocol, I'm wondering if I need to re-evaluate almost everything I've been doing in "support" of the biotoxin issue. (According to Cutler, Chlorella, NAC, IV glutathione,& high-dose ALA all appear to redistribute mercury as much or more as they support the liver.).

My symptoms (fatigue, depression, declining memory and cognitive fxn, getting sick all the time...) have gotten steadily worse this past fall and winter, including Candida recurrence... and I'm wondering if the explanation is that I've been gradually mobilizing more and more mercury (symptoms seem to fit...).

I guess my questions are:
Does this make sense as a hypothesis?
Has anyone else had a similar experience, and if so, what did you do about it? And, is there a possibility that the CSM &/or Welchol also contribute to the problem, by somehow being a poor or "redistributive" chelator of mercury?
Where can I find more info about the relationship between biotoxins and mercury? (does it exist?)

PS, I do have a history with mercury- I got really sick after a dental procedure in ~2000, where I swallowed a little chunk of an Amalgam filling. Following this, I had all my Amalgams removed by a mercury-sensitive dentist. But blood and hair testing at that time showed low levels of mercury, so we didnt pursue chelation (maybe just as well, since I felt so awful after the challenge test, and who knows what would have been recommended as a protocol at that time.) Anyway, part of the reason I am revisiting whether this is really an issue is: 1) long-standing chronic health problems that fir the symptom picture, and 2) learning from Cutler's writing that the tests are essentially meaningless.

Thanks!