(Look at my comment history for some more details.)

3.5 years of chelation. DMPS and DMSA as infusions first every month, later every 2, then 3 months; after 1.5 years also ALA (infusions). I switched to DMSA capsules and Cutler. NOT because I think it is better, according to the doctors and also to my own experience nothing beats DMPS (s.c., i.m., i.v., infusion - 1-2 ampules into the body, not capsules) by a margin, it is simply the by far most effective chelator out there. I switched because DMPS was overkill, slow and steady Cutler to remove the tiny bit that still regularly made it into my body from where it was stored was better for me than one huge dose of DMPS and then nothing for 2 months.

Also, my (upper) jaw bones are (were) "mushy" - right where the Amalgam fillings used to be, left and right side. It is very, very hard to see anything on x-ray, but when the doctor tried to inject something next to the jaw bone the needle went right into the bone. He injected DMPS there, several ampules over 1 year, half an ampule total (4 quadrants, upper and lower jaw, left and right side) every 2 months, and my body started doing strange (but good) things in my jaw bones. At each session it got harder for him to inject more, the bone structure seems to have repaired itself.

I DO eat A LOT of Chlorella, I didn't believe in that "esoteric BS" at all but I tried and over many experiments over a long time I found it definitely helped me a lot. BUT!!! I don't use "regular" Chlorella, the stuff I buy is expensive, it is grown in huge (miles long) glass tubes in Germany, so it is definitely free of contaminants like heavy metals that you may find in "outdoor Chlorella" from Asia (especially since countries like China have a heavy-metal problem even with their regular food, even say "The Economist", not exactly known as a "leftist, green, alarmist" news magazine. My source: http://www.algomed.de/index.php?lang=eng


Success of the whole thing: PHENOMENAL. I wasn't sure whether or not to fully believe this mercury story, I did it not because I was convinced but because I had run out of options. After 1 year I was pretty sure, after 2 years I sopped reading anything on the Internet because it was all completely clear and I could learn nothing new from anyone. A lot of issues disappeared that I had had for decades, from regular cramps in various places to worsening eye sight and "RSI" (aka "mouse arm" - I blamed computer work, but now I do more than ever and have ZERO issues, same with the eyes), to white warts on the bottom of my left foot, which started with 1 or two 10-20 years ago and got more and more over time. They are all gone, every single one (after ~2 years of the DMPS infusions)! And lots more but this should suffice.

HOWEVER, the bad side of all of it: I'm a freelancer with no family and pretty good income. I was unable to work for many months. When I finally accepted another client I was able to do my job well enough, but my head was "in the clouds" for 50% of the time. I had to lie down a lot, and sleep for 15-30 minutes - not the kind of sleep you need when you are sleep-deprived (I wasn't!), it was more like a "timeout" in the middle of day that my brain needed to "reorganize" something, strange things went on. Also, 2 months end of last year when I was afraid my kidneys were getting hurt, lots of pain in that area, not a single night that I could sleep through during that time (I didn't work then). Fortunately, each time I was alarmed about the latest problems and my doctor checked it out, or send me to a specialist to check it out (here: nephrologist for a detailed check of my kidneys), it always turned out to be nothing, nephrologist too said "there is no problem" (and this is something that I believed them, rant about modern medicine's failures when it comes to heavy metals as much as you like, but they DO know how to recognize kidney disease).

So one needs LOTS of patience, time and MONEY. All the glass-tube indoor chlorella alone cost me something like 1500 Euros by now. And forget your social life during the first 2-3 years, and work will SUCK. I never watched so many movies in my life before (I don't even have a TV, but a computer and Internet), I couldn't do anything else for a long time, my brain was not really usable. Today my brain is fine, much better than it was before I started all of this (before I even knew I had problems, when I took all the little signs for normal signs of aging, nothing worth worrying about). I'm glad I did this.

But again: I mainly relied on chelators, everything else is "add-on". DMPS is what gets the job done, the rest is "support". Later definitely DMSA and also very definitely ALA.

When I got my first ALA infusion (i.e. there was MUCH more ALA inside of me than you'll ever get from capsules, the doctor says ALA is one of the drugs that are best used all at once in huge quantity for therapeutic effect) the bones under/around my nose area started to feel some sort of "pressure", and that's when that area started to be cleaned (many nose bleeds in the months after that, often that pressure feeling - those bones are only 1/2 inch from the "mushy" bones of my upper jaw so it was easy to see why/how they were involved).

Re Gastritis. This is not one of the more common symptoms of using ALA; however, I've read a few reports of it over the years. I'm sorry that you had that very unpleasant experience. Since that symptom is not frequently discussed in the chelation groups, I don't know what Cutler and others suggest for it. You might search the Googlebooks version of his Amalgam Illness book for the term.

Pastet89: " If you open the Yahoo group you will see tons of people, chelating for 2, 3, even 5 years with no progress!"

That is ridiculous! Just today a woman with a history of fairly severe chemical sensitivities (MCS) posted a 1 yr update. Her experience is fairly typical for those with MCS--slow gains over many months along with much struggle to tolerate supplements that are usually helpful. She certainly has renewed hope for a better life!
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/frequent-dose-chelation/message/117018


She recently posted her followup hair test. The reduction in arsenic seems encouraging.
http://www.livingnetwork.co.za/files/hairtest_644.pdf


From my 3.5 yrs in the chelation groups at Yahoo and Curezone I've followed many very encouraging cases--dreadful early reports, many struggles in the early months, and slow gains over many months. The gains are usually retained after people stop taking supporting supplements.

There are also many dreadful cases--severe mental illness with "burning brain", terrible cases of MCS where they can only eat a half dozen foods. A few seem too far gone mentally and don't have any family support. Even some of them get nice gains, although this is more common among young adults rather than seniors. I really did not think the following teen would be able to overcome the opposition of his parents and doctor friend, not a teen who had to drop out of high school due to the mental confusion! However I recently received a message from him that he is taking college classes after roughly 2.5 yrs of Cutler protocol!
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/frequent-dose-chelation/message/64260
( 1 yr update)
In contrast his most noticeable improvement in the early months of Cutler detox was that he did not cry as often!

For those who are trying to determine which type of detox to use, I suggest that you pay attention to several factors:

Don't just focus on the substance--chelator--being taken but also the dosing schedule or "protocol." The chelator may be quite useful if taken on a certain schedule and quite dangerous on another. For example we need water for survival but also drown on it.

For example there are many horror stories about DMPS at dmpsbackfire.com; however most of those are from people who received a blast of it via IV. In contrast, from my 3+ years in the chelation groups, small 5mg doses taken every 6 or 8 hrs for a long weekend with antioxidant support (Cutler's protocol) is the method that the very sickly members are most likely to tolerate in the early months of detox.

Has the person stopped exposure to the toxin before starting a detox process? Removal of "silver" Amalgam fillings (50% mercury!) is an obvious example. However, if you are getting too much lead or arsenic from your well water the use of a chelator would *increase* your absorption of the toxin!

Consider the track record of the detox substance(s). When I was learning about detox I narrowed down my choices to Boyd Haley's new OSR chelator and Cutler's protocol. While OSR looked quite promising, I decided it was a safer bet to use Cutler. DMSA and DMPS have been around for 40+ yrs. Lipoic acid (ALA) is naturally used in the body since we get some from certain foods. OSR was later pulled from the market by the US FDA.

Where is the detox substance made/grown? You would not want to use something that has the ability to bind heavy metals but is also grown in our toxic environment!

If you have the time to wait before starting, consider going to one of the big Yahoo groups such as Frequent Dose Chelation and follow the cases of a few very sick new members over many months. It seems less likely that a dazed and very sick person will make up many dozens of dishonest posts over many months while they are struggling to follow the detox protocol, etc. When I was new to detox, I was impressed that even some of those very mentally dazed members were getting gains over many months. It was clear from the changes in their writing that they were gaining mental capacity.

Of course no one claims that all illness is due to toxins! Cutler very clearly states that if a symptom is not responding to treatment over many months, it is important to go back to the differential diagnosis process to look for another cause or contributing factor.

For those who want to learn more about Cutler's system, check out this audio discussion between Cutler, PhD Chemistry, and Dr Dan Pompa, DC. Both had mysterious symptoms that their doctors were slow to address. They struggled to find a cause but reported much improvement.
http://www.healthcentersofthefuture.com/DrCutler/


Good luck to you as you search for a cause or contributing factors in your health difficulties.

Joe, 3 yrs Cutler protocol with nice gains.

It's good you are researching all possible best solutions.

I do not know what supplements used, how much, or how long or how serious the problem. So I will make a ‘Blanket statement' backed by experiences and a whole lot research. Canals are not dug by a couple ditch diggers with shovels, or battles won against army with a squad of soldiers with a few rifles. We gather as much intelligence and men and weapons available, attacking with everything we have until the battle is won.

This is what defeats a serious health problem. Dr klenner and other natural medicine doctors do or did this. Vitamin C and supporting vitamins, minerals and supplements. Vitamin C is the principle ammunition, our immune system furnishes the expertise, direction and soldiers, (white blood cells). Dr Klenner used up to 160 grams of vitamin C (bullets) a day, iv, injection and oral to attack a disease or health problem. Other natural health doctors have used more. Vitamin C and nutrients,to neutralize Poisons and Toxins, and remove heavy metals to the liver for removal and disposal.

This little diatribe is not all that accurate, but hopefully gives least a blurred picture of some the ways the body handles illness and disease given the support to do it. The idea is to fight, giving your best shot. Dr.Kenner and the many other Innovators of medicine did not sell there Training and Innovative minds, they used them to heal. As always, do the research. If you have a doctor that will work ‘with’ you, and go out side the box, treasure him/her. There are many roads to good health.

Oral DMPS the only thing that actually worked for me. I'm waiting to get a whole lot of it and chelate frequent dose.

Well that's me again, around 2 year later. I seem to be getting back to Cutler. I will give objective review of what I did the last years.

1) I did 2 times not complete 6 months sessions of Dr Shades products. From them I got increased sound and light sensitiveness and temporary insomnia.

2) This year I decided to try it hard. I did for 4 months in total the following schedule:
- Dr Shades full protocol (just the Vitamin C was without R-ALA)
- first 2 months I was 5 days on, 2 days off, second 2 months I was 10 days on, 4 days off
- During all the days on I was taking equal doses of NDF plus, dissolved in water, gradually increasing the dose up to full 4 droppers per 24 hours.

The results are:

POSITIVE: When I get candida flare up from no-foods (people on this forum can find other posts of mine, revealing how scary terrible candida do I have, getting flare ups even from TOUCHING sugar, and limited to eating meat, yogurt and green veggies for years), my psychological symptoms were GREATLY decreased (I would say, at least on 80%).
NEGATIVE:
- My physical candida flare ups seem to be a bit worse.
- Just after the last round, I felt terrible mentally. I feel stupid and hardly communicate and I am having tingling all over my body - usual sign of redistribution.

When I gave up Cutler a try again, my GERD returned immediately. Currently I am treating it with Betaine HCL and this combination: //www.curezone.org/forums/fm.asp?i=2269408#i
Furthermore, my candida is back again, at least 10 times worse, both mentally and physically, just for 2 rounds of low doses ALA (16 and 8 mg) respectively.
I guess I will have to take a long patient road and do the chelation while bearing all the candida, GERD, and my newly even more limited meal menu to literally around 5 foods for at least 5 years. Sounds not nice, but I seem to be convinced, that at least for me, this is the only path, as I am too sick and too full of mercury.

As for alternative methods like NDF and Chriss Shade, I still am not convinced that they are "just bad". I absolutely believe to few very nice success stories I have heard about them, but my understanding is that they just work for slightly toxic people and are making extremely sick people like me even sicker. Some folks like Eric11 from this forum are applying the few (2?) hours schedule when dosing them, combining Cutler with them, and have had very nice results and I believe this is a safer approach with them. Furthermore I am sure I made a massive redistribution to me taking into account how I feel after the last round, but I strongly believe I have as well removed maybe significant amount of mercury, having in mind my psychological symptoms from candida were almost gone.

I wish good luck to anyone and just be careful to what you are trying and listen to your body.