Severe side effects with Cutler Protocol, please help!

Hi,

What I need advice on is: has anyone had a similar experience or does anyone know what is causing the reaction I am having? or what I can do to fix it without anything synthetic? (PS: I recognize that DMSA is synthetic)

Here is what has been going on. Sorry this is so long.

I have had autoimmune problems and fibromyagia + major chemical sensitivities etc for 15 years. I am an alternative medicine practitioner and have a lot of resources that I know work because my clients get healthy, but when I follow the same protocols my symptoms may lessen but I never get well. In fact the past few years I have been getting worse. I think autoimmune thyroid and adrenal deficiencies are catching up with me.

I finally decided that the 15 Amalgam fillings in my mouth are the reason that I never get better, so I had them all removed in Oct 09. About a month later and after tons of research I started the Cutler Protocol, 25mg of DMSA every four hours for 3 days (I would rather do 12.5mg but currently I am taking apart 100mg caps and dividing them so it is hard to be precise).

The first round I had a few sulfur burps but no other problems. I took a 4 day break and did another round finishing it 2 days ago. The next day I started having painful swollen lymph nodes and neck stiffness. I thought I had an infection but I don't have a fever in fact my temp is only 96.5-97 (this is normal to low for me). By the end of work last night I was having pretty severe bilateral knee pain. Today I had to cancel my whole day because every, and I mean EVERY, joint in my body hurts, I can hardly walk.

I feel like my hands are tied because I don't think I can get better without chelation, but my body doesn't function well enough to go through the process. My thyroid and adrenal problems seem to be autoimmune so none of the support for either is helpful (believe me I have tried). I can't take mega doses of vitamins and minerals because they are synthetic and make me very sick. I have constipation that does not respond to anything except Epsom Salts , which is not a practical or healthy way to relieve constipation.

I have read Amalgam Illness and I am aware of all of his suggestions, but they are not feasible for me because I cannot take mega doses of synthetic vitamins or use western meds. Currently the only supplement I can tolerate is Green's First which is live whole food (mostly barley grass and spirulina) with some probiotics etc. I can take any Standard Process supplements and am considering about 50 of them (which I can't afford). Myo-plus and SP Cleanse are at the top of my list, but I haven't ordered them yet.

Any of your similar experiences or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks