My boy and mercury

In April we ran round 9 of chelation thru my boy following the standard lead protocol. We have seen good results with each round, with nearly all of them bringing a definable improvment to cognition, communication and/or behavior. Starting with round 5 we began adding ALA (alpha lipoic acid, an OTC anti-oxidant) to the DMSA because others have reported it allows the DMSA to work more efficiently and more importantly, it allows the DMSA to “pull” metals from across the brain’s blood barrier.

We got the lab results back a few days ago. Some here may recall that my boy was dangerously high in lead, but no other metals were detected during the multiple rounds of chelation. Most here would recognize that a great deal of my energy and focus over the last few years has been toxic metals, most notably lead and mercury. It is my belief that mercury in particular plays a tremendous role in the trigger or aggravating of autism and MR, and it would not surprise me in the least if it also had hand in a number of other conditions of the mind and body.

My boy’s lead count (3 weeks after the completion of the round) as determined by standard blood draw was 6. I fully expect it to creep back up to 8 maybe 9 as more of it leeches from storage in the bone marrow (drs. call this “rebound”) to bring the “balance” back. Only lead stores in the body in part in the blood where it can be readily detected; the other bad metals clear the blood rather rapidly going either out of the body (urine, stool, hair, milk or chord blood) or into tissue storage.

My boy also showed traces of cadmium, and other than the fact we live in a dirty world of late I cannot place the source for that. His aluminum, nickel and arsenic were all very low (but present). But what was amazing (for me) and disturbing (for the dr.) was he had a hit for mercury. Wasn’t too very high, but it was there and it shouldn’t ought to have been. We have no industrial exposure where he has lived his whole life (except the base background level in the atmosphere), he will NOT eat any fish, he has no dental amalgams, we have never had a broken thermometer or thermal switch, we do not use batteries or lights which contain mercury. The last mercury he was exposed to was his boosters (thimerosal, which has been found to leave the blood for storage twice as fast as methyl mercury, found in seafood). Before that is was his mother’s milk (my wife has fillings and will eat fish) and his ped jabs. Before that is was chord blood (my wife has fillings and will eat fish). 10+ years since his heaviest exposure (birth to 12 mo), 6 years (give or take) since his last bolus exposure and after 8 full rounds of chelation had already been completed, and the mercury pouring out of him is enough to warrant further treatment. Mercury we have been told was not there, could not be there and wasn’t part of the problem in sum or part.

There is one difference I am aware of with round 9 from the others. After reading numerous posts, abstracts and press releases as well as having countless conversations with other parents, I came to understand that because my boy was being treated for lead, the tests being ordered were inline with industrial exposures (either workers or from toxic dumping practices). What I needed was for organic mercury to be checked. So I did just that when we gave the blood and turned in the 24 hour urine sample.

And after all this time and after all that previous medication there was still enough mercury in him to register a “hit”.

Sometimes being right about something is mixed bag and sometimes it downright sucks. As I walked home with him after the appointment when I got his results I felt no satisfaction. What I felt was the strong urge vomit, and walking across my neighborhood with his chatter beside me was a very surreal experience.

If you have not already done so, please have your child tested for metals. It is covered by insurance. If elevated metals are present, treatment is available (also covered by insurance).