Saturday 31 December 2011

On the 5th day of Christmas my doctor gave to me:  blood mercury (Hg) levels result: 4 mcg/L,  low compared to people eating tainted seafood, can be 500 or 1000. I don't eat much seafood. That means amount in Bi Yan Pian pills was low, but it accumulates over time and I used it a long time, 8 years. This blood level says nothing about how much mercury is stored in body cells, no help in assessing chronic exposure. Hair analysis results should be in this week which may help.

Some stats:


  • According to a 2009 survey of the population in Canada, up to 26% of mercury in humans is from dental amalgams, which is inorganic mercury, the rest is from methylmercury in fish and seafood (there are a few different forms of mercury, it's not clear to me yet which was in Bi Yan Pian, need to call the help line the company set up.)


  •  Health Canada guidelines (as of 1970's):  "Blood levels below 20 μg/L (or 6 mg/kg in hair) are considered “acceptable”, levels above 20 but below 100 are considered “at increasing risk” and levels greater than 100 μg/L in blood (or 30 mg/kg in hair) are considered “at risk”.  . . 


  • In 1998, Health Canada’s Food Directorate proposed that the increased susceptibility of the developing fetus to methylmercury toxicity should be recognized and developed a provisional Tolerable Daily Intake (pTDI) for pregnant women, women of reproductive age and infants set at 0.2 μg/kg bw/day. . . a blood value of 8 μg/L [for] women of childbearing age and pregnant women for the protection of the fetus."


I had hair analysis done just before starting Bi Yan Pian in 2003; it'll be interesting to see the difference. Will repeat after amalgams are out.

Symptoms tell the story of chronic intoxication better than any lab test. Prior to Bi Yan Pian I had depression, anxiety, food allergies, muscle weakness and tremors, sinusitis, skin disorders like psoriasis, hypothryoidism, diabetes, liver problems, hormonal challenges (PMS). Right after losing a large amount of weight I had shakes, hallucinations, hair falling out in clumps, loss of menses for a year, panic attacks, severe insomnia.

Symptoms have changed over the years, some things improved, some worsened. Soon after starting Bi Yan Pian I developed multiple chemical sensitivities a.k.a. Environmental Illness, hypersensitivity to light and sound, then severe sleep apnea (stop breathing while asleep). A yellow lightbulb in my bedroom is so soothing compared to regular white light. Being in the presence of paint caused ulcers to form inside my nostrils, cold sores to break out on my mouth, asthma,  mental confusion, panic, "brain fog", mood swings, weakness, dizziness, gastrointestinal distress progressing from burping to heartburn to diarrhea (can tell if a room painted within about 9 months because I will start to burp), sinusitis progressing to throat and flu-like chest infections which I had once or twice a year until I understood what was causing this (paint, renovation materials, perfumes, and now I know it's because mercury is in me). Once in a meeting room with a newly installed presentation board cabinet I felt terribly unwell and afterwards had sickeningly strong irregularities in my heartbeat.

Since starting CPAP breathing machine Sept. 2009 because of sleep apnea, my mental health has improved hugely, energy levels, mood, concentration. I felt like a new person immediately, with steady improvements over the two years. Wonderful to feel so calm and stable, with energy to do things.

Now Alzheimer-like symptoms have started up, as described earlier in blog:  episodes of incomprehension of speech and inability to speak, breathlessness once or twice - lung or heart symptoms. New symptoms last night reflect development of heart troubles (sternal chest pain, severe left arm pain). Being diabetic and obese = high risk of heart attack or strokes, and these symptoms fall into those categories so must follow up with family doctor.  I had already asked him for an Electrocardiogram, will do Tues., so that is good timing.

During reflexology a few days ago (birthday treat!) I felt pain in the area of my foot representing the heart. Some think this is quackery but I have improvements in edema since starting it and have no problem with the theories of meridians and pressure points even though not well educated in it. "Balancing the gates" using meridians can stop some of my sensitivity reactions completely, I do that morning and evening and after exposures.

 For the past 4 years I have been doing "detoxing" recommended by my Environmental Doctor using "Nutridetox", a complex of multivitamin + minerals + digestive enzymes + antioxidants + chelators (bind with Hg to pull it out of cells so it can be eliminated in stool, urine), combined with a 3x/year "cleansing" using a homeopathic remedy that helps liver remove toxins from the body, Unda #1 and #20. Recently I stopped using that detox supplement when I looked up every single ingredient and discovered some I am allergic to, may have been causing chronic ear and throat problems and low grade depression, that were not obvious from ingredient list:  glutathione is made from whey milk protein, silymarin is milk thistle. The question of accountability with this physician is one more issue on a very large pile. I have heard opposing opinions about whether detoxing is safe to do while dental amalgams still and must continue to look into it.

As I'm finding re many mercury issues, there are many unknowns, truth and fiction are all mixed up, with "experts" on both sides of arguments making generalized and sometimes unfounded claims, meaning no research has been done to prove or disprove them. Credibility is what I must decide in each case, by doing a lot more research and consulting with many people with serious experience in the field, being wary of quackery, it is easy to be misled by false claims giving false hope -usually promoting services costing a lot of money.

When you really want something badly it is tempting to believe it when someone promises it is so, even if they have no reason for saying it beyond their personal opinion or "observations", which is not good enough when it comes to life and death and disability decisions.

Last night (after photocopying at Staples - ozone, new furniture, plastics; my respirator not on all the time, it gets hot, I take it off for relief sometimes) I had what is most likely symptoms of heart trouble - severe pain radiating down  left arm, painful pressure at sternum (breastbone), a lot of edema (swelling from water leaking from cells) at legs. Preceded by very high blood pressure, 185/94 in the morning before blood pressure medication, Coversyl, started a couple of months ago because of a new problem with high blood pressure, following a year of increasing problems with edema - which originally began after starting the Env. Dr. detox regimen, he warned me about edema appearing. It did and has been getting worse. We halved the dose, now I am off it completely. Pitting edema at shins had become episodes of small to large puffy swelling in muscles of lower legs, ankles, feet, then hypertension.

Time to take a break and have some fun with singing friends to bring in the New Year Joyfully! May yours be richly blessed.


No comments:

Post a Comment