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The scale tips further against chelation

Yesterday the roads were white with black patches, and today it is still snowing. Twenty minutes away from home, I turned around -- missing my doctors appointment and my NT treatment, but getting instead a much-needed 2 hour nap under a cozy down sleeping bag.

The results of my blood tests drawn at the end of December are in, and they point to body organs having a damned hard time with chelation.

Thyroid:
I learned from Dr. Rind (drrind.com) how to graph thyroid test results to get a nice picture of what is going on. The zero mark in the center represents the optimal level where everything is in balance. Departures from the center are marked in increments within the reference range from -1 to -5 and from +1 to +5. This allows you to look at patterns before you get out of the reference range.

My TSH (the hormone secreted by the pituitary that tells the thyroid gland to make more hormone) is moving to the plus side (right). It went from +1.5 (Aug 08) to +3.5 (Aug 09-- 8 months on methylation protocol) to +4 (beginning Dec 09 -- 2.5 months NT and chelation) to +5 (end Dec 09). I am now just at the edge of the reference range.

Meanwhile, my thryoid hormones T3 and T4 have shifted only slightly to the minus side (left). They dropped from -1 (T4) and -2.5 (T3) in Aug 2008 to -3.5 (T4) and -3 (T3) in Aug 2009 but have pretty much stayed around this level perhaps because I started taking a tiny bit of natural thyroid (like armour), cutting the tiny pills into quarters.

Liver enzymes
They have moved from mildly elevated to severely elevated. AST was 45 and is now 137. ALT was 75 and is now 173. It is no surprise that I am feeling tired, that I get headaches on the liver gallbladder meridian, and that I now feel terrible after eating a meal with fat. My liver enzymes have been normal most of the time, but there were a few times in the past when they were mildly elevated.

Lipids
I now how high total cholesterol, normal HDL (the high density or 'good' kind), and high LDL (the low density or 'bad' kind.) I have never had high cholesterol in the past. In fact, I always had the best possible ratio of HDL to LDL.

Vitamin D
Despite supplementing with 2000 i.u. transdermally, my D3 levels have dropped way down below the normal range. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with many chronic illnesses, including depression and cancer.

Why?
While I'm waiting for my doctor to return the calls I made last night and this morning, I've been researching the relationship between some of these changes and the things I've been doing. Here's what I learned.

Dr. Yasko, whose ch3nutrigenomics forum is a great repository of information, wrote:
Iodine levels also affect thyroid function and there is a relationship between the methylation cycle, sulfur groups and iodine levels. ... Lithium is concentrated in the thyroid and can inhibit iodine uptake. This is why it is important to monitor both the levels of iodine as well as lithium on essential mineral tests and supplement lithium only as needed for low values that may occur as a result of detoxification and excretion of mercury.
When I saw lithium go way down on my hair analysis, and started having mood swings, I began to take a small amount of lithium (Li-zyme from Biotics Research). Today I sent in a urine test to monitor the levels, and will stop taking lithium until I get the test results. Iodine levels can be lowered by chelation.

Dr. Yasko wrote:
The thyroid hormone iodination cycle is tied to glucose 6 phosphate dehydrogenase levels. The use of supplements or chelating agents that deplete G6PDH levels can also affect thyroid hormone levels.
Sulfur based detox, like TD DMPS can have effects on G6PDH. Decreases in G6PDH can make the RBCs more fragile so they lyse more easily. Since RBCs "turnover" every 120 days, it is possible that the effects of sulfur based detox may not show up for several months.
DMPS, DMSA, and all sulfur chelating agents can deplete G6PDH levels. I have been on DMPS, 0.5 mg I.V., and in Florida, took 3 DMSA capsules. Dr. Yasko explains the potentially harmful effects

Dr. Yasko wrote:
Liver support indications:
Elevated AST (SGOT), ALT (SGPT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), billirubin, cholesterol, triglycerides in bloodwork.
Long term chelation with sulfur based chelating agents
High level excretion of toxic metals on fecal tests
So it looks as if the increased cholesterol could also be due to the chelation with DMPS and/or the increased excretion of toxic metals (although I haven't tested fecal excretion).

As for low Vit D levels, I don't know a direct relationship, but there is an indirect relationship through the drop in G6PDH, the increase in blood sugar levels (yes, mine are higher than before), stress on the pancreas, and the need for Vit D.

According to Dr. Yasko I should increase liver and pancreas support. More supplements OMG!

Is there anything good? YES
Since I had a urine sample this morning, I decided to run a few home tests. I was very pleased to see that the MDA levels are improved. MDA is a measure of how much oxygen is damaging the fragile lipid membranes of cells. This is a process known as oxidative stress. It is a process that ages the body and which tends to be out-of-control high in CFS-ME. Mine previously tested in the severe range. Then I went down to very high. Now I am just at the borderline between low (which is the place to be!) and high. The normal levels of MDA correspond to the good results of other measures of oxidative stress in my recent Genova organic (metabolic) acids panel.

I discovered that taking a tiny bit of melatonin (1/3 of a 300 mg sublingual tablet) helps me fall asleep. In the past I could not tolerate it, which is why I didn't try it earlier. I am now waking only once during the night.

Some homocyst(e)ine showed up on my blood test. It was actually at a really good level (6.1), right near the middle of the reference range from 0- 15. This means that my methylation pathway is working again, for homocystine was 0 (ZERO) on the plasma amino acid test I took in late November. This is a good sign that things are turning around.

If I stop doing chelation, I will save money. And I won't have to drive as often on these snowy roads. The landscape is beautiful in the snow, quiet and still. I watch the finches landing on the feeder, their throats tinged with yellow, and remember that the days are already getting shorter. In less than three months, it will be Spring.

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JanisB
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