Lotus97
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I'm mostly writing this post for answers on ginkgo biloba and vinpocetine since I think the other supplements are already discussed in other threads, but I'm including them just to paint a fuller picture. I recently read that ALA (Alpha Lipoic Acid) and NAC could cause mercury to travel to the brain. I then remembered that ginkgo and vinpocetine work by increasing blood flow to the brain so I was wondering if this could make things worse.
About 3 weeks ago (9/26/2012), I cracked one of my teeth that had a mercury amalgam filling in it. The tooth was removed the next day so I didn't really think I was at risk for toxicity. However, I started feeling strong physical symptoms of anxiety or over-stimulation and also my heart beating faster. By pure coincidence, about a week before the tooth cracked I had stopped taking some of my supplements to save money. These included:
NAC 600mg twice/day (stopped on 9/17)
Vitamin C 1500mg twice/day (stopped on 9/17)
Alpha Lipoic Acid 600mg twice/day (stopped on 9/17)
Ginkgo Biloba 120mg twice/day (stopped on 9/20)
Coenzyme q10 100mg four times/day (stopped on 9/20) I'm not sure if coq10 has anything to do with mercury, but
Glutathione sublingual 50mg with molybdenum (I don't remember when I stopped this)
Taurine 4000mg/day (I don't remember when I stopped this)
I should add that I tolerated these supplements well without any side effects before my tooth cracked. I have considered that going off these for 7-9 days and then reintroducing them at full dosages might have been part of the problem.
I started taking these supplements again the day my tooth was removed because I thought they would help me heal (I wasn't taking them for mercury). I still had all of these supplements left except for the glutathione. The day the tooth was removed I was fatigued for most of the day, then the next day somewhat anxious and also irritable, the third day I was fatigued again. After that I mostly felt the anxiety/stimulation symptoms. I found out that part of the problem was my antibiotic (Clindamycin) and stopped taking that after 3 days because I read that it could cause herx/herxheimer symptoms. I also read that taurine, NAC, and ALA could cause detox symptoms so I stopped those along with ginkgo and coq10 which I thought might be causing the anxiety. It wasn't until a few days later that I started to suspect the mercury (I still don't know conclusively that it is mercury that is causing these symptoms). I then bought chlorella and glutathione with molybdenum and started taking those again along with garlic and NAC/ALA/Vit C (only once/day this time). I also bought vinpocetine to take instead of ginkgo since it's less likely to be stimulating. I also started holy basil and ashwaghanda, but I'm not sure they're really helping. I also take zyflamend PM which seems to help a little, but it can get expensive. Glycine and glutamine help sometimes too. I just ordered hawthorn berries because my heart has been beating faster. I'm already on blood pressure medication so I'm just going to start on a low dose of hawthorn. In addition, I've cut down my sugar intake and ordered some inulin/FOS to augment my probiotics. I'm also trying to get off Prilosec.
My main question is whether ginkgo or vinpocetine is putting me at risk. I'm not sure if I should ask about the other things since they've probably been mentioned in other threads, but here's what I'm considering taking:
-Chlorella
-Cilantro
-NAC
-Glutathione
-ALA
-Vitamin C
Should I just try taking them in a lower dosage than I've been taking them in the past or should I stop them altogether. I've also been reading a lot about methylation recently and I'm wondering how that's related. I'm not sure if I should continue taking my multivitamin and b complex until I run out (so if I can save some money) or if it's better to switch to methylcobalamin and methylfolate right away. I decided I'm going to stop taking everything that I mentioned above for a few days to see if my symptoms level out. I'm also stopping coq10, malic acid, and acetyl-l-carnitine since they might also be contributing to the stimulation.
About 3 weeks ago (9/26/2012), I cracked one of my teeth that had a mercury amalgam filling in it. The tooth was removed the next day so I didn't really think I was at risk for toxicity. However, I started feeling strong physical symptoms of anxiety or over-stimulation and also my heart beating faster. By pure coincidence, about a week before the tooth cracked I had stopped taking some of my supplements to save money. These included:
NAC 600mg twice/day (stopped on 9/17)
Vitamin C 1500mg twice/day (stopped on 9/17)
Alpha Lipoic Acid 600mg twice/day (stopped on 9/17)
Ginkgo Biloba 120mg twice/day (stopped on 9/20)
Coenzyme q10 100mg four times/day (stopped on 9/20) I'm not sure if coq10 has anything to do with mercury, but
Glutathione sublingual 50mg with molybdenum (I don't remember when I stopped this)
Taurine 4000mg/day (I don't remember when I stopped this)
I should add that I tolerated these supplements well without any side effects before my tooth cracked. I have considered that going off these for 7-9 days and then reintroducing them at full dosages might have been part of the problem.
I started taking these supplements again the day my tooth was removed because I thought they would help me heal (I wasn't taking them for mercury). I still had all of these supplements left except for the glutathione. The day the tooth was removed I was fatigued for most of the day, then the next day somewhat anxious and also irritable, the third day I was fatigued again. After that I mostly felt the anxiety/stimulation symptoms. I found out that part of the problem was my antibiotic (Clindamycin) and stopped taking that after 3 days because I read that it could cause herx/herxheimer symptoms. I also read that taurine, NAC, and ALA could cause detox symptoms so I stopped those along with ginkgo and coq10 which I thought might be causing the anxiety. It wasn't until a few days later that I started to suspect the mercury (I still don't know conclusively that it is mercury that is causing these symptoms). I then bought chlorella and glutathione with molybdenum and started taking those again along with garlic and NAC/ALA/Vit C (only once/day this time). I also bought vinpocetine to take instead of ginkgo since it's less likely to be stimulating. I also started holy basil and ashwaghanda, but I'm not sure they're really helping. I also take zyflamend PM which seems to help a little, but it can get expensive. Glycine and glutamine help sometimes too. I just ordered hawthorn berries because my heart has been beating faster. I'm already on blood pressure medication so I'm just going to start on a low dose of hawthorn. In addition, I've cut down my sugar intake and ordered some inulin/FOS to augment my probiotics. I'm also trying to get off Prilosec.
My main question is whether ginkgo or vinpocetine is putting me at risk. I'm not sure if I should ask about the other things since they've probably been mentioned in other threads, but here's what I'm considering taking:
-Chlorella
-Cilantro
-NAC
-Glutathione
-ALA
-Vitamin C
Should I just try taking them in a lower dosage than I've been taking them in the past or should I stop them altogether. I've also been reading a lot about methylation recently and I'm wondering how that's related. I'm not sure if I should continue taking my multivitamin and b complex until I run out (so if I can save some money) or if it's better to switch to methylcobalamin and methylfolate right away. I decided I'm going to stop taking everything that I mentioned above for a few days to see if my symptoms level out. I'm also stopping coq10, malic acid, and acetyl-l-carnitine since they might also be contributing to the stimulation.