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Is Chelation Necessary?

Lotus97

Senior Member
Messages
2,041
Location
United States
Ok, so I realize that the title of this forum is "Detox: Methylation; B12; Glutathione; Chelation", but I thought I'd ask. The more I read about chelation it seems like it's more trouble than it's worth. I've been trying methylation, but I'm having a hard time with it so I've been looking at chelation either instead or something to be done at the same time. I'd like to hear people's experiences with chelation positive, negative, or neutral. By neutral I mean you didn't get any better or worse while doing chelation.
 

*GG*

senior member
Messages
6,389
Location
Concord, NH
My Dr has me do some detox (chelation?), and I think he follows some of the methylation "protocol". My detox consist of taking Cholstryamine with Chlorella. He also has me take some B vitamin Supps.

GG
 

Lotus97

Senior Member
Messages
2,041
Location
United States
My Dr has me do some detox (chelation?), and I think he follows some of the methylation "protocol". My detox consist of taking Cholestyramine with Chlorella. He also has me take some B vitamin Supps.

GG
That's interesting. I was actually considering taking Cholestyramine for Lyme and maybe Cholesterol, but I read a lot of people having side effects. I've also heard a lot of horror stories about chlorella, but I've also heard of people taking chlorella without a problem. So are you having any side effects from either of those and what sort of dosages are you taking?

I had started taking Chlorella recently partially for chelation, but also for lyme. I stopped after I found out that a tsp of chlorella (3000 mg) has nearly 60 mcg folate. I'm already getting around 300 mcg of folate from my food (not folic acid) and I tend to be sensitive to methylation. It seems like both methylation and chelation can potentially cause problems. I have an entire shelf full of supplements I had to stop taking due to possible side effects. I'm getting to the point where I think I should just stop all my supplements, but I'm kind of afraid to do that.
 

*GG*

senior member
Messages
6,389
Location
Concord, NH
I am not having any side effects that I am aware of. What possible side effects are there? I believe I take 4 grams per day (looked at the label, and perhaps I am only taking half of that?), with about 1.5 grams of Chlorella 1 hour before meds or 3 hours after meds.

GG
 

Jarod

Senior Member
Messages
784
Location
planet earth
Hi there.

I'm not an expert, but can offer my experience.

There are also many goods threads disussing chelation in the past, but maybe somebody more knowledgable will come by and give you a good starting point.

I would classify my experience as mixed and somewhat problematic with the types of chelation I tried.

When I tried chorella, it gave me cramps and sluggish disgestive tract symptoms. It went away with vitamins and mineral supplementation. I quickly dropped that.

I've also tried EDTA. That did not result in anything for me personally, but I may have taken the wrong type of EDTA. EDTA may have set me back a bit, but I'm not 100% sure what happened with that.

There is the Andrew Culter protocol which uses Alpha lipoic acid in 3 hour increments. Haven't tried alpha lipoic acid per the Andrew Cutler protocol.
 

Lotus97

Senior Member
Messages
2,041
Location
United States
Jarod
Thanks for your input. I have read many threads on how to do chelation and plan to read more in the future, but the reason why I created this thread is to discuss the pros and cons of chelation and gather accounts of people's experiences of chelation so me and anyone else reading this thread can decide whether to do it or not.

One thing to consider about Cutler's method which uses DMSA.
DMSA and DMPS can bind glutathione, so that if a patient who is low in glutathione receives these chelators, their glutathione status can be worsened.
 

Lotus97

Senior Member
Messages
2,041
Location
United States
I am not having any side effects that I am aware of. What possible side effects are there? I believe I take 4 grams per day (looked at the label, and perhaps I am only taking half of that?), with about 1.5 grams of Chlorella 1 hour before meds or 3 hours after meds.

GG
About 30% of the population cannot tolerate chlorella and have negative reactions to it so if anyone is planning on trying it, start off with half a capsule and maybe slowly increase your dose to make sure you don't have a reaction. As far as the "horror stories", I haven't actually read any, but I've heard Cutler's followers warn of the perils of Chlorella. What they say is that chlorella is not a good chelator, but my guess is that it depends on how it's used and what other things are used in conjunction with it. As I mentioned before, chlorella is high in folate which can also cause problems for sensitive individuals.

I don't remember the specifics about Cholestyramine, but I know there are threads here discussing it's usage because that's where I heard about the potential side effects.
 

ukxmrv

Senior Member
Messages
4,413
Location
London
I've not done chelaton as none of the tests I've had showed mercury to be a problem for me. A DMPS challenge was ok but showed nothing (as an example).
 

Adster

Senior Member
Messages
600
Location
Australia
My understanding is that DMSA directly increases glutathione rather than binds to it.

The whole area of chelation seems full of speculation and differing opinions. Low dose DMSA as per cutler has proven safe for me, and beneficial if I keep it up. I suspect the benefit is not from mercury removal, but some other action.
 

Johnmac

Senior Member
Messages
756
Location
Cambodia
Conversely, lots of people have a hard time with chelation, and look at methylation as an and/or.

I've done the Cutler chelation protocol for 18 months. It is hard work, though I have had some gains I think. All in all I'd say there are less dramatic results from the chelation than from the supplements, adrenal support and methylation I've done as "adjuncts".

However others report radical changes. Many kids have fully recovered from autism. Adults have got over life-long illnesses.

Probably it depends on how heavy metal-poisoned you are. There are ways to get some idea of that.

Ok, so I realize that the title of this forum is "Detox: Methylation; B12; Glutathione; Chelation", but I thought I'd ask. The more I read about chelation it seems like it's more trouble than it's worth. I've been trying methylation, but I'm having a hard time with it so I've been looking at chelation either instead or something to be done at the same time. I'd like to hear people's experiences with chelation positive, negative, or neutral. By neutral I mean you didn't get any better or worse while doing chelation.
 

chilove

Senior Member
Messages
365
I am SUPER sensitive to just about everything so I researched all the chelation methods before I settled on using calcium bentonite clay for mercury detoxification. I have been very happy with the results.
 

Lotus97

Senior Member
Messages
2,041
Location
United States
I am SUPER sensitive to just about everything so I researched all the chelation methods before I settled on using calcium bentonite clay for mercury detoxification. I have been very happy with the results.
I've heard some things about bentonite being contaminated. Is there a way to know if your source is clean?
 

Vegas

Senior Member
Messages
577
Location
Virginia
My understanding is that DMSA directly increases glutathione rather than binds to it.

The whole area of chelation seems full of speculation and differing opinions. Low dose DMSA as per cutler has proven safe for me, and beneficial if I keep it up. I suspect the benefit is not from mercury removal, but some other action.

While DMSA has its SH groups that act as chelators, it also possesses carboxylic acid functional groups. Dicarboxylic acid can fill-in as part of the TCA cycle. Succinic acid has anti-viral, and anti-oxidant properties that have long been recognized. You don't have to be metal-toxic to benefit from DMSA and ALA. These two can collectively provide a number of very positive effects on that part of the metabolism that is so vulnerable to the accumulated affects of chronic lipid peroxidation.
 

Lotus97

Senior Member
Messages
2,041
Location
United States
I am SUPER sensitive to just about everything so I researched all the chelation methods before I settled on using calcium bentonite clay for mercury detoxification. I have been very happy with the results.
Which brand did you use and where did you get it? Has anyone else tried bentonite or zeolite?
 
Messages
16
Has anyone used transdermal dmsa? I can't find much besides people saying its not strong enough but I really can't tolerate anything by mouth right now....I'm sure metals could be playing a factor in my gut issues (i had high mercury levels on provocation test and some of the lowest glutathione levels he has ever seen on spectra cell) but I have so little motility that I can't be shoving things into my gut right now....anyone have any experiences? I don't know where exactly I should post this....
 

Johnmac

Senior Member
Messages
756
Location
Cambodia
There's an "Adult Metal Chelation" group that covers broad chelation issues, where you could post. Some pretty helpful people there.

You can test for the presence of metals via a hair test, or arguably more concretely by a short trial of Cutler-style chelation - the latter being cheaper & simpler.

Oral chelators on a round-the-clock dosing schedule are regarded as safer among the Cutler protocol chelating people. Non-oral, or anything taken more than 3 hours apart, can cause redistribution of mercury = nasty sfx. This is not guaranteed (as Lotus 97 reports elsewhere on these boards) but it is a risk.

The DMPS used in many intravenous provocation tests has detroyed the health of numerous people, apparently lastingly. You can read their stories at a website called "DMPS backfire".

John