Hi
@shannonl - I had my amalgam fillings out in 1997 but was still having detox problems until 2 or 3 years ago.
Member
@caledonia swears by Andy Cutler's protocol and testing recommendations - see
http://forums.phoenixrising.me/index.php?entries/caledonias-methylation-and-mercury-links.1744/
scroll down about 2/3 of the way and she has a lot of info there about Cutler's protocol and testing. I tried his protocol off and on for several months and did not notice any results, plus it was difficult to do. But Caledonia can answer any questions you may have about Andy Cutler and his protocol and recommended testing.
I stumbled across glycine, glutamine and inositol by accident. I was taking the glycine and inositol for sleep, when I had a huge reaction to glycine - I was very spacey, got lost going to my sister's house, and then read about glycine and found it played a role in detoxing. It's a long story but I kept taking these supplements in very small doses that I could tolerate, gradually building up. I think it was about after 6 months that I realized my detox symptoms had stopped.
Around the same time that my detoxing stopped I had a mercury tri test done by Quicksilver Scientific (
https://www.quicksilverscientific.com/testing/clinical-metals-testing), which tested mercury levels as well as my body's ability to excrete it, and I did really well on it, with very little or no mercury (I can't remember) and also scoring high on my ability to excrete it. Quicksilver has their own protocol for getting rid of mercury but I didn't need it.
These are the 2 mercury testing and protocols I know about. I can't tell you which one is better.
To do the Quicksilver test, you have to go through a practitioner and pay their fee, you can't buy from Quicksilver directly. I was very fortunate in that I found Allen Bonilla, a chiropractor in Los Angeles, who was very knowledgeable and also very kind. We did everything via email and phone, and he never charged me a consultation fee though I offered to pay one. Here's a link where he talks about why he uses Quiksilver:
http://www.allenbonilla.com/mercury-toxicity-test-use/
The testing still wasn't cheap (I think around $350) but I'm glad I had it done.
Glycine and glutamine are amino acids - you can buy them individually, and inositol is one of the B vitamins which you can also buy individually. However - we are all really different. e.g., I was able to take glutamine a few years ago with no problem. I can't take it any more because now it contributes to insomnia for me, though it didn't at the time. It was just a crap shoot so to speak, an experiment. I'm used to experimenting on myself. One of the main reasons I think I'm able to do this is because of muscle testing. I've had it done dozens of times by competent chiropractors and they have been able to pick up when I've been toxic and also have been able to advise what supplements may be helpful. e.g., when I reacted so strongly to the glycine, my initial reaction was that it might be bad for me. However, muscle testing indicated it was good for me, but in very small doses, which I was able to very gradually increase over time. So I can't suggest you do what I did, without the support of a knowledgeable person who can help you deal with reactions you may have. whatever you do, it's important to start low and go slow.
Dealing with mercury and heavy metals in general is not simple or easy.