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Hair mineral test analysis

HABS93

Senior Member
Messages
485
Now I got notes with it from a really good doctor about her hair mineral test anaylisis. I would of found her if it wasn't for @caledonia who's personally helped just figure out what's going on. It's kind of confusing. I just wanted to post my results and see if anyone had Information about my symptom's that connects with my test results.
 

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JES

Senior Member
Messages
1,320
Ron Davis discusses hair mineral test results from ME/CFS patients around 25 minute mark of video below, you might find it relevant:

 

HABS93

Senior Member
Messages
485
I still feel there's something else going on. How could I accumulate mercury to the point I'm chronically I'll. I'm going to try this chelating with ALpha liptic acid but my doctor told me it's not proven to help mercury or even your test is reliable proof of what you have.
 

Learner1

Senior Member
Messages
6,305
Location
Pacific Northwest
I chelated arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, and platinum for about 8 years, using both oral and IV chelation, using DMSA, DMSO, EDTA, and PolyMVA, all of which miniluzs stpred toxins to get them out of the body.

It took a LONG time and I was doing it as fast as I could - I was just very toxic. A few thoughts:
  1. Yes, its a good idea to get rid of toxic metals as they can undermine yout health in many ways.
  2. Metals are excreted through hair, as well as feces and urine. They don't necessarily come out evenly from each source. My doctors preferred to do proviked urine heavy metals test, from Doctors Data, using the appropriate chelators of what they suspected I had - which demonstrated that I could excrete a lot of metals through urine.
  3. Seems you are low in minerals to start. Minerals like molybdenum, manganese, magnesium, and zinc are important for making your biochemistry work. If you chelated, chelators will take out the helpful metals, too, so you might be wired to supplement with a good multi mineral supplement before chelating for a while.
  4. It also might be wise to support Phase I, II, and III detox pathways:
    liver detox pathways.jpg
    Otherwise, once you mobilize the metals and you can't get rid of them, they can just redeposit somewhere elsr in your body, which might be worse than where they were happily sequestered.
  5. ALA has many wonderful properties. I was on it throughout the first 5 years of chelating, along with a robust methylation protocol. When I started PolyMVA, which is ALA in a polymer form "to have more gfingers to glim into the bad stuff," I collapsed. Turns out of had arsenic hiding in my mitochondria all along, like the black stuff in these pictures of rat mitochondria where they fed arsrnic to rats to see what happens.
    arsenic in mitochondria.png
    and the PolyMVA pulled it out of hiding. The reaction I hsd was because the intermediate metabolite of arsenic after Phase I was more toxic than the form it started as - we beefed up my methylation and glutathione production and recycling, used a lot of curcumin which helps Phase II detox, and my body eventually got rid of the arsenic (which had always looked low on tests prior to the PolyMVA.
  6. Given my experiences, I don't believe the Cutler ALA protocol would have done muxh for me. Its way too slow for the amount of toxicity I had, and I'd probably be dead before I ever got a significant amount of toxins out of me. I got the toxins out as fast as I coukd anf it took years, with a lot of support, and my kidneys were somewhat stressed but returned to normal. Hair and urine and provoked urine tests can give seemingly conflicting info, but if you see a metsl high anywhere, its there - my experience is that if a hair test doesnt show it, it just means your body doesn't like to excrete that mineral in hair, no matter what Dr. Davis says. If I were in your shoes, I'd do a provoked urine trst eitb 6 hour collection, using DMSA and EDTA together and see what that shows.
I hope you can find a doctor knowledgeable in dealing with metsls and minerals, who can help you find a way to wisely supplement what you need, and then help you chelate smartly and safely.

Brst wishes...
 

HABS93

Senior Member
Messages
485
Thanks for the extremely detailed response. All I got was take your core four supplements ( Zinc vitamin E vitamin C magnesium ) and use 12.5 mg ALA every three hours for 63 hour duration. So doing a urine excretion test with your MD is the best way to find out what's going on?
 

pamojja

Senior Member
Messages
2,384
Location
Austria
What is the best multi mineral to take ?

Since the multi-minerals above come with similiar amounts of mineral as some multi-vitamins at a higher price, I personally would right away take a multi-vitamin. For example LEFs Two-per-day comes without copper and iron too.

Take however only 1 cap of it per day, to avoid some nutrients too high a dose, and ended up adding others, like for example zinc which I needed at 70 mg per day, individually again. The things to watch out for for choosing a fitting multi I posted here.
 

Judee

Psalm 46:1-3
Messages
4,461
Location
Great Lakes
Some of your other minerals seemed in the low to low-ish range. Chelating might reduce those even further. However, supplementing some of them, such as selenium for instance, might chelate some of the mercury for you. Here's an article about that: https://drjockers.com/selenium-detoxify-mercury/

Plus, if I remember correctly Dr Davis said that most of us are low in selenium. @Hip had a thread where he mentioned that upping his selenium helped with fatigue and brain fog: https://forums.phoenixrising.me/thr...ntly-improves-my-fatigue-and-brain-fog.27401/

Then too when I look at your electrolytes they are low/low-ish. That could add to your fatigue as well.

Just some thoughts.

Edit: I went back and read some of that Dr Jocker's article again and he says, "Mercury attaches and competes for cellular binding sites with other major trace minerals. When we are trace mineral deficient mercury is able to infiltrate and contaminate cells by shutting down their energy producing and anti-oxidant enzyme systems (1, 2)."

Edit #2: Arrgghh. Sorry. I didn't see he was promoting his products at the bottom of the page. I hate when they do that. I'm not promoting his products in any way. I just liked the info he gave about selenium and using it to detoxify mercury.
 
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HABS93

Senior Member
Messages
485
@Judee wow I didn't know selenium could chelate mercury as well as replenishing itself as a mineral. I was told to take core four minerals ( Vit E Vit C magnesium and zinc) while taking alpha liptic acid . Good article to read I'm going to try 400mg on empty stomach any reduction of symptoms would be helpful at this point
 

Lieselotte

Senior Member
Messages
250
Location
Orange County, CA
@Learner1
Thanks for your heavy metals info above!

I had the Doctor's Data provoked urine test done at the recommendation of you and others on this board. In terms of the results (red->yellow->green on the test results page) I was only 'high' for Lead. Mid-level were Thallium, cadmium, mercury barely making it to the mid range. My doctor said I should be fine with 6x IV chelation per year, that's it. The nurse at the clinic said the doc has some ppl come in 2x per week, so my levels must be pretty low.

I've had 3 chelation sessions so far and I think it is helping a tiny bit (of course I am working on other things too, so you never know).

My question is - beyond the 6x per year, should I add ALA (if so how much) and should I attempt at some point the PolyMVA? Also, out of curiosity, what liver support formulas do you like?
I am hoping that if I chelate enough, I will maybe help with my issue of not being able to tolerate glutathione.

P.S. I am working on my mineral status (Spectracell showed low Zinc and Mg) and working on getting the NutraEval test soon as it is supposed to be better. Also working on B vits that were low (B1, 3, 6). Also just got my one Mercury filling out!
 

HABS93

Senior Member
Messages
485
@Judee wow I didn't know selenium could chelate mercury as well as replenishing itself as a mineral. I was told to take core four minerals ( Vit E Vit C magnesium and zinc) while taking alpha liptic acid . Good article to read I'm going to try 400mg on empty stomach any reduction of symptoms would be helpful at this point
 

Learner1

Senior Member
Messages
6,305
Location
Pacific Northwest
I was only 'high' for Lead. Mid-level were Thallium, cadmium, mercury barely making it to the mid range.
Also just got my one Mercury filling out!
These tests will not tell you how much of any heavy metal you have, only what will come out on that day. There is a priority of how the body gets rid of metals, so the highest one on a test is the one your body is best at getting rid of right then. The fact thst these metals are showing up shows that you have a problem and some attempt at chelating is likely useful, and yoummay have more than you think.

I say this, not to be Debbie Downer, but I spent about 3 years getting rid of mercury, a year getting rid of platinum, then lead and cadmium, only to find I had significant arsenic that had been hiding all along. I've done a few of these tests and lrarned this the hard way.

So, its best to look at it as a long term project, optimize Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III detox, and work at the problem over time.

My mercury detox took longer as I did it twice. I did it, then had 2 30 year old mercury fillings removed carefully, said the dentist, and I ended up with a lot of mercury being released and had to do it again. So if your test was prior to the filling replacement, you might hsve more mercury than you thought.
My doctor said I should be fine with 6x IV chelation per year, that's it. The nurse at the clinic said the doc has some ppl come in 2x per week, so my levels must be pretty low.

I've had 3 chelation sessions so far and I think it is helping a tiny bit (of course I am working on other things too, so you never know).
Seems like an interesting approach. I hope he is supporting that with methylation, glutathione, B1 and molybdenum. The way I think of it is like a "bucket brigade", with each piece of the system working in sequence to do its task to get rid of the bad stuff.

My question is - beyond the 6x per year, should I add ALA (if so how much) and should I attempt at some point the PolyMVA?
My doctor had me on Xymogen ALAmax the whole way through. It gives you biotin, needed in balance with ALA.

PolyMVA is an ALA polymer, with B1. B12, Palladian and ruthenium. It sounded a bit worrisome to me, but the idea is there are more molecular "fingers" to glom onto the bad stuff and pull it out of your mitochondria. It was so effective at doing this that it found tge arsenic I didn't know I had, important, as arsenic can stop ATP production and is highly carcinogenic. It was measured at acute levels in blood.

I'd only advise using it with a proper support program and after discussing it with your doctor. I've attached some info on it.
low Zinc and Mg) and working on getting the NutraEval test soon as it is supposed to be better. Also working on B vits that were low (B1, 3, 6).
B1 is needed in the transsulfuration pathway. B6 is used in several places in Phase II detox and glutathione production.
Also, out of curiosity, what liver support formulas do you like?
I am hoping that if I chelate enough, I will maybe help with my issue of not being able to tolerate glutathione.
You need glutathione to chelate. Have you supported the transsulfuration pathway with adequate B1 and molybdenum? Curcumin can be hrlpful in clearing out toxins that are stuck, too. I've taken up to 10g a day.

I take Thorne Research SAT for liver support.
I didn't know selenium could chelate mercury as well as replenishing itself as a mineral. I was told to take core four minerals ( Vit E Vit C magnesium and zinc) while taking alpha liptic acid . Good article to read I'm going to try 400mg on empty stomach any reduction of symptoms would be helpful at this point
In addition to its other benefits, selenium is important for increasing glutathione, critical for removing toxins.

Vitamins E and C are antioxidants, not minerals, and work in concert with other antioxidants like ALA, vitamin A and glutathione as a part of the antioxidant network. Lester Packer's book is a great read on this...

The Antioxidant Miracle: Your Complete Plan for Total Health and Healing https://www.amazon.com/dp/1620456192/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_8K9jDbV6SHME0

Chelation can pull both "good" and "bad" minerals out of the body. Many of us can become short of zinc and magnesium, but you can also end up short of minerals you didnt know you had or needed, like chromium, vanadium, and molybdenum. And, just as too little is not good, too much is not good either. In the case of selenium, too much can give symptoms similar to radiation poisoning. Best to test once in awhile if one is chelating...
 

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HABS93

Senior Member
Messages
485
I'm so lost tbh . I don't wanna sound stupid but this brain fog is so bad I'm starting to get lost in what I should try and not try. So much information I learn everyday it's overwhelming. Also don't wanna sound needy always asking on here for what to do . I've got 12.5 mg ALA which I was told is a mecury positive test with core four supplements. Also I've been told my minerals are low so I have to take then in individually or in a multi vitamin. Low minerals and mercury has build up is causing my chronic fatigue and neurological problems ? My stomach feels like not nauseous but it's almost nauseous I'm not sure how to describe it I go home from work and my stomach feels like it is about to be upset but it Happens everyday. When I work I'm not hungry really and I eat open face sandwitches
 

JES

Senior Member
Messages
1,320
Not sure on what basis your doctor has concluded that mercury build-up is a significant issue for you. The hair mineral chart shows your mercury level as 0.20 ug/g when the reference range is < 0.80 ug/g. The chart is a bit difficult to read from, but it looks like you are in approximately the 10th percentile of hair mercury levels. This means that 90% of people submitting their hair samples actually have a higher level of mercury measured in their hair. So if the hair chart alone was used as evidence, it would actually speak against mercury being an issue.

The only significant heavy metal increase that your charts show is in uranium, which interestingly also comes up very high on my old hair analysis result. Ron Davis mentioned in the video I linked above that a patient in Finland has the same thing, so it may simply be something in the particular place we live in causing this increase in uranium (I'm from Finland as well). Regarding mercury, Davis mentions that one rather simple reason for increased mercury excretion is a diet that includes lots of fish. Especially tuna can be high in mercury and depending on the tuna species, you may already reach the weekly maximum recommendation from a single serving.

Looking at the essential minerals charts, the only thing that sticks out as probably statistically significant is that your values are quite consistently on the low side. I recorded the same 0.004 below reference value for lithium, so again I'm a bit skeptical if they have the accuracy to measure it correctly.
 
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Lieselotte

Senior Member
Messages
250
Location
Orange County, CA
These tests will not tell you how much of any heavy metal you have, only what will come out on that day. There is a priority of how the body gets rid of metals, so the highest one on a test is the one your body is best at getting rid of right then. The fact thst these metals are showing up shows that you have a problem and some attempt at chelating is likely useful, and yoummay have more than you think.

Yes, I know it only shows what I'm getting rid of, not necessarily what my total burden is. I'll continue to work on the chelation and retest periodically.


Seems like an interesting approach. I hope he is supporting that with methylation, glutathione, B1 and molybdenum. The way I think of it is like a "bucket brigade", with each piece of the system working in sequence to do its task to get rid of the bad stuff.

The doc is only looking at the big picture - doesn't really get into functional details. (e.g. For my vitamin/mineral inefficiencies she just told me to take MitoCore, which is a multi-vitamin from OrthoMolecular.) I am taking care of methylation and the rest myself.

It was measured at acute levels in blood.

What is the arsenic test? Is that only useful once you've liberated the arsenic from your mito via the PolyMVA? Chances are I will do this later down the road as I don't have knowledgeable medical support right now.

You need glutathione to chelate. Have you supported the transsulfuration pathway with adequate B1 and molybdenum? Curcumin can be hrlpful in clearing out toxins that are stuck, too. I've taken up to 10g a day.

I am supporting with B1 and moly (sufficiently, I hope). I have been intolerant to glutathione supplements in the past (liposomal) as it had very bad mood side effects for me. If that was because it was liberating metals, this chelation could help me tolerate it down the road.

Thank you @Learner1 for all your knowledge! It is helpful to those of us who need to DIY everything and/or teach our doctors. I deeply appreciate it. :angel:
I feel like you could create a chelation and mitochondria handbook and @BeADocToGoTo1 could create a food/diet handbook similar to Hip's treatment guide. :nerd:
 

HABS93

Senior Member
Messages
485
Not sure on what basis your doctor has concluded that mercury build-up is a significant issue for you. The hair mineral chart shows your mercury level as 0.20 ug/g when the reference range is < 0.80 ug/g. The chart is a bit difficult to read from, but it looks like you are in approximately the 10th percentile of hair mercury levels. This means that 90% of people submitting their hair samples actually have a higher level of mercury measured in their hair. So if the hair chart alone was used as evidence, it would actually speak against mercury being an issue.

The only significant heavy metal increase that your charts show is in uranium, which interestingly also comes up very high on my old hair analysis result. Ron Davis mentioned in the video I linked above that a patient in Finland has the same thing, so it may simply be something in the particular place we live in causing this increase in uranium (I'm from Finland as well). Regarding mercury, Davis mentions that one rather simple reason for increased mercury excretion is a diet that includes lots of fish. Especially tuna can be high in mercury and depending on the tuna species, you may already reach the weekly maximum recommendation from a single serving.

Looking at the essential minerals charts, the only thing that sticks out as probably statistically significant is that your values are quite consistently on the low side. I recorded the same 0.004 below reference value for lithium, so again I'm a bit skeptical if they have the accuracy to measure it correctly.
The confusing thing is I've been told the test measures as a mercury positive test from the Andy Cutler protocol I'm not sure I try researching this stuff everyday to be more educated as well as figuring out why I have chronic fatigue , brain fog , and neurological symptoms for the past year. As for uranium don't eat fish that often but I somehow have alot accumulated. How did you get uranium out of your body ? Did you take lithium to meet the reference point ? I guess I should be taking all these minerals to get them to the normal reference point as well.
 

JES

Senior Member
Messages
1,320
The confusing thing is I've been told the test measures as a mercury positive test from the Andy Cutler protocol.

Ron Davis shows a table of mercury levels in ME/CFS patients in his video, I included it in the screenshot below. From this you can see that some ME/CFS patients have mercury levels over 2 or even 7 ug/g. Your levels are over 10 times lower than that and among the lowest in this Davis table, so it makes no sense to me why it would measure positive.

Mercury.PNG

As for uranium don't eat fish that often but I somehow have alot accumulated. How did you get uranium out of your body ?

The uranium is likely not from fish, that's mercury. Uranium I don't think anybody has any idea why it measures high or how to reduce it. I didn't find anything to suggest uranium was a concern and it looks like testing uranium from hair isn't accurate anyway (source).

Did you take lithium to meet the reference point ? I guess I should be taking all these minerals to get them to the normal reference point as well.

I did trial lithium orotate, as that's classified as a nutritional supplement in most countries (some forms of lithium require prescription). You should be very careful with lithium, as the body only requires a low level of it and supplementing with lots of lithium can cause all sorts of side effects.
 
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pamojja

Senior Member
Messages
2,384
Location
Austria
I posted once the interpretation of individual elements from someone very experienced in HTMAs, and in comparing them with standard blood tests in this post: https://forums.phoenixrising.me/thr...tivity-th-resistance.58209/page-9#post-973680

In short, each element is differently reliable in hair tissue. Similar as some elements are useless in serum as well. For knowing which please to read that post.

Personally had 8 HTMAs the last 9 years. The only heavy metal ever going above normal was uranium too (2015-16), before declining again. Though uranium isn't one of the reliable elements in hair, it is found at higher concentration in mining areas. And in my case since 2012 I always went for vacation on a beach just 20km from an Indian atomic power plant. Also Fukushima could be an additional reason.
 

BeADocToGoTo1

Senior Member
Messages
536
I would not be surprised that if you take a random healthy person from the street and perform a similar test, that it will look similar if not worse than your results on the toxins.

Mercury can be coming from dental fillings, but also fish.

Uranium can also come from tap water. If you want to check levels in your area, you can check out the great site: https://www.ewg.org/tapwater/

The thing that stood out was the low levels of key trace minerals. Do you have enough high quality, trace mineral rich, salt in your diet? When you start eating and drinking more healthily, it is easy to go low in high quality salt, as anything processed and packaged contains quite a bit of cheap, bleached salt. Perhaps look into some trace mineral supplements or food that are high in the ones that looked low.