Mercury

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N Lawton - 27 Mar 2004 12:55 GMT

I have had Hep C from 1991 at least to now.
For the last 4 years I have had a skin rash which has been getting
progressively worse. Nothing I try helps.

I started treatment to have mercury fillings removed. part of that
treatment is taking DMSA to chelate mercury released during the removal
process. After 2 DMSA pills my skin cleared remarkably.

I went back and spoke to the doctor who prescribed the DMSA and he
suggested we try 5 more DMSA pills. After the 5 pills my skin rash was
clear, and remains so at about 4 weeks. Immediately after the 5 DMSA i had
a liver function test. Well knock me over with a feather it is the first
normal liver function test I have had (going back to 1977)

I am told that the only role of DMSA is to chelate mercury. I "surmise"
that both the rash clearance and the normal liver function test is as a
result of the DMSA removing mercury. I realise that there is a corelation
between iron and Hep C is anyone aware of a similar corelation with
mercury?

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Thomas Wagner - 27 Mar 2004 17:56 GMT

>I started treatment to have mercury fillings removed. part of that
>treatment is taking DMSA to chelate mercury released during the removal
>process. After 2 DMSA pills my skin cleared remarkably.

If this is really caused by removal of mercury from your body, you
should try to find out where that mercury came from. It is extremely
unlikely that it came from your fillings, as undisturbed dental fillings
do not release mercury (they only do so during the removal process). You
may want to examine your diet and check for occupational hazards.

>I went back and spoke to the doctor who prescribed the DMSA and he
>suggested we try 5 more DMSA pills. After the 5 pills my skin rash was
>clear, and remains so at about 4 weeks. Immediately after the 5 DMSA i had
>a liver function test. Well knock me over with a feather it is the first
>normal liver function test I have had (going back to 1977)

If you've had abnormal liver function tests since 1977, but had Hep C
only since 1991, did any doc care to look for the cause of the problem?
Your mercury exposure may have started way back then.

>I am told that the only role of DMSA is to chelate mercury. I "surmise"
>that both the rash clearance and the normal liver function test is as a
>result of the DMSA removing mercury. I realise that there is a corelation
>between iron and Hep C is anyone aware of a similar corelation with
>mercury?

No correlation between HepC and mercury, but a definite correlation
between liver damage and mercury, so the abnormal LFTs would make a lot
of sense. However, did anyone ever actually measure the level of mercury
in your body? Otherwise, you might have "removed" something that wasn't
there in the first place. DMSA also removes other heavy metals like lead
and cadmium. But a persistent rash could well be caused by mercury.

Thomas

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N Lawton - 28 Mar 2004 00:30 GMT

>>I started treatment to have mercury fillings removed. part of that
>>treatment is taking DMSA to chelate mercury released during the removal
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> do not release mercury (they only do so during the removal process). You
> may want to examine your diet and check for occupational hazards.

Hmm, Occupational hazard should be low - typing at a keyboard. Diet, well
ok living in New Zealand I tend to eat a bit of sea food, but not a huge
amount. What else is there in diet which commonly presents a risk for
mercury.

>>I went back and spoke to the doctor who prescribed the DMSA and he
>>suggested we try 5 more DMSA pills. After the 5 pills my skin rash was
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> only since 1991, did any doc care to look for the cause of the problem?
> Your mercury exposure may have started way back then.

It would not be possible to know if I had Hep C prior to 1991 would it?
Wasn't the test only developed in 1991. It was picked up in 1995 on a look
back program from stored blood, drawn in 1991. At the time in 1977 the
doctor looked a bit perplexed, bit did not think the elevated liver
enzymes a big deal so no further testing was done.

>>I am told that the only role of DMSA is to chelate mercury. I "surmise"
>>that both the rash clearance and the normal liver function test is as a
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> there in the first place. DMSA also removes other heavy metals like lead
> and cadmium. But a persistent rash could well be caused by mercury.

No we didn't measure mercury levels. But surely we removed something that
was there, even if not mercury.
I was responsible for organising a medical conference and as a consequence
heard many of the speakers. Maybe there is nothing in the whole mercury
filling debate, but after listening to the likes of professor Boyd Haley
and others, the heck with it they are coming out.

> Thomas

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Thomas Wagner - 28 Mar 2004 22:06 GMT

>Hmm, Occupational hazard should be low - typing at a keyboard. Diet, well
>ok living in New Zealand I tend to eat a bit of sea food, but not a huge
>amount. What else is there in diet which commonly presents a risk for
>mercury.

Hmmm... never broke a thermometer over the keyboard? ;-) But really, it
depends on the industry you work in. Even a home office may be
contaminated, although that's pretty rare. Fish is indeed the most
important factor in diet. A good overview is here:
http://www.healthy.net/scr/article.asp?PageType=article&ID=1852

>It would not be possible to know if I had Hep C prior to 1991 would it?
>Wasn't the test only developed in 1991. It was picked up in 1995 on a look
>back program from stored blood, drawn in 1991. At the time in 1977 the
>doctor looked a bit perplexed, bit did not think the elevated liver
>enzymes a big deal so no further testing was done.

That makes it a bit clearer - in many cases it is possible to know that
one had HepC prior to 1991. I know that I had it since 1970. It was
called non-A-non-B back then, but that doesn't mean I didn't have HCV in
1970. Since follow-up tests weren't done in your case, it's not as
clear, but likely that you already had HCV back then.

>No we didn't measure mercury levels. But surely we removed something that
>was there, even if not mercury.

Might have been iron as well - DMSA apparently reduces iron load
significantly. This would be more logical, especially in its effects on
liver enzymes. But you're right - who cares, as long as it's gone!

>I was responsible for organising a medical conference and as a consequence
>heard many of the speakers. Maybe there is nothing in the whole mercury
>filling debate, but after listening to the likes of professor Boyd Haley
>and others, the heck with it they are coming out.

Boyd Haley is a very outspoken advocate, and a number of his assertions
have been rebutted by recent studies. But I don't want to keep you from
removing the stuff - just make sure that the dentist knows what he's
doing, or the mercury load caused by the removal may be higher than your
lifetime exposure from fillings that are left alone.

Thomas

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