Round 7: DMPS Ends! Also Another Rant

This round was a little more interesting than the others. I added in 1000mg of EDTA once in the morning. I did feel a little blah at times, but no hives so I am happy right now. I went a full 6 days and quit half way through today to give my body some rest. My minerals were definitely low a few days ago so I upped my normal doses of minerals. This made the cramping in my feet go away, but I will continue on this higher dose for a while.

We will see what happens in the next few days. Will the hives make an appearance this time around? That is the million dollar question...

Round 7: DMPS Begins

Today I started round 7 of DMPS. I am taking 10mg of DMPS, 3 times a day. I don't get too focused on taking it every 8 hours because I like to be able to sleep at night. Last round I also took EDTA in the morning and I am doing this again since I didn't get hives last time.

Forgetting HC Doses

Ever since this last round of DMPS, I have been completely forgetting HC doses. I woke up today and I have no idea if I took it or not. I don't think I did, but then I don't feel like I did not. Hmmm Is this is a good sign or am I just getting more forgetful? haha

I think I could probably go down to 12.5mg without any consequences. Something has changed for sure. One day I only took 5mg and did not realize it until 11pm. I am cautiously optimistic. I'm not sure what this means for me right now and I'm just playing it by hear.

Also I should start up on DMPS again here real soon. I never got any hives! I had some skin dermatographia, but I can handle that without any issues.

I should also note that I have been trying a few other things lately. Right now I am taking Body Biotics probiotics. It has definitely slowed my bowels. Maybe a little too much. I am also taking something called Beta-1,3D Glucan. This is supposed to help the immune system. It's all things my husband researched and told me to take. haha!! I am so thankful my spouse cares this much.

NO HIVES!

I have been waiting and waiting and waiting to make this post because I did not want to jinx myself. Well I think I can now officially say I did not get hives with this latest round. This is really good news to me! I will continue at 10mg DMPS from here on out until I am brave enough to raise it again. :)

Round 6: DMPS Ends

I went a full 5 days and decided it as time to call it quits for now. No reason in pushing this too far. So far, I have no hives but that means nothing. They can literally pop up out of no where, so I am just getting ready. I have been taking my hives regimen throughout this entire chelation round to see if that makes a difference.

My vision is definitely changing. The glasses I wear are pretty old. I've had my contacts prescription changed several times since I got the glasses. Glasses just get so expensive to replace, so I've kept these as my lounging eye wear. Well now I am not seeing the same out of them. I think in my right eye I am seeing better. My left eye still seems quite blurry. When I put my contacts in, I am also not seeing the same out of both eyes. This one is significantly harder to figure out, so I'm going to be heading to the eye docs soon enough. I am due for more contacts and my eye exam is over a year old so I have to get a new exam to get new contacts. I am curious to see what has happened with my eyes. They have been getting worse every year. In the past 3-5 years, my eyes have gotten quite bad. My right eye is -5.75, left eye is -5.25. If anything, I think my right eye is about the same and my left eye is catching up to the right. haha The left eye has the "we think it's a torn vitreous but we aren't sure" and something called "white without pressure". However most places say both are benign. Still makes me wonder about it all at times with my other health issues.


The heat has just been terrible. This is a bad summer for all POTS sufferers out there. I definitely had heat exhaustion the other day and my temps have been well over 99. Earlier today I was pushing 99.2 and that was after getting a cold bath.

I just keep chugging along here. Lately I've been putting almost all of my energy into singing. I want to get really good and possibly make some music. That's been my life's dream for many years now. Now that I am feeling a little better, I am motivated. I think my voice sounds a lot like Sharon Den Adel from the band Within Temptation. She's more comfortable with her head tone, but I'm working on it. My singing has come a long ways over the years, which is mostly self-trained. Those few lessons I took years back were nothing.

Round 6: DMPS Begins

I started ~9mg of DMPS yesterday afternoon. So far no hives at all and I am doing great. I have no idea how long I'm going on this round and will just play it by ear. I have enough pills made up for 7 days, but I don't believe I will do that. There were some warning signs of hives beginning to form at the end of day 6 last time, so I think maybe 5-6 days is where I'm aiming.

One thing I've noticed while taking any type of chelator is that it tends to make my bladder hurt. It feels like a UTI or bladder infection, but there is nothing there. At least nothing that my strips can catch. I used to have this many many moons ago. I think before I even started my blog and to this day I don't even know what stopped it from happening. It may have been Vitalzym? The one time I did have an infection, so I will have to keep an eye on that and go get tested if it gets bad.

I am trying to drink enough water to make myself pee at least every 2-3 hours to flush everything out. In the summer there are times where I don't pee much, but I'm going to make myself keep drinking until I do.

Oh I am also taking 1 pill of EDTA (calcium form) in the AM this round to see if that helps or makes anything worse. Our bathtub is testing for lead AGAIN, so that's fun.

Hope: Keeping up with my Nephew!

For the last 2 days my sister needed me to watch her son for a few hours. I used to cringe when she'd ask me because I was always concerned if I could get through the day. My nephew is really behaved quite well for a 5 year old and he is very laid back and easygoing. Any time I watched him and did not feel good he was very understanding. I know adults who are less understanding than my nephew! HA!

It has been very warm lately and of course I was concerned about my heat intolerance. Can I even stand up outside let alone play with him? Yikes. On bad days just walking to the car would make me feel as if I were going to die.

Well it turned out that I not only could stand up outside, but we were playing tag! We sprinted, yes SPRINTED around the yard playing tag for about 30 minutes or so. I'm happy to report he got tired before me and wanted to go in for a drink of water. :) You can not even believe how excited and happy I am about all of this. It was 83 degrees with very high humidity outside so something is going on with me. Am I cured? Nope, but there is a big enough difference that I have noticed. I have a long ways to go, but this is giving me so much hope and optimism. It is actually a little scary! I was afraid to hit POST on this one. Will I jinx it?!

Last night (after watching my nephew for two days and going on walks at the park afterward, cleaning, making dinner, any other normal duties that need done in my house etc) I did have a headache, but it was gone when I woke up this morning. YAY! I have no post exertional malaise today, although that has never been a big issue for me in the past. It is not quite as warm today, but the humidity is very high. That's usually all I need to feel sick and I am doing well.

Like I said, I am NOT cured by any means, but this is very interesting. I just hope I keep getting better and it doesn't stop here.

Making Progress with DMPS

I am convinced now that DMPS is what people need to use to feel better. I have talked about it before, but the few people who were "following" Dr. Cutler's FDC who got significantly better ALL used DMPS at some point or another.

Only a few members of FDC even use DMPS because so many of them are fearful of the drug even though Dr. Cutler says it is safe and recommended here, here and here. They refuse to find a doctor to prescribe it, which makes me believe you can't really be that sick! They are afraid it is not FDA approved, which is once again just another excuse to stay sick. (Alert: Amalgams were FDA approved!) Those who use DMPS have less side effects and symptoms and actually seem to legitimately feel better much faster.

Others using DMPS not strictly following FDC who got better as well:
MercuryLife Blog. Read the entire story!
MS - Ten years bedridden - cured by Amalgam removal
Woman was bedridden with CFS
Another person with CFS Cured
Another woman with CFS finally getting better with chelation

DMPS is the common link in all of these stories. Some of them have done other things alongside it too. However these people should not be considered "lucky" or less toxic. When you start looking at stories of those who got truly better, they all used DMPS in some form or another (oral or IV) at some point in time during their journey.

I'm not really following FDC and taking DMPS every 8 hours. I take it when I get up in the AM, mid-day and then at bedtime, so I don't have to interrupt my sleep at all. With an odd circadian rhythm, even at every 8 hours sometimes the doses would fall while I was sleeping. I had enough of that and just decided to take it at bedtime regardless of what time it was. Sometimes it was at 10 or 11 hours out from my previous dose. I don't think it really matters at all and you could probably take it on any schedule and still see some improvements (my opinion only not based on any scientific evidence).

If you are following Dr. Cutler's protocol and have completed double digit rounds of DMSA or ALA and not feeling or seeing improvements, then consider finding a doctor who will prescribe DMPS. It may be the difference of getting your life back. Isn't that the most important?!

The doctor who prescribed me DMPS NEVER PRESCRIBED IT BEFORE TO ANYONE. I am his FIRST patient and my husband is his SECOND, so please do not try to use "well I don't know if my doctor would do that" as an excuse to keep staying sick. If you really want to use DMPS, then you will find a doctor or beg a doctor who is open-minded enough to use it. I actually had to fax my doctor some information that talked about using oral DMPS and after reading it all he had no issues with me trying it out.

In 5 rounds of DMPS I am feeling the best I've felt in 11 years. I am not over exaggerating or making this up at all. Some people may say that it is placebo, but how could a POTS patient make their heart rates not climb as high while standing? ... How could I have less heat intolerance? ...

Is it all good? NO! The hives are still problematic as evident from my last post and I am concerned about it and SJS. The latest set of hives were focused more around my joints (knees, elbows, wrists and ankles) and thankfully I did not have any hives on my neck at all. This made me very happy because I knew I was not going to have any issues with my throat swelling up.

Outside of the hives I have zero symptoms on and off round. Not many can say that about ALA or DMSA and I really don't understand why someone would continue to take something that is terrible at chelating metals... Dr. Buttar says that it is dangerous to use DMSA. Dr. Cutler's followers had a discussion about this in 2009 and rather than scientifically disproving it is dangerous, they just called the doctor an idiot, he doesn't know what he's talking about and he is promoting his own chelation protocol. Um..And how is Dr. Cutler any different? Dr. Cutler sells consultations too...

And to put it into further perspective at least 2 people in this thread are still sick on FDC. I guess your own irrational fear and advice is not working out for you. Stop drinking the Cutler kool aid!

Many people have become fearful of DMPS due to the fearmongering website, DMPSbackfire. For years I thought it was the devil and was harmful because "Dr. Cutler says so". However since DMSA did not do anything for me at all and may even be dangerous itself, I started to question all of that. Now that I'm taking DMPS and feeling better I realize how stupid it was to have an irrational fear of it. The stories on that website really should just be called "when stupid doctors strike" because they were doing terribly stupid things with DMPS like chelating people WITH amalgams STILL in their mouths! How could any doctor even think that would be a good idea?

If DMPS IV's are too scary for you, then you can use it orally too just like DMSA. That's what I am doing for the time being.

I gave my doctor a PDF from this website. I have no idea what this doctor recommends with chelation, but I found the clinical trial of interest and that is what I showed my doctor.

If you are following FDC, let me know what you think about this theory that DMPS is the key!

Disclaimer: As always these are my opinions on things. I am not a doctor and are simply telling you of my experiences and relaying data/materials I have found online over the years. Everyone with a chronic illness should be following up with a doctor and if you are not, then start today.

Mercury Hives: What Can I Do?

When I started chelating in 2008 with DMSA, I got hives and did not understand at that time what was going on. I thought I had just developed food allergies or something because they lasted for so long. I stopped chelating for about 2 years because I felt really sick and eventually the hives went away on their own. I had changed my diet and part of me thought that was why the hives went away.

Then I decided I needed to start back up on chelation and the hives came back full force. 

I knew this was no a coincidence and the hives are indeed directly caused by chelation. In a desperate attempt, I decided to try DMPS to see if it was caused specifically by the DMSA. Much to my dismay, after 3 rounds of DMPS the hives started to show up once I went off-round. This time even more severe than before if you can even imagine that looking at some of the old pictures. In yet another  desperate attempt to stop them, I went on Diflucan and took probiotics, but neither of those did anything to stop the hives. In my case they are NOT caused by a yeast flare up or anything like that.

What does this mean? What am I to do?

Hives caused by chelation

I sit here tonight with hives galore. They are so very itchy it is hard to concentrate on anything. Taking benedryl barely touches them and the only thing I feel is deliriousness and completely drugged out of my mind. The last time I had to get a dexamethasone injection and take prednisone for them to stop. Even still, the hives continued on for days while on 60mg of prednisone. This is a serious allergic reaction and I do not know where to go from here. I cannot keep doing this.

With DMPS there is a risk of developing a potentially fatal condition called, Stevens Johnson Syndrome.


"Signs and symptoms of Stevens-Johnson syndrome include:

• Facial swelling
• Tongue swelling
• Hives
• Skin pain
• A red or purple skin rash that spreads within hours to days
• Blisters on your skin and mucous membranes, especially in your mouth, nose and eyes
• Shedding (sloughing) of your skin"

Now to be fair, any medication can cause this it seems if the body reacts in such a way, but there have been a handful of cases people have come down with it specifically with DMPS. I guess I am concerned that I may be setting myself up for this because it is an autoimmune disorder and clearly my immune system is confused. I have no other symptoms of SJS, so please do not freak out in the comments!

My next step is to take EDTA and see what happens. The Cutler folk will have you believe that I'm going to kill myself with EDTA, but at this point I need to see if the hives happen on EDTA as well. If they do, then I seriously have no idea what I'm going to do. With the amalgam tattoo gone, I thought this would stop. No such luck in my case.

I may start the EDTA tonight and see how I do.

Update On Tooth

Well the weird pain I am getting is not from the tooth with the metal post. It seems that either 1)I have brushed my gums so hard in the past 2 months that I have caused gum recession or 2) getting the amalgam tattoo removed did indeed cause some gum recession or 3) chelation is doing something to the gums.

I guess it could be a combination of all of those things. I just find it SOO strange that my dentist used to say how GREAT my gums looked and now I have severe recession in the exact same area where the gray tooth and amalgam tattoo was removed.

I still have a metal post in that tooth that needs taken care of and that can only be resolved with a crown. That's $1200 I don't have.

I just keep on going I guess. I have hives tonight and it is NOT looking good. I feel no need to put more pictures of the hives on here because there's more than enough already. haha

Heavy Metal Chelation Round 5: DMPS Ends

I went a little longer this time, (~6.5 days) but as soon as I noticed a hive, I stopped. I immediately started my "here comes the hives" supplement/medicine regime. I took a benedryl, zyrtec, 3 grams of Vitamin C and 2 grams of Quercetin before bed. I woke up and I was good. No hives and so far I haven't had any more develop. Last night I took more zyrtec, vitamin C, quercetin and half a benedryl. So far so good. I think I have a few mosquito bites though and it is hard to tell the difference between them and hives. haha

The good:
I think I am already seeing improvements on the DMPS. I hate even say this or type this because I don't think I've said these words on my blog, ever?

• My heat intolerance seems a tad better. 5% better
• My heart seems less aggravated at times. 3% better
• My vision is getting clearer again. 

The bad:

• Obviously the hives are bad. Hopefully they stay away.
• I think the DMPS is reacting with a metal post in one of my teeth.

I just keep chugging along here and see what happens. I am off to the dentist to see what they can do about this metal post in my tooth I forgot about it. Of course they are supposed to be "inert", but I'm not so sure about that...

Round 5: DMPS Begins

Well here we go again. I started Round 5 of my DMPS chelation around 11:45AM and will be going for at least 3 days. I may try to do longer rounds, but we will see. I have drastically lowered my dose to 10mg capsules every 8 hours to see if I still break out in hives. So far so good, but on round is never my problem...

Round 4: DMPS Begins

The hives are gone and I decided to start up on the DMPS again. This will be another 3 day round and then after this, I may take a slight break. I will be out of pills and will need to get the money together to order more.

I have had no improvements with the POTS, but my vision is definitely more clear. It is actually freaking me out a bit. In all of my years of life, my vision has never gotten better. Every 6 months I usually have to go back to the eye doctor and get a stronger prescription. About 2 months ago I started to notice my vision was losing its crispness and figured it was only a matter time until I would be heading in again.

Then one day out of no where I realized how amazing the trees and stones looked. I figured I was just going crazy or imaging things, but now it's been a few weeks and it has stayed. The glasses I use around the house are an old prescription. Before I could NOT drive with these on as road signs are blurry and I would not trust myself at all. Yesterday I tagged along to the post office was commenting over and over again how well I was seeing out of the glasses.

We will see if this continues. If my prescription has gone down, I will be speechless--as would my eye doctor.

Hives Have Calmed Down

The hives are better.  The skin is still discolored where they were, but I'm not feeling itchy.  Thank goodness.

I'll probably start chelating again tomorrow.  I just want to give it another day.  I am still taking the Diflucan and will continue to do so.  It will be interesting to see if the hives come back.  Did the Benedryl or the Diflucan help?  I won't really know unless the hives show up again.

Update: Later in the day I had some more hives show up around my neck.  Still keeping an eye on this.

Diflucan: Will It Stop This?

I woke up and immediately called my doctor and the message on his machine scared the hell out of me.  It said he was going to be out of the office for a whole week.  I nearly vomited when I heard this, but decided to leave a message any way.   Thankfully I got a call from one of the receptionists/secretaries and she said she would contact the doctor and get back to me.  I told her she was a lifesaver and was extremely thankful for this because the hives are getting to the point where I might have to see an urgent care soon for high dose predisone. 

Hives on neck-Monday night

I got a call back a few hours later and my doctor agreed to have me try Diflucan.  Since the hives are not responding to zyrtec, he thought it was a very good idea.  I told her (the secretary) that this is my last attempt before I give in and go on prednisone.  The hives are really getting that bad.   This picture above is quite tame compared to the hives on my torso and lower abdomen, which you can see below.   

So itchy!

As soon as I got word it was available at the pharmacy, we ran over there.  I got the prescription and took my first one in the car. haha  Now I wait and see what happens. I don't expect miracles because I may have already reached the point of no return.   I don't want to go on high dose prednisone.  I'm going to be out of my mind if I have to though and that scares me.  I might need to buy a cage for my husband to lock me in...lol J/K!!!  I really do not do well at all on large steroid doses...

Fingers crossed this works.  I am not starting my round today obviously.  I was due to start back up again, but I need to get these hives under control first.

And It Begins...Hives

Tonight out of the blue, with no other symptoms or issues I started to get hives everywhere.  I do not know what to do now.  DMSA and DMPS now both are causing hives?  Here's the weird thing though...I am not on round.  I quit late Thursday night, so it has been 3 days.

Terrible Itchy Hives on Neck and Scalp

Very large, hard hives near elbow

The hives were out of hand, so I took a zyrtec.  I got some nice picture of the hives, so all of you can see what I go through now.  I've got no idea what to do.  The only things you can use to chelate cause me severe distress.  I still find it odd that it took 3 rounds for it to show up.

Well I have to let this all soak in and see what I want to do from here.  To say I am frustrated is a huge understatement.

Update: I woke up Monday morning and the hives are still here.   Wow!  I'm thinking this must be a candida/fungus flare up or some type.  I also have tinea versicolor on my neck now and it is starting on my chest.  You can see a spot of it (if you know what you are looking for) in the picture of my neck.  I'm not sure what to do, but studies I've read suggest taking Diflucan to control the fungus.  We will see what I want to do because I did not really want to do that right now.  Blah...never dull when chelating!

Update 2: It is now Monday night I see no end with these hives.  Zyrtec surprisingly isn't working.  I don't know whether it is because my Zyrtec is 1 year past expiration (haha) or if these hives are just not responding.  Ugh I really did not want to go on an anti-fungal, but I might have to give it a shot to see if it clears up.

Round 3: DMPS Complete

I am happy to say round 3 of DMPS is complete and I don't feel any symptoms still. As a reminder, I am taking 50mg of DMPS every 8 hours for 3 days.  I don't know if I should be happy, worried or content.  haha Is it doing anything?  I should I be feeling something to know it is working?

I am not the type of person who has placebo effects...Today I felt like my vision was more clear like I got a new contact prescription.  It was not particularly bright or sunny, so I don't think it had anything to do with lighting.  We'll see in the next few days if this sticks around of if I am just imagining things.   :)  As we were driving around, I could see every twig and stick on trees.  The rocks on the ground were more defined and it was just amazing overall.  The floaters are still there, but the actual vision felt like it was better than 20/20.  It was incredible.

That is all for now.  I'm still working on getting my thoughts together for Part 2 of the Lyme discussion. 

Finished Round 2 DMPS

I finished round two of DMPS and I feel nothing.  I'm not getting any symptoms at all while chelating with this and it's great.  It's so good that I'm wondering if it is doing anything! haha  That's pretty much it for now.  We have a cold spell right now, but last week it was warmer and I could tell the shortness of breath is making a return.  Ugh...I hate POTS!

Almost Completed First DMPS Round

I am 2 pills away from finishing my first DMPS chelation round and I feel nothing at all.  No headaches, no tiredness, no hives...nothing.  This is very exciting to me because I was concerned it would be really terrible.  With all of the negativity surrounding DMPS, I really thought it was going to be "tough" with a lot of symptoms and weird side effects.  Perhaps it is too soon?  I guess only time will tell! 

I am following my doctor's advice on this one and will take a 4 day break.  There is no reason to overdo it and if I continue to do well, I will look into increasing my dosage or increasing the length of rounds.

The fact I had no hives is pretty amazing.  I just hope I'm not jinxing myself. haha

Recap: This was a 3 day round taking 50mg DMPS orally every 8 hours.  I started half-way through Tuesday, so I will be ending on Friday morning after taking my 9th dose. 

Took My First DMPS Dose!

After some confusion on Fedex's part, I finally have my DMPS and I took my first dose of 50mg orally.  I'm not sure what to expect and hope that I do not feel terrible or get severe rashes from it.  Many people will tell you how terrible DMPS is, how it is toxic and going to kill me because it is not FDA approved.  They link the DMPS backfire website and say not to take it. (You need to do your own research on this and need to know I've only come to this decision after long term use of DMSA with no help). 

A few of the reports I read on that website were mostly just doctors doing the stupidest things or it seems like a lot of these people had underlying conditions that were not being taken care of in the first place.  One story the woman started vomiting (which is pretty bad) yet she admits in her report that she has had these 'attacks' at other times in her life before the DMPS, yet she says it was all caused by the DMPS injection.  This makes no sense to me at all.  If it was DMPS, then why did you have episodes of this during other periods of your life?  This should make this woman want to figure out WHY she is vomiting rather than blame it on the chelator.

Some of the reports show they were doing DMPS IV's with amalgams still in! Stupid.  Or they were doing multiple IV's a week and/or not supplementing with vitamins at all.  All of this is stupid stupid stupid.  Those who favor DMSA are typically websites who are selling it too.  Since DMSA can be purchased over the counter,  these websites will of course tell you how bad DMPS is when they cannot prescribe it to you.  They want you to buy it from their website and will say whatever you want to hear.

Also comparing DMSA to DMPS is very different especially since DMSA is not given by IV, ever.  If DMSA was given by IV, then I suspect all of the same symptoms and side effects would be associated with it too.  Especially with people doing stupid things with it.  

If you are a returning visitor to my blog, you know how little I care about "FDA approval".  I'm in this situation because of the FDA and their approval for using amalgams in humans.

Why am I trying DMPS?  Because DMSA is not working.  I haven't been able to find any frequent doser who has RECOVERED with DMSA.  One person on the frequent dose chelation yahoo group has been chelating for 6 1/2 years with little to no improvement.  Uh it's not working and this is my cue to start looking elsewhere. I don't want to be here 6 years later no better than when I started.  I've already wasted 3 years of my life. 

DMPS is much better at pulling mercury out of the body and that's exactly what I want to do.  Dr. Cutler himself says it is better for most people because it does not disturb digestion or yeast issues and will not lower your neutrophils.  I don't have issues with my digestion, but my neutrophils are always lowered when taking DMSA.  DMSA gives me unbearable hives/rashes and I am curious to see if DMPS does the same.  If it does NOT then I know the hives are from DMSA itself rather than it moving metals around.

After ~17 rounds of DMSA I am not feeling ANY improvements.  All of the improvements I have had since starting chelation can be attributed to other things I have done with my health such as taking hydrocortisone, florinef and drastically cleaning up my diet.   The frequent dose chelation folks would just tell me to "keep at it" and all of this nonsensical bullshit.  No, I should have been feeling SOMETHING at this point.

I am following the "frequent dose" schedule for this, but with DMPS you take it every 8 hours which will be very nice at night!  I'm doing 3 day rounds and I have enough pills with this bottle for 4 rounds worth.  If things continue to go well, then I'll get the refills.  The doctor gave me 5 refills!