Posted by BarbaraCat on April 11, 2004, at 0:14:01
In reply to Re: Barbara here » BarbaraCat, posted by katia on April 9, 2004, at 15:56:37
Hi Katia (are you really Susan? It'll be a while til I'm used to that!)
>>What is DMPS?
***It's a chelating agent to mobilize mercury out of tissues where it's then bound and excreted (hopefully). I was dx'd with high mercury levels by naturopath and I wanted to get the damn stuff out of my system. Many of my symptoms are sooooo mercury. I was heavily exposed to the raw stuff as a kid so it's not just the standard bad stuff from dental fillings. Still have a few amalgams but they're in bridges and not exposed so I don't think I'll get them out. Didn't you have that done and it didn't do a dang thing for your mood disorder? DMPS is not yet approved by the FDA for heavy metal chelation in the US so there's not a lot of literature on it. At this point it's mainly used in 'alternative' clinics that do weird alternative stuff. It's supposed to be a 'safe' drug (found out since that it's not), usually given IV, and has had some success in pulling out the mercury. But no one knows enough about it when things go wrong. The hospital was stumped cause it wasn't in any of their databases. It's related to the sulfa drug categories and allergies to sulfa meds can cause this stuff but I've never been allergic to sulfas before and this isn't a true sulfamide. I have to wonder if Lamictal primed me for it cause I was getting the terrible itchies with Lam. Chelation, whether for cancer or heavy metals or whatever is a huge burden on the system and I don't think my adrenals were strong enough to take the hit, especially after this past winter in Hell.
**Anyhow, today I actually went out and re-potted one rose. But that was it for me. I'm totally wiped. I give thanks that the powers that look over me protected me from anything worse, like doing IV instead of oral. Some of the picures of severe SJS cases are horrifying. And there's not a damn thing you can do except provide life and symptom support.
>>And you're not on any meds and are feeling fine? EXCELLENT! Unfortunately, sometimes meds can make it worse and sometimes better.
***I can't say that I'm feeling great even when I'm not feeling sick but I'm learning to tolerate discomfort better. I also know that given the stresses I had in childhood and all throughout life, there's alot that I have to heal on very deep levels. Not that I'm against meds at all and will continue to take them on an as-needed basis, but the fact is, that the intense emotions would ALWAYS break through and then it would be another med search. Nothing worked long term and the extra med burden wasn't doing my liver any good. But yeah, I'm maintaining and it seems to be getting better as time goes by and I clear out my system more. The lows still hit pretty hard but I can ride them out and am learning to trust that things do change, just like the weather.
>
> Lithium DO NOT work for me. made me a shuffling drooling idiot.***I never slowed down mentally on lithium but it sure loused up my thyroid worse than it already was. I'm still waiting to get the pudge off that's supposed to just roll right off when you stop, but no such luck.
>>I'm currently on 50mg of Lam. (just restarted it) and 300mg of Trileptal and about 25mg of Seroquel for sleep and 12gs of fish oil (Carlson's). And I feel pretty good.
**Bueno! You sound great. I've started back on fish oil again aftera a hiatus and I think it makes a difference. It was starting to give me zits so I cut back. Is Seroquel new for you? I hear it's a great sleeper and helps prevent those gawd-awful mixed states we both know too well.
> I also just bought a house - ... It's all very self-empowering and wonderful; and I"m still not quite sure how I managed lenders to give me money!
***I'm sure your delightful you-ness had something to do with it! Having your own home really works magic for feelings of belonging and 'coming home' in so many ways. Renting always felt so on the edge, always being at the mercy of the landlord's whims - very unsettling. The tax writeoffs will really make a diff and let you take advantage of itemizing all sorts of stuff.
>>>I'm getting ready to restart grad school. hopefully my moods will stay steady.
***That's great. Just remember and repeat after me 'I will get regular sleep. No more all-nighters, ever. It's taken this long and there's no need to rush and push myself til I drop.' As I recall, you're in Psych? Can you tell me any more details?
>>At least for the moment, it feels good to be out of real wack-o land. God I had a rough time.
***I know you have, my dear. Things were pretty hellish for you and I'm so glad it's lifted. When we're in the grip of it, no reminders that it eventually lifts ever get through, do they?
>
>> Good news on your drinking. Me? I've been imbibing, especially w/ the move and all very stressful. I went on Antabuse for three days and went off of it due to the house buying. It felt like too much at one time. I'm hoping to eliminate it slowly.***Yeah, right now with feeling rotten physically I have no desire for wine so it's pretty easy to lay off. The hard part is staying with my resolve when my energy starts coming back and I want to feel 'super good' again. The siren song of the swampwater is always so tempting once you've snorkled in those waters.
I really feel better off it and it's the only way I can expect to make not being on meds work. I noticed a few times when I just had to have a few snootfulls how really bleak I felt the next few days. Toxic. I'd encourage you very very strongly to NOT take antabuse. If you research it you'll find quite a few references on how it can aggravate depression pretty seriously. It also interferes with an enzyme that metabolizes many meds. I believe its cytochrome P-450. When I had to go through diversion after the DUII, the first program I was in routinely put people on antabuse. I flat out refused and almost got thrown out of diversion and into jail for 'not going along with the program'. Luckily I got into another sane program that totally agreed it could really cause health issues, but figured drinking was the worst of the two choices. But there are other choices. If you want to do something like that, there are a few new ones out, one being alcaprozam or some such. It's also rumored to have some antidepressant activity. Also, good old Kudzu as a supplement has had some success in curbing cravings. At any rate, more and more I come to realize that doing all these things means the liver pays the price and down the line is when the piper starts wanting payment. Age does not cause Mr. Piper to grow forgetful, believe me. So I hope you're doing milk thistle.
> keep in touch.
> Susan***Really? You're Susan?
poster:BarbaraCat
thread:288885
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/subs/20040409/msgs/335078.html