Mercury Detox and Glutathione

AL: In my case glutathione levels are extremely low. Maybe this is the result of detoxing mercury from the 12 amalgams I had in my mouth for almost 30 years. I now am taking glutathione injections, N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), glutamine, and other substances in an attempt to raise my glutathione levels. I think this is important to have glutathione levels and mineral levels within reference range before using chelators to detox mercury.

Shelley: I had an interesting experience today. I went to my doctor’ s for an intravenous (IV) infusion. That’ s nothing new; been doing that since the fall. This time, though, for the first time we added glutathione to the mix (equivalent of 800 mgs only). And whoa. I got just a tiny bit of nausea for like a half a minute … nothing that I would even complain about … then I got really spacey and sweaty, cold sweaty hands£and I don’t sweat all that easy. None of this usually happens. My blood pressure going in to the IV was 120/70 and a half-hour after the IV it was 140/90.

The infusion consisted of the regular substances: 50 mgs of beet derived C, 2 grs Calcuim Gluconate, 15 mcg Chromium, 5 mg Folic acid, 2 grs Magnesium Sulfate, .04 mg Manganese, 40 mcg Selenium, 2mg Zinc plus two ccs of Meyer’s Solution. (I’m not sure about the Meyer’ s…but I think that is right…trace minerals?)

I am still spacey, I guess brain-fogged. Not something I get often at all. It is not a good feeling. Any conjectures? I see my doctor for an appointment tomorrow. He said he had never seen this before.

As background: I had all but this smidgen of mercury removed in August (they have to do a NICO thing yet). I’ ve had no chelators except C and sauna for now. I have systemic candida controlled by oil of oregano. I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). I take a host of supplements that all seem to help, and I have changed nothing recently. This was an immediate and clear reaction to the IV with glutathione. Besides the spaciness, which is quite a lot, my body doesn’t feel bad at all.

Sarah H: Aaaahhh Shelley…….glutathione, my favorite topic! I had an injection of glutathione into both my legs six months ago and I am still recovering. I went weak and couldn’ t walk properly for weeks and the brain fog was dreadful. I felt sick, hideously out of breath and my body was like a lead weight. It was one of the worst CFS periods I have had and I am still recovering now. I used to do quite well if I stuck to the candida diet, but now I am exhausted a lot of the time. The injection also made my thyroid levels shoot up so I had a racing heart but I’ ve sorted that out now. All I can say is that hopefully you’ ll feel better by today. I would never recommend it to anyone!! Let us know how you feel. P.S. My doctor also said he had never heard of a reaction like mine before. I think that’ s standard doctor speak when things don’ t go perfectly! Can you imagine that a doctor dealing with CFS/candida patients with all their sensitivities and complications has never seen anyone have a bad reaction?!!

Shelley: Hi Sarah, What a mess! I hope I feel better soon…and you too. The only thing I don’ t agree with you is on doctors, at least not all of them. I really don’t think mine had seen this before.

Later – Shelley: There are patients of Paul Cheney, MD who report on the web that he used to give glutathione injections, but people got sick from them. That is why he is into testing the undenatured whey that will cascade into glutathione (hopefully) on an intracellular level. Undenatured whey is fine for me.

Intuitively, I just started taking much more buffered C. Yesterday I did a bowel tolerance to see how much and I got up to 22 grams (eeeek)…and even a lot of C brings on the same feelings of un-wellness. My C tolerance recently has been much lower this past fall…but now I need more C to get to bowel tolerance …so interesting. The C is a good thing. I’m going to stick with the undenatured whey Immonocal. It hasn’ t bothered me the same way that the glutathione shot did. I also went the next day for a colonic, which I think is important.

Polly: Nilvio, my friends Shelley and Sarah said that they couldn’ t tolerate infusions and shots of glutathione. They are both mercury poisoned. What is going on?

Nilvio: Shelley and Sarah’s mercury pool is being redistributed (by the glutathione injections), and since the weakest link in the metabolic chain is the neuron because of poor intracellular glutathione, you get a healing crisis whose symptoms relate to the higher brain functions.

Polly: That would fit in with what the people on the autism lists are saying about glutathione. Low glutathione and low antioxidants make one more susceptible to neuronal damage from mercury. [19]

Nilvio: Glutathione should not be given intravenously (in this case) because you bypass the natural metabolic mechanism. Glutathione is to be ingested orally after the stomach, small intestine and colon have been optimized. Thus, those organs will self regulate the absorption and the healing crisis will be avoided. The glutathione should be in powdered form because the gel caps “distort” and alter the absorptive process.

Polly: Perhaps that is why Shelley can tolerate the whey, but not the glutathione injection.

Nilvio: I think that validates, in part, what I said. Oligo elements (scant nutrients) are missing in either the therapy or this discussion; molybdenum is essential in this process but I only saw selenium mentioned. There are other oligo elements that are necessary too.

Polly: After Sarah’ s bad experiences with the whey and glutathione, she tried molybdenum, and found it helped her tolerate eggs, a food with a high sulfur content. So in her case, you are right, molybdenum was missing from her treatment.

Nilvio: Perhaps maximal tolerable amounts of vitamin C (an expensive powder form) might have diminished the intensity of the healing crisis. That can be implemented now. You have to have quenched the antioxidant complex thirst that we all have. This is not done physiologically yet; no matter how much antioxidants you take, they will not be enough to balance the metabolic score; you also need elemental reducers.

Polly: I believe that Linus Pauling said that vitamin E should be taken whenever you take high dose vitamin C. I assume vitamin E and coenzyme Q10 are some of these elemental reducing agents to which you are referring?

Nilvio: Yes. Essentially life is a process sustained by what is called an electron cascade: that is from the ingestion of fats, carbohydrates and proteins we extract ATP, the energy molecule. From ingestion to Fuel (ATP), substances are being oxidized and reduced by donating or accepting electrons; during these steps toxic radicals are produced (lactic acid, molecular fragments that require neutralization or they become toxic to the cell milieu or structures). Regardless of the antioxidants you use, the toxic radicals are only partially neutralized and you still have a toxic fragment damaging the cells; these weaker products have to be “ neutralized “ as well.

The basic problem with any attempt to correct human imbalances is that we have broken the natural homeostasis of human physiology in bits and bytes of mechanistic Newtonian physiological processes; this is fine were we to know the subtle biomolecular dynamics involved, but we do not know them. Hence generalizations based on whatever model of experimentation are employed, are bound to fail when apply to a specific individual.

In biological sciences, we only speak or research the EXTRACELLULAR compartment and on the bases of those results infer what may be occurring physiologically. Until biology gets to study the interstitium (it is getting there with the biological terrain technique) and the INTRACELLULAR milieu IN VIVO, we will be making mistakes and missing the mark.

Polly: This is so maddening and frustrating. You need glutathione and other antioxidants to protect your nerve cells from the effects of mercury, yet if you take a glutathione or cysteine supplement, you may move mercury around and cause damage. Aggh!

Marilyn in Seattle: I have high plasma cysteine and low glutathione and am finding that Jeff Clark’ s suggestion of taking glycine/glutamic acid is really helping. The theory is that because glutathione is made of glutamic acid, glycine and cysteine that the two added aminos will hook up with the cysteine and form glutathione, thus reducing the bad level of cysteine and upping the good guy glutathione. It is helping the “ sulfur leg pain” that can be for me, unbearable, though I have learned to avoid the cysteine elevating foods.

Polly: Instead of glutaric acid, there is also glutamine and alpha-ketoglutaric acid to consider. I don’ t know which of these is best for which individual. (See some considerations in the chapter on amino acids.)

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