CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES xxiii
LIST OF FIGURES xxvii
PREFACE xxvix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xxxi
WHY DID ANDY DIE? xxxiii
INTRODUCTION xxxv
1 WHERE AND HOW PEOPLE GET TOXIC 1
1.1 Why mercury is so dangerous 1
1.2 How you might have become poisoned 2
1.3 Why your doctor might miss what is wrong 8
2 WHAT MERCURY POISONING LOOKS LIKE 11
2.1 Psychological symptoms 12
2.2 Neurological symptoms 14
2.3 Physical symptoms 15
3 OTHER TOXIC METALS 21
3.1 Aluminum 22
3.2 Antimony 23
3.3 Arsenic 24
3.4 Cadmium 25
3.5 Copper 25
3.6 Lead 26
4 HOW TO TEST FOR CHRONIC MERCURY POISONING 29
4.1 If you don’t have mercury fillings: a trial of chelation 30
4.2 If you have mercury fillings: a hair test 30
4.2.1 How to interpret a hair test 31
4.2.2 How to apply the “counting rules” to the ‘Essential and Other Elements” section of a Doctors’ Data hair test 32
5 DENTAL WORK: THE BIGGEST HURDLE 35
5.1 Dental work and what you need done 35
5.1.1 The difficult issue of crowns 36
5.2 Further comments about dentistry 36
5.2.1 Precautions you must take with the dentist 37
5.2.2 Precautions the dentist must take 38
5.2.3 Be careful about advice from your dentist 39
5.2.4 How to afford the dental work 40
6 THE INS AND OUTS OF CHELATION 43
6.1 The Cutler protocol versus other methods 43
6.2 How chelation works 45
6.3 The chelating agents and waiting periods for taking them 48
6.3.1 The chelators we use for the ACC protocol 43
6.3.2 The waiting periods for taking chelators 49
6.3.3 Why these waiting periods are important 50
6.4 Which chelator to choose and how much to take 51
6.5 What NOT to do!!!! 52
6.5.1 Supplements never, ever to take 56
6.5.2 Supplements some people need to avoid 58
6.5.3 Avoid medical mercury! 58
6.5.4 No other medical metals either!!! 59
6.5.5 No drugs that are dangerous for people with mercury poisoning! 60
7 HOW TO FOLLOW THE ANDY CUTLER CHELATION PROTOCOL 63
7.1 Some considerations before starting 63
7.2 The protocol 65
7.2.1 The first three months after amalgam removal or your last exposure to mercury 65
7.2.2 Adding alpha lipoic acid after three months 66
7.2.3 Schedules for taking supplements 68
7.3 How long does this take? 71
7.4 If you are having a difficult time chelating 72
7.5 The “stall phase” or “dump phase” 72
7.6 What does methylation have to do with mercury detoxification? 74
7.7 Chelating lead 75
7.7.1 Protocol for chelating lead 76
8 PROBLEMS YOU MAY ENCOUNTER ALONG THE WAY AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT THEM 77
8.1 Why take supplements? 77
8.2 Prescription medicines 78
8.2.1 A note about mental illness 79
8.3 Adrenals 80
8.3.1 Symptoms 81
8.3.2 Adrenal support supplements 82
8.3.2.1 Adrenal cortex 82
8.3.2.2 Adaptogens 82
8.3.2.3 How to take adaptogens 83
8.3.2.4 Electrolytes 84
8.3.3 Help from your doctor 85
8.4 Thyroid 85
8.4.1 Symptoms 87
8.4.2 Supplements 88
8.4.3 Help from your doctor 88
8.5 Diabetes and blood sugar 89
8.5.1 Symptoms 91
8.5.2 Supplements 91
8.5.3 Help from your doctor 92
8.6 Allergies 94
8.6.1 Symptoms 95
8.6.2 Supplements 95
8.6.3 Help from your doctor 97
8.7 Liver problems 97
8.7.1 Symptoms 97
8.7.2 Supplements 98
8.7.3 Help from your doctor 99
8.8 Digestive tract problems 99
8.8.1 Symptoms 99
8.8.2 Supplements 100
8.8.3 Help from your doctor 101
8.9 Yeast and dysbiosis 101
8.9.1 Symptoms 102
8.9.2 Supplements 102
8.9.3 Help from your doctor 103
8.9.4 Die off when using yeast remedies 103
8.10 Poor concentration and attention deficit 104
8.10.1 Symptoms 104
8.10.2 Supplements 105
8.10.3 Help from your doctor 105
8.11 Depression 105
8.11.1 Some different kinds of depression and what they feel like 106
8.11.1.1 Obsessive, suffering depression 106
8.11.1.2 Hopeless, helpless depression 107
8.11.1.3 Sluggish, lethargic, no motivation depression 107
8.11.2 Supplements 107
8.11.3 Help from your doctor 108
8.12 Anxiety 108
8.12.1 Symptoms 109
8.12.2 Supplements 109
8.12.3 Help from your doctor 110
8.13 Insomnia 110
8.13.1 Symptoms 111
8.13.2 Supplements 111
8.13.3 Help from your doctor 112
8.14 Chemical sensitivity 112
8.14.1 Symptoms 113
8.14.2 Supplements 113
8.14.3 Help from your doctor 114
8.15 Pain 114
8.15.1 Symptoms 115
8.15.2 Supplements 116
8.15.3 Help from your doctor 117
9 DIET: WHAT YOU EAT HAS A HUGE IMPACT ON HOW YOU FEEL 119
9.1 Why diet is important 119
9.2 Avoiding problematic chemicals in your diet 120
9.2.1 Fruits and vegetables 120
9.2.2 Packaged foods 122
9.2.3 Meat 122
9.2.4 Fish 122
9.2.5 Game and game fish 123
9.2.6 Doing your own cooking 123
9.3 Thiol food sensitivity 124
9.4. General notes on diet 131
10 ORGANIZATION AND PRACTICAL MATTERS: GETTING YOURSELF ORGANIZED 133
10.1 Remembering to take your supplements 133
10.1.1 A convenient pill tray 133
10.1.2 Filling your pill tray 134
10.2 Remembering to take your chelators 135
10.2.1 Alarms 136
10.2.2 Labeled pill boxes and other strategies 137
10.2.3 Paper cups 138
10.2.4 Checklists 138
10.2.5 Your nighttime dose made easy 138
10.3 Keep a log or diary 138
10.4 Organizing the rest of your life 140
10.4.1 Some useful suggestions to make life easier 142
11 CONCEPTION, PREGNANCY AND LACTATION 145
11.1 If you are pregnant 145
11.2 After your child is born 146
11.3 Timetable of basic precautions 147
12 DOES YOUR CHILD NEED TO CHELATE TOO? 149
12.1 Teething chart 151
12.2 Timeline of developmental milestones 152
12.3 Growth charts 156
12.4 Medical diagnoses 157
12.5 Food and diet 158
12.6 Common sense 158
13 CONCLUSION: SOME ENCOURAGING WORDS 163
APPENDIX A: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 165
A.1 Mercury cleanup questions 165
A. 1.1 How do I clean up mercury? (Normal cleanup instructions as for a lightbulb or thermometer) 165
A. 1.2 I broke a neon tube/ CFL light bulb. Help! What do I do? 167
A. 1.3 I broke a thermometer/barometer/tilt switch/toy with mercury in it. 167
A. 1.4 How does exposure to a broken light bulb or thermometer affect chelation? 167
A.2 Protocol questions 168
A.2.1 Can I use time-release alpha lipoic acid so I don’t have to get up at night? 168
A.2.2 How does the MTHFR gene affect my ability to chelate? 168
A.2.3 How much iodine should I use? 168
A.2.4 Can I use zeolite, modified citrus pectin or bentonite clay? 169
A.2.5 I have Lyme disease. What do I do? 169
A.2.6 Shouldn’t I heal my gut, cure my Candida, clear out my detox pathways before I start chelating? 269
A.2.7 My doctor says I should do a challenge test, do a DMPS IV, take chelators once a day and so forth. 169
A.2.8 My dentist says to take a chlorella rinse, EDTA tablets, a glutathione IV, a detox remedy, etc. 170
A.2.9 My doctor thinks it is all quackery and won’t help me. 170
A.2.10 Do I really have to wait 3 months to take ALA? 170
A.2.11 Is it OK to take ALA once a day for my liver? 170
A.2.12 Can I take a dose early/late to fit my schedule? 170
A.2.13 I took a dose early/late what do I do? 170
A.2.14 I missed a dose, what do I do? 171
A.2.15 I accidentally took a double dose of chelators 171
A.2.16 Can I use R-ALA? 171
A.2.17 Can I do a round longer than three days? 171
A.2.18 I have been taking ALA once a day and nothing bad has happened 171
A.2.19 Can I stop chelating whenever it isn’t convenient? 171
A.2.20 My flax oil says it has ALA - can I take it? 172 A.2.21 Can I use a Sauna for detox? 172 A.2.22 What supplement brand is best? 172 A.2.23 Is magnesium stearate dangerous? 172 A.2.24 Does chelation remove important minerals? 172
THE MERCURY DETOXIFICATION MANUAL
A.2.25 Is the lower back-ache I have when chelating my kidneys being damaged? 173
A.2.26 Why cant I use EDTA? 173
A.2.27 Should I take my chelators and/or supplements, with or without food? 173
A.2.28 Can I skip my chelation round when I feel sick, or have a wedding or event? 173
A.2.29 I have heard that chelation is dangerous 174
A.2.30 What do I do if I can’t take vitamin E? 174
A.2.31 What do I do if I can’t take vitamin C? 174
A.2.32 How can I get my family to understand they are toxic and need to chelate? 174
A.2.33 Can I stop my psychiatric medications now that I am chelating? 174
A.2.34 I can’t remember if I took my chelator dose ten minutes ago. 174
A.2.35 My doctor gave me an SSRI and it isn’t helping at all! What do I do now? 175
A.2.36 I have surgical pins, replacement joints or other metal parts in my body. Can I still chelate? 175
A.2.37 I just threw up. Do I need to end the round? 175
A.2.38 Do I really need to take my chelators at night? 175
A.2.39 Which hair test should I use and where do I get it? 175
A.3 Dentistry questions 176
A.3.1 What is that grey or black stain showing through my new composite fillings? 176
A.3.2 How do I determine that I have amalgam fillings? 176
A.4 Vaccine questions 176
A.4.1 What if I am told that I absolutely need a vaccine? 176
A.4.2 What should I do if I have been obliged to get a vaccine, anyway. 177
APPENDIX B: FDA MERCURY IN FISH CHART
ABBREVIATIONS 183
GLOSSARY 185
BIBLIOGRAPHY 199
INDEX 201