Amalgam Illness: Diagnosis and Treatment

Mercury-containing "amalgam" fillings have been with us for 150 years, and have been the intermittent cause of vehement controversy for just as long. In the 1850s or 60s, for a while it was a crime to insert these fillings into human beings in parts of the United States. In the 1930s Alfred Stock, a brilliant chemist, wanted these fillings banned; various American dentists have urged the same since the 1970s. In Sweden they were banned until the European Union intervened. The use of mercury to treat syphilis, as was customary into the 1890s, is now a huge embarrassment; many of the "symptoms" attributed to syphilis are now known to have been due to the "treatment."In various European countries, the medical fraternity acknowledges that mercury, being a liquid, slowly evaporates from these fillings. This is where things become complicated. Cutler adduces evidence from different journals that the ability to excrete mercury varies by more than a factor of 20 between humans; in other words, as in lactose intolerance, a minority of human beings can't tolerate an otherwise safe product. Even more counterintuitively, mercury poisoning, unlike most other intoxications, does not have a single set of symptoms, but rather at least 20 very different sets of symptoms. I was initially deeply skeptical of Dr. Cutler's claims, which are at odds with everything you hear from "mainstream" medical authorities. However, the more I delved into the established scientific facts, the more confirmation I found for his claims. As part of my quest to regain my health I obtained excerpts from a 1400 page post-doctoral thesis on the side-effects of amalgam fillings by a dentist who went on to post-doctoral studies at Harvard University. Unfortunately this thesis has yet to be published, reportedly due to pressure from the (so-called) National Institutes of Health. In any event, the excerpts fully support Dr. Cutler's claims.Nor are the NIH the only "mainstream" "medical" "authorities" - I can't bring myself to not punctuate properly - affiliated with the US government that reportedly maintain a strange and bizarre silence on the matter. According to reports I read, about no other medication or device has the FDA received nearly as many reports of severe problems resulting over the decades as from these fillings, but the reports are put in a drawer to be forgotten because by the logic of these civil servants the problems must be with the people who report them rather than the fillings. Their logic apparently is that the fillings were sold decades before the FDA was founded or any serious clinical trials were mandatory for medical products, and "grand-fathered" into the system, and that this must mean that they are safe.If these fillings can cause mercury intoxications, the next question is how to treat such states. As Alfred Stock experience proved, some people can recover by simply having their fillings removed; others can't. Were I sure that I was so poisoned, I would consider waiting to see if my body can heal itself depending on the severity of the intoxication, and not immediately rush to treat it chemically, a consideration Cutler unfortunately omits. For those who can't recover unaided, Dr. Cutler's book is invaluable. Many in the "alternative medicine" community "treat" mercury intoxications with chorella, an algae that forms loose bonds with mercury. This does sometimes help, but in talking with dentists who will talk frankly about amalgam issues, I have been told that Cutler is correct in writing that some people have significantly harmed themselves this way.Cutler advocates the use of chelators with two adjacent sulfur atoms, which form bonds with mercury that are much stronger than those that chlorella forms. Toxicologists use such chelators - and not herbs - to treat mercury intoxications because they know what they are doing. Most toxicology handbooks note that none of the customary chelators used to treat mercury poisoning (DMSA or DMPS) meaningfully penetrates the blood-brain barrier; in other words, if you have a lot of mercury in your brain, and can't move it out once you've reduced your exposure, they can't help you. Cutler happily found that lipoic acid, a medication sold in Germany for the last 40 years, gets into the brain, and removes mercury from the nerve cells; some clinical work with a lipoic acid derivative in this regard was done in Poland and Russia. In other words, Cutler accomplishes what most toxicologists believe can't be done. Cutler's other invaluable insight that most experts overlook is that you have to use the chelators on a schedule that actually allows them to remove mercury from the body. This requires taking lipoic acid on a 3 hour schedule to maintain relatively constant levels of lipoic acid in the body. (If it takes, say, 12 hours to move a mercury atom from the brain to the feces, and lipoic acid has a half-life on the order of 6 hours, taking lipoic acid every other day is useless.)Cutler is qualified to write on the subject; not only does he have a PhD in biochemistry from Princeton, he also writes that he overcame an amalgam intoxication. When your own skin is on the line, you become very meticulous. I was deeply, deeply, skeptical of Cutler's claims which lie far outside of mainstream medical scripture; it wasn't until I had corresponded with scientists who had spent years of their lives researching amalgam toxicity that I concluded that his claims are true. I myself have followed his advice and seen my health improve vastly.In my informed opinion, this is the gold standard of treatment for mercury intoxications; more than a few people report that they had tried sundry remedies, but it was not until they got serious with Cutler's treatment that they began to recover. It may be worth mentioning Cutler's subsequent book, Hair Elements, which offers a better understanding of Cutler's thinking and results on some aspects of this subject. A caveat: prepare for a somewhat disjointed book that has never met a professional editor.Some books deserve 5 stars, this book would easily deserve 12 or more. Allow me to note that the Nobel Prize has been awarded for smaller innovations.

Currently found out about this book after having a myriad of health problems for years, Nothing was helping me. Mainstream medicine wasn’t cutting it, a few providers actually got me sick. So I traced back the root cause. I read through my medical history, had two silver fillings placed that year, plus travels shots, + misuse of ala/Dmsa, lead me to hell + Andrew’s book. After reading, asking many questions researching for myself, I had a Aha moment!Dr. Cutler has done his research, and his background being a Chemist studying half lives and collecting data for years. assures me that I’m on a path to recovery. Keep in mind the doses have changed for the Chelators (Supps to remove heavy metals) than what’s in the book. There’s a informative FB group that has the proper dose usage and so much beneficial information regarding This protocol! This isn’t a cult, at first It can be intimidating, as the protocol is fairly strict. This is based on research on some are more sensitive than others to foods, and it supplements. Don’t let that discourage you! You will get better Might I suggest/recommend a Hal Huggins trained Doctor as you have negative, and positive charged fillings and need to remove certain fillings first so you don’t get sick, Confirmed this with two hollistic dentist. Amalgams have a galvanic affect, First: find a iamot dentist, Second: order this book. Third: join AC FB group Fourth: safely Chelate 5) Live your life healthy + Happy! Your welcome :)

I had amalgams in me for 15 years and those years were hell. I was extremely ill as I had bought this new high speed electric toothbrush . Incidentally it caused a lot of mercury to come out of my fillings as I believe the fillings got polished and the layer of tarnish that built over the years got removed. For a 30 year old I had tingling in my hands and feet ,numbness in my limbs and total loss of memory. Fortunately my sister had read some place about the amalgam contorversey and when she mentioned it I quickly knew what was wrong. The claims of the dentist and authorities about their safety didnt help. I am an engineer and I know how wrong mercury can be for you, unfortunately I didnt know this when they put it inside me. I ordered the book by Hal Huggins ' Its all in your head' (You need this to know how they should remove the mercury safely), searched a dentist who could remove the mercury safely for me. I could already feel better after my amalgam removal. Unfortunately I had metal screws in me from a previous fracture in the leg, so I did not start chelation rightaway. No doctor will ever tell u that no matter what, do not ever get a metal inside you, they always leach. My screws were stainless steel, my hair test results showed high nickel which I know is a component of steel. 3 months after amalam removal I scheduled a surgery for screw removal. 2 months of juicing and supplementation to get healthy before starting chelation. This month I started the AC chelation protocol, have completed 2 rounds with DMSA, and already feel so fabulous. It took me 8 months after amalgam removel to get to this stage. I had blood work done at the peak of my toxicity last year, so this year I am again waiting for my annual check up to see figures change. I feel the brain fog is reducing, I have so much energy. My healing would have been slow without this book. I dont know if I would ever lose my brain fog without chelation. I was getting better slowly but chelation with AC protocol is giving fast results. This has showed at work too, my boss feels I have been really performing well lately . I seem to have the brightest ideas and fixes for any problem. Little does he or anyone know about my heros - Dr Andy Cutler, Dr Hal Huggins. Defnitely recommend this book!

A very good book. I found it educational and is a helpful guide for the layperson as well as healthcare practitioners. I like the fact this is written by a chemist, which gives what he says about toxic metals and how to detox and chelate more credibility, as I've found there's a lot of anecdotal stuff written on the internet about this subject. Even though this book is mainly centred around mercury and amalgam illness, there are other toxic metals documented and the detox and chelating protocols can be applied to other toxic metal poisoning too. I also recommend Dr Cutler's other book: 'Hair Test Interpretation: Finding Hidden Toxicities', these two books link well together and make a powerful educational package. Dr Cutler's evidently worked very hard to put all the information together to create his books. Sadly he's no longer with us anymore but what a legacy to leave behind. Thank you Dr Andrew Cutler.

Looks intimidating, but actually it's a very interesting read. The book will help you understand if you have "amalgam illness" and how to go about getting rid of it. I wouldn't say I'd want to read it again, so if you can, borrow it or buy it used, as it's very expensive. The author should offer a cheaper downloadable version (the paper one is the size of a decent Masters thesis, and again, too pricy).

Andrew Hall really knows what he is talking about and he knows what or who he is up against. Sometimes he gets carried away by his indignation (been there too but it is a bit distracting) but he really does give invaluable information that I haven't found anywhere else. For instance, I now understand why I can't eat certain food, apart from food that is obviously bad for my digestive system like dairy. It isn't a 'proper' book and that is a bit of a thumbs down, considering the price.

If you think this may be an issue for you, then you NEED this book and you NEED to follow it before you follow anything else.

Frightening, but very interesting and eye opening!