Metal fillings replaced while breastfeeding? - Page 4

[cabbage]

JaneS,
Thank you so much for your post!
It really clarified lots of things for me.
Yes, I agree it's a good idea to get tested for Hg for me and my baby, the only thing I am not sure what type of tests are the most accurate: blood, hair or urine(they give you some sort of tablet to take orally, then you pump and dump for 24 hours and collect urine at specified times).
The other thing I heard and this DR (assuming I understood him correctly) told me that children who have a lot of Hg in their bodies tend to accumulate it in the brain or sothenig like that while the test shows no mercury.
I wonder maybe I should do all three...
I also am very very worried that the baby is now on a "nursing strike" and only nurses, so all that mercury goes into her little body. With a very heavy heart, I am starting to think maybe that is the way to go to wean her.
I know the weaning will be VERY hard if not traumatic. I am pretty much a single parent with financial support from my DH, who by the way is diagnosed with Asperger. So she is with me 24/7 +my DH is totally uninterested and uninvolved with her and me to that matter (he never plays with her, leave alone tends to her basic needs) + I am from another country, so I literally have no family here. I feel that nursing is a very special thing for us and helps us overcome all these stresses and difficulties. But on the other hand the mercury business is REALLY SCARY.........

Thanks again, JaneS for your reply, and hugs to all of you mamas.

[JaneS]

I really miss bf'ing, I completely understand.

The Challenge test can be very dangerous, do not do it that way... the one pill dose of chelator mobilizes a lot of Hg, overwhelms the detox pathways of the body and the amount that is not excreted gets re-stored in body organs with more going to brain.

It is not not very helpful to diagnose a problem: http://onibasu.com/archives/am/1723.html

Blood and urine tests are useless, they only judge current expsore since mercury is transitory in both.

The Hair Elements test from Doctor's Data is the one you want to do and then analyze it. It is designed to uncover the storage issues you spoke about.

A good source of info is the Autism-Mercury yahoo group, all hair test info here at the group files:
http://home.earthlink.net/~moriam/

see link 'PROCEDURES FOR TESTING FOR MERCURY AND OTHER HEAVY METALS'

[chasmyn]

OH, Mama

I hear your worry - what a tough situation.

I have an appointment with a holistic dentist - it says on his website that he is the one who brought the protocol to Seattle (safe amalgam removal). I'm going to talk to him about nursing and see what he says.

From what I've read, it seems that the hair elements test is the one to do, and do the counting method? You count the other metals that come out and their percentages. JaneS linked to the website earlier in the thread. I think that's what I'm probably going to do, to see what's there in me. I'm not sure DS has enough hair to do it on him, though. :

I'll update when I have more information from my new dentist.

[cabbage]

Thanks Mommas,

Thanks again JaneS for the info and links. I'll definetely look into that and will get tested. Just wondering though what is Doctor's Data?
Chasmyn, are you also in the same situation as I am? Are you nursing and have amalgam? Are you looking into pulling them out or just remove the fillings?
Good luck to you and please let us know how your apptmnt went.
I actually scheduled already extraction of those amalgam teeth in 2 weeks, but I think I 'll cancel it to research the issue more.
I still wonder if weaning is the right things to do and most importantly how to do is less traumaticly...

Hugs to you , Mommas....

[JaneS]

Doctor's Data is the lab that does the Hair Elements test. You need to have a doctor order the tests. So if you want to do it yourself, you use a middleman like www.directlabs.com who has a dr. on staff to consult or just sign off on the tests. Then they forward to you. They are very nice and I highly recommend them.... they worked very hard when decimated by Hurricane Katrina to get us our results!

[momto l&a]

I read someplace yesterday that vitamin c is very helpful in reducing lead levels.

Cant remeber where i read it off hand

[chasmyn]

Originally Posted by cabbage

Chasmyn, are you also in the same situation as I am? Are you nursing and have amalgam? Are you looking into pulling them out or just remove the fillings?
Good luck to you and please let us know how your apptmnt went.
I actually scheduled already extraction of those amalgam teeth in 2 weeks, but I think I 'll cancel it to research the issue more.
I still wonder if weaning is the right things to do and most importantly how to do is less traumaticly...

Hugs to you , Mommas....

I am, although I hadn't considered getting them pulled...I'm thinking that might be an even greater expense because of then needing some kind of replacements?

DS is only 5 months though ... no, almost 6! So I'm not considering weaning.

BTW, I had to push my appt back to the 23rd because they need to do precertification of insurance benefits and they didn't bother to mention that or their initial fee ($200) for an appointment. In their paperwork it said, "the fees is $200, as we discussed on the phone"...um, no, you never ever even mentioned money to me. And they want it up front rather than having insurance pay them. We would be reimbursed. I'm wondering if I should look elsewhere...it seems odd to me.

But we'll see what happens with the precertification.

[JaneS]

Originally Posted by momto l&a

I read someplace yesterday that vitamin c is very helpful in reducing lead levels.

Cant remeber where i read it off hand

500 mg. vitamin C raises glutathione levels which help detox just about everything including heavy metals:

http://www.doctormurray.com/newsletter/1-15-2003.htm

Make sure to balance with bioflavaniods. Right now I'm taking Acerola powder with each meal that I don't have an orange or raw pepper etc something. Acerola is a natural C fruit and has the whole bioflav spectrum.

[JaneS]

very interesting article summarizing Mercury toxicity and especially interesting is the case study of a woman on a lowfat low cholesterol diet that exacerbated her symptoms (I was on this type of diet too which I believe led to worsening of my condition)

http://www.westonaprice.org/envtoxins/mercury.html

The researchers found greater clearance of toxins with the high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet and diminished clearance when the ratio was reversed.33,34 To utilise the protein correctly, the fat on the "lamb" needs to be eaten. The use of additional butter or lard in cooking is of paramount importance. By having adequate fat, bile production is stimulated, absorption of minerals increased and the excretion of mercury facilitated as long as constipation is avoided...

A correct cholesterol response is fundamental to move mercury and other neurotoxins to sites where they can be excreted. A Danish study of 50,318 users of statin (cholesterol-lowering) drugs revealed a higher risk of peripheral neuropathy related to the percentage of drop in total cholesterol. In other words, lowering cholesterol increases risk of reactivity to nerve toxins37 resulting in pain, paraesthesia, numbness and demyelinating effects. Six additional studies since 1994 have indicated the same rise in polyperipheral neuropathy symptoms for users of statin drugs,38,39,40,41,42,43 supporting our clinical findings that low cholesterol levels in the presence of a potent neurotoxin such as mercury found in amalgam fillings or any other source, is a recipe for disaster. Nervanne's history was characteristic of this pattern.

P.S. my cholesterol was freakishly low, like 130-140 and I was praised at being a miracle of nature and soooo healthy

[MommaSid]

Hi Mommas,

Well I spoke to my naturopath who said to definitely not get the fillings removed while bfeeding.

I have also ordered the tests dfrom datadr's for myself and my 2 yo. I plan on getting them sent out this week. I guess for now things will just have to remain as they are, although it stillsickens me to think of all the hg inmy body and that of my 2yo who nursed for 16 months and my sweet 6month old who is still bfeeding. The more I find out about it the worse I feel. Everytime I brush me teeth or eat..I am always thinking about it..

I will keep an eye on this post and let you all know what the test results say.

[chasmyn]

Did your naturopath explain her/his concern?(Adding to my store of information.)

I feel the same, every time I chew or brush or grit my teeth I am hyper aware of it. I won't eat or drink anything hot anymore.

[MommaSid]

She said that removing the amalgams would release high amoutn of hg into my system. She also said that since my fillings are old that thet are probably stable by now and not releasing hg. THis made no sense to me after what I have read and researched about the hg. She said that she has seenpeople who get all their amalgams removed and end up getting really sick. Se said it would be a better choice to wait until the fillings NEED to be replaced and then replace with composite.

Well, I really like this Dr., but frankly I don't think she's very knowledgable about the hg/amalgam issue.

She knew the dentist that that I have an appt to see in MArch and said that "of course he's goignt to tell you that you need them all out, and that they are bad, bad, bad, because that is what he does."

She didn't seem to be to be overly concened about he hg being passed onto by 6 onth old dd. Our conversation did nothing to ease my mind abou the whole issue. I'm still freaking out about it and wnat them out of my mouth asap. which looks like will be after I am done nursing my dd.

Apart from JaneS, I haven't come across any posts of anyone who had them removed while bfeeding. I have 8. A couple of them very large. I guess I'll just wait until my appt in March and see what the dentist says. If I knew it could be done without causing harm to my dd, I would definitely do it.

[JaneS]

I think your ND visit just underscored the fact that you need to make this decision and not leave it up to anyone else! Which sucks, I know!

But she is wrong on many counts as you are aware of from just a little research. For example, it would make sense that people who got all their fillings out would get very sick if they had them out the traditional way.

I wouldn't have continued to bf'ing during removal if I couldn't cut down to one feeding and wean shortly thereafter, so I think your situation is different with a 6 month old.

[MommaSid]

Jane

I have been doing some more researcha nd came across this site which sells kits for heavy metal testing.

www.osumex.com


What do you think of this?? I am really curious and very concerned about the amount of hg in my beastmilk. Do you think these tests are legit??

[Annikate]

Originally Posted by MommaSid
Apart from JaneS, I haven't come across any posts of anyone who had them removed while bfeeding. I have 8. A couple of them very large. I guess I'll just wait until my appt in March and see what the dentist says. If I knew it could be done without causing harm to my dd, I would definitely do it.

I am here too. I had 3, 4 (?) can't remember now removed when dd was only 3 months old. I feel like the biggest IDIOT. I had read some of these threads prior to that (or was it right afterward?) - can't remember. I did not know enough about all this at the time.

Now dd is having some major issues related to food intolerances/sleep problems and I've just ordered the hair test (2 minutes ago). I'm going to start w/dd and then order one for myself too. We do have her vaxed as well - so far anyway.

This whole thing is just mind blowing. DDs are both asleep but here I am thinking, thinking, thinking about all of this and what I really need desperately is sleep.

Good to be able to talk to you all about it. Thanks so much to Jane who got me started on this path!

[JaneS]

Originally Posted by Annikate

Good to be able to talk to you all about it. Thanks so much to Jane who got me started on this path!

Thank you
And here I am feeling guilty for talking about this and making y'all so worried!!
But I forget MDC is not your usual mommy board...

[JaneS]

Originally Posted by MommaSid

Jane

I have been doing some more researcha nd came across this site which sells kits for heavy metal testing.

www.osumex.com


What do you think of this?? I am really curious and very concerned about the amount of hg in my beastmilk. Do you think these tests are legit??

Using the test strip kit? I just don't know if you'd get an accurate reading... whether it varies depending on time of day, fat content of milk, etc.? I know it varies how many feeds you do. Plus I personally would not trust this as a test to make a decision on, meaning not sure of the science behind it. You could end up freaking yourself out, or having a false sense of security, or just not even trusting the whole thing. (I've been through all of the above btw!)

Have you looked around the Yahoo groups for others in this predicament?
There's gotta be mama's who've been thru this before...

[riversong]

I had five mercury fillings removed while I was nursing my 15 month old dd. My regular dentist was just going to drill them out with no precautions, so I went to a dentist who goes through the whole process with the dental dam, irrigation and air tube. I don't know exactly what this process is called, but it's supposed to be very safe. I was worried about exposing dd to mercury in my bm, but this dentist assured me that only minute amounts would be released into my body with this process. He said if the exposure were dangerous he wouldn't remove all the fillings he does because he would have mercury poisoning. A friend also reassured me that my bm should be ok after the removals. My dd is showing no ill effects that I can tell and it's been six months since then.

Does anyone think it wasn't safe to have my fillings removed this way while bfing?

[JaneS]

The IAOMT safety protocol is the gold standard: www.iaomt.org

I don't think anyone can tell you it's definitively safe. There's just not a lot of research data on this, and breastfeeding in particular.

I chose to cut way down during beginning of removal process (I had only a few removed over the course of several months, a quadrant at a time, using the IAOMT protocol) and then weaned DS.

There is some evidence that the body levels go back up several months after removal. The organs start dumping their accumulated loads into the bloodstream as an effort to detox. Because the source of exposure has stopped, so the body tries naturally to equaliberalize (is that even a word??)

And since BM is made up of what is in your bloodstream I thought it prudent to wean.

However, there is also a number of factors that allow your body AND your child's body to detox appropriately. Excellent nutrition including high amounts of minerals and excellent digestion/elimination/gut flora, both of which were working against me in the past and most likely leading to the problem with detoxing metals in the first place.

[3_opihi]

Hi all I found this thread through JaneS...(thank you Jane)

Ok, deep breath...I am trying not to freak out. Mainly because I had an appointment next Fri to get all 10 of my mercury fillings taken out. And I am breastfeeding my 14 month old. I AM SO GLAD I found this thread. Thank you so so so much.

I just made an appt. to see an IAOMT approved dentist and I will discuss with him what my best options are...I am leaning towards waiting until my dd is weaned. I've had them in this long, another year is ok and I don't want to risk exacerbating any symptoms I'm having (asthma and autoimmune issues) right now, in addition to the possibility of elevating my dd's mervury levels.

Whew. This is so freaking scary you guys!!!

I had a lot of dental work done while pregnant with my oldest son, and he has an auto immune illness and severe allergies, and is kind of a weird child in general....hasn't been dx'd with any sort of ASD but sometimes I wonder. I think I will have his hair tested right away.

So the main thing I'm not clear on is what you do AFTER the fillings are removed. NOthing? According to this website http://www.noamalgam.com/ That has the potential to do even more damage? But chelation is NOT at all a fun thing to go through...and has its own dangers. So what happens after? I'm confused.

I'm so sorry we all have to go through this. For us and our children.