I got my amalgam filling removed and have some questions...

[jenkuh]

Okay, so I've read so many conflicting view on the amount of time to wait before TTC again and I was wondering if anyone had a book or recourse that said what happens with the mercury after the fillings are removed.

I got them put in when I was pregnant (2cd trimester) before I knew any better and trusted everyone! That was a little over two years ago. I just got them removed because DD is no longer breastfeeding and the holistic dentist said to wait 3 months before TTC.

But what happens in those three months - and I know that many here suggest 18+ months? I have conflicting thoughts of, "well if can't be that bad - I'm not breathing mercury vapors 24/7!!" and at the same time I'm terrified of an *oops* because of the mercury moving/ relocating/ etc. as well as if I try to chelate and an *oops* happens during that time. (FWIW we are being crazy careful but I worry anyways - all the time!)

[tanyalynn]

I don't have a book to recommend, just my impression of what's going on, for what that's worth. If you've got health problems and are going to chelate (my situation), count on 18 months or so to get all the mercury out. But if you think you're okay (hard to tell, sometimes--I hit a wall, hard and didn't know anything was wrong beforehand), then the 3 months is to let the extra mercury (either from the removal, or extra that starts moving around since you're not getting any new stuff daily) either excrete or settle into place. You'll still have mercury settled in various parts of your body, but if you're healthy (the fewer other chemicals you encounter, the faster it would be) your body should be able to slowly get some of that out. But the stuff in your brain has a hugely long half-life, decades, so chelating is really the only way to get that out.

Are those the only amalgam fillings you've ever had? They've just been in for two years? That's a lot less than the amount that I've been exposed to (5 fillings for 20 yrs) and there seems to be a lot of variability from person-to-person in how they excrete mercury. Honestly, you could be okay if you just wait a few months (though if you do some reading, oral chelation is not as scary as it sometimes seems).

Getting a hair test could tell you if you're mercury toxic, and it should show it even if you think all is fine. Here's a description of how to do that:

http://home.earthlink.net/~moriam/HOW_TO_hair_test.html

Okay, that was too much "what Tanya thinks" and not a lot of hard data. I hope someone else has great recs for reading.

[SleeplessMommy]

You can get a blood test if you like.

[JaneS]

Blood test doesn't tell you what is stored in your body, only what is in your blood at that particular second.

The quote of 18 mos to TTC is based on Andrew Hall Cutler, PhD book showing that after removal the body starts dumping mercury out into the bloodstream after several months and continues for that time. www.noamalgam.com

Nutrition plays a HUGE role, such as selenium and other minerals in opening your detox pathways.

[jenkuh]

Thanks for the info - I've been super diligent about nutrition. I've been taking CLO, selenium, cal/mag/zinc, multi vit., cut out bread and sugar (well... mostly except for the occasional treat!), and have been tracking everything I eat +nutrition to make sure I get all the things I need everyday. Making fresh veggie juice and taking whey powder when I don't get enough protein... All this is a very big deal for me - I've always been known for eating hershey bars for dinner :!

I guess what I'm confused about is that I've read (I don't remember where) that there have been studies that say that up to 60% can chelated out within the first three months and that's your biggest window to chelate. I'm not saying that's correct, obviously, but just that it's hard to piece together conflicting info! I agree that the longer i can wait to TTC the better - I just don't want to wait that long! haha

[SleeplessMommy]

Whats in your blood is what the fetus will be exposed to via the placenta.